Architectural Salvage seems to have been around for as long as its stock. From premises on Dublin's south quays, it sells everything from Victorian doorknockers to statuary and Georgian fireplaces.
When its managing director, Niall McDonagh, met Parallel Internet staff to discuss putting it on the Web the omens were not good. Few in the company could use a PC; most of the crucial information was in people's heads; the warehouse was being re-roofed (to transform it into a showroom) and it was raining. It was clear, however, that McDonagh didn't want just a "nice" website for Arcsalve. He saw the Web as a worldwide opportunity, but most knowledge about the antiques - origin, price, how they could be restored - existed in his head, and he was not comfortable with computers. We needed to think about specifications for the site; in particular how to store images most effectively in a database, which was something new for us.
We wanted an identity that combined the atmosphere of the Arcsalve premises with a strong sense of a quality - a site where customers could confidently do business. Arcsalve has an excellent reputation and any association with the rag-and-bone trade was to be avoided.
Another issue was what to do once the site was up and running, as there wasn't anyone in the company who looked likely to become the webmaster. The first decision was to use a Microsoft Access database. This was chosen for several reasons: if we did not identify a webmaster to work with Arcsalve, then finding someone with Access skills would be relatively easy; for development reasons, we also wanted to keep image-management separate from the database; and the scale of the Arcsalve database (maximum 1,000 items) obviated the need for something more robust.
At this stage we were thinking about an Active Server Pages environment that would accommodate the skill levels at Arcsalve. In the event, we went with CGI/Perl rather than ASP.
The second step was a paper template for Niall McDonagh to take around the warehouse and write in what we needed to know about each object. While this was happening, we completed the look and feel stage of the site. The main sections were: About Arcsalve, a Catalogue, a Database, a Statuary, and a Past Times section with information on various eras in the antique trade.
With the benefit of hindsight, we should not have developed separate Cat- alogue and Database sections. When the site was launched these were essentially separate, but they have since been integrated so that viewing the catalogue can extend into the database, the location for cost and delivery information.
The need for someone with computer skills to work with Arcsalve was increasingly apparent. From an ad on the Trinity College notice-board - enter Eugene. He quickly moved text into the database and made a start on photographing every item in the showroom with a digital camera.
We soon had 10 completed entries in the database, with images, and we designed a CGI/Perl search program. It relied on the user entering individual catalogue numbers for each item, but this was not expected to be a problem for trade customers who knew what they were looking for and how to find it. We published the site, hosting with Esat Net rather than a US company because we wanted easy access to the ISP in the event of any technical problems.
There had never been an intention to provide full transactions online. Arcsalve's stock ranges from £100 to over £10,000 and it was felt that simple online credit card transaction would not work. In fact, direct customer contact usually resulted in a greater sale, and this seemed likely online also. We decided to introduce easy-to-use contact forms and offer reduced-rate telephone numbers. Furthermore, a good deal of investment had been made in the database programming for the site and further expenditure could not be justified until the site had proved itself.
The database was at the heart of the site, with searches by price or date across seven categories and eight historical eras. The results page offered catalogue number, price, description, era, comments and date received. The homepage also contained a "quick find" field using catalogue numbers.
The first launch of the site was successful but showed up some core problems. The homepage didn't immediately define the sales offer for the user. The need to enter a catalogue number to search the database didn't work in terms of user interaction. People were leaving the site at this point.
Notwithstanding this, there were successes - such as the Dutch antique dealer who came from the site to the showroom to buy a vanload of goods before returning to the Netherlands.
There was a feeling that it wasn't quite right yet. We reworked the homepage to bring users more quickly into the site. We added an Antique Trivia section to capture email from visitors. We put the database search on the home page and added stories to give the site a more portal/news style.
Most importantly, we developed a Perl script to link the catalogue to details from the database. Clicking on the photograph now brings up database information, without typing in the catalogue number. Searching the site became much faster.
This dramatically improved visitor response in terms of enquiries, email signup and time on the site. The sales process still involves email and then phone contact with Arcsalve, but this has not deterred customers from Britain, the US, Holland, and the Far East.
Fulfilment, the processing and delivery of goods, is now a central issue for development of the site as shipping costs must be calculated for customers. Other possibilities include more extensive web marketing and expanding the site as an architectural salvage portal.
Arcsalve is now a new kind of company, with technology sitting comfortably beside antiques. Niall McDonagh has taken to the technology with style and when he cannot get to a potential addition to the showroom, one of his colleagues takes a digital camera, captures the statue, fireplace, or antique lamp stand and emails an image back. A guide price is given and the haggling begins.
Tom Skinner is MD of Parallel Internet (www.parallelinternet.com)