Want to give your website visitors a premium experience when they read your web content? Looking to update your printed magazine or brochure by digitizing it for your readers?
Using a magazine-style plugin to publish content on your site as an interactive 3D flipbook is a great way to create a memorable experience for your users. They get the feel of flicking through a glossy magazine, with all the benefits of online content.
A 3D flippable magazine makes a real page-turner – literally. It means your articles and products can be displayed in a really attractive way, making use of design layouts that emphasize and strengthen your message.
Convinced? Then you’ll need a plugin for your WordPress website that’ll deliver a high-quality, virtual magazine.
Our favourite? Interactive 3D FlipBook Plugin. But is it the right choice for your website? As expert WordPress developers, we’ve been using it at Potion Web Studio for a while now, so you can read our honest review.
First, let’s explore the plugin in more detail…
What does the Interactive 3D FlipBook plugin do?
There’s something special about a physical magazine in a world that’s increasingly digital. Plenty of brands produce monthly or quarterly magazines or publish catalogues for users to browse at leisure. But hard copies are limiting, too.
There are many brands that don’t want to invest in the expense and distribution nightmare of a printed resource. Plus, for readers who want to find out more, a printed magazine can cause a barrier – you can’t just click a link, so it can be a pain to have to type out search queries or part numbers to learn more. Fortunately, interactive online brochures can solve this.
An online interactive 3D flipbook is the perfect solution – it bridges the gap between print and the web, so users get the very best of both worlds.
When you’ve installed the Interactive 3D FlipBook plugin for WordPress, the handy little app takes your digital files and displays them on your website – but in a far more engaging way than a simple article or a PDF download.
Pros of using the 3D Interactive FlipBook plugin with WordPress
The Interactive 3D FlipBook plugin can give you an edge over your competitors with some great features. Let’s take a look at what it can do, and some inspiration on how different businesses can enrich their content to make the most out of their website.
Premium quality content
The virtual 3D flipbook gives your visitors the high-quality feel of a glossy magazine or sleek brochure – but with plenty of added functionality to enhance their experience.
Instead of displaying your content as a flat page on your WordPress website, the Interactive 3D FlipBook plugin makes it look like a bound magazine. Users read through the magazine just as they would a printed hard copy – turning each page to see the next article.
There’s a choice of page-turning animations for a realistic experience, and the plugin even gives you the option to select the ‘thickness’ of the virtual paper – it makes the experience realistic and helps fit the quality and feel of your brand.
Listen up
With the Interactive 3D FlipBook plugin, reading a magazine online isn’t just about reading. You can enrich your visitor’s experience by engaging more of their senses.
Music retailer reviewing a new album? Add a sample of the track. With audio files embedded in the Interactive 3D FlipBook, your reader can listen to the artist you’re writing about – they get to share the experience you’re evoking with your words.
Interview with an expert, a celeb, or a key member of your team? Put key soundbites in your article to give a true flavour of the conversation.
Moving pictures
Go a step further than audio – add video files to your interactive 3D FlipBook. When an audience can watch AND read, your message is much more compelling and memorable.
Embed a YouTube video in the pages of your magazine to bring your words to life – it’s a great way to engage your audience more deeply and elicit a greater emotional response.
Where would you use video in a brochure? Maybe you’re an architect or an interior designer… Walk your reader through the rooms of your latest project so they get a real feel for the impact you’ve made.
Foodie business? Add the sizzle: readers eat with their eyes AND their ears, so get a video of some top-notch grub in your flipbook to really whet the appetite.
Search and save
Better than folding down pages, your users can use a search function to find the topics that interest them most, and add bookmarks so they can return to their favourite pages easily.
When it’s easy for users to find the content they need, they’re more likely to come back to your site in future.
What to watch out for – cons of the Interactive 3D FlipBook plugin
At Potion, we love this plugin because it brings to life printed or PDF content that could otherwise lose its charm on screen. But there are a couple of things to keep in mind before you use it:
Potential for slow processing
The Interactive 3D FlipBook is well-optimized, but it’s important to note that the animated simulation is processed on the user’s computer – not by the website itself.
That means the time it takes to load is dependent on your user’s hardware: those with slower computers might experience longer loading times or may have trouble interacting with the flipbook.
Slow connection speeds could cause issues
Visitors with slower connections might have trouble loading each successive page. So it’s a good idea to have a version of your document available in a standard format for users to view, just in case.
Fortunately, 3D FlipBook’s user manual has a section on optimizing loading speed, so you can create the best possible experience for your users.
Adding the Interactive 3D FlipBook plugin to your website
Have you weighed up the pros and cons and decided to go for it?
If the Interactive 3D FlipBook is for you, it’s easy to get the plugin on your website, whether you do it yourself or get your WordPress developer to take care of it for you.
Fancy doing it yourself? There’s a handy installation guide to walk you through the steps for installing it – and a more detailed user manual for extra support. It even shows you how to create your 3D Flipbook from a PDF.
It’s a straightforward process, but if you find yourself having trouble, give a WordPress developer like Potion Web Studio a shout – we can help you out.
Interactive 3D FlipBook Plugin – an honest review
Overall, Interactive 3D FlipBook is a great plugin. It lets you bring the style and layout of print to the easily accessible online world, and add fab extra features, too.
It’s a useful, well-designed plugin. We’ve been using it with our clients for a while and there haven’t been any problems.
And the speed? Once a page is loaded, it doesn’t need to load again. Plus, the page-turning simulation works nicely on all but the very slowest machines.
We recommend the Interactive 3D FlipBook as a slick addition to your WordPress website, especially as it’s straightforward to install. But if you’d like a WordPress developer to take the tech stuff off your hands, give us a call.