After securing $25 million in new funding, Duda recently announced the addition of an app store feature for its website building platform. The feature will allow site builders to easily integrate other web apps easily and seamlessly into their own creations.
Customers can now expect company websites to offer rich experiences. However, most small to medium businesses (SMEs) often can’t dedicate large budgets needed to introduce complex functionalities into their own digital channels.
The average SME only spends $10,000 to $49,000 a year on technology. They even rely on design agencies for web design and management.
Fortunately, web design platforms such as Duda aim to solve this problem by enabling design agencies to quickly build fully functional websites at scale for their SME clients. With the addition of the new feature, agencies can even deploy more complex functionalities to their clients’ websites.
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Extensibility matters but it can be challenging
For websites to be of any real value in today’s landscape, they should function as integral parts of business activities. Companies should be able to extend their website’s functionalities and even integrate them with the other apps that they already use across their workflows.
Websites play a critical role in awareness and discovery. However, sites can’t simply function like digital business cards bearing the company name and contact details. Companies can grow their sites organically but this can take time and effort. A way to boost their visibility is by integrating marketing tools that allow sites to reach wider audiences quickly.
As a customer-facing channel, websites must integrate with customer relationship management (CRM) systems. CRMs can help businesses gather prospect information, nurture leads, and build positive relationships with clients. However, without a bridge between the site and the CRM, a company may very well be missing out on promising leads.
Unfortunately, extending website features and functionalities through custom development and app integrations are often technically demanding efforts. Even seasoned developers can take much time and effort to learn how to properly tap third-party application programming interface (APIs) to create seamless and secure integrations between apps.
Enter Duda’s App Store
Duda has made it easy for users to enable these various capabilities through the App Store. All users have to do is to purchase their chosen apps, and they will automatically be enabled and integrated with the sites that they’re building.
Currently, Duda’s app store features four apps but looks to add more top SaaS apps that deliver key functionalities for SMEs.
CRM platform vCita allows businesses to launch email and SMS campaigns to generate new customers. It also helps SMEs manage client appointments to establish and maintain meaningful customer relationships.
Uberall is a location marketing tool that helps SMEs achieve high search rankings and optimise their visibility locally to increase foot traffic in their physical stores.
Neustar Localeze is a location management tool that enables SMEs to manage and timely update their location data in all the major local databases and directories to help potential customers find their listings online.
Digital accessibility platform AudioEye leverages machine learning to automatically evaluate websites and make remediations to achieve ADA-compliance.
“We know that our agency and SaaS partners are always looking to increase sales and the stickiness of their service, and there is no better way to do that than by offering additional technology products that enhance a small business’s online presence. Our new App Store enables them to do just that with high quality, secure apps seamlessly integrated with Duda websites,” says Duda CEO, Itai Sadan.
Levelling the playing field
Site builders like Duda allow design agencies to give SMEs the chance to compete with bigger enterprises in the market. The addition of their App Store is a welcome development since they allow SMEs to readily integrate powerful tools to manage and grow their businesses. Duda looks to help their users grow their online presence through its platform. By enabling site owners and design agencies to deploy more complex functionalities, the company also helps create richer experiences for end users to enjoy.
