In 2001 James Coyle and Esther Thorson studied interactivity and vividness in commercial websites in their article "The Effects of Progressive Levels of Interactivity and Vividness in Web Marketing Sites." According to Coyle and Thorson, interactivity and vividness are indicators of a web site's telepresence. As opposed to presence, which is the direct experience of reality, telepresence is the simulated experience of direct experience. This is closely related to flow, which is "'the state occurring during network navigation'" and should be seamless and enjoyable. Combined, flow and telepresence should cause the user to feel as if they have "[arrived]" in a web site, and will behave favorably toward the product.

Vividness and interactivity were deemed the primary ways of measuring telepresence for a web site. Interactivity is how users participate in modifying form and content, in terms of speed, range, and mapping to the real world. Vividness is the representational richness of a site defined through its features, and especially how many senses are affected, and how closely it mimics parts of the human sensory system. In the study, Coyle and Thorson manipulated several web sites in range and mapping, by limiting or extending the number of clickable options on a page, and providing an image map. They also included animation or sound in some versions, and not in others. Participants were asked to indicate any intentions to return to the web site, and any intentions to purchase or not.

Overall, Coyle and Thorson found that higher levels of interactivity and vividness did show an increased level of telepresence. Though they did not find that it indicated a person's attitude towards a product, the study still offers useful information for web designers. Interactivity and vividness are methods of engaging the user when they visit a web site, and not allowing them to be passive. By including various clickable objects, and audio/visual aspects, the user is less likely to leave the site, and will feel as if they as in the online environment. On the other hand, this study was conducted in 2001, and there currently are many banner ads that have flashing lights or sound, and users may have become more desensitized to interactivity and vividness since.