Help > Top 6 Business Tools to Look for in a Website Builder

Top 6 Business Tools to Look for in a Website Builder

All website builders have a variety of features that help promote your business. These features differ from builder to builder, so we've outlined important features to look for while making your decision.

They are as follows:

1. Newsletter
2. Feedback/Contact Form
3. Autoresponder
4. Articles Page
5. Event Calendar
6. Photo Album

1. Newsletter

An email newsletter works in much the same way as a regular one except it is sent by email. It allows you to maintain regular contact with your customers, encouraging them to buy from you.

Benefits:

• Keep in touch with both potential and existing customers.
  
  
• Inform customers about sales, special promotions, new products, or events.
  
  
• Establish credibility by providing useful articles to help customers understand your industry better.

Feature Checklist:

SPAM prevention system Ensures that the newsletters you send aren’t SPAM by automatically sending an opt-in email through which subscribers confirm their subscription. Has an easy opt-out system that takes people who have unsubscribed off your list automatically, so you don’t have to keep your list up to date.

Simultaneous publication on your website Automatically publishes your newsletters on your website in addition to sending them to subscribers. Adds more valuable content to your website, which helps you achieve a better rank with search engines.

Easy export system Allows you to export email addresses from your subscriber list for other marketing purposes.

2. Feedback/ Contact Form

Online feedback/ contact forms allow you to collect information about your customers and customize the service you provide them, directly on your website.

Benefits:

• Collect useful information when customers contact you to help you understand how best to market to them (i.e. customers’ name, preferred contact method, demographic info, reason for contacting, department they wish to reach, etc.)
  
  
• Collect feedback on your products/ services, to help you improve the way you do business.

Feature Checklist:

Easy online form page creator Automatically creates a feedback or contact form after you enter the necessary info into the fields. Some builders require you to create each field and accompanying text box then create the layout for the page. This is very time-consuming!

Variety of field selections Options like drop-down lists, selection buttons, or checkboxes give you more options to get the info you need from customers, rather than using only text fields.

Autoresponder This option adds a professional touch by automatically sending an email with a customized message to the person who filled out the form. Useful for letting customers know that their form has been received. Can also be used to reinforce your marketing message, or let them know about special promotions.

3. Autoresponder

An autoresponder helps you build customer relationships and make sales by allowing you to send information to your customers by email in pre-set intervals.

Benefits:

• Send e-courses related to your products/ services. For example, if you're a real estate salesperson, you could create a course on strategies for selling a home. You could set the autoresponder to send out 7 lessons by email (or as many as you like) once per week from the date the customer signs up.
  
  
• Send instructions related to your products/ services. For example, if you’re selling a kind of software, you can use the autoresponder to send instructions on how to use it.
  
  
• Runs on autopilot once you set it up. Sends out the emails in intervals you specify to people who submit their email addresses.
  
  
• Provides an email list to which you can send other marketing materials.

Feature Checklist:

Increment settings Allows you to set specific increments of time after which each email is sent.

SPAM prevention system Ensures that the emails you send aren’t SPAM by automatically sending an email through which subscribers confirm their subscription. Has an easy opt-out system that takes people who have unsubscribed off your list automatically, so you don’t have to keep your list up to date.

Easy export system Allows you to export email addresses from your subscriber list for other marketing purposes.

4. Articles Page

An articles page allows you to educate your customers and establish your authority on your industry by posting a collection of articles on your website.

Benefits:

• Post informative articles on your website, so customers will see you as an authority on your industry. For example, if you’re a graphic designer you could post an article on what makes a good corporate logo.
  
  
• Create informed customers who are more likely to buy from you or hire you because they’ll understand what makes you a better choice.

Feature Checklist:

Subtitles and Summaries Used for entering “teaser” text to entice people to read the articles.

Article details Post publication date, author name and contact info.

5. Event Calendar

An event calendar helps publicize your company's events by featuring them in a calendar format on your website.

Benefits:

• Customers can get event details, dates, times, etc. from your website so they won’t have to contact you for info. For example, if you run a dancing school, you could post info about upcoming performances.
  
  
• Help sell your company's products by linking the event to relevant products on your site.

Feature Checklist:

Calendar text Posts the titles of your event on a calendar, making it easier to reference.

Event details Provides fields for event name, date and time.

6. Photo Album

A photo album establishes your credibility and promotes your products/ services by showing images on a page on your website

Benefits:

• Establish credibility by showing samples of your work. For example, if you’re a painter, you could post photos of houses that you painted.
  
  
• Build customer confidence by showing your pictures of your staff and facilities.

Feature Checklist:

Image title and descriptions fields Lets you enter a title and description for each image to give it context.

Thumbnail layout Allows you to view all the photos from one page in a smaller format, which can be clicked to see the enlarged version.

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