What it costs
What a builders merchant website should cost
Tradespeople search for a local merchant to buy from and open an account with. The site's job is to be found and win them. Here is what it costs and what you're paying for.
From £297, live in 7 days, on your own domain.
Builders merchant website cost
The short answer on cost
A builders merchant website cost starts from £297 for a spec-built site on your own domain, live within seven days, with the first three months of care included, then £49 a month you can stop whenever. That sits below the agency quotes and above the throwaway builders, both of which mislead you. But for a builders merchant the number matters less than what a website does for your business, which is to win trade customers. A tradesperson choosing where to buy their materials searches for a local merchant, weighs who looks established and convenient, and, once they settle on one, opens a trade account and buys from them regularly. So the site’s job is to be found, to show your ranges, branches and opening hours clearly, and to make opening an account easy, because that is how a searching tradesperson becomes a regular customer. Set against the ongoing business of a trade account won, a few hundred pounds is trivial.
What the money buys: found by trade customers, and their account
The value here is winning regular trade custom, not decoration. That price buys a site that gets you found by tradespeople searching for a local merchant, presents your ranges, branches and opening hours so they can see you stock what they need and are easy to reach, and makes opening a trade account simple. That matters because a trade customer is not a one-off sale; once they choose a merchant, they buy week after week, so winning one is worth many times a single transaction, and the site that captures them, at the moment they are choosing a supplier, secures that ongoing business. What you are paying for is to be the findable, credible local choice a tradesperson settles on and opens an account with, which is exactly where a merchant’s steady, recurring revenue comes from, so the site earns its keep not per sale but per customer kept.
Why cheaper and dearer both mislead
The thousand-pound-plus quotes often bundle full trade e-commerce systems and agency overheads that many merchants do not need to win local trade custom. The near-free DIY builders go the other way, producing thin, generic sites that suggest a smaller or less reliable supplier to a tradesperson choosing where to buy. Both miss the point for most merchants. A builders merchant needs a credible, clear site that gets you found, shows your ranges and branches, and makes opening an account easy, which is a specific thing to get right, so agency prices over-build and bargain builders undercut the impression and clarity a tradesperson looks for in a supplier.
Paid off by one account that keeps buying
Trade customers buy regularly, so the maths is quick and then compounds. Winning even a few account customers through the site covers the modest cost, but the real return is the repeat: a tradesperson won online opens an account and buys from you week after week, so a single customer captured through the site can pay for it many times over across a year. Set against the ongoing value of the trade accounts a findable, credible site wins, the modest cost is an easy decision for a merchant whose business is built on regular customers who keep coming back.
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.
How much does a builders merchant website cost?
From £297 as a one-off, live on your own domain within seven days, then £49 a month for hosting and small edits you can stop any time, with the first three months included. For a merchant whose trade customers search for a local supplier and an account, that is a small price for a site that gets you found and wins their regular business.
What am I really paying for with a builders merchant website?
A way to win trade customers. Tradespeople search for a local merchant to buy materials from and open a trade account with, so the site's job is to be found, show your ranges, branches and opening hours, and make opening an account easy. You are paying for a presence that turns a searching tradesperson into a regular account customer, which is where a merchant's steady business comes from.
Why does winning trade customers affect the value?
Because a trade customer is not a one-off, they buy regularly once they choose a merchant, so winning one is worth far more than a single sale. A site that gets you found and makes opening an account easy captures that ongoing business, so its value is not one transaction but a customer who buys from you week after week. That recurring value is what makes the site worthwhile.
Why do some builders merchant websites cost thousands?
Agencies bundle overheads, and full trade e-commerce systems add cost that many merchants do not need to win local trade custom. A lean site that gets you found, shows your ranges and branches, and makes opening an account easy does the core job for a fraction of the price, so the big quotes rarely make sense for a merchant whose main need is to be the findable local choice.
Is a cheap DIY builders merchant website good enough?
Usually not. A tradesperson choosing where to buy is reassured by a site that looks established and makes your ranges, branches and account clear, and a thin, generic one suggests a smaller or less reliable supplier. You need a credible, clear site that wins trade custom, and a cheap DIY job tends to undercut the impression a tradesperson is looking for in a supplier.
Are there ongoing costs beyond the build?
The domain is about ten to fifteen pounds a year and stays yours. The £49 monthly plan covers hosting, backups and two small edits, so you can update ranges, branches or opening hours without a separate bill. A static site has almost nothing to break, so there are no surprise maintenance invoices.
How quickly does a builders merchant website pay for itself?
Usually fast, because trade customers buy regularly, so winning even a few account customers through the site quickly covers the cost and then keeps paying. Because a trade customer buys week after week, one won online can pay for the site many times over across a year, so the payback compounds.
Do I own the builders merchant website or rent it?
You own it outright. The domain is in your name and the site is yours to keep even if you stop the monthly plan. I do not lock people in, because the site that wins your customers should belong to you, not be rented back every month.
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 What a website costs, see the full pricing, or get in touch.