What Is Web Conferencing

What Is Web Conferencing

Web Conferencing is an internet-based tool that empowers individuals and businesses to conduct virtual meetings, put on presentations, hold training sessions, etc.

2020 has witnessed tremendous growth in online meeting tools. Businesses across the world, regardless of their size, have been adopting web and video conferencing solutions to adapt to the increasingly remote working workforce. According to a poll of over 2,000 business software users conducted by TrustRadius, 67% of companies are increasingly investing in video conferencing software.

Web Conferencing Growth

Web conferencing, as an easier way to hold live meetings, is welcomed by the agile workforce worldwide. The blog will walk you through everything about web conferencing and help you make an informed purchase decision.

Web Conferencing vs. Video Conferencing

One of the key differences between web-based and other video conferencing solutions is the resources required. Requiring dedicated equipment, some video conferencing solutions can mean a significant amount of upfront investments, while web conferencing is more accessible for employees working outside the office.

For example, when you and several other colleagues together have a meeting with a client, it is usually carried out through a large screen in the conference room. This requires a webcam or other dedicated video conferencing equipment.

In comparison, even without downloading anything, you can attend a web meeting through the web browser with an internet connection. It’s more flexible to hold web conferences with multiple participants located in different places. In many cases, web conferencing is as simple as sharing a link and meeting ID with the desired participants. Further, web conferencing software will generally include the features you would enjoy with traditional video conferencing software.

Web Conferencing Vs Video Conferencing

How Web Conferencing Works

Web conferencing is based on WebRTC, an open-source technology that enables web browsers with Real-Time Communications (RTC) capabilities via simple application programming interfaces (APIs). It is normally supported by major browsers, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, etc. Users can enjoy high-quality voice and video communication during the conference.

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Unified communications is the integration of a variety of communications services across an enterprise, and the management of those. Video conferencing, VoIP, mobility, instant messaging, presence, directory services are all part of a complete UC solution. With all of these technologies working together, users enjoy a more seamless experience no matter where they are and which device they use to connect.

Key Features of Web Conferencing Tools

Key Features Of Web Conferencing Tools

HD Audio & Video

Audio and video quality are both fundamental and of the utmost importance to web conferencing tools. Whether participants can see and hear one another in full HD significantly affects efficiency and user experience. A reliable web conferencing platform often comes with auto-mute capabilities, noise cancellation, and other features to improve overall sound quality. These features make the experience much more user friendly for web conference participants as well.

Screen Sharing

During a web conference, presenters may need to show graphs, charts, and other visual information simultaneously. Many web conferencing services allow for several screen sharing options, such as desktop, specific applications, and browser tabs. This web conferencing software feature is especially helpful for interactive live demonstrations to your team members and customers.

Team Chat

Team chat is one of the most-used features during online meetings. It allows real-time, text-only conversations among participants. You will find it extremely helpful when trying to raise up a question or exchange information with others without interrupting the flow of the meeting. This web conferencing feature ensures other means of conversation remain between participants besides audio and video.

Whiteboard

On an interactive whiteboard, you can write, draw, and otherwise illustrate your ideas and show to everyone in real-time, while participants can also make annotations from their screen. Some web conferencing platforms allow users to download drawings and graphs from the whiteboard for future reference.

File Sharing

During an online meeting, you may need to send files of different formats to others at some points; they could be PDF, word documents, presentations, or spreadsheets. Real-time file sharing is a web conferencing software option that ensures a smoother conference and collaboration process, avoiding back and forth email communications for participants.

How Businesses Can Benefit from Web Conferencing

Top Web Conferencing Benefits

Web conferencing provides a strong competitive edge for today’s businesses. You may find it particularly helpful when:

Connecting Remote Working

Today’s agile workforce embraces a smarter way to working from anywhere. Empower remote workers to communicate face-to-face with in-office employees and customers around the globe not only bring them closer together but also save a lot on travel expenses. Web conferences help break down physical barriers among geographically dispersed employees by providing virtual space for them to meet and collaborate.

Boosting Team Collaboration

Video conferencing is crucial to many businesses’ collaboration strategies. A virtual meeting room not only helps your team facilitate human connections from anywhere but also get everyone on the same page, enables brainstorming, develop a strong sense of purpose. For businesses that encourage teamwork, a web conference provides a short-cut to achieve faster actions and decision-making.

Enhancing Customer Relationships

Every successful business relies on building strong relationships with customers, vendors, and other associates. No matter where your customers are located, it is easy to start a web conference with them and meet face-to-face immediately, makeing sure they get their questions answered and issues addressed. Video conferences bring a sense of trust not possible with other means of communication.

What to Look for in a Web Conferencing Platform?

What To Look For In A Web Conferencing Platform?

There is a list of free consumer-grade web conferencing tools and business-grade solutions at your choice. Be sure to look for the following as you seek out the perfect fit for your team.

