LED flashlights manufacturers websites are poor [Archive]

luke_DF

12-08-2009, 04:58 AM

(this thread has been moved here from CPF LED Flashlights sub-forum)

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I hope this is not too off topic...

something I noticed, not sure if this is of any importance to anyone, but to actually call most of the LED flashlights manufacturers websites poor would still be a polite understatement. most of them look like they belong in late 90s.

I wonder why that's the case. maybe it's got something to do with the fact that a lot of the manufacturers are china-based and, since design and branding are not naturally the strong point in that market, they don't want to outsource this? or maybe the low-key approach is part of a purposeful strategy ("all function, no form") appealing to the flashoholics out there ("I want my light to be well designed, not the website")? it seems a little bit strange given how some manufacturers seem to be breaching out to outdoor/adventure/sports environments, running ads in magazines, etc.

I'm not saying the websites are not informative, in most cases I have been able to find most of the information I needed, but the user experience is not too great (stands true for both the manufacturers and dealers/suppliers!). I guess everyone is too busy designing the holly grail of flashlights to focus on such trivial matters as improving their branding :)

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EDIT: DM51 points out that it's by no means just the Chinese manufacturers who have poorly designed websites (which makes it even more intriguing to me).

Saint_Dogbert

12-08-2009, 08:58 AM

chaosmagnet

12-08-2009, 09:43 AM

:welcome:

Very few flashlight manufacturers' websites are any good at all, and the best of them could be better.

luke_DF

12-08-2009, 10:32 AM

Designing a quality website takes time and money, resources that have to be managed carefully, especially with relatively small companies. Surefire is the only light manufacturer I know of with a website that is well-designed (visually) . Many companies probably figure that content is the most important thing, and in some cases, they may not even recognize that they are running a website that is less than appealing, to put it lightly.

I agree with regards to lack of awareness - it might be an obstacle. you can't fix something if you don't know it's broken.

but the resources angle is just hard to believe (I'm not saying it's not true, it might well be, but...) I mean, of course designing a good website costs money, but it's an investment like many others. exaggerating a little bit, having a phone line is an investment! - you invest by paying the bills, and you get the benefit giving your customers a way to reach you. paying someone to proof read your catalog would be a good start in some of the cases, again it's a small investment that goes a long way. even if some of the manufacturers are relatively small companies, that should actually push them even further into working out those small details. I am most impressed with how some of the companies are in dialogue with their CPF customer base and it's really inspiring to see that - it just seems like the "web presence" or "web experience" angle is not seen as significant. which, this being 2009, is an incorrect assumption.

I guess this would change if one or two brands made an effort to take it to the next level - the rest would have to follow or look like they don't give a damn. end result: customers benefit. ok, enough of the rant, it most likely boils down to what you say: content is king! :)

Henk_Lu

12-08-2009, 12:03 PM

A website is an extremely cheap method to make publicity for your products. So, I don't understand either, why websites of flashlightz companies are not better, as it seems they think it is not important, that CPF brings a lot more.

It is understandable for chineese companies however, China is a land where internet access is censored and where a minority of people actually have an access. Perhaps they don't really know what a good web-presence can bring. It is not understandable for amercican companies however. I also know a pure amercican company which has such a site, but I also know that they usually have more to do than they can handle. That explains everything, if they don't want to grow bigger.

I have CPF(MP) where I find more informations than I nees, so I'm OK that way! :wave:

sonrider657

12-08-2009, 01:31 PM

I think that it is just the off-shore companies that have bad website. Surefire's website is excellent.

horizonseeker

12-08-2009, 03:14 PM

henk, even been to china? broadband at home, net-cafe everywhere ($0.25 - 0.30 / hr), I assure you the number of people who have access to internet is not a minority.

(and I'll only touch on the "censor" thing quickly. Why is it I have never had problem doing the so-called "forbidden" searches in net-cafes in china? Never had access blocked, even when I deliberately do the "bad" searches)

the contributing factor for a less than ideal website here may be that the website doesn't really sell the product. How many people hear Fenix, Nitecore, Dereelight, etc from their official website first then go in search of a dealer? Most of their markets are opened up by dealers first, the dealer/distributor and forums they advertise in have in effect become the central source of information.

sonrider:
if you want to see american companies with bad sites, check out peak, energizer, etc.

csshih

12-08-2009, 04:05 PM

energizer looks fine.

now, peak? ugh.. their dealer site..

http://www.em-mgt.com/LED/Peak.html

... ugh...

