RidgeGear

About RidgeGear

What sets RidgeGear apart is its vertically integrated manufacturing. The company makes its own webbing in-house, giving it complete control over quality from raw material to finished product. Working within an ISO 9001 certified environment with BSI accreditation, RidgeGear supplies distributors and end users across the UK and internationally, in industries where height safety is critical.

The challenge

RidgeGear’s previous site did not do justice to its standing as a leading UK height safety manufacturer. It struggled to present the full range in a way distributors and specifiers could navigate, and it lacked the structure to carry a growing catalogue of equipment, training courses and technical resources. Updating product information or certifications was slow and needed outside help, which in a safety-critical industry is a real risk.

Two gaps sat behind that. Everything distributors needed from RidgeGear, from brandable posters and flyers to fitting and inspection guides, training videos and the current brochure, lived somewhere else and was sent out on request. And a buyer working through a job had no way to put together the products they needed and ask about them in one go.

What we built

The site. We rebuilt the catalogue around how distributors and specifiers actually search, with technical detail, images and downloadable resources on every product to support buying and compliance decisions. Alongside it sit the training courses, a media hub, a customiser tool and the company’s credentials. RidgeGear’s own team can put new products live and keep certifications current themselves.

The distributor portal. A distributor registers and has no access at all until RidgeGear approves them and links them to a distributor account. Once approved, they get the full library: brandable posters and flyers with previews, training videos to watch or download, the interactive brochure and the brand guidelines. RidgeGear decides who is in, and adding a distributor no longer means emailing files.

The quote system. Purpose-built rather than assembled from off-the-shelf parts, because nothing off the shelf fits a manufacturer that quotes rather than sells online. A buyer adds products to an enquiry from any product page and sees complementary products suggested as they go, mapped across 160 of the 186 products in the catalogue. The form checks what it collects and asks what the enquiry is for, whether a quote, availability or general information, so whoever picks it up already knows. Submissions are stored with a status rather than just emailed, and both the buyer and RidgeGear get a copy.

The results

RidgeGear now has a site that matches the precision of what it manufactures, and a team that can keep it current without waiting on anyone.

Distributors have one place to log in, and RidgeGear controls who gets in. Material that used to be requested by email is now self-service, and keeping it current takes one upload rather than a round of attachments.

Enquiries arrive with the products attached, the buyer’s details checked and the reason for asking already answered. And someone putting together a harness and lanyard sees the connectors and blocks that go with them, without needing the part numbers.

After launch

RidgeGear’s WordPress site is hosted, secured, updated and backed up by Wrev, and the work has arrived in stages. The site came first, the distributor portal later, and the quote system later still. Each piece was built on a site that was already being looked after.

That is how it tends to go. The site is looked after every day, and when the business is ready for the next piece, the people who already know the site build it.