6 Tools To Look For In A Website Builder 

Your business website is a way for you share information and to communicate your marketing message. It also allows you to collect information from your customers. The right website builder will make it easy to do all of this using the following tools:

1. Online Forms
2. Email Newsletters
3. Autoresponder
4. Event Calendar
5. Articles Page
6. Photo Album

1. Online Forms

Just like paper forms, online forms are a way for you to collect information from your customers.  When a customer fills out an online form, an email will be created and sent directly to you containing the requested information.

Online forms let you exchange information

What to look for:

• Automatic form creation – creates the page automatically once you decide on the fields
• Variety of field selections – Drop down menus, buttons, or check boxes may allow you collect information more easily than just text boxes
• Autoresponder – sends out an email automatically to let the customer know that their information was received

2. Email Newsletters

An online newsletter works very much like a paper one. Once people submit their email address, you’re able to send them information such as company updates, promotions and special offers, or anything else that might be important to them.

Keep customers up to date with a newsletter

What to look for:

• SPAM prevention – sends subscribers a confirmation email so your newsletter won’t be filtered as spam
• Unsubscribe Option – allows subscribers to stop receiving the newsletter should they wish to do so
• Automatic publishing – automatically publishes sent newsletters to your website, increasing information on your website and helping you get higher search engine ranking
• Email exporting – lets you work with subscribers’ email addresses for other marketing purposes

3. Autoresponder

The Autoresponder feature allows you to schedule emails to be sent at set time intervals. Simply decide on the content of each email and when it should be sent and it will be done automatically.

For example, you could set it so that every week customers receive helpful tips about your products.

Send information automatically

What to look for:

• Increment Settings – allows you to set the length of time between emails
• SPAM prevention – sends subscribers a confirmation email so your email won’t be filtered as spam
• Unsubscribe Option – allows subscribers to stop receiving the newsletter should they wish to do so
• Email exporting – lets you work with subscribers’ email addresses for other marketing purposes

4. Event Calendar

An event calendar is an easy way to let customers know what’s going on with your company in a scannable layout.

Free publicity for upcoming events

What to look for:

• Event Details – fill in the details (name, date, time) of the event to automatically post it on the calendar 
• Title Links – the calendar event can be clicked and lead to more information about the specific event

5. Articles Page

An articles page allows you to establish credibility by making it easy for you to post articles relevant to your business on your website. It will also build confidence in the consumer that you’re an authority on the subject and may encourage them to buy from or hire you. Also, having more relevant information on your website will help you get a higher search engine rank.

Articles listed with summaries give instant credibility

What to look for:

• Subtitles and Summaries – lets the reader know what the article is about
• Article details – input fields for publication date, author name, etc.

6. Photo Album

A photo album is exactly what it sounds like, an online image gallery. Use it to introduce customers to your products, staff, previous work, or whatever you may need to help them understand your business.

Thumbnail views let you see everything at one time

What to look for:

• Image titles and descriptions – give the viewer an explanation of what’s in the picture
• Thumbnail layout – displays small versions of images that can be enlarged by clicking on them

Although these are probably the most important tools a website builder should have to create your business website, there are many more are also useful. The best way to figure out what you need is to test out several builders and trial their different features.

Website builders also make it easy to sell your products online. Read The Bare Essentials for Selling Online to learn more.