Adding e-commerce to your website: redesign or bolt on?

Key takeaways

If online sales will be a small part of the business, add a shop to the existing site or link to a hosted store. If they will become a main revenue line, redesign around selling, because navigation, product pages, checkout, speed and legal pages all change. Test demand with a small range before committing.

• Small range, side revenue: bolt on a shop or hosted store.
• Main revenue line: redesign around products and checkout.
• Test with 10 to 20 products before a full build.
• UK distance selling rules apply from the first sale.

Can you add e-commerce to an existing website?

Usually, yes. Most modern platforms support a shop plug-in or integration, and hosted stores can sit on a subdomain linked from the main site. Whether that is enough depends on how central online sales will be. A few products alongside services can bolt on; a business moving to online retail needs a site designed for it.

• Signs your business needs a new website

What are the options?

Three routes cover most UK small businesses.

• Plug-in shop on the current platform: cheapest, shares the design, can slow the site.
• Hosted store on a subdomain, such as Shopify: robust checkout, separate design to maintain.
• Redesign or rebuild around e-commerce: best experience, highest cost and migration work.

• What a UK e-commerce website needs

When does e-commerce justify a redesign?

When products will lead the business. Product navigation, filtering, product pages, basket, checkout, delivery information and returns all need a structure the current site was not built for. If the existing platform cannot deliver a fast, secure checkout, a rebuild is justified.

• Website redesign versus rebuild

What legal requirements apply from the first sale?

Selling online to consumers in the UK brings duties under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013: clear pre-contract information, total prices including delivery, and a 14-day cancellation right for most goods. Card payments must be handled in line with PCI DSS, which is simplest when a payment provider hosts the card form.

• Legal requirements for a UK business website

How do you test demand before building?

Start with 10 to 20 best sellers on a hosted store or plug-in, promote them to existing customers and social followers, and measure orders, average order value and returns for a quarter. The result tells you whether a full e-commerce redesign would pay back.

• Website redesign ROI: how to work it out before you spend
• Social commerce for UK small businesses

What are the running costs to plan for?

Payment processing fees on every sale, platform or plug-in subscriptions, stock photography of products, and more maintenance. UK maintenance for e-commerce sites commonly runs at around £250 to £500 or more a month, higher than for brochure sites.

• Website maintenance costs in the UK

What must product pages include?

Everything a buyer needs to decide without asking: clear photos from several angles, a plain description, size or specification details, the full price including VAT where applicable, delivery options and costs, stock status, and returns information. Missing any of these creates questions, and questions lose sales online.

Reviews help, and so does honesty about limits such as lead times or delivery areas. Product pages also need to load quickly on mobile, because most small e-commerce traffic comes from phones and heavy image galleries are a common cause of slow pages.

• Photos from several angles.
• Specifications and sizes.
• Full price, delivery cost and timescale.
• Stock status and returns information.
• Reviews where available.

• Optimise website images for speed and search

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern in UK hospitality: a café adds gift vouchers and a small range of coffee beans through a hosted shop linked from the menu. It tests demand for a season without touching the main site. Only when online orders become a meaningful share of revenue does a combined redesign make sense.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

E-commerce decision checklist

Answer these before choosing a route.

• Estimate online sales as a share of revenue in year two.
• List the products you would start with.
• Check your platform's shop options and checkout speed.
• Prepare delivery, returns and terms information.
• Choose a payment provider that hosts card entry.
• Test with a small range for a quarter before a full build.

Next step

If you are thinking of selling online, we will look at your products and current site with you in 30 minutes and recommend the lightest route that works.