Cole-Parmer: Overall Rating 97%
www.coleparmer.com
At first glance, this homepage seemed a bit busy. After seeing the product list of company offerings stretching nearly six screens, though, it’s a wonder that the homepage is this clean. The product list is logical and easy to use, but keep an eye out for the little Parametric Search icons and wording on some (nearly twenty) of the products on the list. In those product areas, you’ll find dropdown- and fill-in-based search capability to quickly narrow your choices. Nice touch, as is the floating, always-available alpha key when you’re browsing the extensive product list. Product information is more than sufficient, appropriate to the range of simple-to-complex products that are offered. Most pages include Email and Print conveniences, but the really slick thing here is taken from the big boys of the web: user ratings for products. This might even be a first for product-driven industrial site, and it’s about time. These will be better populated over time, and this will certainly become a very valuable feature if moderated properly. One more related thing: on many such sites, it’s easy to go in and leave bad ratings if you’re a competitor, for example. That’s not so easy here, as reviews include both Verified Buyer and Verified Reviewer notations. Navigation is a bit inconsistent. If you’re on a product page and want to jump to another product area, you’ll usually have to navigate back to the product list and start over. One of the only ways around this would be to include the mammoth product listing on every page—not workable. Hmm. Maybe that short alpha key list available everywhere might save a couple clicks. The Technical Library is extensive and valuable, but it’s not easily browesable; you have to know what you’re looking for up-front. Included are tools and sections to help with chemical compatibility, product selection and maintenance, applications, MSDSs, manuals, unit converters, and many FAQs by product type. Also in this area are articles and whitepapers—a treasure trove of content. Online shopping is also well-implemented.
- Industrial web designers could learn a lot here.
- Excellent breadth and depth of content
- No annoying registration requirements get in the way
- Online shopping is as good as it gets, right down to Visa and MasterCard
- Navigation could be made easier, smoother
- User-submitted product ratings and comments are great; forums would be dynamite