Capabilities

You may find yourself overwhelmed by all those fancy features. Bear in mind that the most important thing is to determine your essential meeting needs. Then look at both the must-have and nice-to-have features to find out a solution the best matches your requirements.

How many participants are supported? What about the conference duration? Can you initiate an impromptu or scheduled meeting? Can you access any collaboration features? Consider what the typical web conference will look like for your team. Remember that web conferencing software is intended to be a tool to improve collaboration and customer service.

Security

Nobody wants to unintentionally leak company secrets through their web conferencing sessions. Your web conferencing solution must have robust security for everyone’s peace of mind. As video meetings evolving into a business-critical function, enterprise-grade reliability and security have become essential considerations that must be taken into account.

Easy to Use

If your web conferencing software is clunky and difficult to navigate, users will revert to other methods. It is not enough to make it easy to set up and conduct a web conferencing session, so should configure audio and video settings. To appeal to a wide range of users, remember that simple is best. They shouldn’t have to install multiple plug-ins or dig into their device settings, just to use the web conferencing software.

Integrate Solution

Separate communication solutions somehow complicate communication and collaboration because employees need to switch between platforms, which reduces productivity. By deploying a consolidated system, such as a unified communications solution, your teams are able to make calls, hold live meetings, and get more done through a single interface.

Yeastar Web-based Video Conferencing Solution

If you are an SME in need of a lightweight solution, Yeastar’s web-based video conferencing solution should be on your shortlist.

Do you have employees working outside the office? This web conferencing tool accommodates multiple on-site and remote participants. Is security one of the top priorities? Sessions can be password protected and it is GDPR-compliant. What about other features to promote collaboration? Enjoy screen sharing and team chat, and more features such as whiteboard and file sharing are one the way.

All the above are accessible through the browser. There is no need to install any dedicated video conferencing software or plugin to hold online meetings. Participants can easily connect via the internet to take part.

Imagine planning an impromptu web conference with co-workers. Now imagine holding an in-depth presentation for potential customers around the world. Yeastar offers a solution that allows you to do both without going through a complex setup and configuration process.

This is an ideal web conferencing solution for growing SMEs also because it is an integrated part of our P-Series PBX System which converges voice, video, applications, collaboration, and more. Besides video conferencing, you will reap the benefits of comprehensive unified communications solutions.

Interested in have a closer look? Schedule a personalized live demo now!

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User Login

Instantaneously receive user login credentials via email once the extension has been deployed by the adminstrator.

Log in conveniently via any web browser for access to the user portal.

Integrations

Integrate various CRM software for better customer service and satisfaction.

Enable transcription of audio messages into text with integration of third-party transcription service.

Enable API for integration with various third-party integrations for advanced performance such as call center and hotel reception services.

System

Provision email SMTP and template settings for event notifications to be sent out.

Manage storage allocation and duration of various types of data being stored on the PBX.

Determine the types of event notifications to be sent out, and the parties receiving them.

IVR

Add various audio voice prompts to be played according to different call scenarios.

Add voice prompts on multiple levels for more effecient and precise inbound call routing.

Voicemail

Customize default voicemail settings for each user extension.

Add various voicemail messages for allocation to different call scenarios and users.

Provision specific rules to how voicemail messages are played over the PBX system for better caller experience.

Reports and CDR

All call log activities are stored, with the option of having audio conversations recorded by default or for specific extensions.

Use intuitive visual call reports, to check various call statistics over extensions, trunks, queues, ring groups, and more.

Call reports can be viewed and downloaded directly from the PBX, or scheduled to be sent via email to respective parties.

Security

Restrict a general group or specific IP addresses to prevent unauthorized access to your PBX.

Limit the number of otbound calls users are allowed to make within a time period to protect against toll fraud.

Restrict certain country codes for outbound calls either company-wide or on certain extensions.

User Login

Determine extension ranges for different functions.

Define use of different voice prompts depending on call scenarios or intended function.

Provision basic and advanced SIP settings to be used on the PBX.

Recordings

Record all calls made on specified trunks, including inbound and outbound calls.

Recordings

Record all calls made on specified extensions, conferences, or call queues.

Paging and Intercom

Create different types of paging and intercom broadcast groups for selected extensions.

Set a time schedule to automatically start your broadcast.

Maintenance

Check for and download firmware upgrades to ensure that your PBX is always up-to-date.

Perform back-ups to prevent data and settings from getting lost.

Perform troubleshooting on your own to debug.

Conference

Pre-set conference settings and dial-in passwords for security, and allow internal users to send conference invites to external parties.

Speed Dial

Create multiple speed dial numbers to respective external numbers frequently used for outgoing calls.

Speed dial is activated when the set prefix (default or customized) is dialed.

Ring Group

Create multiple ring groups and determine custom ring strategies and failover settings for each.

Call Queue

Create different call queues with specific ring strategies and failover settings.

Static agents permanently answer calls in queue, while dynamic agents can log in and out. Allocate different extensions to each group.

Determine what actions are to be allowed for Mangers or Agents to manage on the Queue Panel.

