Ecommerce Web Design LondonSell more.Scale faster.
WebAnts is a London web design agency building Shopify stores, WooCommerce sites and custom ecommerce platforms for DTC brands and online retailers. Conversion-first design, subscription commerce and bespoke product experiences.
40+
Ecommerce sites shipped
+2×
DTC subscriptions (Bro Bread)
3 wks
Fastest store launch
£0
Deposit — milestone payments
4.9★
Average client rating
The problem
Why most ecommerce stores don't convert.
Four patterns we see repeatedly in Shopify and WooCommerce stores that are not generating the sales their traffic deserves — and exactly how we fix each one.
01
High traffic, low conversion
Beautiful brand, broken checkout. The product page layout is generic, the trust signals are absent, and the add-to-cart journey has three unnecessary steps. Traffic arrives — nothing happens.
02
Subscription and repeat purchase is an afterthought
LTV is locked in repeat orders, not one-off sales. If your store is not actively presenting a subscription option or a loyalty programme, you are leaving your most profitable revenue stream on the table.
03
Product pages don't sell
Generic Shopify theme layouts and weak copy. No social proof at the right moments, no size or variant logic, no comparison table, no UGC integration. Product pages are where most ecommerce stores lose sales — and most themes do nothing to fix it.
04
Mobile checkout abandonment
70% of ecommerce traffic is on mobile. If your checkout requires pinching, zooming, or five taps to change a quantity — you are losing the majority of your potential customers on the last step of the funnel.
Client story
View all case studies →Bro Bread — DTC subscriptions doubled in 90 days.
Bro Bread is a London sourdough brand with a loyal following and a Shopify store that wasn’t converting. No subscription option, generic product pages, and a mobile checkout that was losing 70% of visitors on the last step.
We rebuilt the Shopify store from scratch — custom theme, conversion-optimised product pages with UGC integration, subscription commerce with Recharge, and a mobile-first checkout redesign. DTC subscriptions doubled in 90 days. The store was live in 3 weeks.
What we build
8 ecommerce website services.
Built specifically for DTC brands and online retailers — not adapted from a generic template. All in-house in London.
01
Shopify Custom Theme Build
A bespoke Shopify theme built for your brand — not a modified template. Custom product page layouts, cart experience, collection architecture, and performance-tuned for sub-2s mobile load.
02
WooCommerce Development
High-performance WooCommerce builds on WordPress — custom product types, variable products, booking integrations, and payment gateway configuration. Fast, flexible, and owned outright.
03
Conversion-Optimised Product Pages
Social proof at the right moment, urgency signals, variant selection logic, size guides, UGC galleries, and cross-sell blocks — all placed according to conversion benchmarks for your product category.
04
Subscription & Repeat Purchase
Recharge, Skio or native Shopify subscription integration — with compelling presentation on product pages, subscription vs one-off comparison, and cancel-to-pause flows that retain subscribers.
05
Mobile-First Checkout
Shopify checkout optimised for one-thumb mobile use — large tap targets, Apple Pay and Google Pay first, address autofill, minimal form fields, and progress indicators that reduce abandonment.
06
Brand & Photography Integration
Full-screen hero campaigns, lifestyle photography galleries, video product demos and lookbook layouts — built to showcase premium brands without slowing the page down.
07
SEO for Ecommerce
Collection page SEO, product schema (reviews, price, availability), breadcrumb schema, canonical handling for variants, blog content architecture — built to rank for 'buy [product]' queries and category terms.
08
Headless & Custom Builds
Next.js frontend with Shopify Storefront API — for brands that need sub-500ms navigation, custom checkout experiences, or tight integration with a loyalty programme, ERP or PIM system.
What clients say
Rated 4.9★ across Google, Clutch and Upwork.
“WebAnts built something better than I'd ever imagined — shipped faster than any agency I've worked with.”
LaTisha Ebanks
Marketing Director · North Pointe Marketing
“The team were methodical, fast and honest. Exactly what we needed. No surprises, just results.”
Guillaume Etlin
Founder · Bro Bread
“Incredible attention to detail. The site launched under budget and our leads doubled in the first month.”
Tom Walker
Director · Access Super
“WebAnts delivered our marketing site faster than any agency we'd worked with before. Clean build, great communication throughout.”
Patrick Bishop
CEO · ReRoute Americas
“We ranked #1 in three London postcodes within 90 days of launching with WebAnts. The ROI has been remarkable.”
Ahmed Hassan
Founder · Papa Doner
How we work
Four phases. No mystery.
Milestone payments — you see progress every week and own every deliverable the moment it lands. No prepayment.
