Groundforce

Making incremental improvements to Groundforce’s website

Services
Design & UX & Kentico & Development & Ongoing support
Sectors
Construction

Supporting the construction industry for over 40 years

Groundforce are a division within Vp plc and one of the UK’s leading construction industry suppliers. Offering specialist construction solutions and a wide range of industrial equipment developed to meet the safety requirements of today’s market, they’re backed by over 40 years of experience.  


Sitting within a traditional industry, Groundforce’s website hadn’t played an instrumental role in their success – until now. They sought the help of an experienced agency who could drive their website forward to better meet the needs of their customers today.


With an existing Kentico implementation in place and a long-standing relationship with NetConstruct, we could make incremental improvements to their website to form the solution they need.

The project

With limited value historically delivered, online was naturally less of a focus for Groundforce and the budget allocated to support their website’s development was limited. However, the business was backed by a driven marketing team who recognised the growing online opportunity. Without a large budget for a full rebuild available, Groundforce needed their website to be improved incrementally. This would allow them to prove the value of each improvement before gaining further budget to take the next steps. An existing Kentico implementation was in place that was nearly 10 years old, providing a starting point for us to work from through a retainer plan.

The solution

Having worked with Groundforce on an ongoing basis, we were familiar with their digital estate. As part of their retainer, we can ensure they stay up to date with the latest version and benefits that Kentico has to offer. Originally UK only, we have previously added three more cultures to the site including French, German and Irish, making iterative enhancements along the way.   


One of the primary considerations of the project was improving performance. To tackle this issue, we went through a process of rebuilding and bettering specific user journeys. We also installed Cloudinary to optimise onsite images and improve overall performance.  


With multiple functionality changes having been implemented, users can now efficiently manage their needs online such as extending the duration of equipment hire or arranging early collection. To further improve the hiring and purchasing experience, we also made changes to the way product pages are filtered allowing users to reach the solutions they need with ease.  


In line with this, YourSolution was implemented, a pilot piece where people can hire equipment direct from Groundforce allowing them to better manage the end-to-end experience. As part of this process, we built a flowchart that enables users to fill in their requirements before identifying the correct solution. We also integrated with the site with Groundforce's hire management system to provide eCommerce functionality. This means users can select their product before being taken to an appointment selector making their journey as seamless and easy as possible. The next phase of the project will involve us integrating YourSolution with the hire management system.


Document tracking has also been added allowing the internal team to report on what’s being used online. This puts the team in control and provides visibility to key stakeholders on how the site is being used and therefore, the value the feature is adding.  


But development improvements weren’t the only consideration. We have also worked collaboratively with Groundforce to provide heavy design input that modernises the look and feel of the website. The existing site design was extremely static, but our ongoing work is introducing the use of components which will provide much more flexibility for the future.

The outcome

There’s no slowing down from this point. As a long-term partner to Groundforce, our work will continue, allowing us to keep bettering their online offering with plenty of plans in the pipeline. Alongside this, six key templates are launching in the coming months which will modernise the design and provide back-end improvements too. React, a more up-to-date UI framework, is also being introduced which will help better performance. A large piece of upcoming work will involve introducing Groundforce’s new CRM. During this phase, we plan to support the integration of their website with the CRM.

Ready to discuss your project?

If you have a business challenge, speak to us about a website solution. Our team is available to answer your questions, provide more information on our services, and discuss your project needs.

Why do people choose us?

“Right from the beginning, we found NetConstruct to be refreshing in their approach and any doubts and misgivings we had about a new agency were soon put to rest.”

Shaun Measday

Digital Marketing Manager, Thomas International

Project Type (optional)
Project Type
Type1
Type2
Project Type
Type1
Type2

Why do people choose us?

“Right from the beginning, we found NetConstruct to be refreshing in their approach and any doubts and misgivings we had about a new agency were soon put to rest.”

Shaun Measday

Digital Marketing Manager, Thomas International