Still getting up to speed after recent site updates
beingzoe about 1 month ago // 2 responses // Potluck CoTradeCo news, comments, and requests

Zoe, I have to say I love the new changes. And to think I told you just a week ago, that I did not think it could get any better then what it was. You guys are great! And you have an amazing vision. I ( and so have are customeres) really have had fun with the new Benchmark Layoring Calculator :http://cotradeco.com/pages/133-atpv-amp-hrc-layering-calculator. It is such a fun example, for something that is so important. Again the site looks Great!!!

Thank you for noticing stacy!

I’ve already said it a couple of times, but there was such a consolidation of pages and navigation, despite having added an enormous amount of power especially in the store, it felt like we had somehow made the site smaller, and thus made me wonder why it took so long. The aesthetic changes were really the least of the improvements, and I feel as though that alone was significant.

The ATPV HRC Layering calculator really represents what we were trying to do all along by way of resources. Not always so flippant (well maybe) but definitely more interactive, bringing the “characters” to the fore, and beginning to finally specialize where we are trying to specialize. Odd as it seems now the new more general layout and navigation of the site is going to fulfill those goals nicely by giving more freedom of presentation for unique tools and resources.

The old designs, which I still think had potential (but was never realized) were unfortunately too kitschy and too focused on a handful of our specialty departments and communities, but would have been well suited to have Trader Dan and other characters appear more and more.

Which is why I was glad the calculator was able to work with Trader Dan as it was the first major piece of new content to help set the tone for the new site.

Unfortunately with new power and features comes the need for still more data, the database gods continue to beckon for more copy, more images, more tables, charts, and promotional blurbs. The extent to which the store has improved will not be felt without doubling the amount of products stocked online.

We need all your help to continue to make the CoTradeCo experience improve. Please keep an eye out for bugs, formatting (visual layout) problems, typos, incorrect information and the like. As you can imagine it is a whirlwind to continue improving the site while simultaneously updating and growing it. While a lot of research goes into what ends up on the site, often times the final copy is written in a blur with little time for thorough proofing.

Take care Stacy. And good luck with your new home. I am very excited for you.