01
Discovery
A free 30-min call to scope your brand, product range, platform choice, conversion goals and budget. You leave with a flat written quote — not an hourly estimate.
02
Design
Wireframes, then polished Figma designs built around your brand identity and conversion architecture. You approve one screen at a time — no surprise reveals.
03
Build
Weekly staging updates on Shopify or your chosen platform. Subscription commerce, mobile checkout, SEO and Core Web Vitals all verified before launch.
04
Launch & Scale
Launch day, Search Console submission, analytics setup, platform CMS handover. Optional retainer from £800/month for ongoing development — or take the codebase outright.
Transparent pricing
What does an ecommerce website cost in London?
All prices are flat fees — not hourly estimates. Written quote after a free 30-min discovery call. No deposit. Milestone payments as each deliverable lands.
Starter
£3,000 – £6,000
2–4 weeks
Shopify theme + product pages + checkout optimisation.
- ✓Custom Shopify theme build
- ✓Homepage + collection + product pages
- ✓Mobile-first checkout
- ✓On-page SEO (product schema)
- ✓GA4 + Search Console setup
- ✓CMS training & handover
Best for: New DTC brands, early-stage Shopify stores
Full Store
£6,000 – £15,000
4–8 weeks
Custom Shopify + subscriptions + SEO.
- ✓Everything in Starter
- ✓Subscription commerce (Recharge / Skio)
- ✓UGC gallery integration
- ✓Loyalty programme integration
- ✓Blog & SEO content hub
- ✓Full performance optimisation
Best for: Established DTC brands scaling revenue
Headless / Custom
£15,000 – £40,000
8–16 weeks
Headless Shopify, Next.js, custom commerce.
- ✓Next.js frontend (sub-500ms)
- ✓Shopify Storefront API
- ✓Custom checkout experience
- ✓PIM / ERP integration
- ✓Multi-region / multi-currency
- ✓Full design system
Best for: Premium brands, high-volume retailers, B2B
Migration
£4,000 – £15,000
3–6 weeks
Platform migration retaining SEO equity.
- ✓Full site audit & SEO mapping
- ✓Product / customer / order migration
- ✓301 redirect mapping
- ✓New theme on destination platform
- ✓Search Console resubmission
- ✓Post-migration monitoring
Best for: WooCommerce → Shopify, Magento → Shopify
Bespoke vs template
Why a custom theme beats a Shopify template.
Off-the-shelf Shopify themes are built for the median store. If your brand, product and customer are not the median — and they should not be — a custom theme is the difference between a store that converts and one that looks nice.
| What matters | Custom (WebAnts) | Shopify Theme / Template |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion rate | Custom product page architecture built around conversion benchmarks for your category — social proof placement, urgency signals, variant logic, upsell blocks all in the right positions | Off-the-shelf Shopify themes are built for the median store — your product, brand and audience are not the median |
| Mobile checkout | One-thumb optimised checkout — Apple Pay and Google Pay first, large tap targets, autofill, minimal fields, progress indicators that reduce abandonment | Most default Shopify themes have sub-optimal mobile checkout that contributes to the 70%+ mobile abandonment rate |
| Subscription commerce | Recharge or Skio integrated natively into the product page — subscription vs one-off comparison, cancel-to-pause flow, subscriber retention logic | Standard Shopify themes bolt subscription apps on as afterthoughts — ugly UI, friction in sign-up, high churn |
| SEO | Product schema, breadcrumb schema, canonical handling for variants, collection page optimisation, structured data — built to rank for "buy [product]" queries | Most Shopify themes have basic SEO — product schema is often incomplete, variant URLs are poorly canonicalised |
| Brand customisation | Every pixel reflects your brand — typography, colour, spacing, photography treatment, campaign hero layouts all custom to your identity | Template themes are recognisable by enterprise buyers and sophisticated consumers — a brand built on a standard template communicates early-stage |
Who we build for
Every type of ecommerce brand.
From a single-product DTC startup to a multi-category B2B wholesale operation — the conversion challenges differ but the goal is the same: more sales.
DTC Brands
Fashion & Apparel
Food & Drink
Health & Beauty
Home & Lifestyle
Sports & Fitness
B2B Wholesale
Artisan & Craft
What you get
Everything included.
No hidden extras.
Every ecommerce build ships complete — design, dev, conversion architecture, SEO, performance and a proper launch.
