Site Review: WoodWerks.com
Great site for anybody into crafting wood!
I have many passions in life and one of them is wood (and nature by extension) as it’s one of the most beautiful and easy to work with materials out there… and 100% recyclable!
Background Info
I also run the site WoodMarvels.com which sells pre-cut wood kits and blueprints to woodcrafters all around the world, as such, I need to be kept up-to-date on manufacturing, products and other happenings in the industry. One source I use for this is Mark at TheWoodWhisperer.com among a few others and he had a walk-through of the Wood Werks Supply store in Columbus, Ohio which puts Home Depot to shame. At the very end of his video podcast, they do a quick review of website features on the site and I though… hey, WoodMarvels.com is in need of a major facelift and WoodWerks.com is along the lines of what I had in mind. Cool! I got to review this site!
WoodWerks.com: Background
Unlike most brick and motar companies, WoodWerks.com decided to build a community online for their site before actually building the e-commerce system handling it. This provided a fantastic opportunity for them to differentiate themselves from the other big guys in the marketplace and build loyalty at the same time. I must admit, this is not only a great site but incredibly functional as well!
WoodWerks.com: How it Works
Customers can go onto the WoodWerks.com website and create an account. From there, they have a host of possibilities on how to proceed. They can join woodworking classes called Academy (that occur in their store no less), create a blog to showcase projects either done or in progress and interact with other customers of the store directly though their My Werkshop. The site isn’t as much an e-commerce site as it’s a destination for woodworkers to share their passion for their trade / hobby. The real nice thing about this site is that this process allows for WoodWerks.com to create multiple streams of revenue throughout the interactions its community makes.
WoodWerks.com: The Good
This site isn’t just a community of like minded woodworking enthusiasts, it’s also has an amazing array of customizable items which makes this site a must-see even if you don’t buy anything! I absolutely love the way the Powermatic Customs purchasing option is displayed where, just like a car, you can choose the finish of your choice, motor, fence, extension table and a whole lot more! They even have a custom papermate version using PDF that allows you to make your own using paper and a printer… customized to your liking! Their classified section is a fantastic idea to help customers through the entire cycle of ownership. The layout, navigation and flow is just spectacular and they even got a “famous friends” section to boot (I am sure by extension, an affiliate section for these guys as well)! WoodWerks.com also has lots of news about what is coming into the store and a very nice selection of thousands of shop items from small drill bits to huge dust collection systems.
WoodWerks.com: The Problems
The only flaw I was able to find with the site was that I had limited options regarding what I can view in their e-commerce system. For instance, they have 41 different drill bits available but I am not able to sort them by price, manufacturer or just have everything show-up on one page instead of two. Most pages this doesn’t present a problem but it does when they have lots of items. Another example of this would be the Shaper Cutters section with 59 items with three pages which all seem randomly placed, making the online shopping experience take longer than it should. Yes, they have a search so this is really being picky on my part. One final point, their My Werkshop is a great feature but saying “global community of woodworkers” but not allowing non-US citizens to create an accurate profile doesn’t make much sense. For instance, I can’t choose Canada with related province although many Canadians have addresses in the USA to purchase items at discounted prices not available in Canada.
WoodWerks.com: Alexa Ranking
Alexa says they are just under two million which is completely respectable considering the size of the marketplace dominated by multinationals.
WoodWerks.com: Competition
There is no lack of competition in this marketplace, from multinationals like Home Depot and Sears to small online shops such as WoodWorkers Shop and even Rockler themselves!
WoodWerks.com: Final Verdict
Fantastic site that built a community around their store.
The Bottom Line
Look at the small to innovate in an industry of titans.
Buzvia: WoodMarvels.com, TheWoodWhisperer.com, WoodWerks.com, Powermatic Customs, Home Depot, Sears, WoodWorkers Shop, Rockler
