Technical Product Specifications
Renewable Energy products involve detailed technical specifications.
In this case, Alpha Thermal Systems is selling Solar Hot Water Systems, which may be evaluated for a potential commercial or residential installation on the basis of pipe sizing and other criteria.
Magento is thoughtfully geared toward displaying both individual product specifications and 'groups' of product attributes (for similar products) as shown below.
Custom Product Options
Technical products often have more similarities than differences. Alpha Thermal Systems' FlowCon FA has three different pumps available, and listing each of these as a separate product would add too much complexity to the site.
Luckily, Magento has a nice feature set for 'Custom Product Options'. Custom options for a single product can include price, size, technical attributes, weight - whatever you choose. The platform handles these options with relative elegance - updating pricing in real-time.
Technical Product Comparisons
Alpha Thermal Systems provides high-end products to Solar Heating Installers, and installers may need to know how two different products compare on the basis of features, pipe size and even component materials.
Magento includes a nifty 'Compare Tool' - screenshot example below:
Interested visitors may quickly compare products and save a little time during the sales process, but even better, product-comparisons add to the value of the web site as a resource.
One great way to capture repeat traffic from potential customers is to make free and easy-to-use resources and tools available to your target market.
In Summary: Usability and Relevance
AlphaThermalSystems.com isn't our most 'flashy' web site design - it doesn't include fancy animations or large-scale photographs.
What the site does do particularly well though, is follow a philosophy of usability and relevance. The total user experience of a web site - the trust and comfort that a visitor has in shopping online - is near-universally considered to be the most important factor in new online sales.
As we announce the launch of the site today we're happy to be working with a great new client in Solar Heating and we look forward to helping Alpha Thermal Systems grow!
