Functionality - Your imagination is your only limit
If you think that your website should only tell people about you, then you might be pleasantly surprised to know what it can actually do, and how affordable some of these features really are!
We have listed some of the more popular features of a website below. Imagine how you could apply them to your new website!
External Features
Links to social media such as Facebook & Twitter
Ecommerce - sell your products online
Photo galleries
Video
Calendar of events
Advertising - make money selling ad space
Captchas
Slide shows
Blogs
Voting & polls
Rating system, "rate this page"
Newsletters, and signup pages
Signup to workshops, courses, events (and pay)
Forums
Limited Access features - Posting non-public information
User memberships, limit access to content to your clients
Enhance Internal Communication - no public access
Post staffing schedules where the public can't view them
Additional Features
Set rules, make your site do what you want it to do
Automatic notifications
Scheduler
Links to social media such as Facebook & Twitter
Social media has become very important in today's age. Do you know how to use it and maintain it correctly? You might be surprised how easy it is to automate sites, such Facebook and Twitter.
Ecommerce - sell your products online
Ecommerce has traditionally been an expensive (and often unrealistic) venture for small businesses. But you can get ecommerce for less! If you are making a committment of your time to get your products on line, then we are able to get you the tool to make it happen.
For clients that have ecommerce listed on their sites, it is quite often the #1 item that visitors look at. Think about your own personal usage of websites. If you are looking for an item, do you drive around to the stores to find it, or do you look on the web?
If you are a product based business, having an ecommerce store is an absolute must!
A picture can tell a thousand words! Picture galleries can be used in many ways. Show off your products. Show a recent event you attended or have thrown. Show before and after pictures! The list is unlimited.
Putting video on your site can be expensive, however embedding a YouTube video into your site is free! Explore the possiblities of putting video on your site. How does this apply to your business?
If you regularly hold events, then it is important to tell your customers about them! You can even give them an option to sign up for an event and pay for it all at once.
Advertising - make money selling ad space
Have you ever thought of making money from your site by selling ad space? Design you website so that your vendors and/or customers and/or partners can advertise their business on your site.
A captcha is that box below forms that say "enter the word you see in here". It stops people from spamming your site!
Some website designs are perfect for a slide show to be incorporated into them. Easy to do and with great results. Slide shows can also be used to show "how to" training!
This is used in many places on the web. Post your blog, your opinion on the matter!
You can run voting systems and polls on your site. They are simple to setup, easy to understand and get results. You can even set up a new one each day automatically.
Rating system, "rate this page"
You can add the ability for the general public to "rate this" on your website. They can rate anything from information, blogs, products you sell, or anything else you can imagine.
Many companies put a newsletter into their regular routine for their clients. But what are the rules? Do you know that if you are using a regular email program to send your newsletters that your recipients might not even be receiving them?
There are many rules around sending newsletters and spam, so therefore in order to ensure that your clients are receiving emails, you need to follow those rules!
You can use a widget on your site that allows your clients to signup for your newsletters, manage the mailing list, allow clients to "unsubscribe" themselves, and much much more!
Signup to workshops, courses, events (and pay)
If doing workshops or classes is part of your business, then this feature will be of utmost interest to you! Put your course online, and allow your clients to register and pay for your courses!
Ever dreamed of being the next best site that people come to talk and give advice! Forums are used everywhere on the internet, for anything from industry specific conversation, to community chat, to help and advice for your clients.
User memberships, limit access to content to your clients
Setting up user "roles" or "memberships" allows you to post information for your clients and not allowing the public to see it. Each user has a login and password, and once they log in they can see the information available to them.
Enhance Internal Communication - no public access
One of the most popular items! Imagine having a bulletin board for your staff where they can access it online from anywhere. And, they get an email whenever you post an item. A huge timesaver.
Post staffing schedules where the public can't view them
Especially in environments where shiftwork is required, this feature can be very handy!
Set rules, make your site do what you want it to do
If you have ever wanted your site to "just do something", well now you can! Imagine saying to yourself "Everytime my client ABC Company logs onto the site, I want it to send me an email" or "everytime I get 10 hits in a day, I want it tell me about it". You can do this and much more. Easily and affordably define the behind-the-scenes behaviour that you wish your site could do.
Often we are too busy to go looking for information, so set up your site to automatically tell you when certain things happen. For example, if your products are online and you put an item on sale, have it notify you when a particular product is viewed, or is sold. You can also do items such as remind you when a certain page has been updated.
If you are busy, you will appreciate this feature. Imagine having a "quote a day". You can do a month of quotes and just tell the system to publish one every day. To your users, it looks like you are working everyday, but your secret is that you did them all in an hour!
