Featured Website Build: Dorset Container Storage
Every so often we like to show you what we have been building. This one is a little outside our usual run of tractor dealers and plant yards, but the thinking behind it is exactly the same, and there is a lesson in it for anybody in the machinery, plant, haulage or storage trade who is still relying on a Facebook page.
Take a look at the finished site: dorsetcontainerstorage.co.uk
The business
Dorset Container Storage hire out brand new 20ft shipping containers for self storage in Dorset. Household goods during a house move, business stock that will not fit in the unit any more, tools and equipment for tradespeople who need to get at them early and late. Drive up to the container, load it, lock it, and come back when you need to.
It is a straightforward business with a genuinely good offer behind it, and that is precisely the sort of business that gets punished by not being findable online.
The problem with storage searches
Here is the thing about storage Dorset as a market. Almost nobody browses for storage. They need it, suddenly, and usually because something has gone wrong or changed.
A completion date has slipped. A landlord has given notice on a unit. A busy season has landed early and there is stock on the floor. Somebody has died and a house has to be cleared. In every one of those situations the customer does the same thing, which is pick up a phone and search.
That means two things for a storage business.
First, if you are not in the search results, you are not in the running. The customer is not going to remember you from a van sign or a leaflet six months ago. They are going to search, ring the first two or three that look sensible, and book whichever one answers.
Second, the search is urgent, so the site has to answer the obvious questions immediately. How big is it? Can I drive up to it? How long do I have to commit to? Can I get in on a Sunday? Is it secure? Bury any of that behind a contact form and the visitor goes back to the results page and rings somebody else.
What we built
The site is built to do one job, which is turn a search into a phone call.
Everything above the fold that matters. Phone number in the header, on the page, and clickable on a mobile. Somebody searching for storage on their phone in a car park should be able to ring you in one tap.
The objections answered on the homepage. Brand new containers, drive up to your container, no minimum rental term, 24 hour seven day access with CCTV and yard lighting. Those four points are the whole sales argument for container storage against a traditional indoor unit, so they sit front and centre rather than three clicks in.
Use cases spelled out. Household storage, business storage, tools and equipment storage. People do not always know a container is the right answer for their situation until they see their situation described back to them.
Local search built in. Page titles, headings and content written around self storage Dorset and the surrounding towns, so the site has a chance of ranking for the terms people actually type rather than clever wording nobody searches for.
Mobile first. The majority of storage searches happen on a phone, often in a hurry. If the site is awkward on a mobile it does not matter how it looks on a desktop.
A blog that earns traffic. Storage buyers ask the same questions over and over. Every one of those questions is a page that can rank and bring in someone who was not searching for the business by name.
Why website design for self storage is not the same as website design generally
Most web designers build brochures. Nice pictures, an About page, a contact form, done. That works for a business people already know about.
Website design for self storage has to do something harder. It has to intercept someone at the moment of need, convince them in about twenty seconds that you are legitimate and convenient, and get them to ring. Everything on the site is either helping that happen or getting in the way.
The same is true of a plant dealer’s site, or a haulage firm’s, or a machinery yard’s. Different trade, identical problem. Somebody needs a digger, a low loader, a set of buckets or 40ft of secure storage, and they are searching for it right now. You either turn up and answer the question, or the next firm does.
That is why we only work in this sector. We are not learning your trade on your budget.
What it costs and how long it takes
Our standard site is a fixed price with no contract and no monthly fee. Four to five days from starting to going live, on a domain you own outright, with hosting that does not begin until the second year.
That last point matters more than people expect. A great many small businesses in this trade are renting their website from a builder platform or an agency, paying every month, and would lose the lot the day they stopped. If you own the domain and the site, nobody can switch it off.
You can see the range of what we do, from single page sites through to full stock systems, SEO and Google Ads, on our digital marketing services page.
Who we build for
Over two thousand websites for this industry, including:
- Tractor and agricultural machinery dealers
- Plant, excavator and construction equipment sales
- Plant hire and equipment rental firms
- Commercial vehicle, truck and trailer dealers
- Haulage and heavy transport operators
- Groundworks and civil engineering contractors
- Parts, spares and attachment suppliers
- Storage, container and yard based businesses
Before Plant And Tractor Trader, our founder built and sold Web Management Consultants to Sandhills Global in 2019 and then ran their EMEA sales, so we know this trade and the platforms in it from the inside.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a website if I already have a Facebook page? Facebook reaches people who already follow you. Google reaches people who have never heard of you and are searching right now. A Facebook page also cannot be found by someone typing “self storage Dorset” into a search engine, because that is not what Facebook is for.
Will I be able to update the site myself? Yes. Stock, prices and photographs can be updated from a phone in about the time it takes to post on Facebook. If you would rather we did it, we can.
How long before it appears in Google? Indexing usually takes a few weeks, and rankings build from there. That is why it is worth starting before your busy season rather than during it.
Do you only work with machinery businesses? Machinery, plant, haulage, agriculture and related trades are what we know. Dorset Container Storage sits alongside that world, and the marketing problem is the same one.
What if I already have a website? Plenty of our work is replacing sites that are on rented builder platforms, are invisible to Google, or were built years ago and never touched since. We will tell you honestly whether yours needs replacing or just fixing.
Get a quote for your business
If you run a machinery yard, a plant hire fleet, a haulage firm or a storage site and you are not showing up when customers search, that is a fixable problem, usually inside a week.
Request a quote for your business and we will tell you what we would build, what it would cost, and what it would realistically do for your enquiries.
And have a look at the finished article while you are here: dorsetcontainerstorage.co.uk
