The Applecado Blog
We are proud to share the launch of a fully custom eCommerce website for Blakes Building Products, created to support their continued growth as they celebrate over 60 years in the industry – which is an incredible achievement!
Designed and developed around Blakes’ requirements, the new platform combines a robust, secure, and scalable eCommerce system with a carefully considered customer experience.
Brimming with heritage, Blakes Building Products has earned an excellent reputation for quality and reliability within the construction industry.
To mark this milestone birthday, Blakes’ decided it was the perfect opportunity to launch a new digital platform that serves their vast product range and supports their customers more effectively.
A key part of the design brief was that the iconic ‘wall’ element of their brand must be retained. Also, being designed and made in Great Britain, it was important this was featured prominently in the homepage messaging too.
We loved learning that the wall that featured on their existing homepage was also physically built inside their office, and so it was essential that it remained a central feature of the new site. We made sure this carried into the new design, and it also works to reassure existing customers familiar with the previous site.
This project involved more than just a visual refresh. One of it’s goals was to ensure the order and checkout experience was as robust and as effortless as possible. With a specific audience in mind, we knew tradespeople would be either ordering on-site, or browsing and ordering at the end of the day which meant efficiency was critical.
At Applecado, we specialise in fully bespoke websites and solutions – and eCommerce is a perfect case for bespoke because there’s so much scope to add value, and we love that clients are not forced into working one specific way.
We focused on a clear and consistent navigation, pulling out top categories for greater exposure. On product pages, we were careful to make sure the key messages and information that builds trust in new customers would be eye-catching and understood quickly. Reducing the need to scroll around, navigate to other pages helps site visitors make confident decisions.
There are a few features we’ve added to increase shop usability: the team can highlight relevant and related products so customers don’t miss opportunities to add-on items to create their perfect kit. Checkout has been streamlined with a quick checkout, allowing customers to order without and account and speeding up the process.
We’ve also given the team lots of control over their product, stock, and order management and a new level of flexibility over their shipping options.
Explore the site and features we’ve built (and the wall!) at Blakes Building Profiles.
If you’d like to discuss a new eCommerce project tailored to your business and customers, we’d love to help.
Get in touch at hello@applecado.co.uk to see how we can design and build a fully bespoke solution around your goals.
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