To run a successful business, you need to have the right tools. These business applications could help you drive your business to the next level.
Modern technology has changed the way we do business, but it’s the software you choose that can really drive growth. From the CMS you use to control your website to cloud-based storage solutions to host your files, getting the right software is crucial to managing costs and simplifying your workflows.
Because of the variety of business types on the market, there is a massive range of software tools that could help your business. While most businesses could benefit from accounting software for example, and many businesses require a VPN program to allow employees to securely access their server, some programs are designed to serve particular niches of a business’s strategy.
Every business has different needs, but we’ve pulled together a list of some of the software we use here at finder.com/nz to help us drive our comparisons further and faster.
What you should look for when choosing business software
Like all business expenses, the number one consideration when choosing software is the return on investment. While that can be a purely monetary figure, often it comes down to simplifying difficult tasks which enables staff to focus on growth opportunities instead of getting bogged down in menial tasks.
So if you need to optimise images for your website, for example, spending a small amount of money on a tool that automates that process could save you big dollars in the long run as your design team can focus on creating top-quality marketing material.
If you can, look for software that offers either a free trial period or a free plan tier that gives you access to the core of the software before you have to pay for more. That way you can try before you buy to make sure that the tool is the best solution for your business’s needs.
Compare business software
Create high-impact infographics with Infogram
Infogram is a web-based visual data representation platform that allows users of all skill levels to create charts, infographics and maps from their own data sets. Read more…
Lynda: Online courses taught by experts
Lynda.com offers more than 6,000 courses in creative skills, technology and business – taught by industry experts and accessible online from any device. Read more…
Skype for Business offers text, voice and video solutions
In addition to its free person-to-person international text, voice and video capabilities, Skype is now partnered with Microsoft Office 365 to streamline business communications. Read more…
Find freelancers on Fiverr
Find digitally-savvy freelancers to help grow your small business or startup from as little as $5 per job. Read more…
DeepCrawl makes technical SEO simple
DeepCrawl crawls your website to analyse your site architecture and help reveal technical issues that could be affecting your SEO performance. Read more…
SurveyMonkey: Send professional surveys
SurveyMOnkey combines fun, survey-making abilities with deep-drilling analytics, to power data gathering and parsing for clients large and small through a variety of tools. Read more…
Create professional video content with Wistia
Wistia allows businesses to bring video content to life with dedicated marketing and analytic tools to turn viewers into customers. Read more…
Optimise your website’s images with Kraken
Speed up your website’s load times and reduce the size of images while maintaining their quality with Kraken.io. Read more…
Collaborate anywhere with Zoom
Zoom offers cloud-based solutions for video conferences, webinars, training sessions and one-on-one meetings along with options for streamlined audio and cloud storage components. Read more…
Host and share files with Dropbox
Dropbox is a collaborative cloud-based storage application which allows you to upload, share and manipulate files from any device. You can use security parameters to share individual files or entire folders of data. Read more…
TextTrust: Spell check your entire site in just minutes
Using its own proprietary technology, TextTrust can check your website for spelling mistakes. Eliminate the chance of poor Google results and the loss of brand reputation from website visitors finding unprofessional errors. Read more…
Transform the way you collect data with Typeform
Typeform takes an innovative approach to collecting and sharing information with its engaging, interactive system for gathering user input and data. Read more…
Dive deep into web analytics with Clicky
Clicky delivers real-time web analytics to websites with an easy-to-use dashboard and lots of extra bells and whistles once you get the Pro plan. Read more…
Shutterstock: stock image library
Shutterstock offers millions of stock images, pieces of footage and music for purchase and use in your own projects, from individual to enterprise level. You'll also get access to a free online image editor. Read more…
Automate your business’s SEO with SheerSEO
SheerSEO offers mid-level to full-spectrum SEO packages for individual websites, businesses and SEO agencies and professionals. Its user-friendly interface features visual representations of most tracking elements. Read more…
SEMrush: Your all-in-one digital marketing toolkit
SEMrush uses a host of different tools to provide accurate online marketing pictures of companies and those companies’ competitors for practices including SEO, social media marketing, advertising and content and PR. Read more…
Create custom infographics with Piktochart
Piktochart uses pre-made templates and a large selection of visual elements to give customers with any level of design skills the power to make stunning infographics, presentations, posters, flyers and more. Read more…
Track every click with Crazy Egg
Crazy Egg provides user experience analytics that can help pinpoint what's causing customers to leave your website. Read more…