|
|
Add Functionality
There are so many new tools becoming available for the internet, the
only limitation on adding new functionality to your web site is
an awareness of what is available and the ability to see how it can
be used. Below are just a handful of applications of new technology.
We are happy to advise on old and new opportunities for your business.
Software Design UK is the creator of great web sites and bespoke software.
Surveys
Set up a standard web form, but fill it with requests for survey information.
The information is automatically saved in a database. It can be searched,
summarised and downloaded into almost all word processing or spreadsheet
documents. Alternatively, the data can be fed directly to a smart interactive
web page for instantly updated reporting.
This facility was recently used as part of a government survey to
establish the effectiveness of recent legislation.
Back to contents
Commentary facilities
Add to select web pages the facility for visitors to add their comments.
This can be used in variety of ways, ranging from adding visitors experience
to a review of restaurants through to enabling users of a
technical information sheet to add their own tips or suggestions.
Back to contents
Collaborative documents
The new "editable" web page provides a facility for visitors to edit
a web page directly. This works well when the editable page is placed
within something akin to a "members only" section of the web site restricting
access to those who are intended to update the document.
This facility is useful when trying to organise many people to add or
updates parts of a document or series of documents. It works well
for creation of manuals and handbooks, technical documents that can
be updated from anywhere at the same time as the systems or procedures
are being tried out and when organising events or functions "by committee".
Back to contents
Manuals/Handbooks
The "editable" web pages described in Collaborative documents above can
easily by structured into a works manual or staff handbook. One key
advantage of such a system is that the documents can be updated
regularly during the course of a normal "workout" and the updated
version is instantly available to everyone.
This is a great technique to eradicate errors in manuals that require
frequent update and elimination of instructions that are either
ambiguous or outdated.
Back to contents
Guestbooks
Use the standard form systems to allow guests to add their details. These
details are automatically captured to a database. They can be fed back
automatically to the web page for other visitors to view, if desired.
You can capture sufficient information to allow relevant response or
follow up, if desired. This facility can provide invaluable feedback
about your visitors, if set up correctly and the circumstances are right.
Back to contents
Bulletin/Staff Notice Boards
The ability to add visitor commentary to a web page, described above, can
be adapted for use as a Bulletin Board or Staff Notice Board.
In
the Bulletin Board application, you can solicit comments on particular topics and see
where your visitors take it. This is another useful source of feedback about
what interests your visitors.
In the Staff Notice Board application, you can organise for a specific type of
information to be loaded to the Board. This facility can help reduce the flow of
unnecessary emails where information is likely to be of periferal or occasional interest to
all staff members. A good example is where the top management post to the Board
when they leave and return to the office. In this way, all staff can know how to
plan their own workflows or to deal
appropriately with enquiries they may have from customers/clients.
Back to contents
On-line databases
All data entered by visitors or staff to your site through our standard
"form" systems is added to an appropriate database. The database can be
interrogated in a very simple way to produce almost any combination of
records - by geographic area, by profession, by area of interest or by
any combination of data captured.
The selection can be emailed, snail-mailed or downloaded to almost
any spreadsheet or word processor application. The opportunities
for business service provision are almost limitless - including
date-type handling (such as reminder letters sent out in certain
circumstances) and information-type handling (such as importing into
an accounts system).
Thanks in part to the generic method applied to creating our core programs,
the costs are so low that even the smallest organisation can benefit from
this technology that would otherwise cost several thousand pounds to buy in.
All data is handled through our secure server and is password protected.
Back to contents
Group emailing
All our standard forms feed data from your visitors into an
on-line databases described above. It is a relatively trivial task
to add to the on-line database information from your existing
off-line IT systems.
By adding or requesting appropriate information, you can easily
categorise people on the database into an unlimited number of groupings.
Selecting people by group or groups is also a relatively trivial
task. Subsequently sending an email to the group becomes as simple as
entering the email text and clicking the "send email" button.
All emails sent through this system are logged in a separate email
database and can be reviewed or searched in the same way as any other
data in the databases.
Back to contents
Automated Form Handlers
We have a sophisticated suite of programs that allows you to create almost
any form you want, quickly and easily. Forms is the internet way by
which visitors can send you data.
All forms using our system are handled automatically. All data
entered by visitors is added to a database for subsequent use.
Email confirmations are sent to the visitor and/or anyone you designate.
You can designate as many people as you want to be notified with
new postings. There is also automatic feedback to the visitor that
the submission has been handled.
Back to contents
Broadcast/Speech facilities
With the recent development of new sound technologies, speech facilities
within a website can now be made available professionally and for relatively low
cost. This opens up the opportunity to record a series of interviews,
speeches or other oral reports which can be made available to visitors.
Generally, users of websites are looking for snappy, quick information,
for which sound is entirely inappropriate. However, there are some
applications for which sound is invaluable. Examples include facilities
for the blind and technical explanations that can be delivered more
effectively by speech than in writing.
Back to contents
|
|
|