EngrPaul

12-08-2009, 04:08 PM

Maybe because LED flashlights manufacturers websites are poor. :broke:

Lumenz

12-08-2009, 05:58 PM

the contributing factor for a less than ideal website here may be that the website doesn't really sell the product.

I agree that the website does not sell the product, but it can certainly lose a sale. I have seen many posts about Peak losing sales because people couldn't figure out how to order a flashlight.

horizonseeker

12-08-2009, 06:49 PM

peak is a bit of a special case because for a long time you were really limited in ways you can purchase a peak light.

You can 1) order from the website, 2) order by phone

and that was pretty much it, so a bad website really would have an impact on their sales.

i too have experience personally frustration with the peak website.

meanwhile, you can purchase Fenix, Nitecore, Dereelight, etc from a myriad of dealers carrying inventory and information is readily available at your favorite dealer and reviews are plentiful on forums in many languages (Shoudian.com for chinese and CPF for english, as examples).

This is, of course, pure speculation, but I feel that quite a few MFR have left the information distribution duty to the master distributors responsible for each region.

berry580

12-11-2009, 08:47 PM

It is understandable for chineese companies however, China is a land where internet access is censored and where a minority of people actually have an access. Perhaps they don't really know what a good web-presence can bring. It is not understandable for amercican companies however. I also know a pure amercican company which has such a site, but I also know that they usually have more to do than they can handle. That explains everything, if they don't want to grow bigger.Internet in China may have censorship, but whatever they censor, it probably won't be about flashlights. :crackup:
If indeed only a "minority (http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdi&met=it_net_user_p2&idim=country:CHN&q=internet+users+china)" (i.e. 1.3bil x 22.5% = over 260 million internet users. USA's total population (http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=uspopulation&met=population&tdim=true&q=usa+population) is about 304million to put things into perspective) of people actually have access to internet, i believe it's probably financially and infrastructure related than anything else.

I strongly believe "even" the flashlight makers in China knows that the internet is an extremely powerful information distribution channel.
I however do agree that most/all of the flashlight manufacturers website don't have enough info to satisfy us, flashaholics, and I think they don't include all the information that we wanted is because it can potentially confuse many non-flashaholics. As with its web page's design, I also agree many are amateurish. Surefire's one is top of the range, i think Jetbeam's one looks OK too.

post tenebras

12-17-2009, 08:18 AM

I don't mind the ones that look ten or fifteen years outdated, as long as the information is up to date and accessible (Malkoff, Ra, Arc, I'm looking at you).

The ones that drive me nuts lately are Peak, RMSK and Lenslight. I've concluded that Peak can't keep up with the potential consumer demand that would result from providing a simple, logical process for the customer to place an order; they sell as much as they can produce to flashaholics and LEOs who patiently persevere through the ordeal of obtaining a Peak light.

gsxrac

12-20-2009, 08:31 AM

Me personally I could care less what the website looks like! The thing is that making your website look super spiffy cost money and that money has to come from somewhere! This means that they would have to charge more for their products just so you could see a cool website for 5 minutes while shopping for a new light. Not worth it at all to me, I'd rather save a buck and just stick with the mediocre website design. Plus I hate having to wade through all the BS just to get to the product I'm looking for like I tend to do on SOG's website.

Also many people that use high end flashlights are police, military, or outdoorsman and either may not be as tech savvy or like myself they probably couldn't care less what the website looks like :thumbsup:

aurora_dongguan

12-23-2009, 04:57 PM

Sometimes many manufactures want to make their website good,but it should be take some time and money,so they don't want to waste of it,what's more,to design a good website need one important person to management it,many boss who producing led flashlight only hope to make money but they don't wish to cost money,so some of led flashlight manufacturers websites are poor.

stallion2

12-23-2009, 09:33 PM

I strongly believe "even" the flashlight makers in China knows that the internet is an extremely powerful information distribution channel.
I however do agree that most/all of the flashlight manufacturers website don't have enough info to satisfy us, flashaholics, and I think they don't include all the information that we wanted is because it can potentially confuse many non-flashaholics. As with its web page's design, I also agree many are amateurish. Surefire's one is top of the range, i think Jetbeam's one looks OK too.

