How much does custom eCommerce cost in London?

More than a theme store — because you are funding software, not a skin. Scope depends on catalogue rules, integrations and checkout. Discovery produces a real number.

Which stack do you use?

Typically Laravel and modern JavaScript where needed, payments via Stripe/PayPal, and headless only when the UX or channels justify it.

How long does a custom store take?

Usually months, not weeks. We phase: sellable MVP first, then the operational niceties that should not delay revenue.

Will we own the code?

Yes. Handover, documentation and hosting arrangements are part of the engagement.

Can you integrate our ERP?

Yes, where APIs exist. Integration quality depends on the other system — we will say if it is the risk.

Is custom harder to maintain?

It is different. You avoid plugin roulette and take on a product backlog. We can retain to keep it healthy.

Will it be SEO-friendly?

Yes. Catalogue URLs, metadata, performance and structured data are designed in — not bolted on.

Can we start on Shopify and go custom later?

Sometimes. We will tell you if that path wastes money versus starting custom, or vice versa.

How do payments work?

Card data stays with PCI-compliant gateways. We integrate checkout — we do not store raw cards.

Do you handle B2B and DTC on one platform?

Yes, when the catalogue and pricing rules are specified. That is a common reason to go custom.

Do you support after launch?

Yes. A stabilisation window plus a roadmap retainer is how custom stores stay commercial.

150+ projects delivered for UK and international brands

Custom eCommerce Development in London

Custom eCommerce for London businesses whose catalogue, pricing or operations will not fit a standard Shopify or WooCommerce box.

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Bespoke eCommerce platforms for UK brands that have outgrown templates — custom catalogues, pricing, checkout and operations built around how you actually sell.

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Bespoke commerce platforms

Custom eCommerce built around how you sell

Design Dev is a London digital agency delivering custom commerce when off-the-shelf platforms fight your business model. We combine product strategy, UX and engineering so catalogues, pricing, checkout and back-office actually match how orders work in the real world.

Bespoke Storefronts

Laravel, headless or hybrid builds with brand-led UX and a checkout designed for your offer — not a theme’s assumptions.

Complex Catalogues & Pricing

Configurators, bundles, B2B nets, quotes and rules that plugins cannot express cleanly.

Operations & Integrations

ERP, warehouse, CRM and finance connected so orders do not live in a spreadsheet after go-live.

Platform Choice, Honestly

If Shopify or WooCommerce is enough, we say so. Custom is for when the commercial model demands it.

A clear process from commerce model to launch

Commerce Model & Scope

We document products, pricing, fulfilment, users and the flows that would break a template store.

Architecture & UX

Stack recommendation, information architecture and conversion-led journeys before code hardens.

Build & Integrate

Storefront, admin, payments, inventory and third-party systems on a maintainable codebase.

QA & Performance

Checkout paths, edge cases, security, load and device testing against real order scenarios.

Launch & Iterate

Cutover, training and a backlog for the features that should wait until after revenue is flowing.

When custom eCommerce is the right call — and when it is not

Custom commerce is expensive to justify if a well-built Shopify or WooCommerce store would sell the same products. It becomes the right call when pricing, configuration, B2B rules, marketplace logic or operations cannot be expressed without fighting the platform every week.Design Dev starts with the commercial model. We only recommend a custom build when it will pay for itself in conversion, ops time or capability you cannot buy off the shelf.

Honest platform recommendation first
Configurators, bundles and complex variants
B2B accounts, quotes and net pricing
Custom checkout and payment flows
Headless storefronts where UX needs it
ERP, WMS and finance integrations
SEO-friendly catalogue architecture
Code and hosting you can actually own

Complete custom eCommerce capabilities

From commerce model to integrations — bespoke stores engineered under one London delivery team.

Custom Storefront Development

Laravel, React and headless builds for brands that need more than a theme.

Product Configurators

Options, constraints and pricing that update as the shopper builds the product.

B2B Commerce

Accounts, quotes, credit terms and catalogues that should not live on a DTC theme.

