Introducing New Site Features to Your Customers

Written by Toonimo



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For some of us in the tech world, when introducing a new product or feature in our business, we envision ourselves getting up on stage in a black turtle neck and jeans and delivering a captivating state of the art, multimedia presentation ala Steve Jobs.

Most of us however, do not receive such fanfare.

When you work hard on developing a new feature or product,  you want to make sure your customers not only see it, but that you are able to generate a sense of excitement about it as well.  It can be a challenge to introduce your new feature effectively.

You do have a few options for bringing attention to certain features on your website both onsite and offsite.  Sometimes an onsite pop up is all you need while other times a combination of strategies is preferred. It really depends on your website, your audience and the feature you are announcing.

Here are a few ideas for effective ways to introduce your new site features to your customers:


On site strategies:
  • Interstitial Pages - Interstitial ads are boxes or pages that pop up at site launch and are a sure way to get your customers’ attention.  The user needs to close the ad in order to return to the website homepage in the background, so chances are they will read it.  You can also link to the feature on the ad to take users directly to the page.   The interstitial idea can also be used to create a more indepth “help screen” at launch which can provide further details or instructions on how to use the new feature.
  • Homepage ads - You can announce new features by placing ads on certain standout places right on the homepage.
  • Hello Bars, which are banners along the top of the home page stand out, particularly if they are in a bold color. You can write something attention grabbing such as “Hey, check out our new features” and then link to the page.
  • Badges or call to action buttons can be placed anywhere on the homepage and include short text or an image that links to the new feature. Again, enticing text (“click here to see our new feature”), bright colors or an eye-catching image (a big question mark for example) will draw the visitor in to seek more information.
  • Stand out content blocks - You can strategically place content or an ad for your new feature  in the margins or within a banner or image slideshow that exists already on your homepage.

  • Interactive Guides - A text-based, audio visual or animated website walk through  can guide your website users to the new features and explain or demonstrate how to use them.
  • How-to Videos - A how-to video embedded on your homepage can introduce the new feature and demonstrate how to use it.


Offsite strategies:
  • Email blasts: Numerous Marketing Surveys have found that email marketing is the most effective digital marketing tactic and that it delivers the best ROI (return on Investment). You can announce the feature to your mailing list, write about the benefits and make sure to include a link. This will also get customers that aren’t already on your site to pay a visit and hopefully increase visits and sales.
  • Social Media announcements: Use social media to create a buzz about your new features. Announce the new features, share videos and most importantly, link your website.


Get your audience excited and involved by using one or a few of the techniques above to draw attention, guide and demonstrate your new website features.

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