It goes without saying that a website is a powerful marketing tool used to inform, brand, and create a digital presence for your business. But did you know your website could be used to do so much more?
Today more than ever, there are many programs available to help manage your business’s tasks. With a moderately small investment, your website can collect information, process payments, schedule appointments, live chat, and more. By using functionality to broaden the role of a brochure–based website, you can not only make your business more efficient and profitable, but also elevate your overall customer experience.
Moreover, designing cool websites that are visually appealing and user-friendly can significantly enhance your online presence and brand reputation. In today’s fast-paced digital world, users tend to have a shorter attention span, and a poorly designed website can quickly turn them away. Hence, investing in a professional website design that incorporates modern design trends, intuitive navigation, and responsive design can keep your audience engaged and improve their overall experience on your website. Additionally, a visually striking website can help your business stand out in a crowded online marketplace and make a lasting impression on potential customers.
The recent launch of The Briarcliff Manor Education Foundation website is an excellent example of this functionality in practice. The BMEF is a non-for-profit that raises money to support teachers who are interested in educational opportunities that are not included in the yearly school budget. These initiatives are funded throughout the year by running fundraising drives and holding events. If you visit The BMEF website (thebmef.org) you will find that the tools chosen are fully integrated throughout the site.
Previously, accepting donations and Teacher Tributes were cumbersome tasks. It was a very involved process for the volunteers who had to manually sort, create, and deliver the recognition certificates themselves to each teacher.
The new system is fully automated, enabling donors to generate personalized ecards that are immediately emailed to the teacher(s). Not only was the ease of the checkout process significantly improved by processing transactions on-page, which led to an increased completed transaction rate, but also reports can be created to collect data.
Events are also a big part of the fundraising efforts. Now, tickets and raffles can be conveniently purchased online, generating an email receipt that includes a bar code to expedite check-in at the event. The attendee lists are easily available.
For the teachers, applying for grants is a very detailed process. In the past, the PDF application forms could only be downloaded, submissions were disjointed, and committee members did not have a centralized location to store this data.
To better organize and to encourage grant submissions, online forms were created. Additionally, applicants can now save their information as they progress and return at a later date to complete the application before submitting it. All the grants are stored in a shared drive, and emails are sent to the appropriate committee members upon receipt.
There is one last item. The organization was also migrated to the Google G-Suite for Business, giving this foundation more productivity tools and professional emails for all the volunteers. With more free time the volunteers are now able to focus more on fundraising efforts.
Just like The BMEF, by allowing your website to perform tasks that are taking you away from the focus of your business, you will see more revenue and less expenses. Today’s technology provides so many tools that will allow your website to work harder for you!
To see the BMEF case study video, visit www.digitalspacedesigns.com/work-harder.
Jennifer Klar is the owner of Digital Space Designs. To discuss how Digital Space Designs can help your business, please contact Jennifer at jennifer@digitalspacedesigns.com or visit www.digitalspacedesigns.com to learn more.
