Shopify designer in Manchester: custom store design that your team can run
On The Road designs custom Shopify stores for Manchester brands. We design in Figma and build an editable theme, usually in 8–12 weeks, for £10,000–£40,000 fixed after discovery. Best for growing brands that have outgrown a premium theme. If that theme already fits, we will say so rather than sell a rebuild. The studio is in Leamington Spa, and we meet clients at Silk St, Ancoats, Manchester M4 6LZ.
Design work we've done
These are not Manchester clients. They are the redesigns you can open and check: lifestyle, beer, a specialist retailer, and a trade catalogue.
Nova of London
New front-end designs and dynamic pricing.
35% conversion uplift, 50% bounce-rate reduction, 3 months from brief to launch.
Read the Nova of London case study →
Hofmeister
Complete website redesign, visual and UX.
40% repeat-order-rate uplift, under 2s average page load, zero sales disruption.
Read the Hofmeister case study →
Bryars & Bryars
New front-end design.
28% conversion uplift, under 2.5s mobile load.
Read the Bryars & Bryars case study →
Hart Wholesale
Custom theme for a trade catalogue.
10K+ SKUs navigable, 42% faster product find.
Read the Hart Wholesale case study →Theme, customised theme or fully custom?
Shopify designers in Manchester — and Shopify website designers in Manchester — get asked for a new theme when the honest answer is a smaller change. This is how we sort it. Only our prices are shown.
Premium theme as-is
- Brand fit
- A premium theme already matches how you sell.
- Editing
- The theme editor, inside that theme’s own sections.
- Time
- Set by the theme and whoever installs it.
- Our price
- No price from us. We usually point you to the theme store or a freelancer.
Theme customisation
- Brand fit
- The theme is mostly right. You need new sections, templates or speed work.
- Editing
- Still the theme editor, including the sections we add.
- Time
- Shorter than a rebuild. The quote fixes the time.
- Our price
- £6k – £12k
Custom design & build
- Brand fit
- Brand, catalogue or buying journey does not fit a theme — trade pricing, fitment, or a very large catalogue.
- Editing
- A theme built for the theme editor, with notes and a training session.
- Time
- 8–12 weeks. 12–16 weeks for B2B or a large set of templates.
- Our price
- £10k – £40k
If your theme is mostly right, a rebuild is the wrong purchase. We'll say so in the first call. Shopify theme customisation — new sections, templates and speed work — is the middle path, at £6k–£12k.
How a custom Shopify design works with us
The full service is custom Shopify design. A custom Shopify theme is the outcome, not a reskinned ThemeForest file.
Discovery and customer journeys
We start with how people actually buy: the shape of the catalogue, the questions customers ask, and whether the order is retail, trade, or both. That conversation is also where we decide if a custom theme is the right purchase. If the theme you have is mostly right, we say so before any design starts.
Design in Figma and prototype the key flows
Shopify design in Manchester, for us, happens in Figma first. We prototype the flows that carry the sale — home, collection, product, and anything unusual such as fitment or trade pricing — so you can react to the journey, not only to a picture of a page.
Build a theme your team can edit
The build is a custom Shopify theme in Liquid, structured for Shopify’s theme editor. Sections and templates are ones a merchandiser can change without code. We do not reskin a marketplace theme and call it bespoke. Handover includes notes and a training session.
Staging review with your catalogue, then launch
Staging is shared early, with your real products on it, so the people who know the catalogue can check sold-out states, long variant lists and how collections are grouped. A focused build takes 8–12 weeks. B2B work, or a large set of templates, takes 12–16 weeks.
Moving platform at the same time is a different job. See Shopify migration if the store is still on Magento or WooCommerce.
Book an intro call →What Shopify web design costs in Manchester
These bands are the same as our pricing page. The wider picture is in how much a Shopify store costs in the UK.
| Project | Price |
|---|---|
| Theme customisationNew sections, templates and speed work on a theme that is mostly right. | £6k – £12k |
| Custom design & buildDesigned in Figma and built as an editable theme. Fixed after discovery. | £10k – £40k |
| Ongoing supportFixes, improvements and monitoring after launch. | From £1,200 a month |
A Shopify web design agency in Manchester will often quote on scope. Ask for a fixed quote and a list of the templates included before you commit. Ongoing support after launch starts from £1,200 a month.
When a freelance Shopify designer is the better choice
A freelance Shopify designer is the better choice for a starter shop, a single template, or a visual tidy-up of a theme that already fits. You are hiring one person for a contained job, and you do not need a studio holding design, build and launch together. We will say so on the first call if that is the better spend.
How to choose a Shopify agency · Send a project brief
Book an intro call →How we work with Manchester brands
A Shopify web designer near Manchester can meet us in person. The base is
Silk St, Ancoats, Manchester M4 6LZ. Day to day the work is remote-first, from the studio at 1 Mill Street, Leamington Spa, with calls and a shared board.No local roster of names is hiding behind this page. The senior team that scopes a Shopify redesign is the team that designs and builds it. Say on the intro call if you want that meeting in Ancoats.
Shopify design questions
Who is a good Shopify designer in Manchester?
Look for design work you can open and check, a fixed price, a clear timeline, and a theme your team can edit after launch. On The Road is a boutique Shopify studio, with a team in Manchester and its studio in Leamington Spa, best for growing brands that have outgrown a premium theme. It designs in Figma, builds custom Shopify themes in 8–12 weeks, and quotes £10,000–£40,000 fixed after discovery. Its redesign for Nova of London lifted conversion by 35%.
How much does custom Shopify design cost?
At On The Road, customising an existing Shopify theme costs £6,000–£12,000 and a full custom design and build costs £10,000–£40,000, both fixed after a discovery call. A focused custom build takes 8–12 weeks; larger B2B or multi-template builds take 12–16 weeks.
Should I use a Shopify theme or a custom design?
If your current theme is mostly right, customising it is usually the better buy: new sections, templates and speed work for £6,000–£12,000. Go fully custom when your brand, catalogue or buying journey does not fit a theme, for example trade pricing, product fitment or a very large catalogue. A new shop on a tight budget is often best served by a premium theme and a freelancer.
How long does a custom Shopify design take?
A focused custom build with On The Road takes 8–12 weeks from discovery to launch. Larger B2B or multi-template builds take 12–16 weeks. Staging is shared before that end date, with your own catalogue on it.
Can my team edit the store after launch?
Yes. The theme is structured for Shopify’s theme editor, so a merchandiser can add a section, change a homepage module and publish a page without opening the code. Handover includes notes and a training session.
Need a Shopify designer in Manchester?
Tell us what the store has to do that a theme cannot. We will tell you if custom design is the right buy. More about our Shopify work in Manchester.
Book an intro call →