Question

Topic: Website Critique

Making A Website Behave Like Print

Posted by Anonymous on 6/8/2010 at 7:56 PM ET 125 Points
I have a client that is experimenting with putting their print catalog on their website as an option. I'm not sure what purpose it serves -- maybe for those who prefer to browse?

I am curious as to what kind of people would prefer this method of product display and whether it adds to or takes away from the promotion of the store's products.

Here is a link to the catalog: [inactive link removed] You can see the homepage at https://jwhulmeco.com

Give me your thoughts and experiences if you have used a similar mechanism on a website.

[Moderator: Inactive link removed from post. 2/14/2011]
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 6/8/2010 at 8:19 PM Accepted
    Putting a catalog online adds benefits. For the customer, it lets them get it right away (not have to wait until the hard copy is mailed). For the company, they don't have to pay to print a copy, so there is a cost savings.

    Downside is that the pictures online are not as good as print, and the company doesn't capture info on the reader as they would if they got an address to mail too them.

    Not sure I like the format used. Presumably there would be more pages with all the products? if so, it seems like it may be slow to get through all the pages. Could use a linked TOC at the least. And the format probably doesn't allow the customer to print it. A PDF may be better.

    Of course, if it is put there, you would want to link to the online catalog from the homepage.
  • Posted by Harry Hallman on 6/9/2010 at 4:59 AM Accepted
    Large numbers of people use the Internet to find products and get information on them. So yes this is a very good idea. I am surprised people are still questioning online product catalogs.

    As others have said you can save a lot on printing and mailing, but you also make a contribution to the ecology by avoiding printing. Another benefit is that the catalog can be updated immediately when a change is needed.

    I suggest that your client stop using a Flash catalog. Not only is it difficult to change, but it is also harder to use and iphones, iPods and iPads cannot play Flash. Also it is more difficult to generate search engine clicks. You might try buying a shopping cart service and using that. It will be much easier for the reader and you.
  • Posted on 6/9/2010 at 5:15 PM Author
    These are all helpful comments. Thank you very much. As you could probably tell from the tone of my request, I am dubious about the value of this kind of web page, but it sounds as though there is a valid audience for it.

    I'll pass the comments along and leave this question open for just a little longer in case anyone else has something to add, such as experience they have had with adding this function to an ecommerce site.

    Miki
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 6/10/2010 at 8:32 AM Accepted
    The best fit for this is the iPad - which many magazines are producing online issues to simulate their printed offerings. See how well your client's catalog would fit into that model.
  • Posted on 6/10/2010 at 1:04 PM Author
    Thank you, Jay. That is a great idea. As iPad use expands it would be well worth pursuing.

    I'm going ahead and closing this discussion, now. Thank you everyone who took time to look and make comments. This should be very helpful.

    Miki
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