Why two websites?

[Carolyn B]

I'm not too knowledgeable about technology but was just wondering - why are there two Cathe websites - CatheNation and Cathe.com?

I was thinking that when CatheNation started everything would transition over here and the other one would be discontinued but it has updates and the blog.

Is one easier to download for people with dial up?

Too much free time on my hands today for idle musing...

 

[SNM Videos]

There actually many reasons for having more than one website, but one of the main reasons is that most of our income comes from our website and we don't want to be a position where our company would be shut down because of a server or web host failure. We were shut down for three days once because of a power failure caused by a hurricane and our server host provider's backup generator failed to work. That meant no sales for three days and no work for employees. We learned from that experience and today we actually have three different websites located in different parts of the country, including www.shopcathe.com, www.thecathenation.com , and www.cathe.com.

Besides survival there are other reasons for our multiple site strategy. Our first and main site is www.cathe.com, but this is now an old site that was originally designed using tables and now outdated technology. It is easier for us to completely redo www.cathe.com than to try to update it. We’re now in the process of completely redoing www.cathe.com and that has been the focus of our company for the last month.

But the main difference between the two sites (www.thecathenation.com and www.cathe.com) is www.cathe.com will be more geared towards new users and customers and will focus on promoting and selling our products. Our other site, www.thecathenation.com focuses more on our existing customers and helping them communicate with Cathe and each other as well as helping them use products that they have already purchased from us. This is why you see very little promotion of our products on the www.thecathenation.com website, but will see helpful features like the Workout Manager, Nutrition Software, Forums, Cathe TV, Muscle Animations, Fit Tips etc.

We don’t want to bombard you with promotional web ads for products you already have. This is why we having two sites makes sense and lets us divide our focus between promoting our products and helping our customers.

 

[Carolyn B]

Thanks for answering! It is so interesting to see all of the thought that goes into these decisions.

And to think that when SNM started there was no such thing as the internet and now it is THE sales and communication tool!

It seems like a lifetime ago that I would learn about new workout videos from getting something in the mail!

 

[MommaPew]

I'm so happy to hear you're updating www.cathe.com. I was browing on it today and see that you've been updating it, but yes it definetly looks dated. I forget to check out the Blog and see that there has been several updates. Wondering if the blog should be ont he Cathenation site? Just a thought. Thanks for all your hard work.

 

[NancyAZ]

Will the site for the gym be getting a makeover, too? When I visited it recently out of curiosity in anticipation of the Road Trip, I was surprised to see its outdated look and a lot of typos.

 

[Runcrazy]

Thanks for that little tidbit SNM; that makes total sense!

Jo