Underwriters Laboratories

The initial release of UL.com will feature the following capabilities:

• Login to MyHome @UL customer portal on every page
• Google search enabling you to search UL.com as well as any other UL country- or region-specific site. In future releases, you will be able to search other UL external databases via Google search
• More dynamic content areas including Flash components, video and audio
• New page design enabling larger, more engaging messaging
• Easier navigation based on the type of site visitor, industry and service
• Navigational "breadcrumbs" providing you with an alternate way to move through content
• UL News widget with RSS feeds to deliver the latest UL information
• Top downloads widget to increase visibility of information and tools that other site visitors find useful
• Ability to share content via select social networks

Visitors will begin seeing the new UL.com on Monday, March 16. Due to the nature of a site launch and propagating it across the Web, it may take one to three business days for the site to be available globally and fully indexed by third-party search engines.

UL realized that we had outgrown the current design of UL.com and that it no longer met the needs of our many site visitors or our company from a business, experience, language and design perspective. The goal of this initial launch is to lay the foundation for improved user interactions. As we move forward through 2009 and 2010, you can expect to see more targeted, needs-based content as well as more dynamic ways to interact and enhance your business with UL.

For the time being, yes. The Latin America site has been integrated into the new UL.com during this initial release. The remaining region- and country-specific sites will be integrated into the UL.com over time.

In Release 1.0, you will see the majority of content in English. On the Argentina, Brazil and Mexico pages, content will be provided in English and the appropriate local language.

The Online Certifications Directory and Standards section are two of the most trafficked areas of UL.com. You can continue to access the Online Certifications Directory and Standards through their respective links in the footer of every page as well as through specific messages and links on key perspective, industry, and services landing pages.

Beginning March 16, UL.com visitors will find the UL.com feedback form available on the site. Additionally, you can send feedback directly to webmaster@us.ul.com.

When making such wide-sweeping changes to a site of this size and complexity, we expect some users to encounter bookmarks that no longer work and/or broken links. The new UL.com has a completely different architecture and URL structure from the current UL.com. All efforts are being made to re-direct the most visited URLs to their corresponding new pages.

When a bookmarked page is not found or a link is broken, you will receive a "Page Not Found" message directing you to the new UL.com and the new site search page with instructions on how to locate and bookmark new pages.

The current UL.com - made up of numerous content areas, links to independent sites and databases, applications, forms, etc. - took years to reach its current state. Naturally, it's going to take some time to evaluate and integrate all of those components. Featured areas such as the Online Certifications Directory, Safety at Home and the iQTM databases actually exist separately from UL.com and will be converted to the new design or integrated into the platform in future releases.

Please submit questions and comments via e-mail to webmaster@us.ul.com.