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Lighthouse Digest and Lighthouse Depot have been online since the very early days of graphical browsers . . . we went online in August of 1995. Initially, the website was just for the magazine, but pretty soon, we started to dip our finger into what is now called e-commerce.
At first, it was pretty basic. We would put up static pictures of products that we sold in the store. Then you could place an order by phoning our 800 number, but not online. Sounds primitive, right? Just remember, in 1995, NOBODY was doing much more; maybe IBM had an e-commerce site, but that was probably about it!
Every month, we would put up selected stories from Lighthouse Digest Magazine, and maybe add some more products on the “catalog” side of the website.
Then, in 1998, we opened our new online store just before Christmas, and on the first day, in the first few hours, we took four orders. And, we never even advertised it!
In no time at all, the web site proved that we could do a significant amount of business online, and as time passed, we began to realize that it was mostly NEW business. Despite being one of the busiest sites in the state of Maine, and high numbers on a national level, (in November of 1999, we had two million hits on our website), we could see that there was a lot more we could do online
As we looked around the web, we could see that our market was growing, there were a lot of lighthouse-related websites, and that our customers wanted a lot more than archived stories and a shopping cart. They wanted to COMMUNICATE . . . with us and with each other. Our customers ranged from serious historians to retirees on road trips; from people who grew up in lighthouses to people who are seeing them for the first time.
So we began to plan the next website. We wanted to create a true community on the web, and offer those members information they just couldn’t get anywhere else—from a lighthouse calendar of events to interactive forums. We wanted the Internet user to be involved all the way through the process. We began by rebuilding our existing system. We tied the catalog and the Lighthouse Digest together, so you can read the latest edition of the magazine and see new products, all at the same time. We rebuilt the entire online magazine, into a database structure, so readers can efficiently search through the whole archive, in seconds, for stories about any lighthouse!
We also brainstormed on new features, and decided that one of the most important was a Lighthouse Calendar of Events. Not just a static list of events, mind you, but a real calendar, letting you browse through month by month, forward or backwards. And our users can submit their own events to us in real time.
We wanted people to get to know each other, not just browse our site, so we created a profiles system, which lets you put up information about yourself and your interests, as well as the ability to email others on the system. We created a forums structure, a “message board,” where people can gather to discuss lighthouses. We built a chat room, where people will be able to get together in real time and talk.
And perhaps most importantly, we have created the Lighthouse Explorer Database, which will eventually have information on every lighthouse of importance in the world. Currently, we have detailed information for about 400 lighthouses, and the number rises daily. This information includes high quality photographs (in many cases it includes both high and low resolution photographs), and detailed information about the lighthouse, its history, its location, and much more.
Lastly, a faster, better looking, and much easier to use e-store was created. You can browse by category; look at products in “thumbnail” or list form, search by name, key word or the item code.Each category is broken up into product groups of 10 (in list view) or 16 (thumbnail view). It’s all been streamlined, speeded up, and improved.
By using the top menu bar, you can move from e-store to Lighthouse Digest to database to chat room to forum . . . instantly. The site went live on June 16, 2000; and response has been overwhelmingly positive.
What’s in the future? We’re looking at many different things, including web cams. We’ll be adding more all the time. If you have an idea for a feature you would like to see on the website, email me at webmaster@lhdepot.com
Our ultimate goal on the web . . . well, it may sound a little ambitious, but we’re serious. We plan on being the ONE place on the web where anyone who wants to know anything about lighthouses will go. It’s as simple as that.
If you have ideas that can get us there, let us know! Contact me at webmaster@lhdepot.com
This story appeared in the August 2000 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
All contents copyright © 1995 - 2003 by Lighthouse Digest®, Inc. No story, photograph, or any other item on this website may be reprinted or reproduced without the express permission of Lighthouse Digest. For contact information, click here.
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