i work for a mfg company for material handling equipment doing mostly market research & product development and everyday i'm on websites like alibaba.com dealing mostly w/ chinese suppliers that have nothing to do w/ flashlights. they definitely have no trouble getting ahold of me way over here on the other side of the planet. just about all of them that i work w/ have poorly designed websites. i think a lot of it has to do w/ the language barrier but it also seems like they are generally using web design software from a limited selection of cookie-cutter programs and it wouldn't surprise me if thats an effect of censorship.

FYI: if anyone is impressed w/ the selection on DX, qualitychinagoods.com or kaidoman then go to alibaba.com and search flashlights. almost every supplier in china (not just lights) has an account there and you won't believe how much stuff is out there that we've yet to see here.

The ones that drive me nuts lately are Peak,

i've not seen the other two yet but Peak's makes me wanna tear my hair out

ThruNite

12-23-2009, 10:19 PM

Pekka

12-23-2009, 11:13 PM

We think you are correct.an officially Website is very important. COuld you provide some suggestions for our website. our website is being updated. we can be reached by Sales@ThruNite.com

WWW.ThruNite.com (http://www.ThruNite.com)

Thanks and Merry Christmas

David from ThruNite

You guys didn't by any change just copy-paste Fenix's site and change few pics?

Either way, why on earth make a page with truckload of pictures which have the text embedded inside of them? Rather have reasonably sized pics of flashlights and text as a text, as it helps with Google hits too...

DM51

12-24-2009, 02:19 AM

ThruNite

12-24-2009, 06:19 AM

This thread is looking as if it could be very helpful. If members have some positive suggestions/criticisms, perhaps the manufacturers will act on them and things will then be better for everyone.

Thrunite has posted above, indicating a willingness to listen and learn. That is very welcome, and it is to be hoped other manufacturers will follow suit.

The success of this thread does however depend on the suggestions being constructive and useful, rather than just negative. Posts such as "Your website sucks" would not be very helpful, and it is to be hoped members will resist making such comments.

Yes. I think so, I have browsed Surefire Website. exactely. Their website is ver good and helpfull to user to choose a right light.Actually. we are try to make the website better. we try to take more photo for the products. Maybe we'll take some vedio to get the light to be well introduced.

gsxrac

12-24-2009, 09:06 AM

Thrunite I love when a website puts a ton of pictures of their products up because I get a better idea of scale and what I'm looking at. You guys do good about that. Videos are always helpful as you mentioned especially if the light uses a new or special UI. Also if you are willing to do so I know myself and many others enjoy outdoor beamshots and seeing those has sealed the deal with me on more than a few lights. Also I am not sure if you guys are using actual out the front lumens but a a lot of people around here (I would wager a bet almost all of them) would rather see OTF lumens and not emitter lumens.

sfca

12-24-2009, 01:43 PM

The uninitiated might not realize the difference and just assume those flashlights are a lower output, and inferior.

Best would be to have 2 specs. 1 emitter lumen and 1 OTF lumen rating - and a link to a glossary defining both.

The glossary could also contain other types of information, like what a "P60 drop-in" is, and how to install one.

Merry Christmas everyone!

ThruNite

12-24-2009, 07:43 PM

Merry Christmas. everyone. Hope you can enjoy the vacation throughly! Lets discuss back from vacation

guiri

01-06-2010, 01:14 AM

This is why I tried to contact some of them to offer my graphics and webdesign services but never got anyone interested even though I offered to do some trade in flashlight. Amazingly, most think their sites look good and that they don't need the help to sell.

I'll show a sample when I can find it

ThruNite

01-06-2010, 05:16 PM

Could you provide some some suggestion for our website

WWW.ThruNite.com (http://www.ThruNite.com)

guiri

01-06-2010, 05:55 PM

Were you talking to me or someone else Thrunite?

George

ThruNite

01-07-2010, 12:26 AM

Were you talking to me or someone else Thrunite?

George

what do you think::grin2: You said you are professional, It's U

guiri

01-07-2010, 01:22 AM

I know but since others started talking about sites, I didn't know if you were asking them for their opinions.

