ROCKLEIGH, NJ, February 12, 2009 — Crestron announced today the launch of its new website, which delivers an enhanced user experience, dynamic content, greater customization and easier navigation. In a continuing effort to deliver the most relevant and compelling information to help industry partners grow their business, and educate end users about the benefits of Crestron solutions, the company invested significant resources to redesign its website. Each month the Crestron site receives 300,000 unique visitors who view more than three million pages. The website is a vital resource for dealers, consultants, programmers and partners.
"Our website is our most comprehensive tool to provide quick and easy access to the information needed to do business," says Randy Klein, Executive Vice President. "In order to meet the needs of our partners we have added a tremendous amount of content over the last four years. Although we were able to fit all of that new content into the existing structure of our website – over time it became necessary to redesign the site."
The new website has been optimized to take advantage of larger monitors and has been optimized for 1024x768 windows. The site still maintains the tremendous amount of content Crestron dealers and programmers rely on everyday, but the new design creates a cleaner, more inviting appearance. The minimalist design, along with easier navigation and more powerful search options makes finding specific data much simpler.
New homepage widgets track and display recently added or updated content. Users can choose which widgets to activate on the homepage, and they can expand/collapse widgets so only personally relevant information is displayed in the main viewing area. Similarly, privileged content found in the "My Crestron" column is organized into category boxes, which users can also expand and collapse to manage the amount of onscreen information.
The search engine is now powered by Google, which enables users to quickly search PDF and web page content based on text, document number and Online Help Answer ID. Finding a product is now easier than ever with several search options such as by model number, brand name and product group. An enhanced "Jump to Product" pull down list is located under the main search box, which enables users to directly access any product page from anywhere on the site.
The new site dynamically delivers targeted content to employees, dealers and industry partners based on "Log In" identification. Visitors who are not identified are welcomed to the new, end user portal. Both home page portals feature Flash animated, solutions-based presentations. The playlist is customized for each visitor. Crestron dealers will see all the latest products and technology, partners will see new solutions relevant to their industry, while end users will learn how Crestron can benefit them.
"Many people have heard about Crestron or seen our systems at work or in their neighbors’ homes, but when they visited our site they were totally lost," recalls Klein. "Now we offer a warmer look for consumers, and product and application descriptions that prospective clients can review to get a better understanding of what their local dealer can offer them."
The ongoing effort to deliver the most user-friendly and dynamic user experience will continue as the individual product pages and feature sections are redesigned and enhanced. For example, a new tab-based organization for each product page (including technical specifications, manuals and drawings, system design and programming tools and more) will make navigation much easier. Links to instructional videos posted on the Crestron Multimedia Library will also be added to each product and feature page.
Crestron is committed to delivering the information needed to support its dealers and partners, create new opportunities and maximize efficiency – especially in these challenging times. The new website is a dynamic, user-friendly resource that serves up the most relevant content for each visitor: dealers, consultants, programmers, partners and end users.
Crestron invites everyone to visit its redesigned home online at www.crestron.com.
