Building merchants don’t often have an exceptional online presence, but that’s changing!
As the world becomes increasingly digital-first, many builders, timber merchants and building suppliers are harnessing the power of ecommerce to boost growth and ensure long-term viability for their businesses. If you’re considering launching your brand into the online space but aren’t sure where to start, we’ve got your back. We’ve rounded up 10 of the best building merchant ecommerce websites and share what we think each offers in terms of UX features, website design and overall customer journey. Without further ado, let’s jump in!
1. Travis Perkins
As one of the UK’s leading timber and builders merchants, the Travis Perkins ecommerce websites does not disappoint! The web design itself is relatively minimal but as it’s paired with bold, eye-catching graphics, it’s always engaging for users. Bespoke iconography is utilised throughout the design to guide users and highlight USPs such as free Click&Collect, instantly building trust with users and making the online shopping journey seamless. Overall, the site is easy to navigate with an extensive mega-menu and offers unique UX features that enhance the customer journey for builders and other tradies.
Standout features:
- Quick add to basket for delivery or collection offers excellent customer service
- Unique ‘hire basket’ UX feature allows users to hire tools and equipment for a particular project
- VAT toggle so users can browse either including or excluding VAT dependent on their needs
- Branch Locator interactive map tool ensures users can quickly find their nearest store
- Quote List tool allows users to save quotes to compare and get the best deal
2. Huws Gray
Founded back in 1990, Huws Gray has grown to become one of the UK’s leading builders merchant suppliers covering England, Scotland and Wales. Their ecommerce site is sleek, modern and captures their brand identity perfectly with striking use of brand colours to guide users to the most important elements of the site. A branch finder, VAT toggle tool, bespoke iconography, extraordinarily fast loading times and a responsive design ensure the site appeals to busy tradies on-the-go as well as DIY customers. Overall, the site feels professional, modern and trustworthy and is sure to attract the right customers.
Standout features:
- Trade customer account area with exclusive pricing nurtures trade clients
- Advanced, colour-coded, interactive branch finder tools
- Smart Search tool enables users to rapidly search for specific products
3. Jewson
Jewson offers a premium ecommerce experience that reflects the high-quality nature of the products they supply. High-resolution photography, modern graphics and advanced UX features work in tandem to create an immersive online shopping experience that feels dependable and trustworthy. Navigation is seamless with a fantastic hierarchical mega-menu, ‘trade deal’ banners highlight time-limited offers and a unique Project Estimator tool adds great value to users by offering estimates from ex-tradespeople based in the UK. Overall, the Jewson ecommerce site goes above and beyond and we’re pretty impressed!
Standout features:
- Project Estimator UX feature
- Unique calculator tools such as; Brick Calculator, Tile Calculator & Loft Insulation Calculator
- Homepage category carousel for seamless UX on mobile devices
4. Beers
As Merseyside’s leading supplier of timber and building materials, it’s only right that Beers offers an easy breezy ecommerce experience for its customers. While some imagery could do with being sharpened up and the site feels a little rudimentary compared to its competitors, the website does exactly what it says on the tin and ensures that builders can rapidly find the supplies they’re looking for with a range of basic features such as smart search, a streamlined mega-menu and a branch locator tool if they want to browse in person.
Standout features:
- ‘Click&Collect’ from your nearest branch ensuring great customer service
- Branch Locator ensures users can quickly find their nearest store
- Smart Search tool enables users to rapidly search for specific products
5. MKM
MKM Building Supplies was founded back in 1995 and since then, has gone from strength to strength. The brand’s commitment to exceptional customer service, giving back to its local community and focusing on long-term growth is how MKM have become the powerhouse they are. As Hull City’s leading sponsor and with a football stadium in their name, we knew that MKM would have a show-stopping ecommerce site and it did not disappoint! The site is extremely intuitive to navigate, offers an abundance of unique features that put customers first and feels extremely modern and enjoyable to use. Overall, MKM’s site is vibrant, engaging and offers everything tradies need to drive success for their own businesses.