Call Control

Have calls received on specific SIP trunks routed to designated extensions or destinations within the PBX.

Set-up dial patterns so that outbound calls are routed to their intended destinations.

Determine how calls are routed and received at different times of a day.

Contacts

Store, retrieve, and share company contact details easily on your PBX.

Organize company contacts into dedicated phonebooks and determine accessibility rights to extension groups for each.

Bulk import a list of contacts instead of having to key details in individually.

Role and Client Permission

Pre-defined user roles within the PBX are conveniently available for allocation, or create your own set of permissions.

Restrict users from viewing specific extensions, departments, or extension groups with Extension Visibility.

Allow or resrict specific users from managing or viewing certain company contacts

Auto Provision

Pre-defined setting parameters specific to respective IP phone models are conveniently available for easy set-up.

IP Phones can be quickly provisioned to your Yeastar PBX with just the pre-defined template and device MAC address.

Trunks

Register multiple SIP trunks on a single PBX as needed.

Different types of trunks can be created, Caller ID can be customized.

Extensions

View, deploy, add, and remove user extensions within your PBX system.

Configure default call and user settings for individual extensions.

Customize allocation of user extensions to specific ring groups.

Portal Login Page

Receive your administrator log-in credentials and set-up guide via email.

Log-in on any web-browser to get started with PBX set-up.

Installation Wizard will guide you through basic configurations.

User Login

Access all company contacts made available to you by the administrator.

Create your own personal contacts list for easy reference and dialing.

Bulk import contact details for convenient data entry.

User Login

Access and manage user settings for softphone application and voicemail.

Manage call routing and presence status for your individual extension.

Retrieve or download your personal call logs and recordings.

User Login

Receive your log-in credentials and set-up guide via email, sent by your admin.

Log-in on any web-browser to get started with PBX set-up.

Configure contacts and personal settings from the web portal.

Auto Provision

Add, remove, or modify IP phone settings from your web interface.

Upgrade IP phone firmware conveniently from your PBX.

Upload various default setting parameters specific to respective IP phone models for greater convenience during set-up.

Contacts

Store, retrieve, and share company contact details easily on your PBX.

Have detailed contact information for your vendors and clients conveniently stored .

Bulk add a list of contacts instead of having to key details in individually.

PBX Monitor

Monitor the status extensions, whether they aren idle, in use, or unavailable.

Know whether your SIP Trunk running properly, or experiencing problems.

Monitor the number of call conferences currently running on your PBX, and their individual durations.

Maintenance

Check for and download firmware upgrades to ensure that your PBX is always up-to-date.

Perform back-ups to prevent data and settings from getting lost.

Perform troubleshooting on your own to debug.

Call Detailed Report

All call log activities are stored, with the option of having audio conversations recorded by default or for specific extensions.

Filter by date, time, or extension number to retrieve specific call logs or recordings

Playback call recordings directly from the PBX or download to store externally.

Event Center

Determine what events and logs are to be recorded and/or have notifications sent.

Specify particular notifications to be sent to respective authorized personnel.

User Permission

Set up vaious groups of users for allocation to certain sets of access rules.

Determine what features a certain group of extensions can or cannot access.

Determine if users can access, play-back, or download call logs and recordings from the pbx.

Security

Restrict a general group or specific IP addresses to prevent unauthorized access to your PBX.

Determine specific the range of SIP ports for connection between your PBX and endpoints.

Restrict country codes for outbound calls either company-wide or on certain extensions.

Voice Prompt

Upload and designate customised audio recordings at multiple levels of a call journey.

Upload recorded music to fill the silence that would be heard by callers on hold.

Upload customised voice prompts to create a professional call experience.

General

Customize general call preferences either company-wide or for individual extensions.

Set-up feature dial codes for convenient user navigation to specific call features.

Determine how voicemails are retrieved, and also upload custom voicemail recordings.

Call Features

Add multiple automated responses to be played at different phases of a call journey.

Designate specific extensions to ring concurrently based on an external caller's dial pattern.

Customize messages and waiting times to keep external callers engaged when put on hold.

Call Control

Have calls received on specific SIP trunks routed to designated extensions within the PBX.

Set-up dial patterns so that outbound calls are routed to their intended destinations.

Determine how calls are routed and received at different times of a day.

Trunks

Register multiple SIP trunks on a single PBX as needed.

Provision SIP trunk settings and dedicate them to particular extensions.

Bulk add DDIs on each SIP trunk, for allocation to an individual or groups of extensions.

Extensions

View, deploy, add, and remove user extensions within your PBX system.

Allocate and deploy specific extension numbers to respective users via email.

Set-up default ring and presence status settings for individual users.

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View cases created for a Deal in One View.

Deal One View

View cases created for a Deal in One View.

View cases created for a Deal in One View.

View cases created for a Deal in One View.

Deal One View

View cases created for a Deal in One View.

View cases created for a Deal in One View.

View cases created for a Deal in One View.