For many business owners, building and maintaining a website is an ongoing process with a steep learning curve. You want to provide your visitors with a simple, user-friendly experience that keeps them on-site long enough to convert. And that’s much easier said than done.
Fortunately, there are ways to improve your website’s functionality and usability. One fantastic way is to take advantage of the latest website widgets.
In this post, we’ll share seven of the best available — but first, let’s clarify what a website widget actually is.
What is a website widget?
Simply put, a widget is a small component implemented into a page or site to enhance its functionality.
Less-simply put, a widget is a self-contained block of code developers or designers can add to a site without taking the time to adjust any of its essential features. They usually appear on users’ screens as buttons or icons.
For example, those Facebook or Twitter buttons you see at the top or bottom of online articles are widgets. They offer a simple way to share a post with your friends or followers, instead of copying and pasting the URL manually.
Other widgets allow you to reach out to customer support at the tap of a button or view a weather forecast in a specific location.
Implementing the right website widget can boost your website’s functionality and create a better user experience overall.
They can also provide you with valuable data related to your users/customers, to help you understand them better and, crucially, create a better website.
Improve your site with our top 7 website widget recommendations
So, now we know what a website widget is. But which are worth your time?
Saber Feedback
Saber Feedback is a visual feedback tool for gathering information from your users directly. They don’t need to leave the page they’re browsing. They don’t need to send you an email or try to make sense of your ticketing system.
They can share their experience of your site at the touch of an on-screen button. Screenshots and text can be included. It’s a terrific solution for learning which features or functions need attention.
Customers are typically the first to stumble upon technical issues, so Saber Feedback makes it easy for them to make your team aware as soon as possible.
And Net Promoter Score tracking, star ratings, and emoji ratings all offer invaluable audience insights on specific pages.
Reservio
Booking appointments is a fundamental stage in the customer journey for so many businesses: restaurants, beauty salons, opticians, cafes, spas, banks, and more.
And customers want to schedule appointments in the quickest, simplest, most convenient way possible.
Reservio eliminates the need to call or send an email: this online booking widget lets your visitors choose the best slot for them without leaving your site.
Reservio can sync with your favourite calendar, such as Google Calendar or Outlook. It also helps you identify the most popular slots, and you might choose to increase staff during these times to accommodate more customers (if viable).
Survio
Inviting your users/customers to complete surveys is a simple way to learn more about their buying habits, preferences, dislikes, interests, and more. The better you know your audience, the better you can target them.
This website widget enables you to create surveys within minutes and integrate them into your site. It’s ideal for learning more about customers, employees, and target markets.
You can choose from hundreds of templates, with surveys focusing on such varied areas as buying experience, team building, hotel guests, and more. Take advantage of real-time results analysis, mobile-ready surveys, and charts exporting for in-depth analysis.
Elfsight Age Verification
If your website provides products or services suitable for adults only (such as alcohol or video games), proper age verification is critical.
The Elfsight Age Verification website widget is designed to verify a user’s age and provide access only when they have confirmed their age.
This widget helps you comply with regulations. It’s also convenient: it will remember visitors for a set period to prevent frustrating repeat verification requests.
You can also restrict entry to certain pages only instead of blocking the whole site. Elfsight Age Verification will help you learn more about your visitors’ age, and determine if any further steps need to be taken to restrict content/products/services.
MailChimp Signup Form
MailChimp is one of the biggest email marketing platforms in the world, and the MailChimp Signup Form widget is a simple way to embed a form on any page of your site. You can use this to encourage new registrations for:
- Generating leads
- Increasing brand awareness
- Cultivating stronger customer relationships
You can choose from four form types, including Classic and Unstyled. Customisation is available for bespoke titles, form fields, and more.
Collect email addresses and grow your newsletter/communications list with this easy-to-integrate widget.
Disqus
The Disqus website widget is a great addition to any website if you publish blog posts and want to encourage more discussions. Your visitors will be able to voice their opinions, offer feedback on content, suggest future topics, and engage with each other.
This can help you to build or, indeed, grow your community.
Integrating this widget into the site adds functionality to your comments, helps you monitor comments, and allows you to respond to users with ease.
Swiftype
Ever spent more time than you’d care to admit scouring a website to find a specific product or topic?
It’s infuriating, right?
Well, Swiftype is here to help you make your website more user-friendly than ever. This is a search bar website widget that indexes all of your content after you enter your site’s address.
Swiftype will take this information and basically build a search engine dedicated to your website only. Users can enter almost any term and Swiftype will help them find related products/content, if available.
Each of these website widgets can boost your business’s site, help you learn more about your visitors/customers, and empower you with the tools to improve your user experience overall.
Try Saber Feedback on your website for FREE with our 30-day trial now!