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Shopify Partner · full-service ecommerce agency

Shopify website design

We design and develop Shopify stores that sell: custom themes built around your brand, a buying journey tuned to convert, and a partner who sticks around after launch. No Theme Store templates, no app bloat, no surprises.

Tell us about your project
5.0
Read our 52 reviews on Google
A Shopify store built by designboxA Shopify store built by designboxA Shopify store built by designboxA Shopify store built by designboxA Shopify store built by designboxA Shopify store built by designbox
A Shopify store built by designboxA Shopify store built by designboxA Shopify store built by designboxA Shopify store built by designboxA Shopify store built by designboxA Shopify store built by designbox
Our work

Our latest Shopify stores

PoolBar London
Online orders tripled in a year

PoolBar London

A sun care brand launched from scratch: online orders tripled in a year, and four times as many people reached on Meta.

Mermaids Swimwear
9.36x return on ad spend

Mermaids Swimwear

A new e-commerce website and paid search strategy for a boutique swimwear brand.

Firework Crazy
Award Winning Website
#1 on Google for 394 firework searches

Firework Crazy

Number one on Google for 394 firework searches in the 2025 peak season, and a new online shop built for 2026.

Quel Tap
+269% sales from Google, 3 months after a rebrand

Quel Tap

AquaTaps became Quel Tap on a new domain. Three months later, sales from Google were up 269% on the same months last year.

The outcome

Shopify, done properly

Anyone can open a Shopify store in an afternoon. The difference is in how it's designed, how well it converts, and how it's run and grown for the years that follow. We obsess over all three.

Designed

Designed, never templated

Your store shouldn't be a Theme Store template thousands of other brands are running. Every Shopify store we build starts as a blank canvas and becomes a custom design around your products, your customers and your brand, then gets built as its own lean, fast Shopify theme.

Nothing your competitors can buy. A store that's yours alone, built to load fast and rank well from day one.

A Shopify store designed from scratch
Convert

A buying journey that doesn't leak

Shopify's checkout is the best in the business; the job is getting people to it. We design product pages that persuade, carts that nudge order values up, and a journey with no dead ends, so more of your visitors become customers.

Watch it happen: browse, add, pay, done. Seconds, not minutes.

A Shopify checkout built to convert
Run & grow

Everything connected behind the scenes

The part your customers never see is the part that runs your business. We connect Shopify to your EPOS and tills, stock, accounting and fulfilment, so a sale on the shop floor and a sale online update everything, everywhere, automatically. One stock pot, no double-typing, no overselling.

One admin for products, orders, stock and customers, in store and online. Built for your business, not bolted together from apps.

The Shopify admin area
Who it's for

Whatever you sell, we'll build the store for it

A great candle store and a great supplement store are not the same store. We design every Shopify build around the way your product is bought, browsed and bought again.

The process

How our Shopify web design process works

Five clear stages from first call to life after launch. You'll always know what's happening, what's next and who's doing it.

1

Discovery

designbox discovery stage of the process

Before anything gets designed, we get to know your business inside out, so every decision from here has a purpose.

  • Kick-off call to understand your business, your customers and your goals
  • Review of your existing site, what’s working and what isn’t
  • Sitemap agreed so we know exactly what we’re building
  • Project timeline confirmed with clear milestones
2

Design

designbox design stage of the process

We create a design built around your brand and your customers. You'll see and approve everything before we write a single line of code.

  • Wireframes to map the journey from landing page to checkout
  • Full visual design presented for your feedback
  • Two rounds of revisions included as standard
  • Final sign-off from you before we move to build
3

Build

designbox build stage of the process

Our developers bring the approved design to life. Every website we build is custom, fast and built to grow with your business.

  • Custom Shopify theme built from scratch, lean and fast
  • Fully responsive across all devices
  • Apps vetted and kept to a minimum, integrations set up properly
  • Tested across browsers and devices before you see it
4

Handover and training

designbox handover and training stage of the process

Before we go live, we make sure you and your team are completely comfortable running the store. No technical knowledge needed.

  • Walkthrough of your new site on a staging link before launch
  • Shopify training so your team can manage products, orders and content
  • Bespoke training videos provided for future reference
  • Any final amends completed before sign-off
5

Launch and beyond

designbox launch stage of the process

Go-live is just the beginning. We handle the technical side of the launch and stay on hand to make sure everything runs smoothly.

