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How-to

– 9 min read –

November 5, 2019

How to determine the site functionality and find the appropriate modules

On the website, you need to place functional modules that contribute to convenient and longer use of the project. You can find suitable modules for the site by looking at competitors' sites.

What functional modules are used on sites

Site functional modules work for various purposes. They increase usability and conversion, provide communication with customers. Some extensions are universal and can be used in any subject.

Examples of universal functional modules:

page up passage and page navigation;
photo gallery;
feedback form;
site news subscription form.

Examples of modules for online stores:

one-click ordering;
basket;
calculator;
callback form;
filters of goods according to certain criteria (fabricator, characteristics, etc.);
online consultant.

Examples of modules for entertainment portals and blogs:

exchange rate widget. Moreover, business portals display stock and cryptocurrency quotes;
weather forecast widget;
polls of visitors.

Examples of modules for sites in the services sector, and tourism:

room reservation form;
online reservation of a table in a restaurant;
service registration form.

How to find functional modules on competitors' resources

When creating a new project or optimizing an existing one, an important part of the work is the analysis of the most popular competitors. This is also necessary when searching for suitable functional modules.

You can identify the sites that you need to explore with the help of Serpstat. To do this, go to the module "Domain Analysis" — "SEO Research" — "Competitors" and enter the domain of your site:

You get a list of all competitors for further analysis and compilation of a list of functional modules. Next, analyze the leaders of the issuance and find common modules for all.

Callback order form:

Online booking form:

Discount widget:

Location on the map:

Newsletter subscription form:

Photo gallery with examples of works:

Thus, it's optimal to add 4-6 listed functional modules for the site of the service salon. Almost all of these modules are universal and can be used on different commercial sites with appropriate adaptation to the field of activity.

Universal functional modules

Page up passage

Navigation modules facilitate the convenient use of a site of any subject, allowing you to quickly go to the top of the page when you click on the appropriate button:

Navigation modules for popular CMS:

WordPress — WPFront Scroll Top;
OpenCart — YokoArt Scroll To Top;
Drupal — Animated scroll to top.

Photo gallery

The photo gallery is a necessary element of any project. It allows you to demonstrate a variety of visual content: both products on commercial sites, and dishes from the restaurant menu, hotel rooms, interior design, events, teamwork, and much more:

Thanks to high-quality photographs, users spend more time on the site, behavioral factors improve, and traffic increases due to the audience searching through the pictures.

Photo galleries for popular CMS:

WordPress — Photo Gallery by 10Web;
Joomla — Phoca Gallery Component;
Drupal — Lightgallery.

Feedback form

The feedback form is important for any commercial site; it's also desirable on blogs and portals. The form should be easy to access from anywhere on the site. It shouldn't have a large number of fields to fill in. It's enough to use two or three:

Feedback forms for popular CMS:

WordPress — Contact Form by WPForms;
Joomla — Simple Contact Form module for Joomla;
Drupal — Elfsight Contact Form Module.

Search on the site

Site search also refers to the necessary functionality, regardless of the project subject:

Advanced Search Modules for Popular CMS:

WordPress — Relevanssi;
Joomla — RokAjaxSearch;
Drupal — Search API.

Newsletter subscription

Subscribing to news allows you to familiarize customers with new articles, promotions, and special offers via email, which contributes to the return of visitors to the site:

News subscription modules for popular CMS:

WordPress — UniSender Integration;
Drupal — Total Subscription.

Modules for online stores

Modules in online stores are designed to improve the site usability, quickly connect customers with store representatives, and increase conversions.

Quick order

Often the standard ordering procedure in the CMS is quite lengthy and involves filling in many fields. This can scare off customers and make them choose competitor sites. Therefore, it's advisable to install a module that allows you to buy in one click: WordPress and other CMS offer ready-made solutions for this:

Quick order modules for popular CMS:

WordPress — WooCommerce Quick Order;
Joomla — Multi Product Express Order Form for Joomshopping;
Drupal — Commerce Buy One Click.

Basket

A basket is an obligatory element of every online store, and it can also be used on the websites of restaurants offering home delivery, private clinics, beauty salons, and other commercial resources:

Content management systems have built-in solutions with a basket. However, additional modules allow you to use various useful functions. For example, a reminder to customers about abandoned baskets and orders that weren't placed.

Modules to add a basket to the site for popular CMS:

WordPress — Cart66 Cloud;
Joomla — Ajax Dropdown Cart for Virtuemart;
Drupal — Basic Cart.

Calculator

Many commercial and information resources use calculators that allow users to calculate specific values:

Calculator modules for popular CMS:

WordPress — uCalc;
Drupal — Simple Calculator.

Callback order

Callback widget is a relevant module for all commercial sites, allowing visitors to leave their contact details so that company representatives can contact them:

Callback modules for popular CMS:

WordPress — Callback;
OpenCart — OpenCart callback + feedback module;
Joomla — Callback Module.

Product filters

Filtering is needed to facilitate the search for products in online stores according to certain criteria such as size, fabricator, color, material, etc. Also, filter modules allow you to create landing pages for low-frequency user requests, for example, "Nike tracksuits" or "cotton print t-shirts":

Filter modules for popular CMS:

WordPress — WooCommerce Product Filters;
Joomla — Custom Filters Pro;
Drupal — Better Exposed Filters.

Wish list

Wish lists help increase conversions on commercial sites: users can be notified of a reduction in the price of their favorite products, give them the opportunity to send the wishlist to friends and implement other functions:

Wishlist modules for popular CMS:

WordPress — TI WooCommerce Wishlist;
Joomla — Wishlists for Virtuemart;

Online chat

Online chat allows you to quickly get advice on goods, delivery, payment, etc. Thanks to an online consultant that provides complete information on the nuances of interest to the client and works with his objections, the sales volume increases:

Online chat modules for popular CMS:

Joomla — onWebChat;
Drupal — LiveChat.

Modules for infotainment portals and blogs

Visitor survey module

You can conduct online surveys on topics of interest to visitors, then displaying the results:

You can add such functionality to the site using the survey service, for example, Poll Maker:

Modules for service sites

Booking module

Booking tickets, a table in a restaurant or a hotel room should allow visitors to choose the necessary options, indicate their contact details, the desired date or time of reservation:

Booking modules for popular CMS:

WordPress — Booking;
OpenCart — Opencart Booking and Reservation System;
Joomla — JMultipleHotelReservation;
Drupal — Easy booking.

Service registration form

On the sites of beauty salons, fitness centers, private clinics, and other organizations providing services, it is convenient to use online recording:

Service registration modules for popular CMS:

WordPress — Book appointment online;
Drupal — Availability Calendars.

Conclusion

The use of suitable modules and plugins allows you to significantly expand the initial capabilities of the project, adding new functionality that solves tasks that are relevant for visitors. You can divide functional modules into the following categories:

universal;
commercial;
informational;
communicative.

You can select all the modules necessary for your niche and project by analyzing the competitors' sites that occupy the first places in search results.

This article is a part of Serpstat's Checklist tool

Checklist is a ready-to-do list that helps to keep reporting of the work progress on a specific project. The tool contains templates with an extensive list of project development parameters where you can also add your own items and plans.

Try Checklist now

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