Each month RECORD reviews building product related web sites and blogs that might be of interest to our readership. We visit each site, kick the tires a bit, and share what it is about and how it functions. Please let us know if there is a site you've found particularly useful, well-designed, or easy to navigate. — Rita Catinella Orrell
 

www.danskina.com
Thanks to a simple layout with vibrant images, browsing through the Web site for this Amsterdam-based maker of modern rugs is a pleasure. Visitors can sort through the company’s collection by style and color, zoom in on photographs, and download helpful information sheets with technical details and maintenance tips. The project gallery shows Danskina rugs in assorted venues, from a Moroso showroom in Italy to a model apartment in Portugal. The site also features an exceptionally creative store locator.
 

www.flexibilityconcepts.com
This manufacturer of flexible metal tracks has added content to its dense Web site, such as a calculator that determines linear footage for a specified curved application. Other site features include engineering drawings, installation instructions, and a “products in use” photo gallery. Products are divided into three categories—commercial, residential, and deflection—and descriptions are accompanied by drawings showing isometric and alternate views. The site’s home page, with flashing images, is very dynamic, but the white text is a bit difficult to read.
 

www.rolandsimmons.com
The new Web site for Roland Simmons, a contemporary lighting designer, is clean, attractive, and thin on words. Beyond the store locator, highlights include appealing pictures of the designer’s three lamp models—the Lumalight, Kalon, and Trovato—in varying sizes, accompanied by a measurement chart that shows how tall the lamps are compared to a human figure. The site also includes an account set-up area and profiles on Simmons and Interfold, which produces the Wyoming-based designer’s lamps.
     

www.met-tile.com
On its newly redesigned Web site, Met-Tile presents ample information about metal-tile roofing panels for residential and nonresidential customers. Features include a photo gallery, extensive list of distributors, detailed technical information, downloadable literature, testimonials, and a roofing profile quiz (to determine if a roof is metal-tile compatible). Visitors can also learn about the company’s new “cool roof” line, which meets Energy Star guidelines. The site isn’t very stylish, but it is well organized and easy to navigate.