  • Pre-launch checklist completed in full
  • Redirects and SEO migration handled to protect your existing rankings
  • 30 days of post-launch support included as standard
  • Ongoing support plans to keep your store fast, converting and up to date
What's possible

What we can build into your Shopify store

Every store is different, so every build is scoped around what yours actually needs. These are the kinds of things we can do for you on Shopify, added when the job calls for them, and never an app where the theme can do it better.

A custom Shopify theme

Designed from scratch around your brand and built lean. Nothing from the Theme Store, nothing your competitors can buy.

Product pages that persuade

Photography-first layouts, honest detail, reviews where they count. Pages that answer every doubt before it forms.

A checkout that doesn’t leak

Express payments, Shop Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay, with nothing between your customer and the buy button.

Apps, governed

Apps add fees and slow stores down. We build features into your theme where we can, and only add apps that earn their keep.

Abandoned carts, recovered

Automatic recovery emails that bring shoppers back to a basket that’s exactly as they left it.

Email flows that sell

Welcome series, post-purchase and win-back flows in Klaviyo or Mailchimp, designed to match your store.

Subscriptions built in

Subscribe-and-save on the products your customers reorder, with recurring revenue you can count on.

Search and filtering that finds it fast

Smart search with live suggestions and filters, so customers reach the right product in seconds.

Reviews doing the selling

Ratings and photo reviews collected automatically and shown exactly where they win the decision.

Discounts, done properly

Codes, automatic discounts and launch offers that lift orders without training customers to wait for sales.

Sell worldwide

Multi-currency, local payment methods and duties handled with Shopify Markets, so borders don’t cost you sales.

Gift cards and loyalty

Gift cards, store credit and points that turn one-time buyers into regulars, and regulars into advocates.

Bundles and upsells

Bundles, add-ons and post-purchase offers at the perfect moment, nudging every order a little higher.

One stock pot: online, in store, warehouse

Shopify POS and your EPOS, tills, fulfilment and accounting all connected, so every sale updates everything.

SEO-ready from launch

Clean structure, fast templates, schema and redirects handled, so your store earns its Google traffic.

Analytics you can act on

Know which products, pages and channels drive revenue, with tracking set up properly from day one.

Fast, and it stays fast

Lean themes, optimised images and disciplined apps. Speed scores your competitors will envy.

Sell where your customers scroll

TikTok Shop, Instagram and Facebook connected to the same catalogue, so social sales and stock stay in sync.

A real team behind your store

Questions answered by people who know your build, not a ticket queue. Support plans that grow with you.

Feature spotlight

A store you can run from your pocket

One of Shopify's best features is how it feels to own: orders, stock and customers in your pocket, wherever you are. We set your store up so the day-to-day genuinely runs itself, and the good news finds you.

  • Orders straight to your phone, wherever you are
  • Update products, prices and photos in minutes, from anywhere
  • Fulfilment, refunds and customer replies handled in taps
  • Full training and bespoke videos included with every build
Tell us about your project
Partners, and honest ones

Shopify Partners, with nothing to prove

We're a Shopify Partner agency, and unusually, we're a Woo Pro Agency Partner too. That means our platform advice has no thumb on the scale: we recommend Shopify when it's right for you, not because it's all we can build.

Shopify

Shopify Partner agency

We design and build on Shopify as an official Shopify Partner, with the training, tooling and direct support access that comes with it. Your store gets built to Shopify’s own standards, by people who work in it every week.

WooCommerce

Fluent in the alternative

Most Shopify agencies can only build Shopify, so guess what they always recommend. We’re also a Woo Pro Agency Partner, building WooCommerce stores every month, which means when we say Shopify is right for your business, it’s a genuine recommendation, not a default.

Case studies

Real businesses, real results

Every one of these started as a store that wasn't selling like it should. Here's what changed, and what it did for the numbers.

Mermaids Swimwear

Mermaids Swimwear is a boutique retailer of high quality swimwear and holiday wear. The old storefront was holding the product back, so we rebuilt it and put a high-intent Google Ads strategy behind it to reach shoppers already ready to buy.

The combination is what made it work: a store that converts, and paid search pointed only at people close to purchasing. It returned 9.36 times the ad spend across the year, with revenue up 55%.

