How to Choose the Right Website Platform for Your Business

There are several different types of website platforms for industrial businesses. Understanding which platform is right for you is critical to finding online success.
The type you need for your company depends on how your customers prefer to buy or quote from you. However, the sales process can vary greatly. Whether you’re a custom manufacturer, OEM, distributor, or industrial supplier, your website platform needs to support the way your business actually operates (and not just copy what everyone else is doing!).
Finding and utilizing the right website platform can help you improve user experience, increase quote requests, and boost long-term growth—and who doesn’t want that?
Here, we’ll explore three different industrial website examples and discuss how to determine the right platform for your business.

Websites for Custom Contract Manufacturers

For manufacturers with custom, made-to-order projects, every quote is different. Customers can’t simply add items to a cart. Instead, they need to understand your capabilities and communicate with their team to determine if your services are right for them.
Custom manufacturers benefit from a website model that focuses on content. The right platform is a Content Management System (CMS). CMS websites emphasize elements such as:

• Capabilities pages and technical details
• Materials you work with
• Project galleries and case studies
• Industry-specific content and information
• Strong RFQs and “Contact Us” messaging
• Standards for quality

The goal of this website model is to tell prospects about your services as a salesperson would describe and guide them toward requesting a quote or making a call.

Ecreative CMS Examples

Linders Specialty: This website is built to highlight their metal bending expertise through project examples and in-depth explanations.
Miller CNC: Focused on precision CNC machining and custom components, this site showcases their specific capabilities, hard metals they work with, their services, quality standards, and the industries they serve, demonstrating to clients exactly what they can do and who they can do it for.

Websites for OEMs or Distributors

If you’re an OEM or product distributor, a catalog-style website may be your best option. This style of website displays your product offerings and lets your customers browse or filter by category and specification. However, to complete an order, users must request a quote for the items they need.
Catalog-style RFQ website models focus on:

• Quoting products through a cart style RFQ flow, allowing users to request pricing for multiple products at once
• Product specs and documentation
• Strong RFQs and “Contact Us” messaging
• Web pricing and customer-specific pricing behind a log-in

These types of websites give you greater freedom to offer things like personal guidance or specialized discounts.

Ecreative Examples

Coilhose Pneumatics: Full product catalogs, specs, and documentation allow customers to browse specific products and filter by specifications before requesting a quote.
Trio Fasteners: This site lets users browse a structured product catalog, create an account, manage orders, and submit quotes.

Websites for Online Industrial Sales

For companies prioritizing direct online purchases, a site with full e-commerce capabilities is the better solution. This website style is designed to sell standard, repeat orders to clients who already know what they need. While customers can still contact you with questions, most users come to your site to find specific products, add them to their cart, and check out right away.
Full e-commerce websites typically include:

• A shopping cart and secure checkout
• Customer accounts and order history
• Tiered or customer-specific pricing rules
• Integration with ERP for pricing management and orders into ERP
• Many modules that industrial companies require

This website model focuses on consistent sales of standard products and services.

Ecreative Examples

American Bolt: This website acts as an online store, with straightforward product navigation, easy checkout, and secure purchasing.
Freelin-Wade: With clear product pages and easy repeat-order functionality, this site makes ordering tubing and hoses simple.
Ondrives.US: This site helps users evaluate offerings, narrowing down larger categories into individual products and allowing them to be added to quotes.

Choosing a Website Model for Your Industrial Business

Here’s the truth: There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. No cookie-cutter method for instant success.
While that may sound disheartening, it’s actually one of your biggest strengths. You have the opportunity to customize your website to precisely what you need it to be.
So, which type of website is right for you? It can be helpful to consider things like:

• Your sales process
• Long-term company goals
• How your buyers engage online
• The complexity of your products/services

Maybe one of the three website models we discussed fits your requirements. Or maybe your site requires some tweaking. Good news: The right digital marketing partner makes the whole process easier. That’s where we come in.

Contact Ecreative to Boost Your Online Presence Today!

At Ecreative, we specialize in digital marketing for industrial B2B businesses. In our more than 25 years of experience, we’ve successfully built and marketed over 3,800 websites for industrial manufacturers, OEMs, wholesalers, and more. We understand how B2B customers make decisions, and we use our expertise to create custom strategies that build your online presence and speak directly to your target audience.
As one of the few agencies that offers solutions for all three industrial website examples, our website development services allow us to build and maintain a website that matches your goals and sets you up for long-term success. Our ongoing digital marketing services evolve with you, so that when your business expands, so do our strategies.
Ready to get started? Contact Ecreative for a free consultation and see what we can do for you!