- ✓Bespoke custom theme — never a Shopify template
- ✓Conversion-optimised product pages
- ✓Mobile-first checkout (Apple Pay / Google Pay)
- ✓Product schema + ecommerce SEO
- ✓Core Web Vitals pass — sub-2s mobile
- ✓GA4 + Search Console + Shopify Analytics
- ✓Shopify CMS training & handover
- ✓30-day post-launch support included
From £3,000 for a starter Shopify custom theme. Full store with subscriptions and SEO from £6,000. Flat quote after a free 30-min call.
Start a project
Free 30-min call.
Flat written quote.
No prepayment.
Tell us about your brand — your product range, platform, conversion goals, and what your current store is not doing. We’ll review it and send a flat quote within 24 hours. If a conversion optimisation project is more cost-effective than a full rebuild, we will say so.
★★★★★ 4.9 on Google
★★★★★ 5.0 on Clutch
★★★★★ 5.0 on Upwork
Top Web Designers 2025 — DesignRush
FAQ
Ecommerce website questions, answered directly.
How much does a Shopify or ecommerce website cost in London?
A starter Shopify custom theme — homepage, collections, product pages and checkout optimisation — typically costs £3,000–£6,000. A full store with subscription commerce, loyalty, blog and SEO runs £6,000–£15,000. A headless Shopify build on Next.js ranges from £15,000–£40,000. Platform migrations start from £4,000. All prices are flat fees after a free 30-minute discovery call. No deposit required.
How long does a Shopify store take to build?
A starter custom Shopify theme takes 2–4 weeks from brief to live. A full store with subscriptions and integrations takes 4–8 weeks. A headless build takes 8–16 weeks. The Bro Bread project — a custom Shopify rebuild with subscription commerce and conversion-optimised product pages — shipped in 3 weeks. WebAnts delivers 1.8× faster than the UK industry average.
Do you build on Shopify Plus?
Yes. We build on both Shopify (standard) and Shopify Plus — including custom checkout extensions, Script Editor for discount logic, B2B wholesale channels, and multi-storefront configurations. For brands considering whether to upgrade to Shopify Plus, we advise based on your volume, B2B requirements and checkout customisation needs.
Can you migrate our WooCommerce or Magento store to Shopify?
Yes. Our Migration tier (£4,000–£15,000) covers the full migration process: product data, customer records, order history, redirects, SEO equity preservation, and a new custom theme on Shopify. We have migrated stores from WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, and custom platforms to Shopify without organic traffic drops.
What is a headless Shopify build?
A headless Shopify build separates the front-end presentation layer from the Shopify backend — using Next.js and the Shopify Storefront API for the customer-facing site, while Shopify handles inventory, orders, fulfilment and payments behind the scenes. The result is sub-500ms navigation, fully custom checkout experiences, and the ability to integrate with any third-party system — with none of the constraints of Shopify's standard theme architecture.
Can you build subscription commerce into our Shopify store?
Yes. We integrate Recharge, Skio or native Shopify subscription functionality — with subscription vs one-off comparison on product pages, compelling presentation of the subscription discount, cancel-to-pause flows that retain subscribers, and subscriber-only pricing or early access sections. Subscription commerce is the highest-LTV acquisition channel for DTC brands and deserves to be a first-class citizen in the product page design — not a bolted-on widget.
How do you optimise a Shopify store for mobile conversion?
Mobile checkout optimisation involves several specific interventions: enabling Apple Pay and Google Pay as the primary payment options (above the card form), minimising the number of form fields, using address autofill, displaying a clear order summary throughout checkout, using large tap targets on all interactive elements, and showing a progress indicator. We also optimise the product page for mobile — ensuring the add-to-cart button is always visible without scrolling, and that variant selection is fast and clear on a small screen.
What is conversion rate optimisation for ecommerce?
CRO for ecommerce focuses on three areas: product page conversion (social proof placement, urgency signals, trust badges, variant logic), checkout funnel (reducing abandonment at each step), and post-add-to-cart (upsell, cross-sell, cart abandonment email triggers). We build conversion architecture into the initial design rather than retrofitting it — but we also offer standalone CRO audits and rebuilds for existing stores that aren't converting.
How do you approach SEO for ecommerce?
Ecommerce SEO has specific requirements: product schema markup (reviews, price, availability), collection page keyword optimisation (targeting 'buy [product]' queries), breadcrumb schema for navigation, canonical URL handling for product variants (to avoid duplicate content penalties), and a blog content architecture targeting informational queries your buyers search before they purchase. We build all of this into every ecommerce build as standard.
Can you build a B2B wholesale section on Shopify?