0x
average return on ad spend
0%
increase in revenue generated

Read the full case study →

The Mermaids Swimwear store before the designbox redesign
The Mermaids Swimwear store after the designbox redesign

BeforeAfter

Power Hygiene

Power Hygiene lead the UK market in commercial and domestic cleaning supplies, with over 5,000 product lines. Their old store could not carry the scale of the operation, so we rebuilt it as a custom B2B platform designed around how trade buyers actually order.

The site is organised by industry as well as product, with recurring ordering, trade accounts and pricing built in. Search and paid work then took it further, including 264 mentions in Google AI overviews in a single month.

0%
increase in organic traffic
0%
increase in revenue from paid ads

Read the full case study →

The Power Hygiene store before the designbox rebuild
The Power Hygiene store after the designbox rebuild

BeforeAfter

Quel Tap

AquaTaps sell instant boiling and filtered water taps direct to homeowners. Partway through the project a trademark issue meant the brand had to change too, so we rebuilt the store and moved the business to a new name and domain at the same time.

Every variant used to be its own product. Now shape, finish and boiler type are chosen in place, which fixed the shopping experience and the SEO together. The domain migration was handled without losing ground: organic sessions grew 28% across matched windows.

0%
increase in organic sessions
0%
increase in organic transactions

Read the full case study →

The AquaTaps store before the designbox rebuild
The Quel Tap store after the designbox rebuild

BeforeAfter

Integration solutions for your Shopify store

A website that works for your business

Your store should feed the tools that run your business. We connect Shopify to your email, accounting, shipping and marketing stack, cleanly and reliably. Here are just some of the solutions we can integrate for you.

DPD
DPD
Stripe
Stripe
PayPal
PayPal
Royal Mail
Royal Mail
GoCardless
GoCardless
Xero
Xero
QuickBooks
QuickBooks
Klarna
Klarna
Mailchimp
Mailchimp
Evri
Evri
TikTok
TikTok
Zapier
Zapier
Google Ads
Google Ads
Meta
Meta
Trustpilot
Trustpilot
DPD
DPD
Stripe
Stripe
PayPal
PayPal
Royal Mail
Royal Mail
GoCardless
GoCardless
Xero
Xero
QuickBooks
QuickBooks
Klarna
Klarna
Mailchimp
Mailchimp
Evri
Evri
TikTok
TikTok
Zapier
Zapier
Google Ads
Google Ads
Meta
Meta
Trustpilot
Trustpilot

Moving to Shopify?

Migrate to Shopify without losing a sale

Outgrown your platform, or just tired of fighting it? We move stores onto Shopify carefully: your products, your customers, your rankings and your revenue, all protected while the switch happens around them.

  • Every product, customer and order record moved intact
  • Existing SEO protected with a full redirect and migration plan
  • Zero downtime: your current store sells until the moment we switch
Platforms we migrate to Shopify from
WooCommerceMagentoWixSquarespaceBigCommerceEtsyEKM
Talk to us about migrating
What stays protected
The things that keep you up at night about switching platforms, handled.
Search rankingsFull URL map and 1:1 redirects before launch

✓

RevenueThe old store keeps selling until the moment we switch

✓

Products, orders and customersEvery record migrated and verified, nothing retyped

✓

Gift cards and discountsBalances and active codes carried across, honoured in full

✓

Client reviews

What our clients say about working with us

Sarah Aspinall, Breaking Ballet - designbox client

Sarah Aspinall

Breaking Ballet

“We have seen great work from the team at designbox. From WordPress development to liaising with our in-house and remote dev teams, to paid search, the results have been great. I would highly recommend them.”

Kim Waller, Lick Library - designbox client

Kim Waller

Lick Library

“I have been working with designbox for the past two years and have always had exceptional customer service and support. We used them initially to redesign our website. The work is always delivered to the highest standard and the team are fantastic. Highly recommend.”

Emily Bryant, Amberjack - designbox client

Emily Bryant

Amberjack

Nicole Osborne, Wunderstars - designbox client

Nicole Osborne

Wunderstars

“Great hands-on service from start to finish. From idea generation, logo and branding through to a functioning website, the team were always on hand with suggestions and high quality implementation. Would happily recommend to all.”

Richard Combs, Intrinsic Capital - designbox client

Richard Combs

Intrinsic Capital

“designbox have been brilliant in supporting us in both marketing and web development. The team have been reliable and efficient in everything they have done for us.”

