Practical e-commerce websites that make buying straightforward for your customers and manageable for you.
An online shop should make buying straightforward for your customers and manageable for you. That sounds obvious, but plenty of e-commerce websites fail on one side or the other. We build shops that work properly, look after the day to day running of the business, and avoid the complications that waste time and money.
Thunderhat is Tim Laws, an independent web designer based in Cheadle, Staffordshire. I have been building websites since 2004, including online shops for small and growing businesses across Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Leek, Uttoxeter, Lichfield, Cannock, Burton-upon-Trent, Tamworth, Stone, Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Solihull, Dudley and West Bromwich.
If you are thinking about selling online for the first time, or your current shop is awkward to use or hard to keep updated, this page explains how I approach e-commerce web design and what to think about before you start.
The website should be built around your products and how people buy them. That means clear product pages, sensible categories, useful information and a checkout that does not create unnecessary friction. The design should support the buying process, not get in the way of it.
Customers need to understand exactly what they are buying. Good product pages include clear descriptions, accurate specifications, delivery information and photographs that show the product properly. If someone has to email you to ask a basic question, the page is not doing its job.
Categories and filters should reflect how your customers think about your products, not how you store them in the stockroom. If someone cannot find a product in a few clicks, they will leave. We plan the structure with real buying behaviour in mind.
The fewer steps between basket and confirmation, the better. Customers should see delivery costs before they enter payment details, and the forms should be simple to complete on a phone. Every extra field or unexpected charge loses sales.
You do not need a professional studio, but you do need consistent, well lit photos and accurate written details. We advise on what to prepare and how to present it so products look trustworthy and clear.
Different businesses have different requirements. A shop selling a small range of handmade goods has different needs from one managing hundreds of products, variations, stock levels or more involved ordering requirements. We choose an appropriate solution rather than overcomplicating things.
If you sell ten or twenty products, you do not need a complex e-commerce platform. A lightweight shop with simple categories and a straightforward checkout is faster to build, easier to maintain and cheaper to run. We will not sell you features you do not need.
For businesses with many products, sizes, colours or options, the structure matters more. We plan product attributes, categories and search filters carefully so the shop stays usable as the range grows. Stock control and bulk updates become important at this scale.
Not every business fits a standard shop template. If you take deposits, sell custom items, offer local delivery or need to manage back orders, we discuss the details first and build the ordering process around how you actually work.
Selling online involves more than a pretty shop front. You need secure payment processing, a sensible way to manage orders, and a system for keeping product information up to date. We set these up so they are straightforward to use, not a daily headache.
Customers expect to pay by card and to see the familiar security signals. We integrate established payment providers such as Stripe or PayPal, depending on your preference and the platform. The checkout runs over HTTPS and follows standard security practice.
When an order comes in, you need to see what was bought, where it is going and how much was paid, without digging through emails. We set up clear order notifications and an admin area that shows the information you need at a glance.
If you hold stock, the website should track it and warn you when levels are low. For smaller ranges, simple stock counts may be enough. For larger ranges, we can set up more detailed inventory management. We discuss what is practical for your situation.
Delivery is part of the product. We help you define sensible shipping rules, whether that is flat rate, weight based, free over a threshold, local pickup or something else. The customer should see the cost before checkout, and you should not lose money on postage.
More than half of online shopping happens on phones. If your shop is awkward on a small screen, you are turning away customers every day. We build mobile-first responsive layouts, which means the site is designed for phones from the start and then adapted for larger screens.
Product titles, prices, descriptions and buttons need to be legible without pinching and zooming. We set type sizes and spacing so the important information is visible immediately.
Menus, filters and category links need to be easy to tap. We avoid hover-only menus and tiny touch targets. The goal is that someone can browse and buy one handed, on a bus, without frustration.
Form fields should be large enough, and the keyboard should switch to the right type for email, phone and card details. Autofill should work. Every small improvement here reduces abandoned checkouts.
Search engine optimisation for an online shop is about helping Google understand your products and pages. Sensible product structure, descriptive titles, unique descriptions, clean URLs and proper technical setup all contribute. But visibility is only part of the equation: the products, pricing, customer experience and wider marketing also matter.
Each product page should have a unique title, a useful meta description and a written description that includes the terms people actually search for. Duplicate or thin content across many products makes it harder for search engines to know which page to show.
A clear hierarchy, from homepage to category to product, helps both customers and search engines. Internal links between related products and categories spread relevance and make the shop easier to crawl.
Fast loading pages, clean URLs, structured data for products and prices, and a sitemap all help. We build these in from the start and check them as part of the project. We also make sure the shop works on mobile, which is a ranking factor.
A well optimised shop gives you a chance to be found, but it does not guarantee sales. You still need products people want, competitive pricing, good photos and some form of marketing, whether that is word of mouth, social media, email or paid ads. We will be honest about what SEO can and cannot do.
The process is straightforward. We talk through your products and requirements, agree a sensible scope, then design and build the shop in stages. You see progress and can feed back before launch.
