Do or Die: The 6 Features Your Web Conferencing Tool Must Have

Web conferences should support collaboration, so you’ll want to be able to share your screen, for example. They also connect you with people outside your organization. You may want to be able to meet with clients overseas “face-to-face”. If that’s the case, the last thing you want is to have to deal with a spotty connection, or low quality video. Stream to win esteem, if you will!

Key Features of Web Conferencing Software

High-Quality Audio & Video

Audio and video quality is of the utmost importance to web conferencing software. Users want to feel like they’re having authentic face-to-face conversations with other participants, and quality video is a major component of that. A lag in video conferencing as well as blurry images and crackly audio is a sure-fire way to make any online meeting go south. Beyond the quality of your webcam or microphone, the software itself can feature tools that enhance the overall quality of your experience such as noise cancellation, auto-mute for non-speaking participants, and settings adjustments for users with low bandwidth.

Screen Sharing

Screen sharing allows users to display their screen with other meeting participants. As online meetings become more collaborative, this is a must-have feature for most buyers. Screen sharing must not only be high quality, but easy to toggle on and off as well. The option of having multiple participants sharing their screen at once is also gaining steam, but not every tool on the market offers this feature. If this is important to your team, be sure to confirm that your preferred tool has this feature before subscribing.

Multi-Device Support

People lead busy lives, so web conferencing software has evolved to keep up with the ever-changing ways in which employees engage with their work. Users want to be able to quickly and easily dial-in to meetings not only from their desktop computers, but from laptops, mobile phones, and tablets. Having web conference software with sophisticated mobile application features are a must for many companies. Additionally, for ease-of-use, mobile versions of web conferencing software should compliment the desktop versions and be as congruent as possible to ease implementation and access to meetings for guest users.

Easy-to-Use Interface

Ease of use is essential for online meetings to run without a hitch. Participants need to be able to easily—and quickly—join meetings whether they’re in an office or on the go. Not only that, but for hosts, setting up meetings and managing them must be a simple process as well. A well-designed user interface is key because it facilitates collaboration between participants and ensures that they are engaged. No one wants to spend several minutes figuring out where the “mute” button is or awkwardly fumbling to hang up a call.

Chat

Chat is now ubiquitous, from text messaging to private messages across social media platforms. Web conference participants also want to be able to communicate via text during online meetings. In-meeting chat features are designed not only for note-taking, but for quietly conveying information to the host and other participants without interrupting the flow of the meeting, especially during Q&A sessions. Chat features also allow participants to communicate before and after the meeting, and act as an additional means of collaboration.

Meeting Recording

The reality of online meetings is that not everyone can always participate. This is where meeting recordings come in handy. Recordings are not only useful for folks who couldn’t attend, but for attendees to use as a reference after the meeting. Ideally, users would have access to unlimited recording, but many web conferencing tools limit the amount of meetings than can be recorded and stored based on file size. Some vendors may limit the number of minutes in a meeting that can be recorded, or limit the available editing features. When searching for web conferencing software, buyers should be mindful of just how often they’d like to record meetings, and if they will need to make extensive edits.

Other important features

The features list doesn’t stop there. While the previous 6 features are what users identified as most important, you’ll also want to make sure your chosen software comes with high-quality security and encryption features. You might also want to consider if it integrates with your business phone system and other third-party collaboration software.

If you want to have some fun with your web conferences, you can look into augmented reality. If you work for a global organization, having access to 24/7 customer support will also be important. Lastly, depending on how large your organization is or the nature of your web conferences, you may want to determine if you’ll need a web conferencing tool that can also be upgraded to a webinar tool.

To really get a feel for what web conferencing tools are meeting users’ features expectations, read real customer reviews on TrustRadius. Professionals like you are the best source of information on specific use cases, benefits, and limitations of a software. So if you’ve found a web conferencing solution that’s the bee’s knees, please leave a review! Your feedback is just as valuable.