Standout features:
- Trade Credit Account allows users to benefit from interest-free credit when they open an account
- Vibrant promotional banners capture attention and highlight key offers
- ‘Popular Products’ section makes it easy for users to navigate to the most commonly bought supplies
- High-quality product photography and graphics
6. Roundtower Lime
Roundtower Lime is Ireland’s leading environmentally friendly building materials suppliers. Built on Shopify, the Roundtower Lime ecommerce site offers a minimal design that puts its products at the core. Simplified navigation, elegant iconography and minimalistic typography create a ‘no-fuss’ feeling that captures the Roundtower Lime brand identity and core values as their products are both sustainable, highly-functional and with no-frills. A dedicated Knowledge Hub provides ample information for customers and ‘how-to’ guides prove invaluable within the industry. Overall, the site is fuss-free, optimised for conversions and user-friendly.
Standout features:
- Dedicated Knowledge Hub featuring how-to-guides and more
- Simple and minimalistic web design allows sustainable products to shine
- Elegant typography and iconography
7. Wickes
Dating way back to 1854 (although the first Wickes store didn’t open until 1972 in the UK), Wickes is now a trusted household name up and down the country. Their ecommerce website is a masterclass in how to succeed in B2B ecommerce for builders and timbers merchants with lightning-fast page speed, responsive design and unique UX features including options for delivery within 3 hours and a ‘track my order’ feature. The site offers an abundance of helpful features like those above that enable tradies to plan ahead and be as efficient as possible. Overall, the site feels attuned to the various needs of trade clients and offers a great ecommerce experience.
Standout features:
- Track My Order feature enables tradies to estimate when their supplies will arrive and plan accordingly
- Project Lists allow users to categorise and save products for various projects, keeping things manageable
- ‘Delivery within 3 hours’ UX feature enables customers to get rapid delivery
- Click&Collect from as little as 15 minutes to keep the show on the road
- Spend & Save discount that increases the more you purchase
8. B&Q
B&Q is arguably the most well known DIY and building supplies store in the UK. Their iconic vibrant orange brand colour is plastered all over their website in the form of eye-catching promotional banners highlighting time-limited deals and icons showcasing USPs. While B&Q is largely targeted towards homeowners undertaking DIY projects, they still cater to tradies and their website enables them to Click&Collect or schedule delivery at a time convenient to them. A dedicated Ideas & Advice centre provides tons of value for users while various calculators ensure users can quickly work out the product quantity they need to fulfil their project.
Standout features:
- Popular Right Now enables users to quickly find the most popular building supplies
- Ideas & Advice content hub provides tons of value for users
- Various Product Calculators enable users to calculate exactly the quantity of product they need for their project
9. Selco
Selco is infamous for it’s radio jingle ‘Selco, it’s where the trade go!’ so we had high hopes for this builders ecommerce site. Colourful promotional banners, vibrant product ribbons and forthright icons are eye-catching for users and help them to quickly find the best deals, which is exactly what their target audience is looking for. Product categories are organised in a logical and hierarchical fashion which enables users to browse by product type and quickly find what they’re searching for.
Standout features:
- Eye-catching promotional banners
- Dedicated content hub full of how-to-guides, brainteasers and brand spotlight blogs
- Branch finder tool ensures users can quickly find their nearest store
10. Trade Point
Trade Point offers a very distinct brand identity combining sleek black and vibrant yellow, setting the stage for a bold, engaging and compelling ecommerce website. Bold promotional banners instantly capture the attention of users and bold typography and graphics make users feel like they’re in safe hands, right from the start. Streamlined navigation with a hierarchical mega-menu, ‘popular categories’ and ‘stock up now’ sections help the site to feel extremely intuitive and seamless.
Standout features:
- Tool hire feature powered by Speedy Hire
- Click&Collect in 15 minutes
- Exclusive trade loyalty discounts
- Interest free credit account for tradies
And there we have it! Our top 10 building merchants ecommerce websites to take inspiration from for your own site. Need a helping hand levelling-up your online presence? Don’t hesitate to get in touch a member of the Limely team!
