Widget Builder vs In-House Development. Pros and Cons For Your Business

Most modern companies actively use widgets on their websites for various purposes: collecting a contact base, informing customers, collecting feedback, etc.

At the same time, the way widgets are displayed and the results of using these tools differ for all companies. We know for sure that CEOs and marketers have a question: should they use the widget builder, or is it better to choose the development of popups from scratch? We spoke with Nikita Korchevsky, CEO of Claspo, an online widget builder for marketing and business, about the pros and cons of using widgets.

— Nikita, we congratulate you because today, Claspo is taking a new step in its development and launching on Product Hunt! We support you with the team and encourage our readers to vote.

— Thank you! We've been working hard to improve the product, so today is a really important day for us. We are waiting for everyone on Product Hunt and give a promo code for a free month of use so that anyone can test the entire functionality of the widget builder. Support us and share your feedback in the comments on Product Hunt!

— Tell us, how can widgets be useful for business?

Widgets help solve many marketing problems, but let’s focus on a few of them.
The first and, perhaps, the most important thing is to draw the attention of site visitors to really important information. After all, only a small percentage of users will carefully study your website. Most will simply ignore some of the content. So, using the widget, you can, for example, talk about the current promo or offer a discount on a purchase.

Secondly, widgets have quite accurate targeting. You can choose to whom, when, and what to show. This allows a marketer or entrepreneur to work with each audience segment separately, increasing the conversion from a lead to a client. You can also promote exactly those products or services in the plan.

— Let's talk in more detail about the pros and cons of services. You became the SEO of the widget builder, so you believe that this is the future of business. What advantages do you see in this approach?

— You're right, I believe that the future lies in simple solutions that take hours, not weeks, from idea to implementation. When I worked in Promodo's Retention Marketing department, my team and I solved hundreds of business tasks for clients using widgets, so I really have experience in their development both with programmers and with designers.

If we talk about the advantages of the latter, then the most important thing is the lack of development. The widget builder has an intuitive interface, so even a junior marketer can easily learn and interact with it daily. Using simple tools saves the marketer time and the company money.

Designers usually have a large library of ready-made widget templates, which simplifies a marketer's life and allows them not to involve designers.

Another argument in favor of the designer is the ability to make changes to the widget quickly, turn it on/off, and A/B testing. In this way, the designer eliminates limitations and frees up time for solving business tasks.

— Does a designer have any disadvantages?

— Yes, of course, but in my opinion, only two exist. The first is a monthly payment for using the service. At the same time, you can purchase a one-time annual subscription or set up automatic debiting from the card. Well, the second is the time to master the service. Compared to development, it is quick. But still, you need time.

— Okay, we have dealt with the capabilities of widget designers. Have there never been situations in your practice when there was a need for your own development?

— From my experience, the builders' functionality mostly covers all business needs. With a subscription for $100/year, the client receives many widgets in the library and analytics and integration tools. At the same time, in-house development of one widget will cost from $200 depending on business needs and complexity.

But, of course, it will be fair to admit that when the client's tasks were quite specific and the builder could not fully satisfy them, we resorted to development.

— So, the main argument for using development is very non-standard widget use cases?

— Exactly. Development has two main advantages: unlimited functionality that can be implemented by the developer and a one-time payment. But, there are many more disadvantages. We faced long development where you wait a week for the widget and then another week for the edits to be made. It is also important to consider that when choosing a development, you need to install additional systems for tracking the main indicators of analytics, which also wastes the marketer's time and the entrepreneur's money.

In general, in-house development is always not cheap because the price includes the work of a designer, programmer, marketer, and/or analyst. And making any changes or testing takes you back to the very beginning of the process, and everything starts from scratch. Discussion, agreement, implementation, editing... And time is running out.

— Tell us more about Claspo. What functionality do you offer?

— I consider the main advantages of our product to be the drag-and-drop editor, built-in analytics, and broad targeting. For example, widgets can be displayed based on the user's geolocation or device type. We also already have a large library of widget templates, and we add new designs every month.

To summarize, Claspo can solve a range of issues for you:

1. Conversion of visitors into leads: You provide visitors with relevant offers to convert them into your customers.
2. Increase in sales: You can use different types of widgets and test the display logic to achieve better results.
   
3. Optimizing the customer journey: Manage and fine-tune your customer journey by showing them the most converting widgets and redirecting traffic to the pages you need.
   
4. Communication with customers: Using widgets feedback, the business interacts with customers and can measure and improve loyalty.
   

Also, especially before the launch of Product Hunt, the Claspo team has developed bright widgets that attract the attention of platform users to new projects and emphasize the uniqueness of the product!

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