Most software solutions for the Internet come as standard packages but you can normally pay more to get a 'Premium' version with more features. It is also common for vendors to offer plugins or 'extensions' for their products. These tend to be modules that offer enhanced or niche functionality to improve the software further. Extensions can be developed by the vendor themselves or third party companies that work closely with the software solution. The best place to look for these plug-ins is the vendors website.
There are also a number of plug-in features that are not related to specific ecommerce software that you may want to include on your website. Below are some examples of the features that are commonly available:
- Maps
There are a fair number of mapping solutions available. Locations can be found using grid references, place name, street name and post code. Some of the mapping systems will also plot routes between two locations. You can also display maps with varying degrees of detail.
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/getamap/
www.streetmap.co.uk/
www.mapquest.co.uk/
www.multimap.co.uk/ - Weather
Weather conditions in your area could be important to the product or services you deliver – Hotels, Activity Centres are examples.
www.weather.co.uk/
www.bbc.co.uk/weather/ - Currency Converters
Having the ability for easy display of pricing in varying currencies can be of great importance, especially if you are thinking of expansion into any foreign market. So instead of publishing multiple prices yourself and worrying about keeping your site up to date, then you can just link into a currency converter, which are constantly updated with changes in exchange rates.
www.xe.com/
www.oanda.com/ - Message Boards
Message boards or forums can be used to encourage interaction with customers. They can be used as an integral part of your business process or just as an addition to your site.
www.vbulletin.com
www.phpbb.com
www.ezboard.com
www.wowbb.com - Surveys
If you need to survey your customer base, perhaps as part of improving your website and customer service, there are tools that will help you.
www.surveymonkey.com/