Alright, let me see what I can whip up. Do you want a sample for the normal home page or do you want an entry page first? Normally I'm against entry pages or used to be but I've kinda reconsidered in the last years 'cause graphically, you can do a lot of cool stuff with an entry page. Here's one example I made for a guy (sample) http://www.1stchoicemonroe.com/images/marc-sample-1.htm

Here's a sample of my own entry page. I have since then taken my site down so the link doesn't work. Move your mouse over the lightbulb http://www.1stchoicemonroe.com/images/index.htm

George

was.lost.but.now.found

01-08-2010, 07:22 AM

There are some basic things you could do, I'm an analyst in IT so I don't do the work, I just identify how to make it better (remember the old slogan from DuPont?).

First and foremost, where do I buy your products?? I don't see that I can buy them on your site, and I can find no link showing me where to buy them. This is a MAJOR obstacle to sales. Ok, just found it. Sales should not be under 'Contact Us'. It should be it's own separate link. Further, the links don't have a splash page or a deep link. You're taking them straight to your dealer's home page. So I click on Battery Junction from your site and the first thing I see is......Their featured product, Olight.

Your company logo in the top left should always, ALWAYS link back to your homepage.

You generally want a site map at the bottom that at least reproduces your links in the top center of your homepage; you can also add more to the site map at the bottom but don't clutter it too much.

When I click 'products' I see just the TiKey. So far after 10 minutes on your page I just see 2 products, is that correct? You would want to show both (or all) products on the "products" home, either side by side or a back and forth fade. Then direct the user to choose one instead of forcing them to the first product and then back to the nav bar on the left to choose the other.

It doesn't really make sense to have a 'Limited Edition' sub menu of products and a 'Outdoor Application' sub menu when there are only one product in each menu. It makes the whole thing superfluous.

Your site looks pretty, but it's not intuitive and could really be improved for better 'flow'. I think this was the original point Luke was trying to make. I hope I was able to provide some help, from a user standpoint. Best wishes and good luck.

guiri

01-08-2010, 02:34 PM

...and there are a couple of things I can add too but I was going to get into that later. If you guys (Thrunite) let me know which type of sample you prefer, I'll try to get something going.

George

stallion2

01-09-2010, 12:56 AM

There are some basic things you could do, I'm an analyst in IT......Best wishes and good luck.

an outstanding array of simple but incredibly effective suggestions. if more suppliers/manufacturers adhered to these strategies then my job would be far easier.

from a marketing standpoint you need to focus your site around the people in your market...both consumers and potential distributors alike.

consumers, in your case flashaholics, tend to be involved in law enforcement, military, hunting, camping and other outdoor-oriented activities. and don't forget about the people who are just into gadgets even if they're not involved w/ any of the activities i listed above. these are people who tend to be analytical and have "type A" personalities. what this means is that an abundance of flashy graphics and vague claims are not very effective. we are people who want to know specifics about your products and we want to be able to access that information quickly. this last point is something that i think your site already does quite well. providing beamshots for your products is also crucial...and for each product i would suggest doing several shots...different distances, at walls, outside into the woods or across a valley, etc etc....

from my own professional experience in terms of researching potential suppliers for products my employeer would like to import and sell...again, we want to see a site that provides specific information of the products we are researching and we want to do it quickly...time is money.

right now, i think the graphics/asthetic format of your site is excellent. the text provided is also well presented and easy to sort through quickly. in this regard i prefer your site to Surefire's, however, as was.lost.but.now.found explained earlier, you need more options for navigating your site...this is an issue that will be of increasing value as you expand your product line.

guiri

01-09-2010, 01:10 AM

Almost every site today (after so many years of the web being around) STILL are painfully lacking in information. This is just a general comment.

If I want information about an HP printer, I don't go to their site, I do a search on the web and that's sad as hell.

I once did a site for a company that sells mobile/modular homes and on some of the pages of a specific home, they could have up to 20 pics of that home.

Pics that I got from the manufacturer. Oddly enough, at the most, the manufacturer had 3 pics of the same home...

I don't get it. They put out printed material (well, not so much these days but when I first started doing sites) with ALL the info but they couldn't put the SAME info on the site....what the hell?

It's like they had a brain fart simply because it was going on the web..

Sad

George