Do You Know Where Your Web Site Is?

To borrow from the well-known slogan for FOX Broadcasting's 10- O'clock news ("It's 10 O'clock: Do you know where your children are?"), which celebrates its 40th year on the air, this question can also be applied to an engineering company's website. From time to time, the parent magazine, Microwaves & RF, and its associated properties, such as Microwaves & RF NotePad, have carried reviews of different companies' websites. Often, these reviews are greeted much like the brother-in-law with a history of overstaying a welcome, even though they are meant to offer constructive criticism.

Unfortunately, for some companies, the website is a necessary evil, a part of doing business. It must be maintained, at least with some minimal information. These are the sites that often show a "Last Updated" of several years back and very little useful information. The more-astute companies view their website as a true sales and engineering opportunity. Engineers, in particular, are savvy about finding product and application data on company websites. They will return to the good sites, and abandon the bad sites (along with any possibility of buying from those companies). Engineers like as much information about a product as possible, and they appreciate additional "goodies," such as reference design layouts, application notes, and technical articles. Do you know where your website is?