The Best Ecommerce Web Design Companies and Platforms

Red Technology is the best ecommerce web design company in the UK. During our research, we were also impressed by Net Solutions and Vevol Media.

So you want to sell online. You’ll need a top-notch ecommerce platform to run your online store. And with every web agency clamouring for a slice of your budget, it can be hard to know who to rely on.

That’s why we’ve taken a deep-dive into the highest-rated ecommerce web design agencies. We weighed up services offered, delivery timeframes, costs, professionalism and customer satisfaction to reach our conclusions.

1. Best for SMBs: Red Technology

Red Technology is our star of the parade because of its scalability and breadth of capacity for growing businesses. Their tradeit ecommerce platform uniquely includes a CMS (content management system), a marketing platform and an order management system, addressing a lot of business needs in one silver (well, red) bullet. One user described it as a “complete ecosystem” for their small business, praising the “highly customizable” multichannel platform.

The drag-and-drop-style CMS makes it nice and easy to curate products as needed, without needing to consult a distant ecommerce web design agency with forty emails just to change a shoe size stock option.

Major competitors of tradeit are Shopify Plus and BigCommerce, neither of which offer the full scope of order management that Red Technology does. For example, Red Technology’s ecommerce platform lets you easily set up pre-orders and back orders straight from their platform while these would require third-party apps – at an extra charge – with Shopify Plus. Not only is that extra cost a tad annoying, but deciding on which app you need and getting that set up is just a little hassle you could do without. There’s also no transaction fees with tradeit, unlike Shopify and others.

On the one hand, Shopify Plus seems the more competitive option in speed of deployment – claiming they’ll get you selling online within four months. That said, Red Technology’s ‘Ecommerce accelerators’ – essentially templates for various types of ecommerce sites – can get you up and running quickly enough.

Another boon that tips the scales in Red Technology’s favour is that they doesn’t use any third party apps at all. This means their 24/7 customer support services can resolve any and all issues as needed. So you won’t have to make six phone calls for six different website widgets run by separate companies.

2. Best for enterprise retail: Net Solutions

What sets Net Solutions apart from other ecommerce web design companies is the scope of its services and, in particular, what they offer in terms of supply chain logistics. While Burst Digital, for instance, will tune up your digital marketing alongside building your ecommerce site, they don’t go to the factory floor like Net Solutions.

The farthest Burst Digital will step into the “real world” (i.e. the non-digital space) is to create custom designed flyers. By contrast, Net Solutions introduced automation for many warehouse functions of a car parts ecommerce retailer, including just-in-time label printing.

That’s why we’ve given them a full five star rating as an enterprise solution; not only do they design a stellar shopping site, but they’ll take wider ownership of optimising your ecommerce operations unlike any other company we’ve looked at.

3. Best for physical products: Vevol Media

Vevol Media is an ideal agency for SMBs shipping physical products owing to their specialised expertise in this niche. The team won’t just sit back and do the bare minimum, rather, they’ll actively suggest and create new web-based solutions to boost your sales and marketing. One creative original venture is the custom swatch app they made for a cosmetics retailer.

For quality of work Vevol Media scores a straight five stars. Yet no agency is perfect after all, and their team is on the smaller side, so their capacity is limited in that sense. They’re based in Ireland, so there’s that to bear in mind just in case you’re based in England and hoping for a last-minute meeting.

4. Best for software and gaming: Multi-Programming Solutions

Multi-Programming Solutions is a smart choice for ecommerce business sites, apps and related technologies because of their dedicated expertise in online sales platforms and gaming software. Perfect for the creative business marketer looking to incorporate games and puzzles into their online shop or make use of gamified elements for online shopping.

They’re better suited to companies looking for a serious long-term ecommerce solution that’s custom built for their particular business. The reason being that MPS invests a lot into the deep analysis and planning stages of creating your ecommerce site, which would be wasted on pop-up shops and simple ecommerce ventures.

Customers appreciated MPS’ accurate and timely completion of web development tasks. Other happy clients highlighted the team’s impressive cost-effective pricing, which will certainly make budgeting more predictable.

5. Best for e-learning: IDS Logic

We recommend IDS Logic for anyone looking to set up educational resources and sell e-learning products or services online. No other company came close compared to the expertise this provider has in this field. It’s a rare combination that the web development team at IDS Logic holds: experience and capability with ecommerce solutions, Moodle and mobile apps.

