Economy Fireplace: A Simpler Website for a Family Business
Economy Fireplace has been selling, installing, and servicing fireplaces in the Bloomington and Ellettsville area since 1987. Tony Cramer owns the business, and Stephen Murdock runs the office. When they reached out to me in the summer of 2025, their website wasn't really working for them. It launched on August 22, 2025, and I've been helping them on an as-needed basis ever since.
Where they were starting from
Their site was less than a year old, but it had been built on an older page builder with a full online store attached. Every product had its own listing, and prices in the hearth industry change often. Keeping all of that current would have meant someone logging in and updating prices by hand, and nobody at Economy Fireplace had time for that.
The bigger problem was the contact form. Messages from the website went to a shared Hotmail inbox, and they looked just like spam. Stephen told me he couldn't tell a real customer inquiry from junk mail. After a holiday weekend there could be hundreds of emails waiting, and real requests were getting deleted along with everything else.
They also weren't active on their Google Business Profile, and they wanted more reviews but didn't have the time to chase them during busy season.
Getting to know the business
Our first conversation was online. A week later I drove out to the showroom, and Stephen walked me through the whole place: wood inserts, gas logs, electric units, outdoor fireplaces, pellet stoves. I took photos as we went. I'll be honest, I didn't know much about fireplaces going in. I learned a lot that morning, and those photos ended up all over the new site.
Stephen also showed me the paper estimate sheet they use when a customer comes in. That sheet became the model for the new online quote form.
Choosing simplicity
The most important decision came early. Instead of rebuilding the online store, I suggested we drop it entirely. Tony agreed right away.
The new site organizes products by category, like gas inserts, wood fireplaces, electric, pellet, and outdoor, and links out to the manufacturers for detailed specs. There are no prices to maintain. The site's job is to show people what Economy Fireplace offers, give them a sense of the showroom, and make it easy to ask for a quote.
That choice made everything else simpler. Fewer pages to maintain, less that can break, and a site that makes sense to the people who own it.
Streamlining the information
With the store gone, I focused on making the information clear and easy to find. My contractor Raymond Labban and I built pages for Home, About, Products, Services, Gallery, FAQ, Contact, and Request a Quote. Each service, like installation, repairs, and chimney sweeping, got its own page.
Later, I noticed their Google Business Profile listed a long set of parts and accessories that the website never mentioned. Raymond worked those into the product and service pages so the two matched.
Fixing the email problem
I set up Google Workspace so the business has a real info@ address on its own domain. Their old Hotmail and Gmail accounts now forward into it, with an auto-reply letting people know about the new address.
Website form submissions arrive labeled, so they stand out from everything else. The first real estimate requests came through within days of launch. When I forwarded one early on, Stephen wrote back that the customer might stop in that Saturday to talk. That's exactly what a contact form is supposed to do.
A new logo and business cards
A logo refresh wasn't part of the original plan, but it came up as we worked. I put together a concept, Stephen gave feedback, and Tony's reply was short: "We really like this. Let's use it."
Since it was outside the original proposal, I billed that time separately so the extra work was easy to see. The website itself stayed within the scope we agreed on at the start.
We carried the new logo onto business cards for the office and the installation crew. Each card has a QR code that opens their Google review form, which came straight out of a conversation with Stephen about making reviews easier to ask for.
Showing them the finished business cards was one of my favorite moments of the project. I could tell right away it was exactly what they were looking for.
Local listings and reviews
I claimed and filled out their Google Business Profile with photos, products, and services, and set them up on Bing Places as well. I also keep an eye on new reviews and help respond when they don't have time. Customers often mention the crew by name, which says a lot about the people doing the work.
What they said
They have completely build our new website on time and on budget. We couldn't be happier with the finished website.
Economy Fireplace, Google review
They also mentioned that I was patient, explained things along the way, and helped them make good choices. That meant a lot, because that's how I try to work with every client.
Where things are now
A year later, they still reach out when something comes up, like a new showroom model they want to post about or a seasonal promotion from one of their manufacturers.
This past winter, a cold snap had people looking for heat fast. We sat down together and put together a short "Emergency Heat" campaign: a blog post, some updates to their social profiles, and content that featured Heat & Glo products. Featuring that brand mattered, because it helped the campaign qualify for the manufacturer's co-op marketing program, which shares the cost with dealers.
The site is simple enough that updates like these are quick, and the information stays accurate.
For a busy family business, that's the point. The website should support the work they already do well, not create another thing to manage.