The problem
MLC 4X4 sell and fit aftermarket gear for four-wheel drives out of their workshop in Allenby Gardens. The catalogue is the hard part. A snorkel that fits a 79 Series LandCruiser is useless on a Ranger, and customers were ringing the workshop just to ask whether a part suited their vehicle. The team also had no way to add products or change prices without a developer, and their build photography, the thing that actually sells the work, was loading slowly.
What we built
Fitment lookup by vehicle
Customers pick their make, model and series across ten manufacturers (Toyota, Ford, Holden, Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Suzuki, Volkswagen and BYD), then see only the parts that actually fit. That one feature took the most common phone call off the workshop.
Eight-category storefront
Packages, Suspension, Wheels, Snorkels, Bar Work, 12v Accessories, Fabrication and Miscellaneous, each with filtering, a full cart and checkout, plus Australia-wide freight alongside in-workshop fitting.
An admin panel a non-technical owner can run
This was the whole brief. Products, pricing, stock and promotions are managed by the team from their own dashboard on a separate subdomain. Running a launch sale does not need a developer.
A separate API service
The storefront, the admin panel and the manager view all read from one JSON API on its own subdomain rather than each holding a copy of the data. The shop stays fast even while someone is editing the catalogue behind it.
Image pipeline built for build photos
4X4 build photography is enormous. Every image is resized and served at the right dimensions for the device asking for it, with the cache warmed ahead of time so the first visitor of the day does not wait.
Live Instagram feed
Recent builds pull straight from @mlc.4x4 onto the site, so the homepage stays current without anyone updating it. Posts where Meta will not serve the video fall back to the cover image rather than breaking the row.
The catalogue feeds Google Shopping
Products flow through Google Merchant Center into Shopping, so a snorkel in the catalogue is a snorkel someone can find while searching to buy one. The feed is kept in step with the store rather than maintained as a second list that drifts.
Search, analytics and paid, run as one job
We handle Search Console and Google Analytics on the organic side, and the Meta and Instagram ad campaigns on the paid side. The same person owns the site and the marketing, so a change to the catalogue and the campaign selling it do not sit with two parties blaming each other.
The outcome
MLC 4X4 run their own catalogue end to end, adding products, changing prices and launching promotions without a developer in the loop. Customers self-serve the fitment question that used to tie up the workshop phone. The site, the Shopping feed and the ad campaigns are managed together as one piece of work.
Want something like MLC 4X4?
Tell us what you're trying to do and we'll tell you honestly what it would take. First call is free and there's no pitch at the end of it.