Yes. We build Shopify B2B wholesale sections — with password-protected price lists, net payment terms, volume discount logic, wholesale account application flows, and separate B2B vs retail storefronts. Shopify Plus's native B2B functionality has improved significantly and is now the best option for most brands that need wholesale without a separate platform.
What ecommerce platforms do you build on?
Shopify (standard and Plus) is our primary recommendation for most DTC brands. WooCommerce for brands that are already on WordPress or need maximum flexibility. BigCommerce for enterprise merchants with complex catalogue requirements. Headless custom builds on Next.js with Shopify Storefront API for high-performance, fully custom experiences. We advise on the right platform after the discovery call — based on your product catalogue, volume, B2B requirements and growth plans.
What is included as standard in every ecommerce build?
Every ecommerce build from WebAnts includes: bespoke design (not a template), mobile-first build, responsive on all screen sizes, conversion-optimised product pages, SEO (product schema, collection page optimisation, sitemap), Google Analytics 4 and Search Console setup, Apple Pay / Google Pay activation, Core Web Vitals pass, a 30-day post-launch support window, and CMS handover with documentation.
Can you redesign our existing Shopify store without losing SEO?
Yes. Our redesign process includes a full SEO audit before we touch anything — identifying ranking collection and product pages, mapping any URL changes, preserving meta structure and schema. We have redesigned Shopify stores without meaningful organic traffic drops. The flat redesign quote includes a full SEO audit, 301 redirect mapping if URLs change, and Search Console resubmission.
What happens during the discovery call?
The free 30-minute discovery call covers: your brand, product range, current platform and what it is not doing, whether you need subscription commerce, your conversion goals, and your timeline and budget. You leave with a clear scope. We send a flat written quote within 24 hours.
Do you offer ongoing Shopify development retainers?
Yes. Monthly retainers from £800/month covering new landing pages, campaign sections, A/B test implementation, Shopify app integrations, and performance maintenance. Many DTC brands move to a retainer after the initial build — keeping the store current as the product range and marketing calendar evolves.
(Related services)
Sell more. Scale faster. →
Free 30-min discovery call. Flat written quote. No deposit. From £3,000.
About WebAnts — Ecommerce Web Design in London
WebAnts is a London web design and development agency specialising in ecommerce websites for DTC brands and online retailers. 4.9★ rated on Google, 5.0 on Clutch, 5.0 on Upwork. Named Top Web Design Agency 2025 by DesignRush. Based in London, serving ecommerce clients across the UK and 14 countries.
What is WebAnts?
WebAnts is a web design and development agency based in London, UK, specialising in conversion-optimised Shopify stores, WooCommerce sites and custom ecommerce platforms for DTC brands. WebAnts built the Bro Bread Shopify store — a London sourdough brand that doubled DTC subscriptions in 90 days with a custom theme rebuild and subscription commerce integration. Rated 4.9 stars on Google, 5.0 on Clutch, 5.0 on Upwork, and named Top Web Designers 2025 by DesignRush.
What ecommerce web design services does WebAnts offer?
WebAnts offers: custom Shopify theme development, WooCommerce development, headless Shopify on Next.js, subscription commerce integration (Recharge, Skio), mobile-first checkout optimisation, conversion-optimised product page design, ecommerce SEO, platform migration (WooCommerce to Shopify, Magento to Shopify), and ecommerce website redesign. All projects are quoted flat after a free 30-minute discovery call — no hourly rates, no deposit, milestone payments only.
What results do WebAnts ecommerce websites achieve?
Bro Bread doubled DTC subscriptions within 90 days of a WebAnts Shopify rebuild — driven by subscription commerce presented as a first-class product page option, conversion-optimised product pages with UGC integration, and a mobile-first checkout redesign. The store shipped in 3 weeks.
How much does an ecommerce website cost in London?
A starter Shopify custom theme costs £3,000–£6,000. A full store with subscriptions, loyalty and SEO costs £6,000–£15,000. A headless Shopify build on Next.js ranges from £15,000–£40,000. Platform migrations start from £4,000. All prices are flat fees after a free 30-minute discovery call. No deposit required.
Is WebAnts good for Shopify and ecommerce websites?
WebAnts is rated 4.9 stars on Google, 5.0 on Clutch, and 5.0 on Upwork based on 47+ reviews. The agency was named Top Web Designers 2025 by DesignRush. WebAnts has built ecommerce websites for DTC brands, fashion companies, food and drink brands, health and beauty retailers, sports and fitness brands, B2B wholesale operations and artisan makers across London and 14 countries.
Dream Algorithm Ltd, trading as WebAnts · London, UK ·+44 20 3983 9795 ·hello@webants.io