We have all seen contact forms or newsletter sign ups on websites.  Believe it or not… there are hundreds of other processes that can be streamlined through your website.  Think beyond marketing… think about the pain points in your  business.  Are there admin processes that you wish could be streamlined?

Websites are an easy to find connection between yourself and your potential consumer.  It’s also a nice easy way to direct someone to a singular ever evolving place online instead of sending a document that might be out of date in a month.  One of the nicest things about using WordPress for your website is that it is open source.  This means that virtually any functionality that you would like to have on your website is possible through plugins or programming. We put together a list of 17 Website Features That Save You Time and Make You Money:

• Scheduling/Appointment Booking
• Ticket Sales
• Product Sales
• Digital Downloads
• Forms
• Onboarding/Offboarding
• CRM Integration
• Search Functionality
• Bookmarking
• Gift Vouchers
• Credit System
• Directory
• Forum
• Rentals
• Marketplace
• Membership
• Wiki/Library

1. Scheduling/Appointment Booking

The functionality around this can range from just making your calendar publicly visible to having specific time slots available to book with payment and service selection.  There are a large number of tools that can work for this functionality depending on the complexity of your needs, however the importance is versatility and ease of use.  You want to be able to manage these appointments easily from multiple devices and multiple locations.

2. Ticket Sales

I am sure at one point or another you have used a website where you can purchase tickets.  From Eventbrite through to Ticketmaster and Cineplex.  There are a lot of ticket sales applications out there that can be added onto any WordPress website.  A few of the things to consider when selecting a tool for this job are:

• How many ticket types do you have?
• How many days/time slots are available?
• What information do you need to collect upon ticket purchase?
• Will you need a QR code issued or scannable ticket?
• Will the customer be selecting a seat location?

3. Product Sales

E-commerce websites are perhaps the most common way to monetize your website.  If you sell products in your business that can be shipped, there is a good chance an e-commerce website is something you are considering.  One thing to keep in mind when selecting tools for this are the fees associated.  Woo Commerce has much lower fees than Shopify, Big Commerce or even Etsy.

4. Digital Downloads

If you have digital products like videos, audio files, or images then digital downloads might be a great option for you!  You can even link your digital download system to DropBox or Google Drive for easy storage management.  Woo Commerce has digital download capabilities built into it and you can even limit how many times the customer can download the files.

5. Forms

Forms are perhaps the most important and flexible process to integrate through your website.  If you are currently using physical forms or Google Forms in your business then you already see the value in data collection.  There are some tools that can make forms more powerful and efficient for your customer and for yourself through your website.  Just a few of the capabilities forms have:

• Workflow Creation
• Conditional Logic
• Approval Processes
• Intakes and Requests
• Quizes and Games
• Applications

6. Onboarding/Offboarding

Whether you are bringing in new staff or clients, or they are leaving there are processes that can be built into your website around this.  Perhaps when you get new customers you consistently send them reading material, a blog post on your website creates a great source of information to link to that can be updated easily at any time.  Or perhaps every time you hire someone you ask the same 10 questions that need to go to HR, Accounting, IT, and Fascilities.  Automating those processes helps keep the information consistent, accurate, and saves time.

7. CRM Integration

If you aren’t familiar with Client Relationship Managers you should be.  If  you are a service based industry these can be very helpful to manage all your client info and financials.  If you already have a CRM system within your business you might want to integrate it with your website to streamline your lead generation and client intake process.  A simple form linked to your CRM can reduce countless errors and wasted time in data entry.

8. Search Functionality

If you have a lot of information on your website then great search functionality will help your customers immensely.  Along with easy search capabilities you might also want some filters and sorting functionality.

10. Bookmarking

Have you ever been to a website that has a ton of really helpful information and just started bookmarking all the pages in your browser?  Did you know you can actually build this functionality right into your website?  It’s super helpful if you have a shop and with products people may want to add to a wishlist to purchase later.

10. Gift Vouchers

You can sell gift vouchers on your website that can either be printed for redemption in person, or issued a code that can be used for online purchases through your online shop.  This is a fantastic option if your product or service makes for a nice gift such as home decor, memberships, or self-care services.

11. Credit System

You can offer digital tokens or credits for purchase on your website to be redeemed for items at a later date.  If you have ever used Shutterstock or iStock then you are familiar with how this works.  You essentially purchase a certain number of credits, which get linked to your unique login and when you go to purchase an item it allows you to do so with your credits.

12. Directory

Directory websites exist all over the internet now, and can range from quite large and broad to small and very niche.  One great example of a directory website is Yelp.  Users of Yelp are able to sign up for free to list their business and manage that listing as necessary.  As with anything there are a number of tools available for this, each of which have their merits depending on what your goals are.  Generally the most imporatant feature to any directory are it’s search capabilities.

13. Forum

This word often escapes people or gets passed over, but we are all very familiar with Forums in today’s online world.  The most popular Forum site on the internet today is Reddit.  Forum’s make it easy to create a discussion about a topic among a group of users.  This can be a wonderful feature on membership sites to allow your community to engage with one another.  The most valuable thing you can create on your website to generate repeat visitors is a sense of community.

14. Rentals

Offering rental functionality on your website is super helpful if you have equipement rentals, product rentals, or even coworking space rental.  There are a ton of tools specifically for this that allow rentals to be made for specific time frames and the prices to change based on those time frames and the equipment/space selected.  This can reduce administrative paperwork by a lot if you are running a rental business.

15. Marketplace

One of the most popular marketplace websites online is Kijiji.  There have been others that have popped up over the years including Facebook now offering it’s own Marketplace.  This functionality gives your consumers the ability to list items for buy, sell, trade, or even for auction.

16. Membership

Whether you are looking to offer an online course, information library, or drip content, these can all be accomplished through your website.  The investment to have a membership program on your website is a fairly significant one, however it brings a fair amount of benefits to you.  One of the largest one being that all your viewership traffic stays on your own website rather than sending it elsewhere.  It can also be customized and branded to any extent that you would like.

17. Wiki/Library

If you have a lot of information you are looking to make available to people for easy search and reference then a Wiki or Information Library are a fantastic option.  The most popular Wiki sites online are Wikipedia and WikiLeaks.  Those are both examples of very large Wiki’s, however you can have a much smaller one on your own site if you feel it would be beneficial.  These often make fantastic knowledgebases for easy reference to large quanities information.

We Love Saving You Time and Money!

One of our biggest goals is to help businesses and entrepreneurs streamline their processes and get the most value out of their websites.  If you are considering expanding on your WordPress website or looking to get one we offer a free initial consultation and quote just to help you with your decision making process!  We would love to hear from you!  You can contact us here.