Site Restructure and Expansion

Background Magnaflux is a leading worldwide supplier of equipment and chemicals used in nondestructive testing The magnaflux.com Web site is used by their distributors and customers to access product information, certifications, and other critical information

Challenge Magnaflux was unhappy with several aspects of their Web site: – Limited ability to update information – Lack of timely updates – Lack of flexibility for expansion of functionality – Lack of portability to move the site to another server – Inconsistencies in information – Inconsistencies in site navigation

SurfersNet’s Solutions Restructure site for portability, usability, and flexibility Create several updateable sections to allow Magnaflux the ability to update critical information as needed Rewrite discussion board with future expansion in mind Expand functionality of the online product catalog

Restructure Site Restructured navigation – Made the four brands they carry the primary navigation – Used functional outline structure for the secondary navigation – Added date to nav bar – Restructured site map

Restructure Site Restructured page format to allow flexibility for future updates and enhancements Re-coded many features within the site for optimum portability Reorganized site structure to allow for easy and instant updates

Updateable Sections SurfersNet implemented various techniques to allow Magnaflux to manage the content easily themselves All updateable sections are managed through intuitive backend applications or simple file uploads Site updates are made to the content without affecting page layout SurfersNet also provided extensive help files and training

Updateable Sections: Examples Home Page: Today’s Highlights, Product Spotlight, and New Products on the home page are easily updateable by changing text files and uploading To change the text on the homepage, Magnaflux simply changes a text file like the one shown above and uploads it

Updateable Sections: Examples Document Library: to add, modify, or delete documents in the expansive product library consisting of over 1000 files, Magnaflux simply uploads or deletes files with the appropriate naming conventions through FTP

Updateable Sections: Examples Sales Rep, Distributor, and Internal Contacts Pages: created an administrative backend using a forms interface to allow easy updates and management of about 300 reps and distributors Admin Backend Public Site

Updateable Sections: Examples Online Catalog: created an administrative backend to manage hundreds of products across multiple brands Admin Backend Public Site

Updateable Sections: Examples Batch Certifications: redesigned the process of how these files are updated, drastically reducing time spent on these weekly updates Shipping information: created a simple multi-step process which automatically extracts shipping information from one source and formats it for the Web Additional flexibility is built in allowing future expansion of updateable sections

Discussion Board Old Board – Not categorized – Programmed using proprietary software that couldn’t be customized – Not easy to find information SurfersNet’s Solution – Organized by category and thread – Easy to search and find information – Flexible programming solution

Online Product Catalog Reorganized to follow the same structure as the print catalog Re-programmed using a flexible, non- proprietary solution Shows expanded product information and links to relevant technical papers and literature Added the ability to allow Magnaflux to update the catalog through an administrative backend

Results Gave control of the site back to Magnaflux Drastically reduced time for updating information Dramatically increased flexibility, portability, and usability of the site

solutions.SurfersNet.com