SurfTechcase study.

The old homepage is shown as the Internet Archive saved it on 3 July 2025, and the old coating, chart, and quote pages as it saved them between 2022 and 2024. Every Now screenshot shows the live ercsurftech.com.

1. 01

   The homepage never said what SurfTech does

   The only heading in the code was the logo image, and the visible headline was a five-slide carousel beginning "We make your…". The copy carried leftover keyword phrases such as "Hire us for pvd coating companies in ohio based.", and the footer read © 2016. The low temperature process, which is the reason buyers choose SurfTech, sat halfway down the page.

   What we changed. The homepage now opens with "Low temperature PVD coatings for parts and tools." and explains that SurfTech deposits coatings below 200 °F, so hardened steel, brazed carbide, PCD, and CBN keep their properties. Below it sit the six steps of the coating process and a comparison with conventional PVD and CVD temperatures.

   Before

   

   Now

   

2. 02

   Coating figures were buried, in changing units

   The old coating pages kept their figures at the foot of long marketing copy, in units that changed from page to page, such as "4500 Vickers HK" on the 4200 page. Engineers compare coatings on hardness, friction, service temperature, and thickness, and they need those figures in the same place every time.

   What we changed. Each of the 13 coating codes now has its own page. Six carry a full specification table with chemistry, appearance, hardness, friction, maximum service temperature, film thickness, and deposition temperature, and the other seven offer a data sheet on request.

   Before

   

   Now

   

3. 03

   The comparison chart was a PDF, then an error

   The old comparison chart was a PDF download with an empty selector, and its last capture in December 2022 showed only a PHP error. A PDF is hard to read on a phone, and a page showing an error tells a buyer that nobody is looking after the site.

   What we changed. One table on the page now compares all 13 codes on chemistry, appearance, hardness, friction, maximum service temperature, and thickness. A guide beside it helps a buyer choose by how the part fails: abrasive wear, galling, chipping, or heat.

   Before

   

   Now

   

4. 04

   The quote page asked for drawings it could not take

   The old quote page asked buyers to attach their drawings, but its form had only a name, an email, and a message box, with no way to attach anything. Its last capture in December 2022 showed a PHP error.

   What we changed. The new form asks for the part, the substrate, the quantity per lot, the coating, and how the part fails now, with a drawing field that accepts PDF, DXF, DWG, STEP, IGES, STL, and ZIP files. It prepares the request as an email to SurfTech’s sales inbox, and the buyer attaches the drawing.

   Before

   

   Now