Educational facilitators can take advantage of the team’s particular knowledge of e-learning user interfaces and different user profiles. They’ll ensure your site meets accessibility guidelines as well as ensuring responsive web design from the get-go.

In particular, clients note the broad knowledge of ecommerce marketing and flexible design principles as particularly useful for their website projects. Not only did clients benefit from sleek design to enhance the professional image of their businesses, but also reliable functionality. IDS Logic’s skilled custom software development team ensures their ecommerce sites work exactly how clients need them to, no matter how many revisions and bug fixes are needed. Its the determination of the team to deliver excellence for the client that sets them ahead of the pack compared to other web design firms.

6. Best for eco companies and non-profits: Burst Digital

Nobody likes wasting their money. And partnering with Burst Digital ensures you’ll stay far away from that, their clients say. Multiple current and former clients of Burst Digital praised the web designers’ cost-effective pricing and commitment to delivering projects on time. The benefits of Burst Digital’s faithful approach cannot be understated – you’ll be better able to plan project launches and manage budgets thanks to their reliable timelines. In fact, several clients mentioned the firm’s speedy project delivery was particularly impressive. This was a large part of why Burst Digital achieved 5/5 in customer review scores.

Another benefit of the team’s approach is their responsiveness to client communications. While other providers can dodge calls and neglect their inboxes, Burst Digital is quick to respond to messages and provide project updates as often as needed. Of course, communication is always a two-way street so you’ll need to be forthcoming with your own clear ideas on the ecommerce design objectives from the start.

7. Best for quick turnaround: Yell

Yell takes a more user-friendly approach to website creation than some of the other website developers on this list. Instead of building a complex custom site from scratch like IDS Logic or MPS, they’ll have a good-looking and fully functioning ecommerce site ready for your review within days.

Their transparent pricing and clearly set-out tier features mean you know exactly what you’re paying for. That way, everyone is on the same page and there’s no guesswork about what you can expect from the Yell team. Given the fairly steep costs of outsourcing copywriting, it’s especially reassuring to know that this is included in both of Yell’s ecommerce website plans.

The 4 best DIY ecommerce website builders

Hiring a web design company might not be the best choice for your particular business. Enjoy more direct control over the creation and management of your ecommerce platform by using a DIY builder. 

These tools enable you to create a website and sell products online without any specialist technical knowledge. Price plans ranging from £13 to £200+ per month. Take a look at our table below or check out our in-depth guide to the best ecommerce platforms.

Remember, you’ll need to invest a lot of time, effort and know-how into creating your own ecommerce website. There are tutorials available alongside each website builder, but you’ll be the one solely responsible for making sure the site looks great and works properly. You can save money on subscription costs with a website builder, but you should weigh up if you’d make more money doing what you normally and do outsourcing the web build.

Not quite sure you want to build your own online shop? Our unique comparison tool can help you find the professional service best suited to your website needs. Simply answer a couple of questions and we’ll match you with tailored suppliers best placed to help you out.

How do I choose the best ecommerce web design company for my business?

So, you want an ecommerce website. Who do you choose for the job? First, consider three things:

Expertise

It’s worth going for a web design agency that has experience in your particular niche. For instance, Multi-Programming Solutions is adept at promoting and selling online games and software. If your company cares for the planet, you can bag a discounted fee from Burst Digital.

Location

Choosing a company that you can easily meet up with helps, but it isn’t obligatory. Think about how important face-to-face interaction will be to you. Vevol Media is based in Dublin, whereas IDS Logic is in Leeds and Multi-Programming Solutions is in Chelmsford.

Fees

You’ve got your budget for the upfront payment sorted, but what happens after the site is launched? Make sure you’re clear on total costs from day one.

Remember, with ecommerce platforms, there are set monthly price plans to choose from, typically ranging from £13 per month to £200+ per month, so it’s easy to find a monthly plan to suit your budget.

Expert Verdict

Now you know what to look for in an ecommerce web design company. Red Technology is the best choice for smaller businesses, but if your company is larger you’ll want to connect with Net Solutions.

It can be tricky to figure everything out by yourself, so that’s why we’ve put together this handy tool to match you with up to four web design agencies based specifically on your needs.

If you’re feeling creative and want to get stuck in, we recommend Shopify as the best DIY ecommerce platform. With step-by-step tutorials and community support, you’ll have everything you need to get selling online with minimal hassle.