We start with a phone call or email. You tell me what you sell, how you currently take orders, what works and what does not. I ask questions about product ranges, stock, delivery and how much time you can spend on maintenance. There is no charge for this conversation.
I write a short proposal outlining what will be built, what you need to provide, and how long it will take. If the project is small, this might be a few paragraphs. If it is larger, it will be more detailed. We agree the scope before any work starts.
I design the shop around your products and brand, then build it on a suitable platform. You provide product information, photos and any existing branding. I handle the technical setup, including hosting, security and payment integration.
You test the shop on your own phone and computer. We fix anything that is unclear or broken. This is the time to check product pages, delivery costs and the checkout process carefully.
We point the domain, test the live shop and make sure orders come through correctly. I show you how to add products, update stock and process orders. You are not left with a website you cannot manage.
Every e-commerce project is different, so I quote per job rather than offering a fixed package. The main factors are the number of products, the complexity of the ordering process, and how much content you already have prepared.
A shop with twenty products is much quicker to build than one with five hundred. More products means more time spent on categories, product pages, images and testing. If you can start with a smaller range and add more later, that often reduces the initial cost.
Simple products with one price and no options are straightforward. Products with sizes, colours, materials or custom fields take longer to set up and test. The same applies to made-to-order items, deposits and back orders.
A shop built from a well supported template is faster and cheaper than a fully custom design. For most small businesses, a well configured template with your branding is the right balance of cost and quality. If you need a distinctive custom layout, we can do that too.
Good product photos, descriptions and delivery information make a big difference to the finished shop. If you provide these in a tidy format, the build goes faster. If I need to source or rewrite everything, that adds time. We can advise on what to prepare.
Accounting software, email marketing, review systems, loyalty schemes and other integrations all add time and cost. Some are worthwhile; many are not. We will tell you if an extra is likely to pay for itself or just add complexity.
An e-commerce website is not a one-off project. Products change, prices change, software needs updates, and you will want to know how the shop is performing. We offer ongoing care plans that include updates, backups, security monitoring and small changes.
Our care plans start at £100 per month and include regular software updates, daily backups, uptime monitoring and a set amount of time for small changes. For an online shop, this is cheap insurance against downtime and security problems.
If you want to improve your shop's visibility, we offer SEO and marketing plans from £100 per month. This includes on-page optimisation, Google Business Profile work where relevant, and practical advice on content and local search. We do not promise overnight results.
If something breaks, if you want to add a new product range, or if you are not sure how to handle a change, get in touch. Most small issues can be fixed quickly. It is better to ask than to leave a problem until it costs you sales.
Not every business needs an e-commerce website. If you sell a service, take orders by phone, or your products are not suited to online sales, a brochure site with a clear enquiry process may be more appropriate. We will tell you if we think an online shop is the wrong choice.
If you currently sell in person, at markets or through social media, an online shop can open up new customers and make ordering more convenient. It also gives you a professional presence that a Facebook page cannot match. We can start small and grow the shop as demand increases.
If your current shop is slow, hard to update or losing sales at checkout, a rebuild can pay for itself quickly. We focus on the specific problems: unclear product pages, confusing navigation, high shipping costs shown too late, or a checkout that does not work on mobile.
Sometimes the platform is the problem. If you are fighting your current system to make simple changes, or paying for plugins that do not work properly, we can assess the situation and recommend a simpler setup. You do not have to live with a shop that makes your life harder.
If you are thinking about selling online, or want to improve an existing shop, get in touch. We will talk through your products, your requirements and the practicalities, and give you a straight answer about what is involved. No hard sell, no artificial urgency, no unrealistic promises.
Call Tim on 07930 127013 or email tim@thunderhat.com. We cover Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent and the wider West Midlands, and we are happy to work with businesses further afield.
Can't see your question? Call or send a message and we'll answer it.
Every shop is different, so I quote per job. A simple shop with a small product range costs less than a large catalogue with variations and integrations. We discuss your products and requirements first, then give you a clear price before any work starts.
Most small e-commerce projects take two to four weeks from agreement to launch, depending on the number of products and how quickly you can provide content. Larger shops take longer. I will give you a realistic timescale in the proposal.
Yes. I build the shop on a platform you can manage, and I show you how to add products, update stock and process orders. If you prefer, I can handle updates for you under a care plan.
I choose the platform based on your products and requirements. For small shops, a lightweight solution is often best. For larger catalogues, a more established platform may be appropriate. I do not push a particular system unless it suits the project.
It helps to have good photos and accurate descriptions, but you do not need everything perfect before we start. I can advise on what to prepare and help with formatting. The more you can provide, the faster the build goes.
I build the shop with sensible SEO foundations, including clean URLs, unique product descriptions and proper technical setup. That gives you a chance to be found, but visibility also depends on your products, pricing and marketing. SEO is not a guarantee of sales.
Tell us about your business and what you need — a new website, better rankings, or both. Free, no-obligation chat with Tim.
