Skysa – A Free & Smart Toolbar For Websites
A website toolbar is something that can beautify or uglify web pages depending on the solution used and how it is configured.
In order to improve the visibility of several things on WRD, last month, I have integrated, Skysa, a free-to-use (with paid plans) toolbar that can sit either in the header or footer of websites (check the footer>left of this page) and provides many features in a tiny space.
Skysa is loaded with many applications for social buttons, translating pages, content aggregating, announcements, polls, chat, games and more.
As the toolbar is highly-customizable, I have placed social buttons with the order I preferred, so readers would easily tweet, like or +1 WRD (and, it worked as expected, the amount of such social activities were much higher than the previous months).
And, with a minimalistic approach, only activated the social widgets, translate, "who is on" and scroll-to-top apps. Simply, the ones that will ease the way readers browse and use WRD.
The translate app is great, it remembers the choice of the reader and auto-translates any other pages that readers would visit. So as the "who is online". Besides an "online readers count", it displays them on a world map.
It is possible to track the usage on each application, how many times they are clicked, etc. and, from the statistics, I can easily tell that "they were actively used".
Skysa has an application gallery where you can browse, choose and activate quickly. Every app has its own customization options.
If you have a membership-based website, the app can integrate into that as well and use the profile info (name, photo, etc.) when needed.
For paid plans, it enables you to create custom applications, manage multiple toolbars and place ads inside it.
Also, worth mentioning, the color of everything inside the toolbar can be completely customized so that it will fit perfectly into any website.
Conclusion
The most exciting thing about a toolbar is its ability to "always staying inside the viewport". During this 1 month, Skysa proved me that it can help me use that space efficiently and it is a stable platform.
There is definitely a lot of room for improvement, new apps, more positioning options, etc. but Skysa is very solid at what it does. No problems faced during that month.
I can keep using the toolbar or not, but, if you in search of such a solution, I definitely suggest giving the application a try.
Special Downloads:
Ajaxed Add-To-Basket Scenarios With jQuery And PHP
Free Admin Template For Web Applications
jQuery Dynamic Drag’n Drop
ScheduledTweets
Advertisements:
Professional XHTML Admin Template ($15 Discount With The Code: WRD.)
Psd to Xhtml
SSLmatic – Cheap SSL Certificates (from $19.99/year)