There’s almost no limit to what can be integrated with your site. LeadsNearby specializes in connecting your Field Service Management (FSM) software, but we can also integrate accounting software and much more.

7 Terms You Might Hear When Researching Integrations

This article will progress from basic knowledge to an advanced understanding of website integrations. Therefore, the first thing we want to do is make sure that you are familiar with some of the terms that will come up in this process.

Here’s an alphabetical list to help define and explain common integration terms:

API (Application Programming Interface): A set of rules that lets different computer programs talk to each other. Think of it like a waiter in a restaurant taking your order. The waiter is the API, the customer is one program, and the kitchen is another program.
Closed API: An API that is not available for everyone to use. Only certain people or companies can use it, usually because it’s kept private for security or business reasons. A closed API is a secret handshake that only a few people know.
Open API: This term can mean different things to different people. In general, it’s an API that’s available to the public. Any developer can access it and use it to make programs work together. It’s like an open invitation to a party where everyone is welcome.
Plugin: A small piece of software that adds features to a bigger program. It’s like a new app that adds a function to your phone.
Tags: Labels you can attach to a piece of data to help organize or describe it—making the information easier to find later. For example, tagging a photo with “beach” makes it easier to find all your beach photos later.
Webhook: Sends information to another tool in real time. Imagine getting a text message every time your favorite show has a new episode.
Zapier: A tool that helps different apps and software work together automatically. It’s helpful to people with limited programming knowledge. It’s like having a robot assistant that helps your different apps communicate and get things done for you.

Do All Website Integrations Work The Same Way?

Website integrations come in a wide spectrum of capabilities.

At the beginning of the spectrum, you have things like connecting your social media accounts to your website as buttons people can click.
On the advanced side, you have custom-built programming interfaces, known as APIs, that can get two completely different programs to communicate and share data as one.

Joe Garcia, Chief Technical Officer at LeadsNearby, cautions that you must ask follow-up questions when someone says they do integrations.

“Integrations can mean almost anything. Many companies use the word integrations as a sales pitch,” Joe says. “Unfortunately, once you sign on, you might find out that you’re actually the one that has to figure out how to make things work together.”

At LeadsNearby, we pride ourselves on our honest assessment of the capabilities we can provide for a client.

“When we take someone on, they don’t have to go it alone. That’s one of the reasons our integration capabilities are so celebrated by our clients.”

Integrations Are Just The Beginning

In this article, we covered general information on website integrations. You can read more advanced information on website integrations, including specifics of our integration capability by clicking on that link.

LeadsNearby’s technical capabilities are certainly not limited to the tools listed above, but they do give you an idea of what is possible in this exciting area. Contact us to find out about our ability to accommodate your dispatch, FSM, or other workflow software.

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