May 21, 2011 12:21 GMT  ·  By

Leveraging Site Pinning in Internet Explorer 9 allows web developers to get a spectacular user engagement boost for their sites. IE9 Pinned Sites not only guarantee an enhanced user experience through the intimate integration into Windows 7, but also deliver measureable results related to visitor engagement, reveals Microsoft’s Ziad Ismail.

And now it’s easier than it has ever been for web devs to take advantage of Site Pinning, since the Redmond company launched www.buildmypinnedsite.com.

BuildMyPinnedSite streamlines the work that developers need to do in order to allow users to pin their site, starting with the creation of a hi-resolution favicon, and moving on to the addition of a JumpList, to setting up notifications, and using thumbnail preview controls.

“Build My Pinned Site is a tool for site owners and developers to see what a better web experience looks like with pinning. Breaking news catches your attention through trending keywords. Media experiences can be controlled outside the browser,” Ismail stated.

“Notifications tell you when you’ve won an auction bid. Games record your stats offline and show you what you’re missing. Web apps like Hotmail feel like a native email client. And the ideas and code to build it for your site are right here.”

The code that developers can use from Microsoft is designed to run only in the context of IE9 and Windows 7, having no impact when users visit the site in other browsers.

Ismail shared some of the user engagement results that a range of companies have been experiencing after adapting their sites to leverage the new IE9 feature:

“• Business Insider – read 57% more pages, spend 95% more time on site

• Flixster – read 34% more pages, spend 57% more time on site

• Gilt – visit 39% more often, add 160% more items to shopping cart, complete 45% more sales transactions

• The Killers – read 65% more pages, spend 103% more time on site

• hi5 – respond to 200% more social requests (like friends, games, notifications)

• Huffington Post – spend 49% more time on site.”

Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) Platform Preview 1 (PP1) is available for download here.

Windows Internet Explorer 9 RTW for Windows 7 and Windows 7 SP1 is available for download here.