The Internet is vast and often confusing. In fact, most of the websites out there with hundreds of data fields are so daunting for the average user, that they are downright unusable. Even those who brave the clunky design are often thwarted in their search for information by websites with broken backend databases that throw up irrelevant results.
The question is how do you battle this? Anyone who has worked with large sets of numbers would admit that databases by default are intimidating and not very user friendly. On top of that designing a fluid front end for such a complex backend is no easy task. Well we have a solution- Wix Code. The perfect bridge that gives you the flexibility of being a coder without having numerous lines of text be it Javascript or CSS, come in the way of your designing endeavours. So what does creating a website with Wix Code get you? In one word- Freedom!
Now making a run of the mill site like a blog or a news aggregator is pretty easy and there are plenty of one click solutions for those. In fact Wix themselves have a very competent solution called the Wix Editor that is perfect for simple sites. However, not every site is that simple. Sometimes the need arises for a much more complex website which can handle a multitude of options. Maybe even integrate a few databases, handle user interaction all the while keeping a fluid interface for a smooth user experience. This is where Wix Code steps in as one of the advanced features that is offered within the Wix Editor. But, before we get to that, let us first take a look at the pre requisites of creating a data rich website.
Pre Requisites
- Every great website needs a great UI. While Wix Editor makes it easy to create one, a clean and well developed layout is necessary as a strong starting pad.
- Correct and well categorized data that is constructed into an easy to access database.
And that’s just it. The best part about using the Wix Editor and Wix Code is that even if you do not have any coding knowledge specific to web development or Javascript, you can still read the documentation and be on your way to creating a website that is perfect for your needs. In the next few paragraphs we will be detailing exactly how you can do that.
1. Creating the Design of the Website
This is the first step of creating your Data rich website. The trick to getting your designs on paper onto the real website is finding the best template to use from Wix. There are loads of customisation options out there as well so you can choose to edit your template in anyway you prefer.
Also if none of the templates fit the bill, then the Wix Editor offers you a blank template where you can start from scratch and build your website from the ground up.
2. Creating Landing, Squeeze Pages and Other User Input Pages
While developing a website, especially one which is data focussed, often one of the features that developers struggle to implement properly is user input forms. But Wix Code can handle that with ease making user inputs just as easy as a drag and drop.
And if you want any exceptions in the user input data without which form submissions wouldn’t be possible, Wix can handle that as well. Of course the raw code is also available so anyone who wants to tinker with the Javascript can do so to make it just right for their needs.
3. Integrating, Managing and Updating a Connected Database
Managing a database can be a right hassle especially with many back end features to take care of. Wix Code though makes it a cakewalk with the optimised data management system doing all the hard work to keep all the data that you have collected safe, secure, easily accessible and most importantly SEO friendly.
Databases have been the bane of many a developer’s existence and now with Wix Code at your disposal, they are just as easy to update with new information as they are for your audience to interact with!
4. Creating a Social Presence With Widgets and Plugins
Audience retention is key for any business on the web and the best way to do that is through user interactive web pages that are uniquely made possible thanks to Wix Code. But just grabbing the user’s attention is not always enough. Sharing on social media implemented by integrating several in -house APIs of popular social media sites like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo is also something Wix Code handles with aplomb.
And the flexibility of Wix code means that even when the services aren’t available, it is very easy to just reach out and grab 3rd party plugin and Wix Code integrates that into their website framework seamlessly. While we have talked a fair bit about what you can and should do while developing your website, let me just touch upon one pitfall that in my opinion plagues most data rich websites out there right now. Better yet, let me sum it up with this amazing quote:
Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant- Mitchell Kapor
Thus capping it off, my final advice would be- Don’t be the fire hydrant, be a fluid stream of information.