A technical pool catalogue that sells through the trade
01 — The brief
One catalogue, three very different buyers
Aqua Clear sells pumps, heaters, chlorinators, lighting, automation and chemicals into a market made up of pool builders, service companies, landscape and aquascape designers, and homeowners who found the brand through their own pool.
Each of those groups needs the same equipment described in a different way. A builder wants flow rates, dimensions and installation detail. A homeowner wants to know what it costs to run and who can install it. Neither buys from Aqua Clear directly, because trade customers order through a portal and consumers buy from a pool shop.
The brief was a site that carries a deep technical catalogue, earns trust through explanation rather than discounting, and sends each visitor to the right next step: the trade portal, a stockist, a service request or an enquiry.
The full range, categorised the way the trade thinks Seventeen equipment categories sit behind a mega menu, from pumps and heat pumps through to skimmer covers and water level control, so a specifier can go straight to the class of product they need.
By the numbers
A deep catalogue, fully documented
Feature
Nothing on the site tries to take the money. Every product page ends in an enquiry, downloads sit alongside the specifications, and the paths that actually close the sale are made obvious: the trade portal for account customers, the regional stockist list for homeowners.
- Product enquiry attached to the specific model
- Spec sheets and manuals downloadable per product
- Trade portal login for account customers
- Stockist finder filtered by region
- Service request form for existing equipment
- Product registration for warranty records
Explain, then sell
Technical advice doing the heavy lifting
Pool equipment is bought on running cost and reliability, not on the product photo.
The technical advice library covers inverter pump motors, salt chlorination, heat pump efficiency, algae treatment, chemical maintenance and how to conceal drains and skimmers, each written for an owner who is about to spend real money.
Those articles link back into the categories they explain, so an article about brushless DC motors is one click from the pumps that use them. It is the part of the site that answers the question before a competitor gets the chance to.
02 — The process
How we got there
- 01
Structuring the range
Every category, sub-category and product line was mapped first, so a catalogue this deep could stay navigable behind a single mega menu.
- 02
Design for equipment
A clean, product-led interface with room for specifications, imagery and downloads on every page, and feature blocks for the flagship products.
- 03
Building the product system
Products are records rather than hand-built pages, each with its own specifications, downloads, imagery and enquiry form, all editable by the Aqua Clear team.
- 04
Trade, stockist and service paths
The trade portal, regional stockist finder, service request and product registration forms were built as separate journeys off the same catalogue.
- 05
Content and ongoing publishing
The technical advice library and blog are maintained in-house, so new products and new articles go live without a developer.
Advice that carries the sale Long form technical articles on heating efficiency, pump motors, chlorination and pool maintenance give the team something to send a customer that is not a price list.
03 — The outcome
A catalogue that works for the whole channel
One site serves the trade, the retail network and the homeowner without any of them getting in the way of the others.
Enquiries arrive attached to a specific model, service requests arrive with the equipment identified, and trade customers order in the system that holds their pricing.
The technical library keeps growing, which is what keeps a supplier visible in a market where the products themselves are sold by somebody else.
Jason and the team at Fuel have delivered 4 quality websites for my businesses over the last few years. I wished I hadn't wasted so much time and money dealing with other companies before going to Fuel. My first 2 websites were done on BCS and when it came to to replace, Fuel was our only choice of vendor. We love the power of the new Oncord CMS and the design Fuel have come up with. Even better is google loves it to, saving on the adwords budget.Mike Brunt
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