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+-- Thread: Lee Valley Online. (/showthread.php?tid=7351128)
RE: Lee Valley Online. - Rob Lee - 11-06-2019
Hi All,
Firstly - thanks for your patience as we continue to work through our new website deployment. There a lot of work to do, and we are busily tuning a number functions and features.
Our previous site (19 years and two days of continuous refinement) was very robust - but not mobile compatible. Consequently, we had started to slide in search engine results and rankings, and had to move to a new platform - or face face even steeper declines in traffic.
We started down this road almost 3 years ago. The firm we started with was unable to complete the project, and we had to switch to a tier one firm, compress the schedule, and reduce the phase 1 function set. We were caught between a rock and a hard place.
To add to the fun - there were some base platform issues we had to work through, which were out of our hands.
It's all coming together slowly... and both navigation and search will improves as our staff learn, and the system learns.
In parallel to this upgrade, we re-structured 50+ jobs to support a new workflow structure (ya, I know... too much change at once). So - we are also sorting out some processes, checks and balances, and responsibilities..... that's how we miss things like taking down time specific messaging.
Believe me - I feel your pain - I the same and more! At the same time - we still have all the same great products, service, and staff that were here before we started down this road.
We'll get there - hopefully sooner than later!
Meanwhile - we do read and act on comments and feedback....
Cheers -
Rob
RE: Lee Valley Online. - AHill - 11-06-2019
I know Rob wants the new site to be as user-friendly as the old site. So, patience, grasshoppers. That said, I agree it's a bit harder to locate things with the new site (I'm normally using my desktop browser) compared to the old site. But I'm an old dog trying to learn new tricks.
RE: Lee Valley Online. - Stwood_ - 11-06-2019
I haven't ordered in a few years. Guess I'll go site seeing and look over the new site.
RE: Lee Valley Online. - Admiral - 11-06-2019
(11-06-2019, 12:09 PM)Rob Lee Wrote: Believe me - I feel your pain - I the same and more! At the same time - we still have all the same great products, service, and staff that were here before we started down this road.
We'll get there - hopefully sooner than later!
Rob
I'm sure you will. I work in tech, and nothing like this is simple so I get it. And I think the goodwill you have built with your customer base will serve you well - we still have our catalogs!!! Good luck getting it done.
RE: Lee Valley Online. - 5thumbs - 11-06-2019
(11-06-2019, 03:39 PM)Admiral Wrote: I'm sure you will. I work in tech, and nothing like this is simple so I get it. And I think the goodwill you have built with your customer base will serve you well - we still have our catalogs!!! Good luck getting it done.
Absolutely! Despite these issues, I will continue to by as much Lee Valley products as I can. I just purchased a Plow Plane - haven't used it yet but I'm sure it will be great!
RE: Lee Valley Online. - Tony Z - 11-06-2019
I was lost on my first "look-see". My second was better. My third and fourth went fine. I really missed to old website on my first visit to the new. My second showed promise. My third and fourth had me mentally displacing visions of the old.
RE: Lee Valley Online. - cputnam - 11-06-2019
I had no particular problems locating stuff and even putting the stuff in my cart. I was, however, simply unable to get from cart to an actual order. Lee Valley customer service folks are great and they can create an order.
RE: Lee Valley Online. - Jim Waldron - 11-07-2019
On any web site, search functions are problematic and probably should not be a user's first choice to find what is wanted. Some are worse than others, but they all have their shortcomings because they all rely on judgements about what falls within the scope of a given search term or phrase.
A recent post (here I think, but maybe on a blog) commented about the complete failure to find any hits on the entire web via Google search for "rosewood filler" he wanted to fancy up a plane tote repair. At someone's suggestion, he then searched for "rosewood putty" and found a world of offerings that met his needs. Google searched for what he said, not for what he meant.
Better to use the built in navigation tools in the first instance. For example, someone was complaining about the messiness of a search for "bench plane" so I checked it out: no typing, three mouse clicks to a single page with the entire universe of Lee Valley bench plane offerings:
From the home page (or where ever else you may be on the site), at the top, click on "Tools" to access a drop-down menu, click there on "planes" to pull up an overbroad collection of planes and related stuff, but with a sub-menu on the left side with a selection for "bench." Click that you'll have all your bench planes and nothing else. That's three clicks on your mouse, takes less time to do that it does to read my post, and provides exactly what you wanted. You didn't type a thing.
It may not be quite as effective as that for every item you wish to access, but it will get most of what you want with no fuss, no muss.
I haven't bought anything since the roll-out, so I can't comment on check out, but I'm sure that will get sorted soon. (Probably sooner than search glitches, since revenue is dependent on check out!)
RE: Lee Valley Online. - hbmcc - 11-07-2019
(11-07-2019, 12:33 PM)Jim Waldron Wrote: I haven't bought anything since the roll-out, so I can't comment on check out, but I'm sure that will get sorted soon. (Probably sooner than search glitches, since revenue is dependent on check out!)
It is the easiest section of the online process to complete. Zing! Zap! And, "do you wish to continue shopping?"
However, I would like them to inform me that a copy of the purchase invoice has been sent to my email link.
RE: Lee Valley Online. - Handplanesandmore - 11-07-2019
(11-07-2019, 08:14 PM)hbmc Wrote: However, I would like them to inform me that a copy of the purchase invoice has been sent to my email link.
You didn't get an email purchase confirmation as in the old days? If so, this is another area they must be already working on.
I noticed that the alternate free shipping events ($40 vs $140) have happened fairly regularly since the new site was launched.
Simon