Websites for builders merchants
Builders merchant website for trade and retail
A builders merchant serves trade and public alike. The site should show the range, make trade accounts easy to open, and prove you're the reliable local supplier builders can count on stocking what they need.
From £297, live in 7 days, on your own domain.
Builders merchant websites
Serve the trade and the public
A builders merchant serves two kinds of customer, and the website should serve both. On one side is the trade, builders, tradespeople and contractors, the core customers who buy regularly and value reliable stock, fair trade pricing and the convenience of an account. On the other is the public, buying materials for DIY and home projects. These two audiences overlap in what they buy but differ in how they buy, and the site should serve each: courting the valuable trade accounts while remaining clear and accessible for retail buyers. The trade is where the steady, repeat business lies, so the site should particularly reassure and serve trade customers, making it easy to open an account and proving you are a dependable supplier, while not neglecting the public who also come through the door. Serving both, and proving your reliability as a local supplier, is the heart of what a builders merchant’s website is for, because the business depends on both the loyal trade and the passing retail trade.
That dual audience is the key to the site. A builder and a DIY customer want different things, the builder wants an account, trade pricing and confidence you will always have what they need, the retail buyer wants to find a product and know you stock it, so the site should make sense to both. Getting that balance right, courting the trade while welcoming the public, is what makes a builders merchant’s site work, because both streams matter and the site is often where a new customer of either kind first sizes you up.
Court the trade accounts
The steadiest, most valuable business for a builders merchant is the trade, and trade accounts are how you capture and keep it, so the site should court them deliberately. A builder or tradesperson with an account buys from you again and again, valuing the convenience, the trade pricing and the ongoing relationship, so that account represents loyal, repeat business worth far more than a stream of one-off retail sales. So the site should make it easy to open a trade account and clear what the benefits are, whether that is pricing, convenience, or reliable supply, actively inviting trade customers to sign up. A site that welcomes trade customers, makes opening an account simple, and reassures them you are a dependable supplier builds the loyal base of regular buyers that underpins a builders merchant. Because that trade base is the foundation of the business, courting it through the site is genuinely important, not a secondary concern to retail sales.
Show the range and prove reliability
Both trade and retail customers choose a merchant partly on whether it carries the materials and products they need, so showing your product range clearly is important, and it does double duty. It reassures customers that you can supply their job, and it helps you get found for the specific product searches people make. A builder needs confidence that you will have what they need when they need it, because a merchant that runs out or does not stock the right things costs them time and money, so making your range and what you stock clear directly addresses that concern. Reliability is the underlying thing a builder is really buying, the assurance that you will have the materials, at a fair price, when the job needs them, so the site should prove that dependability as well as show the range. A merchant that demonstrates a good, clearly presented range and a reputation for reliable local supply reassures the trade and captures the searches, both of which bring customers in.
Win both kinds of customer
A builders merchant’s business comes from both trade and retail, and both increasingly start online: trade customers look for a reliable local merchant to open an account with, and both trade and public search for suppliers of specific materials. A site that shows the range clearly, makes trade accounts easy to open, and proves your local reliability reaches those customers and brings them in, winning the loyal trade accounts and the retail searches alike. For a supplier whose value is reliable local stock and dependable trade relationships, being findable and clearly serving both audiences is central to winning and keeping customers. The site is where a builder decides you are the reliable merchant worth opening an account with, and where a retail buyer finds the materials they need, which is exactly what a builders merchant’s website is for.
A straight price, and getting found
I build builders merchant websites from £297, on spec and live within seven days on your own domain, so you see the finished site before you pay. Getting found comes down to a clear product range, easy trade accounts, proven local reliability, and being findable for the material searches customers make. Do that and you win the loyal trade and the retail trade alike, which is exactly what a builders merchant’s website is for.
How it works
From message to live in four steps.
- 01
Message me
Tell me your trade and your town on WhatsApp. No forms to wade through, no call to book.
- 02
£99 to start
A £99 deposit gets your build going and comes off your quote. It covers some of the build time.
- 03
I build it, you see it
I build the whole site, framed around your work, and send it to you finished to look at.
- 04
Pay the rest, go live
Happy with it? You pay the balance, it goes live on your own domain, and it is yours to keep.
What you get
What a builders merchant site from me includes.
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Built on spec
I build it first and send it finished. You see the real thing before you decide, not a mock-up.
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Live in 7 days
From the go-ahead, your site is live within a week. No months of back and forth.
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On your own domain
It goes live in your name. You own the site and everything on it, with no lock-in.
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Genuinely fast
Static pages, no WordPress. Fast pages rank better and turn more visitors into calls.
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Found on Google
Built to be found in local search, with the plumbing done properly from day one.
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Looked after
Someone looks after it and changes it when you need. Two small edits a month, your listing kept current.
What it costs
A straight price.
From £297 to build it, first three months of Care included, then £49 a month.
You own the site outright and can stop the monthly plan whenever you like. Hosting is part of Care and Grow, so one of those keeps it online after the first three months, or you host it yourself. See the full pricing.
Common questions
Questions I get asked.
What makes a good builders merchant website?
One that serves both trade and retail customers and proves your reliability. A builders merchant supplies both trade professionals and the public, so the site should show your product range clearly, make it easy for trade customers to open an account, and reassure everyone that you are a reliable local supplier who stocks what they need. Trade customers especially value dependability and account convenience, so the site should court them, while remaining clear and helpful for retail buyers. Serving both, and proving reliability, is the heart of it.
Who are a builders merchant's customers?
Both the trade and the public. Trade customers, builders, tradespeople, contractors, are the core, buying regularly and valuing reliable stock, fair trade prices and account convenience. The public also buys, for DIY and home projects. So the site should serve both, courting the valuable trade accounts while remaining accessible to retail buyers. The trade is where the steady, repeat business is, so the site should particularly reassure and serve trade customers, while not neglecting the public who also come through the door.
Why do trade accounts matter so much?
Because trade customers are the steady, repeat business a merchant relies on, and accounts lock in that loyalty. A builder or tradesperson with an account buys from you regularly, valuing the convenience, the trade pricing and the relationship. So making it easy to open a trade account, and clear what the benefits are, captures and keeps that valuable repeat trade. A site that courts trade customers and makes opening an account simple builds the loyal base of regular buyers that underpins a builders merchant, which is worth far more than one-off retail sales.
How important is showing the product range and stock?
Very, because customers want to know you stock what they need. Both trade and retail customers choose a merchant partly on whether it carries the materials and products they want, so showing your range clearly helps them see you can supply their job. It also helps you get found for specific product searches. A builder needs confidence you will have what they need when they need it, so making your range and what you stock clear reassures them and captures searches for particular materials, both of which bring customers in.
Do builders merchants get customers from a website?
Yes, from both trade and retail. Trade customers look for a reliable local merchant to open an account with, and both trade and public search for suppliers of specific materials. A site that shows the range, makes trade accounts easy, and proves local reliability reaches those customers and brings them in. For a supplier whose value is reliable local stock and trade relationships, a clear, account-friendly, findable site is central to winning and keeping customers.
How quickly can my builders merchant website be live?
I build it on spec and have it live within seven days, on your own domain, so you see the finished site before you pay anything. From £297.
Tell me your town and I'll build you a builders merchant site on spec, so you can see it before you pay. Or read Get found on Google, see the full pricing, or get in touch.