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December, 2007 |
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About OnSite WebReviews® |
Our mission is to help make your job easier, with constructive evaluations and ratings about industrial and manufacturing-related
websites presenting the best places to find Internet-based content and tools. We also hope that through our objective* reviews
suppliers will respond over time to appropriately enhance their sites to better meet your informational needs.
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*Expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings,
prejudices, or interpretation (Webster). There is no connection between site selection, site ratings,
and a company's advertising status in any Thomas Publishing Company LLC product.
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| Castell Iso-Lok
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Padlocks, lockout devices, lockout stations
OVERALL RATING:
What visitors see is what they get...or could get. With a design focused on products at hand, this website offers sublimely clear navigation. The static border includes an embedded search tool with advanced search options, cumulative and itemized shopping basket, as well as company announcements. Latest News article, also included in the border, offers links to the full article, as well as the company's entire News Archive. With regard to individual product pages, information is provided via concise summaries, dropdown customization menus where applicable, and immediate pricing and add-to-cart capabilities. Comments & Questions, enables registered used to leave and reference notes and queries.
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Look/Feel
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Ease of Use/Navigation
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General_Information |
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Registration
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Technical Content
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Support/Convenience
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Engineering Content
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Downloads/Knowledge |
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Market Data
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Acquisition Tools |
www.iso-lok.com
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Review Date: December 2007 |
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| Namco Controls
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Proximity and photoelectric controls, sensors, solenoids, limit switches
OVERALL RATING:
Everything you need to know is likely here; it'll just take some exploring to find. For example, while well-organized menus lead to some general and sparsely populated product group pages, the site doesn't seem to offer anywhere else to go to obtain more substantial information. The exception is in Proximity Switches, where a greater list of offerings features links to file downloads for each. The product selection here does not match the entire company's offering but, once the File Downloads link is clicked for one particular product, you've unwittingly clicked them all; the subsequent page lists folders with files for expanded content pertaining to all products, also reachable via Downloads.
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| Kimberly-Clark Professional
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Towels, tissue, wipers, apparel, gloves, masks
OVERALL RATING:
Home to brands known by even non-industrial citizens, this website showcases an extensive variety and amount of products as cleanly as those same products are designed to make their adopted environments. Visitors can browse by application, brand name, or product type; no matter which method is used, each subsequent section always cross-references available products amongst the other methods. In addition to Case Studies, News, and Certificates, a hefty Resource Center, with links to downloadable product information, datasheets, literature, and case studies further promotes product understanding. Also impressive is a page full of online tools—calculators, disposal guides, and product comparators.
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| Dekker Vacuum Technologies, Inc.
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Vacuum pumps, systems, service
OVERALL RATING:
Bordered by select news stories on the right and ever-present product categories on the left, this website serves up a visual pallet filled with a plethora of information. Html-based product pages offer summary information, specs, links to PDFs with extensive specifications, and bulletins and piping/instrument design. Troubleshooting information is provided on a product-specific basis, and an expandable Industries list promotes deeper understanding. Along with downloadable manuals, a multitude of resources includes brochures and flyers, installation and operation manuals, and cross references. An embedded search tool, also included, accepts category/brand inquiries to facilitate navigation.
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| CableOrganizer.com, Inc
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Wire management products
OVERALL RATING:
The extensive (and extended) CableOrganizer homepage hits you with a barrage of links and images celebrating different products and deals. The anchor of organizational sanity is the left nav. With so many products and product types, from so many companies, it's understandable that the designers would head down what at first seems to be a busy path. Give it a chance; it's highly functional and function-packed. For each product there is a decent but not overwhelming amount of detailed information. Instant gratification seekers can shop and complete purchases online. Contact information is prominent, and user comments for each product can be reviewed or written. This catch-all site works well.
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About Our Ratings ...
More Details
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 SystemLook/Feel
Overall appearance and organization of home page elements and site structure;
buttons, frames, menus
General Information (Breadth)
Overviews of products and services; general information such as basic product
functions, features and benefits
Technical Content (Depth)
Expanding the previous to available configurations, customization, detailed
specifications, technical whitepapers, etc.
Engineering Content
Detailed engineering drawings, multiple product perspectives/photos, schematics,
and CAD elements available for use in designs
Market Data
Information available about the company's markets, specific products in a
marketwide perspective, market trends, whitepapers, etc.
Ease of Use/Navigation
Ease/difficulty of finding information, number of layers down it may take to get
from basic to detailed information, minimal use of pop-ups
Registration
Registration not required for most types of information (e.g., basic to detailed
product specs) but may be required for higher-value items such as whitepapers;
length of forms/number of fields to register
Support/Convenience Tools
Customer support information, contact names/phone numbers/email addresses;
Email-to-Friend, Print this Page, RSS Feeds, and other convenience features
Downloads/Knowledge
Software/firmware updates, diagnostic tools; searchable/browsable knowledgebase
of installation, configuration, troubleshooting information
Aquistion Tools
Easy-to-use contact info/paths to acquire products through distributor-only
operations; online/transactional availability of products/services
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