eCommerce & Digital Solutions
eCommerce & Digital Solutions
An ecommerce web development company for UK and US businesses that want a store built by hand: custom design, fast pages, no page builder, no platform fees, and code that's yours to keep.
Themes and page builders are quick because they load everything anyone might need on every page. That is why they are slow, why they all look alike, and why the layout you want is never quite available.
A custom-coded store is the opposite trade. It takes longer to build and it is faster, lighter and exactly yours when it's done. For brands where design is part of the product, or where page speed is a ranking and conversion issue, that trade pays.
Page speed affects where you rank and whether visitors stay long enough to buy. A hand-coded store is fast because of what it leaves out: no theme framework, no builder runtime, no apps injecting scripts. Each page carries its own markup, its own styles and only the JavaScript it needs. Images are sized and lazy-loaded, nothing blocks the first paint, and we check Core Web Vitals on real devices before launch and after every significant change. The result is a site that stays fast as you add products, rather than one that slows with every app.
Custom ecommerce website design starts with what you sell and who buys it, not with a template.
Custom-coded in HTML, CSS and JavaScript. No page builder, no theme, nothing loaded that the page doesn't use.
A custom site gives full control over everything search engines read. We use it.
Handed over properly, and looked after if you want us to.
Where each approach wins and where it costs you. Our guide to custom websites vs Shopify themes goes deeper.
| Page builder | Platform theme | Custom-coded with SOP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page speed | Slow to mid | Mid | Fast |
| Design control | Builder limits | Theme limits | Complete |
| Code loaded per page | Everything | Most of it | Only what's needed |
| Monthly platform fees | Yes | Yes | Hosting only |
| Who owns the code | The builder | Theme author | You |
| Time to launch | Days | Days to weeks | Weeks |
| Changes need a developer | Rarely | Sometimes | Usually |
Most redesigns we take on start with a site that was fine three years ago: a theme that has been patched with apps, pages that load slowly on a phone, and a layout the business has grown out of. We begin by measuring what the current site does well, including which pages rank and which convert, so nothing that works gets thrown away. Then we redesign around the products you sell now, rebuild by hand, redirect every old URL, and launch with the rankings intact. If the honest answer is that the current platform is fine and only the design needs work, we say so.
From first look to a store that's live, fast and yours.
If you have a site, we look at speed, structure, search performance and where visitors give up. If not, we ask what you sell, to whom, and what the site needs to do.
A written scope — pages, features, integrations, content — and a fixed project price. Nothing starts until you've agreed it.
Page designs for you to react to before any code is written. Mobile first, because that's where most of your visitors are.
Hand-coded on a staging site you can see at every stage. Checkout, payments, shipping and tax set up and tested end to end.
Redirects, tracking, monitoring and a final check on real devices, then live. Every file and login handed over with a walkthrough.
Custom code only counts as an advantage if you actually own it. Here's how we make sure you do.
A store designed and coded from scratch for your business, rather than configured from a theme or assembled in a page builder. Every page is written by hand in HTML, CSS and JavaScript, so it loads only what it needs, looks the way you want it to, and belongs to you outright. It costs more to build than a theme and less to run.
Speed, design control and ownership. A custom-coded site is usually noticeably faster because it carries no theme or app overhead, it can have any layout you want, and there are no platform fees. A Shopify theme wins on speed to launch and on the app ecosystem. We build both, and we'll tell you which fits before quoting.
Yes. A redesign starts with what the current site gets right and wrong: speed, structure, search rankings and where visitors leave. We keep what works, redirect every old URL so rankings carry over, and rebuild the rest. If the existing platform is the problem, we'll say so; if it isn't, we'll say that too.
Often, yes. Our web design services for small business are the same process at a smaller scope: fewer pages, a focused product range, and a build you can update yourself. The main question is who maintains it. If nobody will, a managed platform may suit you better, and we'll tell you.
A fixed project price based on a written scope: pages, features, integrations and content. No hourly billing and no scope growing halfway through. Hosting is yours and cheap; a maintenance retainer is optional.
Yes. Products, prices, stock and content are editable without touching code, and we walk you through it at handover. Design or feature changes need a developer, which can be us on a retainer or anyone else, because the code is yours and written to be readable.
From a site we built and still look after. In their words, not ours.
Great Team Quality service on Time delivery of product
The trade-offs between a custom build and a platform theme, in plain English.
We'll come back with a written scope, a recommendation on custom versus platform, and a fixed price — usually the same day.