Esther Smith, Battlesbridge Horse and Country - designbox client

Esther Smith

Battlesbridge Horse & Country

Tommie Hession-Harris, Player Path - designbox client

Tommie Hession-Harris

Player Path

“designbox have been a huge support for me and my business for the past five years. Their up-to-date knowledge of digital design, marketing and the tech industry itself is fantastic, and I would recommend them to anyone.”

Samantha Wells, Tern Heads - designbox client

Samantha Wells

Tern Heads

“We are absolutely delighted with the service we receive from designbox, who manage my website and SEO among other things. They have helped us to grow the business over the last few years with a website to be proud of and a steady stream of new clients. Would highly recommend.”

Penny Hawker, CHC Aesthetics - designbox client

Penny Hawker

CHC Aesthetics

Dale Harris, Greenoaks - designbox client

Dale Harris

Greenoak Concept & Design

“Very helpful and professional company with some of the most friendly and talented staff I’ve met. They made us a beautiful website and have been cooperative with any assistance that we’ve needed since. Would highly recommend!”

Danny Whitefoord, Chiltern Co - designbox client

Danny Whitefoord

Chiltern Co

“We have been working with Brandon and the team for the last few years and are very happy with their work. Brandon is very responsive and easy to work with.”

Tom Billings, Beach Equity - designbox client

Tom Billings

Beach Equity

Kirsty Pile, KA Naturals - designbox client

Kirsty Pile

KA Naturals

“Excellent service, highly professional staff who are all more than happy to give an extensive insight into online marketing campaigns in a digestible, understandable presentation. We have since moved all of my online marketing over to designbox across multiple companies.”

Robert Foster-Jones, Sunshine Co - designbox client

Robert Foster-Jones

Sunshine Co

“designbox completely saved my website and have created a completely unique website tailored to my needs. The support is second to none, nothing is ever too much to ask, and they go above and beyond to provide solutions or meet my design requirements. I have had nothing but great feedback from customers and the team are always at the end of the phone if we have any queries.”

designbox client reviews

Daisy Lethbridge

Mermaids Swimwear

Why us

Why designbox

A few honest reasons clients choose us, and stay with us.

0+
projects delivered over ten years
0+
websites launched for clients
0%
of clients stay year on year

Ecommerce is what we do

Online stores aren’t a section of our services, they’re the core of our reputation. We’ve launched stores across dozens of industries on Shopify and WooCommerce, and that experience shapes every store from the first conversation.

You talk to the people doing the work

No account managers in the middle. From your first call to your launch day, you deal directly with the designers, developers and content writers building your site. Faster decisions, clearer communication, no misunderstandings.

We think beyond the build

A well-designed store that nobody finds isn’t much use to anyone. We build with SEO, speed and conversion in mind from day one, so your site is set up to perform from the moment it goes live.

We are in it for the long haul

We would rather be an extension of your team than a supplier you call once. We take the time to learn your business, then put our expertise behind growing it, year after year. That is why our client retention is so high, and why some of our clients have been with us for over ten years.

The designbox team at work in the studio
A designer and developer working together at a screen
The designbox team on a client call
Don't believe the hype?

See what AI has to say about us

Don't take our word for it. Ask the machines. Each button opens a live AI with a pre-filled question about our Shopify website design, so you can sanity-check everything on this page yourself.

Beyond the build

A Shopify store is just the start

The best Shopify stores are launched, then grown. Because everything at designbox is in-house, the team that built your store can also fill it with customers.

Ecommerce SEO

Get your products found on Google. Collection and product page optimisation, technical SEO and content that ranks.

Ecommerce SEO →

AI search optimisation

Show up when people ask ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI who to work with. The next frontier of being found.

AI search →

Google Ads & Shopping

Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns that put your products at the top of the results, managed by a Google Partner.

Google Ads →

Website care and support

Updates, improvements and a team on call. Support plans that keep your store fast, converting and growing.

Store support →

Meta ads

Facebook and Instagram campaigns that put your products in front of the people most likely to buy them.

Meta ads →

Email marketing

Klaviyo and Mailchimp flows, abandoned carts and campaigns that turn one-time buyers into regulars.

Email marketing →

Good questions

Questions we're asked most

Can't see yours? Ask us anything on a quick call, no obligation.

