There are many basic, yet overlooked, tools and plugins that you can add into your website arsenal to add functionality and intention to your business or personal site.
While these are a totally different beast than going the advertising campaign way, there’s still something to be said for having an extremely functional and user friendly site for brand recognition.
Tools in Action
First, let’s see how effective a good widget or app can be. While the average user can’t put together something like the customized HomeAway commercial, we can certainly take baby steps into having some effective apps and utilizing the proper tools. The HomeAway app had a nifty little marketing tactic that meets all the requirements of an effective app: it is fun, exciting and easily shared. A customized app like this is a great way to increase traffic to your website through the power of social media- naturally, this could be your next step.
Eight Crowd Pleasing Tools/Plugins
If you’re looking for a way to have added functionality or control over your site, consider these:
- PayPal Donations Button: Mighty Widgets created this great little tool to make including a donation option on your website or social media page easy. Business should remember that community outreach can be a great way to increase visibility.
- YouTube Widget 4.0: bastawhiz made it easy for anyone to include all of their favorite videos right on their blog or site without having to jump through hoops.
- Wufoo Form: Anyone interested in including a form on his or her site should consider Wufoo Form by Yola. This handy widget makes embedding a form simple and intuitive.
- FaceBook Like Button: We all know how important social media is for increased visibility, so adding that ‘like’ button to your blog post or webpage is critical. FaceBook makes it simple.
- Google Video: Created by Google, this is another app that makes adding video to your site intuitive and easy. It has the added props of being created by Google – still the leader in search engines.
- Flickr Lightbox: Adding pictures to a website is made much easier for anyone who uses Flickr and downloads the Lightbox widget. Use it to share your pics anywhere on the web.
- Google Maps: If you want to add functionality to your site, especially if you have a “brick and mortar” location, this widget by Google is a must. It easily integrates Google Maps functionality onto your page.
- Google AdSense: Another crowd pleaser from Google has little to do with providing a client base with functionality, but is invaluable for anyone who participates in the Google AdSense program. This handy app easily supplies all the information you need about your program, making it simple to see what is working and what isn’t.
Apps and tools can be one of the most effective tools on a website. By providing your visitors with functionality or simple fun, you can increase your traffic and visibility thanks to the use of tools and ease of use without spending a ton of time or money. Maybe it’s time to change your site strategy a little.
How effective are the plugins you’ve chosen for your site? Are they crowd pleasers?