Manufacturing
64% more lead-intent activity after rebuilding Master Bond's product discovery around the engineer's workflow
THE CHALLENGE
A technical catalog that made engineers work too hard
When an aerospace engineer needs a heat-resistant adhesive rated for cryogenic exposure, they don't want to browse. Master Bond's Drupal 7 site wasn't built for how engineers actually find products.
- Thousands of specialized formulations with cumbersome, slow product filtering
- Product discovery relied on browsing rather than fast parameter filtering
- A diverse audience, from design engineers to procurement specialists, needed the right depth of data without being overwhelmed
- Drupal 7 was nearing end-of-life, with security and compatibility risks
- Performance lagged, especially on mobile, where engineers often work
THE SOLUTION
Site rebuild around the engineer's workflow, matching the way they actually search
UX research: mapping the path to data
Before any design work began, Specbee ran a UX research program to understand how engineers navigate product selection. The guiding finding: the path to data was the product. Every structural decision followed from that.
- Usability testing on the existing Drupal 7 site
- Two rounds of interactive prototype testing in Figma, low to high fidelity
- Participants recruited through Master Bond's internal network and a third-party agency
- Research findings translated into information architecture, component structure, and content hierarchy
Information architecture and navigation rebuild
The catalog architecture was rebuilt from the ground up. Fast, parameter-based filtering replaced general browsing, and navigation was restructured to surface the technical data engineers needed early in their search.
- Rebuilt product catalog architecture
- Restructured navigation for intuitive, faster access to technical data
- Reusable component system for flexible, dynamic content
- Content hierarchy aligned to how engineers make decisions
Drupal 7 to Drupal 10 migration
The migration moved the full catalog of thousands of formulations to Drupal 10, with careful taxonomy mapping and field integrity throughout.
- Full migration of content, product data, and media
- Taxonomy mapping and field integrity maintained
- Performance optimization: image compression, lazy loading, and code cleanup
- WCAG-guided accessibility testing across user types
Operational connectivity and Solr search
The site was integrated with Master Bond's internal databases so product data stays synchronized and customer inquiries route straight into the internal workflow. Solr-powered faceted search was layered on top of the new catalog architecture.
- Integration with internal databases to synchronize product data
- Customer inquiries routed into Master Bond's internal workflow
- Solr-powered faceted filtering for product discovery
- SEO settings, structured metadata, and 301 redirects preserved through the migration
BACKGROUND
Master Bond's products are engineered for the most demanding applications across aerospace, electronics, medical devices, optics, and automotive. Their customers, engineers specifying materials for critical applications, are technically sophisticated and time-pressured.
KEY INSIGHT
The product was the data.
Engineers weren't browsing for inspiration. They were verifying specifications against application requirements. The site needed to work like a precision instrument.
"Master Bond’s adhesives are engineered for the most demanding technical applications, and we needed a digital platform that reflected that level of precision. Specbee didn’t just give us a new website; they helped us build a sophisticated tool that allows engineers to navigate thousands of formulations and find the exact data they need in seconds. The research-driven approach ensured that every design decision was backed by actual user requirements."
The Results
A technical platform that earns its place in the engineer's workflow
Measured post-launch across lead-intent activity and product discovery metrics.
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Lead-intent user activity | Baseline | +64% |
| Platform | Drupal 7 (EOL) | Drupal 10 |
| Site search | Basic keyword | SOLR with faceted filtering |
| Data integration | Limited internal-database connection | Synchronized product data and lead routing |
30%
More leads
Engineers arrive knowing what they want.
64%
Lead-intent activity
Engineers finding data faster means they take action sooner.
92.5%
Overall Active Users
Significant growth in hight intent traffic
SOLR
Specification search
Engineers filter by application, thermal range, and certification.
Work With Us
Talk to the team that delivered this
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Typically respond within 1 business day · 100% Drupal-focused team · No generalists