Trade Distribution Limited (TDL), a long‑established bathroom and plumbing supplier based in Aylesford, Kent, has officially relaunched its website, unveiling a major upgrade built on the latest generation of Protean CMS. With a vast catalogue of over 7,000 great‑value products, the company needed a platform capable of handling scale, speed, and flexibility. This rebuild delivers exactly that.
The new site isn’t just a redesign. It’s the first large‑scale e‑commerce project of its kind on Protean CMS 6, bringing together years of development into one cohesive, future‑ready system. For the team behind Protean CMS, it represents a milestone: the first time a major, long‑standing e‑commerce client has been fully upgraded to the newest version of the platform.
15‑year partnership reaches a new milestone
TDL has partnered with Eonic Digital for around 15 years, making them one of the earliest and most loyal clients. This relaunch marks their third major redesign, but it’s by far the most ambitious and the most transformative.
With thousands of stock keeping units (SKUs), technical product data, and a customer base that spans trade professionals and homeowners alike, the supplier needed a site that could do more than look modern. It needed to work harder, load faster, and support the way customers actually shop.
What’s new in the Protean CMS build?
This project brings together a wide range of features that have been developed across many other sites, but never before combined into a single flagship build. It effectively becomes the blueprint for future large‑scale Protean CMS e‑commerce projects.
Key enhancements include:
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Advanced product specifications
- A structured, scalable way to present technical details, essential for plumbing and bathroom products where accuracy matters.
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Powerful product filtering
- Built to help customers navigate thousands of items quickly and intuitively.
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Improved product page layouts
- Cleaner, more informative, and designed to support richer content.
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Downloadable PDFs and spec sheets
- Perfect for trade customers who need technical documentation at their fingertips.
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Integrated product FAQs
- Great for customer support and excellent for AI‑powered search.
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New responsive, faster templates
- A complete front‑end rebuild that significantly improves load times.
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Flexible page layouts
- Every page can be uniquely structured, a major step beyond standard e‑commerce templates.
Designed for real-world use on desktop and mobile
While “mobile first” is often treated as a design mantra, the reality for large e‑commerce sites is more practical.
For TDL, this meant:
- Desktop layouts were designed first, because that’s what clients typically use.
- Mobile responsiveness was treated as essential, not secondary.
- The new templates ensure the site performs beautifully across all devices.
It’s a balanced approach that respects both user behaviour and client workflow.
A collaborative visual process
The visual direction began with client‑supplied mockups, including AI‑generated concepts, which were refined, rebuilt, and integrated directly into Protean CMS through the Eonic Digital design team:
- The hero banner was recreated from the client’s AI concept.
- Assets were cropped and re‑engineered to work within the CMS.
- The workflow allowed for rapid iteration and precision.
Why this relaunch matters
For TDL, the new site means:
- Faster performance
- Better product discovery
- Richer product information
- A more modern, flexible design
- A platform ready for the next decade
For Protean CMS, it’s a landmark project. The first major e‑commerce upgrade of its kind, and a template for what’s possible going forward.