E-commerce Convert
Online Stores That Convert
E-commerce website development UK agency building Shopify, headless, and bespoke storefronts for British retailers. Launchwork e-commerce builds average INP 92ms on mobile (10-product PLP test, April 2026) versus a UK e-commerce median of 220ms (Chrome UX Report Q1 2026). Pricing transparency by stack: Shopify Basic theme £3,000–£6,000; custom Shopify with Hydrogen or theme heavy customisation £8,000–£18,000; Medusa or Next.js Commerce headless £15,000–£40,000. Per Semrush's 2026 ecommerce playbook (May 22, 2026), Product schema with Offer and AggregateRating is now table stakes for AI Overview citation — we ship both by default.
E-commerce website development UK agencies build Shopify, headless, and custom storefronts for British retailers, typically from £3,000 (Shopify Basic theme) to £40,000+ (Medusa or Next.js Commerce headless). Launchwork Digital ships stores averaging 2.8% conversion rate — 40% above the UK industry average — with Stripe, Klarna, and Clearpay payment setup, Product schema with Offer and AggregateRating, and INP under 100ms on mobile as standard.
Key Features
What you get when you work with us on your e-commerce project.
Custom Storefronts
Unique, branded shopping experiences that stand out from template-based competitors.
Payment Integration
Seamless integration with Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, and other major payment providers.
Inventory Management
Robust systems to manage products, stock levels, and automated reordering.
Conversion Optimization
Data-driven design decisions to maximize add-to-cart rates and reduce cart abandonment.
Multi-channel Selling
Sell across your website, social media, and marketplaces from a single platform.
Technologies We Use
Explore Our Insights
In-depth articles related to e-commerce.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about our e-commerce services.
How much does e-commerce website development cost in the UK?
UK e-commerce website costs split predictably by stack. Shopify with a customised theme runs £3,000–£6,000. Custom Shopify with Hydrogen or heavy theme work runs £8,000–£18,000. WooCommerce builds with custom plugins £6,000–£15,000. Fully headless commerce on Next.js Commerce or Medusa, including custom PIM and bespoke checkout, runs £15,000–£40,000+. Catalogue size, payment provider count, and B2B features (account pricing, net-30 terms, ERP sync) drive the variance. We quote fixed prices within 24 hours of the discovery call and publish a conversion-focused build checklist so you can scope before talking to us.
Shopify vs Headless: which is right for my UK e-commerce business?
Shopify wins for stores under £2M annual revenue that need fast launch, predictable hosting costs, and a non-technical team self-editing daily. The Shopify Plus tier (£2,000/month) is rarely worth it for UK SMEs unless you need multi-store or B2B wholesale. Headless (Hydrogen, Next.js Commerce, Medusa) wins above £2M revenue, for stores with bespoke product configurators, content-heavy editorial that needs a real CMS, or international multi-currency that Shopify Markets handles poorly. Headless also wins on Core Web Vitals — our headless stores hit INP 92ms versus Shopify theme median 180ms. The downside is higher up-front engineering cost and reliance on developers for content model changes.
What features does an e-commerce website need in 2026?
The 2026 baseline UK e-commerce stores must ship with: Apple Pay and Google Pay express checkout (cart abandonment drops 18–25% with one-tap pay), Klarna or Clearpay BNPL (basket size up 30–40% on apparel and homewares), Product schema with Offer and AggregateRating in JSON-LD for AI Overview citation, INP under 100ms on mobile for Core Web Vitals, GDPR-compliant cookie consent that doesn't tank conversion, accessible WCAG 2.2 AA checkout, and a real review collector (Trustpilot, Reviews.io, or native first-party) feeding back into product schema. Optional but high-impact in 2026: AI-powered product recommendations and a conversion-tested checklist of 50 features we maintain for clients.
How long does it take to launch a new e-commerce site?
A Shopify store with a customised theme launches in 4–6 weeks. Custom Shopify with Hydrogen or significant theme engineering takes 8–12 weeks. A fully headless store on Next.js Commerce or Medusa runs 12–20 weeks including PIM, custom checkout, payment integration, and SEO migration. Catalogue size adds time linearly above 1,000 SKUs; product data quality (existing CSV vs scrape-and-clean) often dictates the back-half of the timeline. We use 2-week sprints with a working staging URL from week 2 so you can review progress against real data, not Figma mockups. Migrations from existing platforms (Magento, BigCommerce, legacy WooCommerce) add 2–4 weeks for URL mapping, redirect strategy, and SEO preservation.
Do you handle Stripe / Klarna / Clearpay integration for UK retailers?
Yes, full payment stack integration is included in every e-commerce build at no extra cost. We set up Stripe as the primary gateway (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay), add Klarna and Clearpay for BNPL coverage of UK and EU customers, and configure PayPal Express for the older demographic who insist on it. For B2B retailers we add Stripe Invoicing or GoCardless for net-30 terms and bank transfer payments. All integrations include webhook handlers for failed payment retries, subscription billing where needed, and tax-correct VAT handling for both UK and EU sales. Refund and partial-refund flows are tested end-to-end before launch. We also integrate with custom API endpoints when your ERP or accounting system needs real-time order sync.