Blackpool retail is a town of independents. The Houndshill and the big chains take the town centre footfall, but the shops people actually talk about are on the parades: Highfield Road and Waterloo Road in South Shore, Red Bank Road in Bispham, Whitegate Drive, Layton’s square, the traders inside Abingdon Street Market. Most of them have no website at all - which means when someone Googles what you sell, they find a chain, a marketplace listing, or a competitor two streets away who got theirs sorted. A shop website doesn’t have to be complicated. It has to answer the three questions every customer asks - what do you sell, where are you, when are you open - and then, if you want it to, take the order too.
Brochure site or online shop?
This is the first question we ask every retailer, and there’s no wrong answer:
- A brochure site shows what you stock, tells your story, puts your opening hours and directions one tap away, and gets you ranking for what you sell locally. For most independent shops this is the right starting point - it’s the difference between existing and not existing on Google.
- A full online shop adds products, baskets, card payments and delivery or click-and-collect on top. We build it as an optional add-on to the same monthly plan - £19.99 a month on top, exactly as listed on our e-commerce page - so there are no surprise fees when you decide to start selling.
- Start small, add the shop later. Plenty of our retail clients begin with a brochure site and switch the shop on once the website has proven itself. It’s the same site and the same monthly plan; nothing gets thrown away.
We’ve built both ends of the scale - from local shop windows to The Perfume Factory, a full online perfume store - so we’ll give you a straight answer about which your business actually needs.
What every retail site gets
- Your stock, shown properly. Ranges, brands, new arrivals - photographed well and easy to browse on a phone. When stock changes, message us and we update it; edits are included in the monthly fee.
- Opening hours that are always right. On the site, and matched to your Google Business Profile so the map listing never contradicts you. Nothing loses a sale like “permanently closed” showing in error.
- Directions and parking. Blackpool customers drive. We make where-to-find-you and where-to-park effortless, which matters double if you’re on a parade rather than a high street.
- Your reviews, front and centre. Independent shops win on trust and service - so we put your Google reviews where new customers can see them.
- Seasonal switch-ups. Blackpool trade is seasonal. Illuminations stock, Christmas hours, summer ranges - tell us and it goes up the same day.
Why pay-monthly suits a shop
Retail margins don’t leave a few thousand pounds lying around for a website, which is why so many Blackpool shops never get one. Our package is £99 to set up, then £29.99 a month - design, hosting on our own UK servers, your domain, business email, security and 3 content edits a month all included. Adding the online shop is a fixed £19.99 a month on top - £49.98 all in, no commission on sales - so you know the number before you commit. The website stays current because updating it is already paid for.
Getting found: local SEO for Blackpool shops
Most shop searches are local and immediate: “vape shop Blackpool”, “gift shop near me”, “record shop Blackpool open Sunday”. We build every retail site to compete for those - pages structured around what you sell and where you sell it, fast load times, and the structured data Google uses to understand a local shop. Local SEO foundations and Google Business Profile set-up are part of the monthly plan, so your hours, photos and reviews reinforce the website instead of contradicting it. If you’re in a crowded category and want the work kept up month after month, our Blackpool SEO campaign is £99.99 a month with no contract. If you sell online, product pages are written so they can rank too - not just exist.
Questions shop owners ask us
Do you do e-commerce web design in Blackpool?
Yes. An online shop is an optional add-on to the standard monthly plan - products, basket, Stripe card payments, delivery or click-and-collect - for £19.99 a month on top, with no commission on your sales. The Perfume Factory, a full online perfume store, shows the kind of shop we build. If you’re not ready yet, a brochure site converts to a shop later without starting again.
How much does a shop website cost in Blackpool?
£99 to set up, then £29.99 a month - design, hosting, domain, email, edits and support included. Add the online shop and it’s £49.98 a month all in (£29.99 + £19.99); the only other cost is Stripe’s card fee on each sale.
I already sell on Etsy, eBay or Facebook - do I still need a website?
Marketplaces take a cut of every sale and own the customer relationship. Your own website is the one shop window nobody can change the rules on - and it’s what makes you look established when someone checks you out before buying. We’ve written up the Facebook-page-versus-website question properly if you want the longer answer.
Do I own the website?
Your .co.uk domain is registered in your name from day one, so it’s always yours. Complete 12 months with us and the website and its files are yours to keep as well. Leave earlier and the build stays with us, but your domain and content go with you (an early domain transfer is a £15 admin charge). You can cancel any time with 30 days’ notice and there’s no exit fee.
How long does a shop website take to go live?
Most shop sites are live within a week of us receiving your content - product photos, prices, opening hours and a few lines about the shop. Adding the online shop on top depends on how many products you’re loading, and we’ll give you an honest timescale before you start.
Ready when you are
Tell us what you sell and where - we’ll tell you straight whether you need a brochure site or a shop, and what it’ll cost. No jargon, no hard sell.
Already got a site and not sure whether it’s letting you down? Run the free website check first - it takes about a minute and tells you in plain English what’s wrong with it, Blackpool shops and retail businesses or otherwise.