4.5 billion people, or about half of the world’s population, use the internet. We suspect that a lot of that internet use isn’t necessarily productivity-focused which may be affecting your business.
If you suspect that employees or even children that you’re managing in academic settings are abusing the internet access you provide by surfing non-work-related or inappropriate parts of the web, you’ve probably considered investing in software to block websites.
Website blocking software is becoming increasingly popular in a variety of settings. To better decide if taking that leap is right for you, keep reading. Below, we share more about this technology and the advantages it can provide.
How Does Website Blocking Software Work?
Software to block websites is a simple solution to restricting access to inappropriate web addresses. Before, you’d need to manually go into your network’s router settings to ban traffic from accessing IP addresses. With today’s software, you can simply type in web addresses you want to restrict and the tool will do the rest.
Beyond that, good website blocking software provides you with a suite of analytics. That data lets you see how your network is being use so you can better understand things like which relevant sites are the most popular among your team.
Noteworthy Advantages of Website Blocking Software
There are several advantages to being able to control how your business’ network gets used. Three key advantages that tend to be popular among software users include:
1. Heightened Productivity
It can be hard to resist playing with tools that let you craft stunning social media posts and spending all afternoon sharing your creativity with friends, especially since many of those tools let you edit your post for free.
By blocking access to those kinds of sites, your team can more fully focus on tasks that help your business grow.
2. Faster Internet
Watching media content, which is among the most popular non-work-relate tasks that tend to occur during work hours, eats up tons of your internet’s bandwidth. By restricting access to those sites, you may find that your network will work a lot better when doing things like downloading files or using cloud applications.
3. Reduced Liability
If you’re in charge of minors in an academic setting, a person in your care that accesses inappropriate websites could mean liability issues for you. You can cover yourself by blocking access to sites that are a cause for concern.
Software to Block Websites Isn’t a Perfect Solution, but It Will Help
You may have heard people say that using software to block websites isn’t a foolproof solution. That’s true given that VPN workarounds exist which can allow motivated internet surfers to get around barriers.
Still, we think you’ll find that by using site blockers, you’ll reduce the amount of incorporate web browsing that happens in your place of business exponentially. That makes this a solution worth trying!
Do you need more solutions for internet management or other IT items? If you do, check out additional free content we have available in our digital publication!
