Rock Hard Landscape Supply
Overview
Rock Hard Landscape Supply is a contractor-focused landscape materials provider in the Twin Cities. They had recently expanded with the acquisition of PatioTown, a brand with a stronger focus on the homeowner audience. With a now expanding catalog of products and two distinct audiences, they needed a solution that would grow with them as a business.
The Challenge
Rock Hard needed a revamped digital experience that supported both audiences and the operational realities. Contractors needed fast access to accurate location information and ease of requesting a quote/delivery/pickup. Homeowners needed more guidance, clarity and confidence built within the site. Their product catalog required a complete overhaul and thoughtful structure to enable a future of growth and e-commerce functionality.
Our Approach
We began by working closely with Rock Hard's team and researching to understand customer behaviors, internal workflows, and long-term business goals. Through these conversations, we designed a hybrid e-commerce model that mirrors a typical online shopping experience but ends in requesting a quote, delivery or pickup. This allowed Rock Hard to provide a modern shopping flow that is familiar to homeowners while still allowing full control over pricing, fulfillment, and inventory management.
A foundational piece of the project involved restructuring the product catalog across both Rock Hard and PatioTown. We moved away from the dependency on external manufacturer links and developed project categories that are scalable and work with homeowners and contractors. This new structure supports future e-commerce integration and the current business objectives.
Key Areas of Focus for the Homeowner
With a good product structure in place we turned our attention to homeowners to help them feel more inspired and informed. We designed a comprehensive resources section that brought together inspiration content, calculators, catalogs, and FAQs. The inspiration component became central, as it offered genuine value to users and long-term SEO benefit for the business. This would be a library of different case studies that included contractor attribution, project context, and a list of the Rock Hard products used. This created an evolving ecosystem of content tied directly back to the catalog. Homeowners gained helpful project examples, contractors received valuable visibility for their work, and Rock Hard gained a steady source of search-friendly content that supports sustained organic growth.
Product Experience
As mentioned earlier, previously products lived across multiple external manufacturer sites, which made browsing difficult and forced users to jump between disconnected sources. August Ash rebuilt this experience from the ground up by designing modern product listing pages that showcase clear categories, filters, and imagery. To support Rock Hard's operational reality, we introduced a cart-like experience that allows users to gather items as they browse and then proceed with a request for quote/deliver/or pickup. The result is a product experience that is scalable, familiar to users, and ready to transition into full e-commerce when the business is ready.
Contractor Experience
Contractors remain Rock Hard's core audience, so improving their day-to-day flow was priority in the redesign. Previously, the location pages offered very little beyond basic hours and an address, and in many cases there was no consistent imagery or indication of what made that location unique. When redesigning the location pages we wanted to surface the important details immediately and make the experience quick and easy and remove ambiguity from the planning process.
Each location now features clear hours across all views, streamlined contact information, and visibility into speed lane availability. We also introduced a new content model called "location offerings", which highlight the specific capabilities of each site, such as drive on scales, stone fabrication, disposal, and other features. This allows contractors to quickly understand what a location supports before they make a trip.
Locations
The redesigned Rock Hard website delivers a modern, intuitive, and scalable digital experience that supports both contractors and homeowners while laying the groundwork for future e-commerce. It consolidates the products into a structured catalog, improves homeowner confidence, and simplifies workflows contractors rely on most. The updated design reflects both heritage brands, strengthens the connection between their two core audiences, and creates a foundation built to evolve with the business.