The world of fonts is changing!Fonts have always been a problem on the web. For years one could only use fonts that are commonly found on  both PCs and Macs (Arial, Georgia, Times New Roman, Verdana were the only real solid options). There has been a number of attempts to solve this problem, none of which are really great options. You create create images for your text, which is a real headache to maintain and isn’t read by search engines or you could use a flash tool called sIFR which has all the downsides of flash.

But… fonts on the web have come a long way in a short period of time! There are actually a couple great options now, the best of which is the Google Font Directory. All of the fonts are open-source, aka free to use. Not only can you download the fonts for free and use them in ALL of your design projects, Google also provides your website development team a VERY easy-to-use way of setting these up on your website. The website remains perfectly accessible, and you can even copy and paste the text just like any other font! Amazing!

(By the way, if you ever need to convert a font from one format to another, try FontConverter.org)

View Demo: http://page-flip.com/new-demos/03-kitchen-gorenje-2008/index.html

This tool allows you to import a PDF file of a catalog and turn it into an interactive experience for your customers.  Your customers can use their mouse to flip the pages of the catalog and zoom in on certain items.  Here are some other features of this software:

• Text search
• Customizable interface (design it to match your site)
• Viewers can download and/or print the PDF
• Table of contents interface
• Ability to create bookmarks
• Thumbnail view of all of the pages for easier browsing
• Permanently create a link to a specific page

The next time you need to display a catalog or any other book-type material on a website, think about using the “Flipping Book” to make it an interactive experience for your web visitors.

What do you think of this interactive tool?  Have you used it yet on a website?  Think it might give your customers a way to connect with their website visitors?