Leading UK lighting control manufacturer Zero 88 launches a new website www.zero88.com complete with a highly visual contemporary design and a host of relevant product, project and general information that’s quick and easy to navigate via intuitive menuing that gets viewers to exactly where they need to be quickly and logically.
It has been designed and initiated by the same team who worked on delivering the award-winning patented ZerOS User interface features and mobile app.
The site is fully mobile-friendly and optimised for all devices – smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops. It is action-packed with high-quality photos and embedded product overview and training videos, all of which will maximize the available viewing surface area with precisely curated information.
“It’s been designed to meet the needs of today’s end-users including lighting creatives and specifiers who are regularly accessing the internet on the move using mobile hand-held devices,” commented Zero 88 product manager Jon Hole, who is part of the team driving the development of the new portal.
At the essence is enabling visitors to find what they need “quickly and painlessly on whatever device they are using, with everything looking visually attractive and appropriate to the creative worlds for which Zero products are designed.”
Zero 88’s focus on regularly developing new software features is reflected in the new site which ensures that the process of finding and downloading the latest issued software versions is straightforward and efficient.
For the first time, it provides an opportunity to download the back catalogue of software releases in case required for showfile compatibility.
“Accessories”, “Variants” and “Spare Parts” are now all listed for each product together with their product order codes, and a global ‘Distributor Search’ engine simplifies sourcing local Zero 88 distributors worldwide.
A series of downloadable Comparison Charts allow side-by-side comparisons between Zero 88 lighting consoles plus power control / distribution products to assist specifiers and installers to select a perfect combination for their project / application.
An improved Training page highlights Zero 88’s ongoing and enthusiastic commitment to free training sessions around the UK, together with international training opportunities and the wealth of tutorials available via YouTube.
Zero88.com is designed to be a central communication hub for every aspect of the brand’s culture and identity – from technical to community – and all parameters including news feeds, press and media coverage / published content and social channels making up the digital ‘bedrock’ for supporting and promoting the products also feed in and fuel traffic to the website.
Celebrating 47 years of success as one of the most recognised and reliable ‘Made in the UK’ entertainment technology brands, the history of Zero 88’s website also goes back an impressive 22 years to 1997. The first one was launched at the PLASA expo of that year for the company’s 25th anniversary.
The background to this started around 1995 “with the steady introduction of computers into the workplace and the Zero 88 design and marketing being moved from an external design agency to in-house,” recalled the company’s head graphics specialist, Mandy Buggey. In 1997 Tim Burt was tasked with creating that first Zero 88 website – revolutionary in its time – and over the years this has morphed several times – each time remaining at the cutting edge of online facilities as the technology, speed and availability of internet access and general expectations have changed always getting more complex and demanding.
More recently, the Zero 88 team has worked with independent web developers to create a future-proof, user-friendly modular system that works fluidly and looks stylish
The original website received around 4000 page views in the first 6 months and the current site gets significantly more than this every week from thousands of unique visitors around the globe.
For Zero 88, as well as being a powerful platform for communication, the website also offers latitude for engaging the Zerosphere in some fun. This started back in the early 2000s with a section called “The Green Room” which included links to “Fun downloads” – back in the days when every company had its own screensaver – quizzes, e-postcards, caption competitions and a range of jokes – good, bad, ugly and hilarious – spawned from diverse senses of humour and aspects of life, all vaguely related to Zero products. Some of these have gone on to become ‘classics’ in the company’s rich history.
Hole now loves how good and dramatic production photography is front and centre of every page, drawing people in and capturing their attention.
He concluded: “Our products are tools integral in realising fantastic lighting designs that help tell amazing stories and delight audiences … and it’s this fission of excitement and ‘liveness’ that we really wanted for this new website in addition to all the practicalities and, naturally, the core information that underlines our commitment and passion for this incredible industry.”