Today, many websites are considered “media rich.” In addition to text and images, it’s becoming more and more common for wensites to include Flash, video, audio and other advanced features. The goal is to attract attention and keep visitors on a website longer. Advanced features like Flash and video capture attention. Interactive applications including calendars and address books entice visitors to visit longer and more often.

HotDoodle provides several advanced elements that you can add to your website. In this section we’ll review ways to provide a more robust experience for the user.

Flash Block – Flash is a format for delivering “streaming” multimedia via the Internet. Flash animations can include text, graphics, sounds, video and even interactive buttons. These specialized files are integrated into a web page and require a Flash browser plugin to view.

YouTube Block – YouTube.com is a website that provides free video hosting. Videos uploaded to YouTube.com are automatically converted to flash format and can be linked and displayed on a HotDoodle website.

Picture Album Block – A picture album is a specialized block type within HotDoodle that displays multiple photos or images a website. Photos can be viewed full-sized or in a slide show.

Calendar Block – A calendar is a specialized block in HotDoodle that provides a way of keeping track of events within a website. Visitors can easily navigate and search the calendar to locate upcoming events.

Address Book – An address book is a specialized block in HotDoodle that organizes user information including name, address, phone number, etc. 

Files/Videos Block - The Files/Videos Block lets visitors upload and download files including Microsoft Word, PDF documents, or videos. The term “upload” refers to the action of transferring a file from a user’s hard drive up to a web server, in this case, HotDoodle is the web server. Almost any type of file can be uploaded to a HotDoodle website.Documents can also be locked to restrict the ability to download