CAO’s Website is an example of a company that gets the Internet and understands the importance of web presence.
Cigar Information: A-
The cigars they have on the site they describe very well. Each cigar has it’s own section that includes its background story, packaging, sizes, and blends. I really like the breakdown on the anatomy of the cigar where they map out the origins of the tobacco. My only complaint is they do not have some of the special edition cigars listed.
Company Information: B
No hunting for company information on CAO’s site. They list several contact options for different departments along with an address and phone number. The downside is they don’t really have a section about the company itself and its history.
Website Features and Usability: A
Though the site relies heavily on Flash, to their credit it is extremely well done. There is an up to date list of events, galleries, a store finder and an option to sign up for a newsletter. The newsletter I’ve found to be very informative and they send it out an when they have any updates about major events, new cigars or major news. The only borderline negative here is that they have a blog, but it hasn’t been updated in months.
Recommendations:
Although I’m not a huge fan on the use of Flash, it is done well on this site and they are good about getting product information up and easily viewable. Several of the options pop up in new windows and I find that annoying. The blog is also a standard WordPress theme so tweaking it to better match the colors of the site would be good move. Overall they have a great site that I really can’t find too many things to complain about.
Popularity: 10% [?]
