E-commerce web design in Leeds that turns browsers into buyers.
A good online store is more than a nice-looking shop. It loads fast, feels effortless to buy from, and is built on the right platform with the right payment options. We design and build online stores that sell, then look after them once they are live.
Nearly 7 in 10 shoppers abandon their basket.
Most of the time it is not the product. It is a slow site, a clunky checkout, a forced sign-up, too few payment options, or a page that does not feel safe to hand card details to. Every one of those is a problem we design out from the start, so the people who land on your store actually go through with the purchase.
Which platform is right for you?
There is no single best platform, only the best one for your products, budget and plans. Here is the short version, and we will recommend the right fit on a quick call.
WooCommerce
Most flexibleThe online-shop engine that runs on WordPress. It can match Shopify on features, and beat it for anything custom or unusual.
- Total control over design and features
- The plugin is free, you pay for hosting and a domain
- Owns your store outright, no platform lock-in
Best for businesses that want full control and room to do something different.
Shopify
Easiest to runThe most complete shop out of the box. It handles payments, stock, shipping and abandoned baskets from the off, and scales with very little upkeep.
- A fast checkout built to convert
- Thousands of apps and built-in payments
- A monthly fee, with very little to maintain
Best for serious sellers who want to grow fast without the technical side.
Custom build
A store built from the ground up when your needs are unusual or complex and the off-the-shelf platforms cannot quite do it.
- No platform limits at all
- Built around your exact process
- A bigger upfront investment
Best for complex catalogues, subscriptions or one-of-a-kind requirements.
Wix & Squarespace
Easy, good-looking builders best for smaller, branding-led shops. Fine for a tidy catalogue, but they hit limits as you grow.
- Lovely templates, quick to launch
- Fewer add-ons and weaker on big catalogues
- Transaction fees can apply on lower plans
Best for small catalogues and design-led brands starting out.
A quick myth to bust: WordPress on its own is not a shop. To sell, it needs WooCommerce or another checkout added on top. We will point you to the right route for your store.
Payment options, explained simply.
The way people pay has a real effect on how much they buy. Here are the main options and what each one is good at.
Stripe
The go-to for card payments and custom checkouts. No monthly fee, fees from around 1.5% plus 20p per UK card payment, and it handles 135-plus currencies plus Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Cards & walletsPayPal
Trusted by shoppers the world over. Lets people pay without typing card details, which lifts conversion for some audiences. PayPal Pay Later is available to UK buyers at no extra cost to you.
Trusted nameKlarna
The buy now, pay later option. Customers split the cost or pay in 30 days, while you receive the full amount upfront minus a fee. It can lift average order value on higher-priced items.
Buy now, pay laterShopify Payments
Shopify’s own built-in option. Set up in minutes with Apple Pay and Google Pay switched on automatically, and no separate account to manage.
Built into ShopifyFor most UK stores, a card gateway plus PayPal plus one buy-now-pay-later option covers nearly everyone. Resist the urge to add every option going. Too many choices at checkout create decision fatigue and can actually lower sales.
Safe to shop, safe to trust.
Shoppers can smell an unsafe checkout, and they leave. Every store we build comes with the trust signals people look for and the protections the law requires.
- SSL and HTTPS as standardThe padlock in the browser bar that tells customers their connection is encrypted and safe.
- PCI DSS card securityWe use payment providers like Stripe and PayPal that meet the highest level of card-data security, so card details never sit on your site.
- Fraud protection built inTools that flag suspicious orders before they cost you, without getting in the way of real customers.
- GDPR and customer dataCustomer details handled properly, with the right consent, storage and privacy steps in place from the start.
Moving an existing store, done safely.
Already selling and want to move? Migration is doable, but it is fiddly, and getting it wrong loses you products, customers or rankings. We handle the lot so nothing slips through the cracks.
- Products and categoriesYour full catalogue moved across with images, descriptions, prices and variants intact.
- Customers and ordersExisting customer accounts and order history carried over, so you keep your history and they keep their logins.
- Rankings protectedWe map redirects from your old pages so the search rankings you have built up come with you.
- No downtimeWe build and test in the background, then switch over cleanly so your shop never goes dark.
Everything your store needs to sell.
The features that make a shop easy to buy from and easy for you to run. We can even create or shoot your product images, since good photos sell.
Product pages that sell
Clean layouts, bold images and the detail buyers need to add to basket with confidence.
Fast, fuss-free checkout
A short, guest-friendly checkout that keeps people moving from basket to bought.
Multi-currency selling
Sell to customers abroad with prices in their currency and the right payment methods.
Abandoned-basket recovery
Automatic nudges that bring back the shoppers who left before paying.
Discounts & gift cards
Codes, offers and gift cards to drive sales when you need a push.
Stock & inventory
Live stock levels, low-stock alerts and simple management as orders come in.
Shipping & delivery
Flexible postage rules, click-and-collect and live courier rates at checkout.
Product photography
We can create or shoot your product images, because crisp photos do real selling.
Shops we have built and grown.
A couple of recent e-commerce builds, made to look great and, more to the point, to sell.
From idea to first sale.
A straightforward process with a plan and a fixed price agreed up front.
Plan the store
We learn your products and customers, then recommend the right platform, payments and features.
Design & build
We design the shop, set up products and checkout, and sort your photography if you need it.
Test everything
We test the checkout, payments and speed across phones and browsers until it all runs clean.
Launch & grow
We go live, train your team and stay on hand to help your store sell more over time.
“Waywest Design developed our e-commerce website, and the experience was seamless from start to finish.”
Stores that actually convert.
Jack and the team are life savers. They created a whole new website for my e-commerce business which I split tested against the original, and I am already seeing massively improved conversion rates, not just on sales but email sign-ups too. Great communication, understood what I wanted, and got it all done before the deadline.
Jack created a landing page for a new product launch. We gave him a brief of a few lines and he came back with two very different options. He is one of the first designers I have worked with who is not put off by a blank canvas. Professional, friendly, and we had reverts within hours even across time zones.
Their attention to detail and expertise really showed in the finished product. The new website is visually stunning, easy to navigate and optimised for search, all of which have increased traffic and conversions. What sets Jack apart is the dedication to getting it right, always willing to make changes until I was happy.
E-commerce questions.
The things people ask us most before starting an online store. Want more detail? Give us a shout.
Let’s build a store that brings in sales.
Tell us about your products and what you want to sell, and we will reply the same working day with advice on platform, payments and a fixed quote. You deal directly with the people building it.
- We reply the same working day
- Straight answers on the right platform
- A fixed quote you can plan around
- Product photography on hand if you need it
Tell us about your store
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