Marketplace & Multi-vendor

Vendor onboarding, splits and catalogues when a single-merchant store is not enough.

Headless Commerce

API-driven storefronts when brand experience or channels need extra flexibility.

Checkout Engineering

Custom steps, deposits, split payments and SCA-ready payment flows.

Subscriptions & Hybrid Offers

Recurring plus one-off products without forcing a plugin’s data model.

ERP & WMS Integration

Orders, stock and invoices flowing to the systems you already run.

Search & Merchandising

Faceted search, ranking and merchandising rules that scale past a few hundred SKUs.

Performance Engineering

Caching, images and query design so catalogues stay fast as they grow.

Security & PCI Scope

Sensible architecture so card data stays with the gateway, not your app.

Support & Roadmap

Post-launch iterations against a backlog tied to revenue, not vanity tickets.

Ready for commerce that fits the business — not the other way around?

Speak with Design Dev about a custom eCommerce build only if a platform store would fight your model. We will tell you which it is.

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Custom eCommerce across key industries

Industry focus

Manufacturing & Made-to-order

Configurators, lead times and deposits for products that are not simple SKUs.

Configurators
Lead times
Deposits
B2B quotes

Discuss your project

Why Design Dev

A London team that will push back on custom for the sake of it

Design Dev builds custom eCommerce when the commercial model needs it. We are not interested in rewriting Shopify in Laravel because it sounds impressive.When custom is right, you get architecture, UX and operations designed together — with a roadmap that ships selling capability first.

150+

Projects delivered

Years experience

UK+

London & worldwide

Start Your Project

A London team that will push back on custom for the sake of it

Strategy, design and engineering for brands that need a website that performs.

Commerce strategy first

Catalogue, journeys and conversion priorities are clarified before design begins.

Design that sells

Premium UI/UX aligned to your brand and UK shopper expectations.

Performance as standard

Fast storefronts with SEO foundations and Core Web Vitals in mind.

Support after launch

Optional CRO, ops support and technical maintenance as you scale.

Technologies we work with

Laravel

React

PHP

MySQL

JavaScript

HTML5

CSS3

Stripe

PayPal

Shopify

WordPress

Figma

What clients say

Design Dev transformed our e-commerce platform. Their team was efficient, responsive, and delivered a stunning layout that doubled our conversion rate within a month.

Sarah Jenkins

Vauxhall Marketing - Shopify Development

An absolute pleasure to work with. They understood our brand identity perfectly and designed a clean, user-friendly SaaS platform that our clients love.

David Thorne

FluxGig - UI/UX Design

The custom WordPress build is super fast and easy for our content editors to update. Outstanding attention to detail and SEO optimization.

Amara K.

Apsara Cosmetics - WordPress Development

They built a highly custom, secure medical inventory portal on-budget. Their engineering skills are top-tier.

Julian Reed

Upcycled Medical - Web App Development

From logo creation to full visual guidelines, Design Dev gave our construction firm a modern and premium corporate look.

Emily Watson

Smart Build UK - Branding & Design

Our organic search traffic increased by 150% in three months. Their SEO team really knows their stuff.

Marcus Sterling

Supra Cycling - Search Engine Optimization

We worked with largest global brands

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Straightforward answers to the questions we hear most often about scope, timelines, and how we work.

If a well-built Shopify or WooCommerce store can sell your products without weekly workarounds, use that. Custom is for configurators, B2B rules, unusual checkout or operations that platforms fight. We recommend based on the model, not the resume.

Start a project

Tell us about your project

Share what a template store cannot do, catalogue/pricing complexity, integrations and timeline. We will say if custom is justified.

UK Branch Office

London, United Kingdom

2 Bessborough Gardens, Westminster, London, UK

+44 7459 579227

Development Center

Sialkot, Pakistan

2nd Floor, Yousaf Plaza, Opposite Mazeeo Sadar Bazar, Sialkot Cantt

+92 337 4905 313

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