Hands up if you’ve ever used a captive portal! Captive portals are web page pop-ups that block you from immediately accessing WiFi until you enter some requested details. If you’ve used them before, you know how time-consuming it can be when they don’t trigger straight away. A captive network assistant (CNA) ensures that pop-ups appear instantly. It stops you from manually hunting or trying to force the portal open (not fun).
In this guide, we’ll run you through everything you need to know about captive network assistants. We’ll cover all the good stuff, from what exactly they are to why you need one and what to budget for. In just five minutes or so, you’ll be an absolute pro!
What Is a Captive Network Assistant?
A captive network assistant is a tool that automatically triggers captive portals to make joining easier for guests. As soon as they click your network to join your WiFi, it reacts and triggers a limited web browser pop-up.
Because it pops up immediately, guests can easily enter their details into the form in order to fully access WiFi. The question, “What is a captive network assistant?” is definitely something to consider when embarking on WiFi marketing.
If you set up your captive networks properly with reputable software, it should include this feature. It’s the sort of thing that most public WiFi networks have, as it dramatically improves the user experience (UX). When researching captive network software, you should look for automatic pop-ups and check reviews to see how reliably they trigger.
Without a network assistant, guests must attempt to trigger the network manually. Methods include opening a web browser or clearing a DNS cache, all of which are relatively tricky. If guests are not aware of how to manually trigger portals, this can give the illusion of network issues.
If you offer a service-based business, you really don’t want confusing WiFi. Manually triggering captive portals requires more staff to communicate with customers and isn’t a sustainable WiFi model overall.
Captive portal authorization should be as simple as possible to improve customer experience and reduce your workload. Assistant software just steps in to direct customers and make the whole process easier.
Who Benefits From Captive Network Assistants?
Any businesses offering customer-facing services benefit from captive network assistants. Everyone expects WiFi these days, so if you can offer a slick WiFi process, you get ahead of the game.
Many business reputations are based on their WiFi and internet experience quality — just look at hotels. Even restaurants and cafes attract more customers when they offer quality WiFi.
It’s fast becoming a requirement to excel in internet connection expectations; you’ll want to invest sooner rather than later.
In summary, though, these are the businesses that most benefit from assistant software:
- Cafes
- Hotels
- Restaurants
- Bars
- Stations (for trains, buses, etc)
- Airports
- Schools
- Workplaces
- Shopping malls
- Retail stores
All of these businesses will have customers asking for WiFi at some point. And since they’re so busy with other duties (they don’t solely operate by selling WiFi access!), joining must be easy. You can’t have customers floundering and asking for help every 15 minutes because your captive portal never automatically triggers.
Of course, customers also greatly benefit from software assistants. They streamline the entire process and vastly improve their customer experience. Both customers and business owners will appreciate this fine-tuning of captive portal software.
Why Invest in Captive Network Software?
You should invest in captive network software because it makes your life easier and keeps guests happier. It’s a fantastic way to operate your business better.
However, there are some extra details that you should know. Here are two in-depth pointers about why you should invest as a matter of priority.
1. It Reduces Unnecessary Communication
A huge benefit of investing in a CNA is that it reduces unnecessary communication between customers and staff.
The biggest issue with communicating over WiFi is that it detracts from more important responsibilities. If you’re focusing on serving food, the last thing you want is to troubleshoot WiFi as you balance plates. It costs time (which is also money) and stunts the efficiency of the service.
By ensuring that the captive network is automatic for guests, you can help reduce any WiFi-related communication with staff.
2. It Streamlines Your Guest WiFi Experience
WiFi that’s challenging to join can leave as bad an impression as certificate errors and negatively impact the guest experience overall. You don’t want to leave a WiFi-shaped lousy taste in customers’ mouths for several reasons.
Firstly, if WiFi is an expectation in your business, like for hotels, you could receive bad reviews. This negatively impacts your reputation and could damage the amount of new customers you attract. It could also affect customer loyalty, meaning guests don’t return.
Keeping customers happy should be an absolute priority when running a business — starting with your WiFi.
What To Budget For Captive Portal Software
You can find captive portal software incredibly cheap. We’d suggest budgeting between $15 and $50 a month for software on a subscription basis. It varies slightly depending on what features you want and whether you want custom software. But, overall, you’ll find budgeting for a CNA a breeze.
What’s great about this strategy is that it’s affordable for businesses of all shapes and sizes. You don’t need to be a multi-billion chain to invest. Instead, you just need to be able to set aside the equivalent of a phone bill a month.
Beambox: The Importance of Reliable WiFi
We all know that network connections are fickle; you really need reliable WiFi and steadfast captive portal software. This is especially true if customers join on multiple mobile devices in restaurants or hotels. You often can’t afford the time to individually problem-shoot each customer’s WiFi struggles.
Luckily, setting up a captive portal is easy. You just download whatever software package you wish before opening your router network settings and pressing “enable captive portal.” If you get stuck, you can contact your network administrator or the software’s support service.
You don’t have to go it alone, either. At Beambox, our all-in-one WiFi marketing software can help you streamline your guest WiFi joining process. Leave any confusion at the door by investing in captive portal software that already includes an automated pop-up.
Start your Beambox free trial today and embrace an easier side of WiFi marketing with a captive network assistant.
