Automated Website Jobs

Do you find yourself logging on to your company website regularly to do the same tasks? Perhaps your customers only receive notification of their orders when you manually send them? Whatever system you have it is well worth you knowing about automated website jobs.

In its simplest form a web page displays when a visitor types in the correct address in their address bar. Not only does this display content to them but it might also trigger a script to run, perhaps updating a database or sending an email.

While manual triggers such as this are fine you may want your website to do things automatically, when a certain database value is found or at a certain time. These website tasks (called Cron jobs on Linux systems) are useful for you to know about.

We use them throughout the sites that we manage for customers and the tasks that they do range from updating stock status for products through to sending out Twitter and Facebook updates.

The power of such a system is enhanced when it has access to other data such as accounting systems or other databases. Payment reminders can automatically be sent out and supplier back-orders made.

Have a look at your systems that you use in house and ask whether an automated procedure may of use to you. Contact us for a discussion or for further information.