Key facts
- £1 a day + VAT for catalogue and brochure sites; trade portals quoted
- Spec sheets, safety data sheets and CAD files served through Cloudflare
- Scheduled ERP or stock imports run as cron jobs
- Older bespoke PHP sites supported on PHP 5.6 to 8.5, chosen per site
- Multi-language sites for export markets
- dijitul's agency can build trade portals and integrations
Catalogues and technical downloads
A manufacturer's website is often a technical library: hundreds or thousands of products, each with datasheets, drawings, installation guides, certificates and CAD models. Engineers and buyers expect to find the right document quickly and download it without fuss. We help by:
- Caching downloads through Cloudflare so large PDFs and CAD files are served quickly.
- Keeping download URLs stable, because distributors link to them and buyers bookmark them.
- Setting PHP upload limits high enough for your team to add large files through the CMS.
- Making sure product search stays fast as the catalogue grows.
Feeds from your ERP or stock system
Many manufacturers want prices, stock or product data on the website to come from their ERP or MRP system rather than being typed twice. The usual approach is a scheduled export from the ERP, picked up and imported by the website on cron, or an API integration. We run imports as proper cron jobs with enough memory and time to complete, and keep logs so failed imports are noticed. Integrations themselves are quoted work. See custom software hosting.
Trade portals and B2B ordering
Some manufacturers give distributors and trade customers a login to see their own prices, check stock, download marketing assets or place orders. That's more than a brochure site: it needs access control, customer-specific pricing and, often, integration with your accounts system. We host these on suitable servers and dijitul's agency at dijitul.uk can build them. See managed VPS.
Old websites that still do the job
Plenty of manufacturers run a website built ten or fifteen years ago that still brings in enquiries. The trouble starts when the host switches off an old PHP version. Our server has PHP 5.6, 7.0 to 7.4 and 8.0 to 8.5 installed, chosen per site, so we can keep it running while you decide whether to modernise. See old website hosting and legacy PHP hosting.
Export markets and getting started
If you sell abroad, you may need language versions of key pages and a separate domain or subfolder per market, with hreflang tags so search engines show the right version. Extra domains can be ordered through the portal. Each Complete Hosting plan covers one website, so language versions in subfolders of one site fit a single plan, while fully separate country websites each need their own plan. Order dijitul Complete Hosting at clients.dijitul.uk/order, or call 01623 650333 to discuss a portal or integration.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best website hosting for a manufacturing company?
A managed host that serves large catalogues and technical downloads quickly, runs scheduled data imports reliably and supports your site's PHP version. dijitul hosts manufacturer websites for £1 a day + VAT, with trade portals and integrations quoted.
Can my website pull product data from our ERP?
Usually yes, via a scheduled export that the website imports on cron, or an API integration. It depends on what your ERP can export. dijitul hosts these imports and its agency can build the integration.
How should a manufacturer host CAD files and datasheets?
Serve them from the website with stable URLs, cached through a CDN such as Cloudflare so large files download quickly. Organise them by product so buyers can find them. Very large libraries may suit separate file storage.
Our company website is old and our host is removing PHP 7. What can we do?
Move to a host that still supports the version you need while you plan an upgrade. dijitul's Plesk server has PHP 5.6, 7.0 to 7.4 and 8.0 to 8.5 installed, chosen per site, and migration is free.
What is a B2B trade portal?
A logged-in area of your website where distributors or trade customers see their own prices, check stock, download assets and place orders. It needs access control and often integration with your accounts or ERP. dijitul builds and hosts these on a quoted basis.
Should a manufacturer have separate websites for export markets?
Not always. Translated sections in subfolders on one domain are easier to manage. Separate country domains can help in some markets. Either way, use hreflang tags so search engines show the right language.
Related
Set it up and forget about it
Managed hosting, Plesk, Cloudflare DNS, daily backups and your domain for £1 a day + VAT. We move your site for you.