How much does a Shopify website cost?
Every store is scoped individually around your products, your catalogue and the features you need, so we don’t publish fixed prices. What we can tell you is that we’ll always give you an honest, transparent quote before anything starts. The best first step is a short call so we can give you a realistic figure.
How long does a Shopify website take to build?
Most custom Shopify stores take between eight and sixteen weeks from kick-off to launch, depending on catalogue size and features. Migrations from another platform can add time for data and SEO work. We’ll agree a clear timeline with milestones at the start.
Do you build custom Shopify themes or use Theme Store templates?
We design every store from scratch and build it as a custom Shopify theme. Theme Store templates are fine for getting started, but they look like what they are, and your brand deserves better than a design thousands of other stores are running.
Can you migrate my store to Shopify?
Yes. We migrate stores to Shopify from WooCommerce, Magento, Wix, Squarespace, BigCommerce, Etsy and more, moving your products, customers, orders and discount codes, protecting your search rankings with a full redirect plan, and keeping your current store selling until the moment we switch.
Will I need lots of Shopify apps?
No, and you should be wary of anyone who says otherwise. Apps add monthly costs and slow stores down. We build as much as possible into your theme itself, and only add apps that genuinely earn their place.
Should I choose Shopify or WooCommerce?
It depends on your products, your team and how you want to grow, and we’re one of the few agencies that builds on both, so our advice is genuinely honest. Shopify suits brands that want a fast, reliable, low-maintenance store. WooCommerce suits large catalogues, trade pricing and heavy customisation. We’ll recommend what’s right for your business, not what’s convenient for us. We’ve put the two side by side in WooCommerce vs Shopify.
Are there ongoing costs with Shopify?
Yes. Shopify charges a monthly subscription and payment processing fees, and some apps carry their own fees. We’re upfront about all of it before you commit, and we design builds that keep app costs to a minimum.
Do you offer support after the store goes live?
Yes. All projects include 30 days of post-launch support as standard, with ongoing support plans covering updates, improvements and conversion optimisation as your store grows.
Can you improve my existing Shopify store?
Yes. We take on existing Shopify stores for redesigns, speed and conversion work, app clean-ups and ongoing growth, whether we built the store originally or not. Not sure whether yours needs it? Here are five signs it is time to redesign your store.
Why choose designbox for Shopify web design?
Every Shopify store we design is custom: a bespoke theme built around your brand, product pages designed to persuade, a checkout journey with nothing in the way, and apps kept to a disciplined minimum so your store stays fast and your monthly costs stay low. We handle migrations to Shopify from WooCommerce, Magento, Wix, Etsy and more with rankings and revenue protected, and our in-house team delivers ecommerce SEO, Google Shopping, Meta ads and Klaviyo email marketing, meaning the people who built your store can also fill it with customers.
How should we compare Shopify web design agencies?
If you’re comparing Shopify agencies, the best way to judge us is our work and our clients. Browse our latest stores, drag through the before and after results, or ask us anything on a call, no obligation and no hard sell.

Shopify website design at designbox

designbox is a Shopify website design agency based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, helping brands across the UK sell more online. We’re a Shopify Partner agency and, unusually, a Woo Pro Agency Partner too, which means our platform recommendations are honest: we build both, so we suggest what’s right for your business rather than the only thing we know.Every store is custom Shopify theme development, not a Theme Store template with the colours swapped. Templates are fine for getting started, but they look like what they are and they carry weight your store doesn’t need. We design product pages that persuade, a checkout journey with nothing in the way, and a structure that still makes sense when your catalogue doubles.We’re careful about apps, too. Most stores accumulate them until the monthly bill and the load time both hurt, so Shopify app cleanup and speed work is a regular part of what we do: build into the theme where we can, and only reach for an app that genuinely earns its place. We’re upfront about the platform’s own costs before you commit, the subscription and the transaction fees, rather than after. Behind every store sits Cyber Essentials certification, an in-house team and over £2 million in Google Ads spend managed a year, so the people who design and build your store are the same people who can bring customers to it. Shopify migration from WooCommerce, Magento, Wix or BigCommerce is routine work, and our process protects your products, customers, orders and search rankings on the way across.

Ready to build a Shopify store that sells?

Tell us about your business and we'll come back with honest advice and a realistic figure, usually within one working day.