What a bespoke online shop is
A bespoke online shop is a website that sells your products with a checkout, stock and delivery rules built around your business. Payment runs through Stripe, VAT is worked out per item, and orders flow to your accounts. We build them for small UK businesses whose products or rules don't fit a shop template.
Most small shops should use Shopify
Shopify is good, quick to launch and has an app for most needs. Start there unless something below applies.
When a bespoke shop is worth it
- Products are made to order, measured, or priced by rules a product page can't hold.
- Stock is shared with a shop counter, a workshop or another system that Shopify can't see.
- The shop is one part of a wider system with bookings, memberships or trade accounts.
- Monthly app fees have stacked up to cover gaps in the platform.
Buy Shopify, or WooCommerce
If you sell ready-made products at fixed prices and post them, Shopify will do it well. WooCommerce suits a shop bolted onto an existing WordPress site. We'll tell you on the first call if either fits.
What goes into one
- Stripe checkout, with cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
- Stock held for a few minutes while someone pays, so the last item can't sell twice.
- VAT worked out per product, including zero-rated and exempt items.
- Shipping rules by weight, size, postcode or delivery date.
- Discount codes, trade prices and customer accounts.
- Orders and payments sent to Xero or Sage, with refunds matched.
Stock that can't double-sell
Two customers add the last item to their baskets. Both reach the checkout. A shop that only checks stock when the order completes will sell it twice.
Ours reserve the item when payment starts and release it if the payment fails or times out. If you also sell in person, the counter and the website take stock from the same count.
Moving from your current shop
Export and clean
Products, customers and past orders come out of the old shop and are tidied before they move.
Build and demo
Each phase has a fixed price agreed first. From the second week you see a demo every week.
Count and redirect
Products and customers are counted on both sides, and old product URLs redirect to the new ones so search rankings carry over.
Switch over
The old shop stays live until the figures agree, then the domain moves across.
Questions about bespoke online shops
Should we use Shopify instead?
Probably, if you sell ready-made products at fixed prices. Bespoke is worth it when your pricing, stock or fulfilment rules don't fit Shopify, or the shop has to work with a wider system.
How do you stop the same item selling twice?
The item is reserved when payment starts and released if payment fails. Only one customer can hold the last one at a time.
Does it handle UK VAT?
Yes. Each product carries its VAT rate, including zero-rated and exempt items, and invoices show VAT the way HMRC expects. Your accountant should confirm the rates.
Can you move our products from WooCommerce or Shopify?
Yes. Products, customers and order history are exported, cleaned and imported, with counts checked on both sides. Old product URLs redirect to the new ones.
Tell us what you sell
On a free call, walk us through a typical order. If Shopify would handle it, we'll tell you that and point you to it.