The Carpet Foundation
The Carpet Foundation is an organisation set up to represent quality British carpet by not only providing a wealth of information on the subject, but also helping consumers to buy from a reputable source via their extensive list of approved 'Registered Specialist' retailers.
Getme worked alongside Severn Communications in order to produce a website which not only provides straightforward information about carpet to consumers in a clear and attractive manner, but also allows any visitor to find their nearest 'Registered Specialist' retailers, and view a 'mini-site' profile page about any retailer listed.
Getme used their Air web framework as the basis for the site, for its content management facilities and its database handling, in order to manage the large amounts of information that would need to be stored in relation to the many retailers.
A beneficial relationship
The Carpet Foundation is backed by 11 of the UK's leading carpet manufacturers and 1000 independent retailers known as 'Registered Specialist' retailers, all of whom use an OFT Approved Consumer Code of Practice.As the purpose of the website is to help consumers to make an informed decision about their carpet purchase, resulting in a satisfied customer, the site is designed to make it as easy as possible to find a 'Registered Specialist' retailer in the local area.
A website visitor can simply enter their postcode into the 'Find a Retailer' box located in the top corner of any page, and be presented with a list of the five approved retailers that are nearest to the location specified.
A Google map illustrates the location of each retailer in relation to the entered postcode, and below this are listed the details of each retailer found.
A Google map illustrates the location of each retailer in relation to the entered postcode, and below this are listed the details of each retailer found.
For each retailer, the minimum information provided is the address (with step by step directions available if required) and telephone number, but most will also show a fax number, and possibly an email address and/or website link.
However, if a business is listed amongst The Carpet Foundation's 'Registered Specialist' retailers there is no great need for a seperate website, as every retailer can have its own allocated profile page which covers all the essential details an interested customer could wish to know.
However, if a business is listed amongst The Carpet Foundation's 'Registered Specialist' retailers there is no great need for a seperate website, as every retailer can have its own allocated profile page which covers all the essential details an interested customer could wish to know.
Comprehensive representation
Of course, with this being an Air-based website, administrators from The Carpet Foundation are able to log-in to the back-end of the CMS in order to update text, images or other files.Additionally with this website however, every retailer represented may sign-in to their own section of the site, and enter or update information about their business.
Every retailer is provided with a username and password, and by selecting the 'Retailer Sign-in' option from the top right of any page, can access both their profile management page and a page of visitor statistics.
The stats page displays information about website visitor activity in relation to the retailer in question, such as how many visitors have viewed their profile page, how many were referred to them as a local retailer, how many asked for directions to the retailer and how many visited the retailer's own website via The Carpet Foundation.
All stats are presented in graphical form and in a table, and the results can be filtered by activity type, and for various time periods.
Each type of visitor activity is displayed as a different coloured line on the graph, helping to show the relationship between visitor numbers on The Carpet Foundation and periods of business activity.
The stats page displays information about website visitor activity in relation to the retailer in question, such as how many visitors have viewed their profile page, how many were referred to them as a local retailer, how many asked for directions to the retailer and how many visited the retailer's own website via The Carpet Foundation.
All stats are presented in graphical form and in a table, and the results can be filtered by activity type, and for various time periods.
Each type of visitor activity is displayed as a different coloured line on the graph, helping to show the relationship between visitor numbers on The Carpet Foundation and periods of business activity.
Staying up to date
Any retailer that signs in and selects to manage their profile will be presented with the 'Retailer Update Profile' form.
This form allows the retailer to enter/update:
- Company name
- Company contact's details
- Access details (username and password)
- Address
- Geographic location (with fine-tuning of location marker on Google map)
- Communication (telephone, fax, email address, website URL)
- Profile - 'About' text
- Profile - Photo image (bmp, gif, jpg, png or tif)
- Profile - Stocked brands (tick boxes)
- Opening hours and any additional information
If all areas of the form are completed, the result is a professional profile page to rival some full websites.
It provides a strong addition to the customer contact tools of the small to medium sized retailer, and a benefit to any retailer, the association with The Carpet Foundation not only directing local customers but also reassuring them of the retailers' professional standards.
Click on the image to the right for an example of a retailer profile page.
In addition to the company and contact details listed, if an email address has been specified, a contact form will automatically be displayed at the bottom of the profile page.
The Carpet Foundation and OFT Approved logos provide visitors with the reassurance that they are dealing with a reliable company.
It provides a strong addition to the customer contact tools of the small to medium sized retailer, and a benefit to any retailer, the association with The Carpet Foundation not only directing local customers but also reassuring them of the retailers' professional standards.
Click on the image to the right for an example of a retailer profile page.
In addition to the company and contact details listed, if an email address has been specified, a contact form will automatically be displayed at the bottom of the profile page.
The Carpet Foundation and OFT Approved logos provide visitors with the reassurance that they are dealing with a reliable company.
Quality control
The retailer profile facilities are very useful, but they are only provided once The Carpet Foundation are satisfied that a company fully complies with the Code of Practice approved by the OFT.Therefore, The Carpet Foundation administrators retain control of all retailers listed on the site via a specially designed facility in the back-end of the Air system.
An administrator must initially 'Add a retailer' to enter the default details of a new retailer into the system so that they may be found via the website 'Find a Retailer' facility. The retailer is then assigned a username and password to allow them to sign-in to the site and update their details. This places the retailer on a 'Waiting' status, for administrative purposes.
Only once a retailer has been approved as a 'Registered Specialist' will an administrator update their status to 'Approved', at which point any details the retailer has entered will be automatically displayed on their own profile page.
An administrator may also change any retailer to 'Suspended' status (removing them from the site, but retaining their details on the database), if necessary.
Furthermore, an administrator has the power to update any of the details that a retailer has access to, although usually the retailers will make these changes themselves.
Conclusion
The design of The Carpet Foundation website is both contemporary and classic, with no 'trendy' aspects that can look good one day but out of date the next. In that regard it reflects well the subject matter of quality British carpet, and the intuitive navigation of the site ensures visitors should never have a problem finding what they are looking for.The ease with which an approved local retailer can be found demonstrates the strength of the system behind the website; the Air framework that can be tailored to just about any web application. In this case it handles not only the administrators of The Carpet Foundation, but each and every retailer is essentially an administrator too.
There are currently around 1000 retailers listed, which is good for the British carpet industry, and more importantly, for anyone looking for a new carpet for their home.