Part of: Design and creative
Ecommerce UX design
UX design makes your store easy to understand and use. We start with research, then agree structure in wireframes and prototypes, so changes are cheap and the build has a clear plan.
How to choose
A quick comparison of the services in UX.
| Service | What it is | Best for | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| UX research | UX research finds out why visitors struggle on your store, using evidence rather than opinion. We review your analytics, talk to customers, run usability tests and carry out an expert review, including accessibility against WCAG 2.2 AA, then tell you what to fix first. | Stores where people reach the site but do not buy or enquire, teams about to redesign who want evidence first, and anyone tired of design decisions made by whoever is loudest. | Read more about UX research |
| Wireframing and prototyping | Wireframing and prototyping let you agree how your website is organised and how it behaves before anyone builds it. We start with simple layouts, move to interactive prototypes you can click through and hand off clearly to theme development, so changes are made on paper, not in code. | Stores planning a rebuild or migration, teams launching new templates or landing pages, and anyone who wants to see and agree a structure before paying for development. | Read more about Wireframing and prototyping |
Research and design before you build
UX is how easy it is for a customer to find what they want and buy it. Good UX work finds what gets in their way, then designs the fix before anyone builds it. For an online store, that is usually cheaper than building first and correcting later.
How to choose
| If this sounds like you | Start with |
|---|---|
| Visitors arrive but do not buy, and you do not know why | UX research |
| You know what is wrong and need to agree a new structure before building | Website wireframing and prototyping |
| You are about to rebuild or migrate your store | Both, in that order |
| You are unsure | A creative review |
UX research
UX research puts evidence before opinions. We look at your analytics, how visitors use the store and, where we can, what customers say. We add an expert review of the store against well-known usability checks, and we check accessibility as part of the job. You get a ranked list of problems and the evidence behind each.
Wireframing and prototyping
Wireframes show structure and content without colour or polish, so you can agree the layout first. Prototypes make that layout clickable so it can be tried before build. This is where changes are cheapest. Once agreed, the designs go to whoever is building. If that is us, see Shopify development.
Where UX meets conversion
UX and conversion rate optimisation are two ends of the same job. UX decides how the store should work, and conversion rate optimisation measures and tests whether it does. If your store is live and the question is about numbers, start with CRO. If the question is about the store’s structure, start here.
What it costs
UX is priced by stage, so you can buy research alone or take it through to prototypes. See pricing for how we approach it.
Priced per project, with a fixed quote in writing before work starts. Up to three rounds of revisions are included. See the pricing page.
Not sure what you need?
A creative review will show whether you need research, a new structure or something smaller.
Each service in UX
UX research
UX research finds out why visitors struggle on your store, using evidence rather than opinion. We review your analytics, talk to customers, run usability tests and carry out an expert review, including accessibility against WCAG 2.2 AA, then tell you what to fix first.
Wireframing and prototyping
Wireframing and prototyping let you agree how your website is organised and how it behaves before anyone builds it. We start with simple layouts, move to interactive prototypes you can click through and hand off clearly to theme development, so changes are made on paper, not in code.
How it works
Every project is different, so timings depend on its size and complexity. You get a realistic timeline in writing before work starts, and we never promise results by a date.
Step 1: Gather evidence
We look at your analytics, how visitors use the store and, where possible, what customers say.
Step 2: Find the problems
We list what gets in people's way, ranked by how much it matters.
Step 3: Agree the structure
We sketch wireframes and prototypes so you can react to something real before it is built.
Step 4: Hand over
We pass clear designs and notes to whoever is building, and check the result against the plan.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between UX and CRO?
UX is the research and design of how the store works. CRO measures and tests changes to improve results once the store is live. They overlap, and we plan them together.
Do I need UX work before a rebuild?
It is much cheaper to find problems on paper than after a build. If you are rebuilding or migrating, agreeing the structure first usually saves time later.
Do you test with real customers?
We offer expert review, analytics and heatmap review, usability tests and customer interviews. For tests and interviews we need access to some of your customers, or help finding people like them. For the rest, read-only access to your analytics is enough.
Do you cover accessibility?
Yes, accessibility is part of good UX. We design for keyboard use, clear contrast and readable text. We work to WCAG 2.2 AA, the current W3C standard.
Can you work with our developers?
Yes. We hand over designs and notes in a form they can build from, and we are happy to talk to them directly.
How do I know it worked?
We agree what to look at before we start, such as where people drop out, and check afterwards. We will not promise a particular result.
Not sure which to choose?
Get a free UX and conversion review of your website, focused on how your creative affects performance. A subject matter expert at Advent reviews it, and we aim to send it within 5 working days.