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About The Index

The Index is a research hub published by iWeb about how UK businesses trade online. It looks at what a customer can actually do on a website: find the right product, make a confident choice, understand the price and availability, buy, and come back without starting again.

Useful to buyers. Practical for businesses.

Buyers need clear information and a straightforward route to an order. Businesses need to know where that journey works and where it gets in the way. The Index brings those questions together in sector editions, with dated evidence rather than assumptions about what a website can do.

Six sectors, different buying needs

A builder checking branch stock, a caterer repeating an order and an engineer specifying a part have different questions. Each edition explains the five jobs in its own sector’s language. Coming-soon editions offer an introduction, not live records, scores or reports.

The five customer jobs

  1. 1. Find the product

    Can a customer get to the right product using search, categories or a product code?

  2. 2. Choose the right one

    Can they check the details that matter: size, specification, fit, ingredients or a suitable variant?

  3. 3. See the price and availability

    Can they understand the price, stock and delivery or collection options before committing?

  4. 4. Buy it

    Can they place an order, or follow a clear quote-to-order route where that is how the business trades?

  5. 5. Buy again and self-serve

    Can they track an order, find an invoice, manage an account or repeat a purchase where those services are offered?

A website score, not a verdict on a business

The Index score describes what a customer can do on a business's public website on the day it was reviewed. Each of the five jobs is scored out of 20, giving a total out of 100, using dated evidence that anyone can check. It does not rate the business, its products, its staff or its service, and it is not a measure of size or sales.

Use the score alongside the evidence, scope and review date. It cannot tell you how helpful a counter team is, whether a product is right for a particular project, or how an order will be handled offline. Suggestions for improvement are ideas to test, not promises of extra sales.

What the evidence labels mean

Detected
Found through technology signals or markup on public pages.
Observed
Seen by a reviewer on a public page or journey.
Not found in this review
Looked for and not seen on the pages checked. This is not proof that a feature does not exist.
Not checked
Outside the scope of the review.

Checkout and logged-in journeys are reviewed only where access is available and authorised. We do not fill gaps with guessed capabilities.

Checked before it is published

A directory entry is not automatic. Business identity and permission to publish the details must be checked; branch information needs its own approval and evidence. Map coordinates require permission to display them. A profile needs sufficient checked public evidence before it can be published for search.

Findings and business reports go through human review and approval before public release. Private research, review notes and contact details stay private. A coming-soon page or directory entry is not a completed review.

iWeb as publisher

iWeb has built and supported ecommerce websites since 1995 and is employee-owned. The Index applies that practical experience to the everyday jobs customers need websites to do.

Existing iWeb clients are represented through case studies, not public critiques. Case studies explain project work; they are not evidence that every business in an edition has the same services or results.

Sources and corrections

Published evidence identifies its source and date, with a link where available. External research is attributed, and commercial sources are labelled rather than presented as independent findings. A source’s result is not a forecast for a business in The Index.

If something is wrong, tell iWeb. Identify the detail and share a source if you have one. We will check it before making a change.

The Index Awards

The Index Awards focus on recognised excellence in online buying. Read about The Index Awards for details.

Questions about The Index

What is The Index?
The Index is a research hub published by iWeb about how UK businesses trade online. It looks at the customer journey, sector by sector, using dated evidence.
Which editions can I explore?
Builders' Merchants is the first live edition. Food & Beverage (Foodservice) is coming soon. Manufacturing & Industrial is coming soon. Automotive & Parts is coming soon. Retail & Home is coming soon. Health & Wellness is coming soon. A live edition does not mean that findings or business reports have been approved for publication.
What does the Index score measure?
The Index score describes what a customer can do on a business's public website on the day it was reviewed. Each of the five jobs is scored out of 20, giving a total out of 100, using dated evidence that anyone can check. It does not rate the business, its products, its staff or its service, and it is not a measure of size or sales.
Does Not found in this review mean a feature does not exist?
No. It means we looked and did not see it on the pages checked. A feature may be available elsewhere or through an authorised account journey.
How are iWeb clients represented?
Existing iWeb clients are represented through case studies, not public critiques.
How do I correct a detail?
Tell us through the iWeb contact page, identify the detail and provide a source if you have one. We will check it before making a change.

Published by iWeb.