eCommerce website design / UK-wide
Online Shops Built Around Your Range
An online shop with secure payments, stock control and no monthly platform fee attached to the site itself.
I build online shops for independent retailers across the UK, from a single-product store to a full catalogue with variants, stock levels and delivery zones. Payments run through Stripe or PayPal, so card data never touches your site and you are not liable for storing it.
The main difference from a hosted platform is ownership. A Shopify or Wix shop runs on a subscription that continues for as long as you trade, apps are billed separately, and the shop cannot move elsewhere. A custom shop has its code, domain and hosting account in your name, with no compulsory monthly fee for the site itself.
That is not right for everyone. If you are selling a handful of items and want to be live this week, a hosted platform is the better choice. Custom pays back when the shop is a major sales channel, when it needs its own look, or when it has to connect to the stock and accounting systems you already use.
01
What an Online Shop Includes
Everything needed to take money safely and fulfil an order.
- Product catalogue with categories, variants, images and search
- Secure checkout through Stripe or PayPal, with no card data stored on your site
- Stock tracking, with low-stock and out-of-stock handling
- Delivery zones, postage rules and collection options
- Order confirmation and dispatch emails to you and the customer
- VAT handling and downloadable order records for your bookkeeping
- Product schema markup so items can appear in Google Shopping results
- Mobile-first checkout, since most abandoned baskets happen on phones
02
Who It Suits
The shops I build most often.
Independent Retailers
Shops with physical premises that want to sell further afield without handing a percentage to a marketplace.
Makers and Small Producers
Bakers, brewers, craftspeople and small food producers selling a focused range, often with local delivery or collection windows.
Trade Suppliers
Businesses selling to other businesses, where accounts, trade pricing and repeat ordering matter most.
Anyone Outgrowing a Hosted Platform
Shops paying for a stack of platform apps to work around limitations, where the monthly total has grown past what a custom build would cost.
03
Questions About Online Shops
What retailers ask me before committing.
Is a custom shop cheaper than Shopify or Wix in the long run?
It depends how long you trade and how many add-ons you need. A hosted platform costs roughly £20 to £100 a month once apps are included, for as long as you trade. A custom shop costs more to build and then only hosting, which for a static-fronted shop is a few pounds a month. Most shops break even within two to four years. For a short-term or seasonal shop, a hosted platform makes more sense.
Can I manage products myself without touching code?
Yes. You get an admin area for adding and editing products, prices, stock levels and images. If your catalogue already lives in a spreadsheet, an EPOS system or an accounting package, I can often import from it or sync with it.
How are card payments kept secure?
Card details are entered directly into Stripe or PayPal's own hosted checkout, so they never pass through or get stored on your site. That keeps you out of scope for the strictest parts of PCI DSS compliance. Your site only ever sees whether a payment succeeded and what was ordered.
Will my products show up in Google Shopping?
Every product gets Product structured data: price, availability, images and description. That is what Google reads to build a shopping result. It makes products eligible, though Google decides placement, and paid Shopping campaigns are a separate service I do not run.
What about postage, VAT and returns?
Postage rules, delivery zones and collection options are set up as part of the build, so a customer nearby and a customer in Inverness can be charged differently. VAT is handled correctly on invoices. Returns policy wording is yours to decide, but I will make sure it is published where UK consumer law requires it to be.
Related
- Booking SystemsLet customers book themselves in at any hour, without you answering the phone mid-appointment.
- Business WebsitesFor businesses that do not sell online or take bookings, and need to be found and trusted.
- Bespoke Web ApplicationsClient portals, internal tools, dashboards and workflow systems, built around the way your business runs.
- PricingStarting prices for websites, booking integration and the optional monthly care plan, all listed on one page.
Tell me what you need.
A few lines is enough to start. Every enquiry gets a written reply within 24 hours, and there is no obligation to go ahead.