How We Take Small Businesses Online
A look inside real MAXXCommerce projects — what the business needed, what we built, and how it launched. Every project follows the same simple process.
A Local Hardware Store Goes Online
The challenge
A family-run hardware store with decades of loyal walk-in customers had no way to sell online. Their catalog lived in a point-of-sale system, their competitors were showing up on Google, and platform builders like Shopify meant a new monthly bill forever.
What we built
- A custom-designed store on the ECT shopping cart — owned outright, no platform rent
- Full product catalog organized into browseable categories with search
- Real-time UPS and USPS shipping rates plus local-pickup option at checkout
- Credit card and PayPal payments, abandoned-cart recovery emails
- SEO metadata on every category and product page
The result
The store went from no web presence to taking online orders in a single work week — with in-store pickup bridging their walk-in trade and their new online customers. They keep every sale; there's no monthly platform fee taking a cut.
A Service Contractor Who Couldn't Be Found
The challenge
A contractor was getting all of his work from word of mouth — and losing every customer who searched online first. He didn't need a store; he needed to look professional, show his work, and show up in local search results.
What we built
- A mobile-first business website: homepage plus six inner pages covering each service
- A photo gallery of completed jobs and a quote-request form wired to his email
- Local SEO setup: page titles, service-area pages, and Google Business profile optimization
- Click-to-call phone number front and center for mobile visitors
The result
He now has a site that works as hard as his referrals do — every page targets a service customers actually search for, and quote requests arrive straight in his inbox instead of missed calls.
A Maker Ready to Outgrow Marketplace Fees
The challenge
A handmade-goods maker was selling well on a marketplace — and watching fees eat her margin on every order. She wanted her own store, her own customer list, and a brand that didn't look like everyone else's template.
What we built
- A branded ECT store designed around her product photography
- Checkout with multiple payment options and flat-rate + calculated shipping
- Newsletter signup to grow a customer list she owns
- Matching Facebook and Instagram profiles with branded graphics and starter posts
The result
Every direct sale now keeps the margin the marketplace used to take, her repeat customers come straight to her, and the social profiles send traffic to a store — not a listing next to her competitors.