Pitacs are one of the UK’s largest manufacturers and distributors of heating products, lighting products and electrical cables. Operating under five unique brands, their products are distributed across the UK as well as internationally with B&Q amongst their notable stockists.
Road mapping Pitacs’ Digital Revival
When Pitacs commissioned us to rebuild their web portfolio, the websites were using an obsolete CMS that could no longer be updated or easily maintained.
The issues that they faced were:
In addition, they required the website to:
We proposed a solution that would unify their websites using one CMS within the constraints of the allocated budget. The solution would have clearly defined customer journeys, a revamp of the design and structured product data that is easy to manage. To equip the Pitacs team with the skills to manage the content and data on the sites, we suggested on-site and web-based training sessions.
They took confidence from our solutions which focused on a collaborative approach. Pitacs drew further confidence from the clarity of our proposal, and we were appointed to carry out the project.
Understanding the product data and its varying uses across the sites was one of the most challenging aspects of this project. The initial product data exports came from the existing out-of-date sites and provided a starting point. The data needed to be cleansed, modified, and validated before being imported into the new CMS.
The website content was structured with three main users in mind:
Having gained a good understanding of how the website needed to function, and its target audience – we began importing the data and establishing user journeys.
A complex filtering system was created for the products. This works by querying individual products from within a product category, allowing visitors to narrow down which product categories include products that meet their requirements. This provides the user granular control over, for example, what size, material, colour, price, finish, BTU and heat output they desired.
The client was delighted with the detail in which the user could browse their product catalogue and find specific items that met their exact requirements.
We used strong product lifestyle imagery to give inspiration to the website visitors. This helps visually lead users to navigate to products of interest for their requirements.
Striking a balance between a filterable product catalogue and creating visual inspiration was key. The main area of the site is the product catalogue, which combines filtering methods along with strong visuals of the product range.
By clicking into the product range, visitors are given additional details on the options within the range. They can view detailed data tables on the specific details of each variation of the product. We created an option to download the technical specification and installation guides for each relevant product, catering to installers and architects.
As a wholesale distributor, Pitacs do not sell directly to the end user. To help in handling the number of enquiries received from end users, a page listing stores, and online retailers was created. We further extended the functionality to allow users to input their postcode to find directions to local stockists.
This helped in reducing the volume of calls from end users asking where they could buy products and freed up their sales team to handle more profitable lines of enquiry.
We developed a brand-new trade area for the site. This area of the site allowed existing clients to login, contact their account manager, and see featured content. The sales team are able to customise the promotions, offers and new products they wish to promote to their clients as well as providing up to date tiered pricing.
Additionally, the direct line of contact with their account manager gives their regional sales manager an opportunity to nurture leads and respond to enquiries.
Pitacs is the parent company to five different brands, so creating an experience that presents brand cohesion across all channels was vital.
While each website was branded uniquely, consistency across all of them provided unity. Some examples of these include:
One of the old websites required visitors to send an email to request a physical catalogue, often used by showrooms, while the other site didn’t have the option.
We created a lead generation form to obtain contact information from prospects to distribute the catalogues. This information is integrated with their client relationship management software (CRM) and allows Pitacs to send out to systematically follow up with prospects to create sales opportunities.
To minimise the negative impact on keyword search engine rankings we followed our tried and tested SEO migration process. This process covers all the core elements of on-site technical SEO from redirections to page meta data.
Many improvements were made to the websites including increasing the speed and performance, which has helped the sites gain more traction in Google SERPs. In addition, we configured the products to link in with Facebook and Google Merchant Centre.
As with all projects, testing was carried out to check the site for bugs and errors. In addition, we carried out a period of user acceptance.
Our systematic QA process ensured that the website met the specified requirements. Our development team makes sure the websites we build work correctly on all relevant devices and browsers.
User acceptance testing allowed Pitacs to trial the website and carry out the tasks they would be doing on a frequent basis before launching the website. Feedback was provided to our team and minor modifications were carried out.
We provide a fully managed hosting solution for all Pitacs’s websites.
Our proactive approach to managing the hosting solution and CMS ensures the websites are reliably available, secure and fast. On top of this, the managed hosting provided is scalable to grow with increased demand.
As standard, backups and disaster recovery were configured, and the client automatically receives a scheduled weekly backup of their data. This provides Pitacs with the confidence that their website will always be accessible and secure.
User training was vital for the long-term marketing success of the company. With each of the websites using the same CMS, the Pitacs team only needed to learn how to manage one interface and set of tools.
A general training session was carried out to give the team an overview of the new CMS and how to perform basic actions such as managing the content of the site. Individual training sessions empowered each user with the specific skills required to effectively fulfil their roles and responsibilities in managing the website.
Biannual price updates need to be carried out, with new product ranges adding to the complexity of this task. To accomplish this, we created several import templates, mapping the key fields to the required product fields. This ensures the correct information is displayed in the front-end and that the product filtering system dynamically updates.
Following the initial building of four websites, we have since designed and developed two additional sites that operate under the Pitacs brand. This is a testament to the long-term relationships we aim to forge with our clients,
Plans are underway to integrate their new product information management (PIM) system with the websites are underway. This will bring a whole new level to maintaining the online catalogue, with one source of truth populating the websites. This approach significantly reduces human error and streamlines the amount of administrative time required to manage complex imports.
The biggest positive impact in the project has been changing the Pitacs marketing team’s mindset with regards to managing the website. Previously they were nervous to use the website because the CMS was so fragile. They now have full control of their content and product data to successfully manage their websites.
Additionally, the number of hours required to process and import product data has been significantly reduced thanks to the carefully structured import templates. The client has estimated that this was saving up to 60 hours of labour each time an import was carried out.
Since initiating the project with them, Pitacs have seen a huge increase in website traffic which has led to higher value sales enquiries being received.
Weaving Webs Limited is a company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 03739247.
Registered office: Weaving Webs Ltd, The Den, Bridge Street, Buckingham, MK18 1EL. VAT reg no: 277 6535 60
