Brett happens

With much fanfare, the SAQ launched its new website on February 4. There are definitely some improvements. Below are the things I like about it. A much longer list of things that, in my opinion, need work will be posted in a day or two.

Like the new SAQ.com, these pro and con posts are a work in progress and will be updated and corrected as I get to know the site better and as friends and readers provide input.

• It’s taken a few days, but I’ve come to appreciate the drop-down mouseover menus at the top of the page.
• The search engine is far superior to its predecessor: typo correction, suggested completions, fuzzy logic, search on multiple terms (e.g. Alsace Reisling 2008).
• The options for filtering search results are nicely implemented via a sidebar on the results page.
• The product size (format) filters are more granular and easier to understand and use (e.g. “750 ml” vs. the former “376 ml to 750 ml”).
• The Price filter can now be set with a single click.
• The new On Sale filter lets you display all the discounted products in a category. Similarly, you can limit searches to special categories like Cellier or Courrier vinicole products.
• Your search and viewing history are displayed (though only the last three products).
• The product information is often more extensive and includes the constituent grape varieties for many wines (it remains to be seen how regularly it will be updated).
• Product photos can now be enlarged, often to the point where you can actually read what’s on the label.
• While far from perfect, the automated food pairing suggestions are better implemented and more useful than on most other sites.
• Page matching between the French and English sites is finally implemented (on the former site, if you were looking at say, a product page or news release on the French site and clicked the English button, you were taken to the English site’s home page and had to repeat your search. Now you’re taken to the equivalent page.)
• Product page URLs are shorter and more comprehensible.
• MapQuest is out, Google Maps is in.
• The Useful Links and Resources page is much improved though in many ways it remains rudimentary (e.g. no links to English-language blogs, including this one, and only one link to a local French-language blog, Vin Québec).
• Corporate information, such as policies, procedures, cellar rentals, previous-year annual reports and even director biographies, is newly available or more easily accessible.