Web Review – ABC Tool Inc., Rogers

www.abctoolinc.com

rrWe’re not sure what the horse photo at the top of ABC Tool Inc.’s home page has to do with carbide milling tools, but it’s a nice looking animal. Unfortunately, the pretty horse is the only aesthetically appealing part of www.abctoolinc.com.

rWe were tipped off to the fact that the Rogers company still has an antiquated Web strategy when we saw its visitor counter posted on the home page. It’s one thing to boast about millions of page views daily, but when you’ve only gotten 534 total visitors in a year, broadcasting your site’s obscurity becomes a negative.

rWe contacted the site’s designer, R&R Web Solutions of Clearwater, Fla. They said it was created last year, and underwent an upgrade six months ago.rSo why would any other firm, like one that makes industrial cleaners or safety goggles, want to advertise on a site that only gets 534 visitors per year?

rAnswer: They wouldn’t. Missed opportunities on the Web translate directly into missed revenues.

rABC itself never returned our e-mail inquiry, but we are told their products are top notch. That’s why one of our reviewers suggests they simplify their site and feature more product information prominently.

rThe reviewer said the biggest problem with the site is that it requires surfers to scroll down to completely view each page. Most page viewers don’t want to spend time scrolling when they could be riding another Internet wave.

rWe assume the cylindrical, silver menu bars are some kind of milling tools, but that’s not readily apparent. Machine Shops probably attract a niche audience, but it never hurts to go after new customers with clean and clear graphics and text.

rAnother tech said the site has some redeeming qualities, including mouse-over features and a secured interactive page for purchasing ABC’s products.

rBut the rest of our reviewers were less kind. One, in fact, said the site is “pretty lame” and he hopes ABC didn’t pay too much for its design. He said the site looks “amateurish” because the graphics appear to be downloaded from some free site. Some of the menu-button text even runs over the graphics, making it illegible.

rMost of the site’s text is italicized, which is bothersome, and the bolding and spacing of words is random.

rAfter reading all the way through ABC’s sales pitch, we finally figured out that ABC bills its products as the “thoroughbreds of carbide end mills,” hence the horse.

rABC ought to say that up front, otherwise, the site gets two shovels.