The shop stays open after you lock up.
A website for a small retail store should work like a second shop floor: real prices, open seats in the next class, and gift cards and rentals people can buy from a phone.
You see your site before you pay.
Websites from $500 · Care from $75/mo · No long-term contract
What's costing you customers.
a.
“Call us” is the whole catalog
“Call us” is the whole catalog
People want to know if you carry it and what it costs before they drive over. When your site can't say, a national retailer's can, and the sale leaves town.
b.
The schedule is a PDF
The schedule is a PDF
Class dates in a PDF or flyer image are hard to read on a phone and can't show which sessions still have room, which leaves a beginner guessing.
c.
Rentals and gift cards are buried
Rentals and gift cards are buried
The easiest sales in the store sit two clicks deep, or aren't online at all. A gift card for a class is a simple December sale, if people can find it.
d.
Three systems, no shared numbers
Three systems, no shared numbers
Site on one platform, booking or cart on another, email on a third. Google Analytics (opens in a new tab) counts a visitor who crosses to another domain's checkout as two users unless cross-domain measurement is set up, so nobody knows which post sold the class. Analytics and reporting closes that gap.
What we build
01
A catalog with real prices
A catalog with real prices
Departments, brands and products with prices and your own photos, quick to browse on a phone. Start as a catalog and add checkout when it earns its keep.
02
Schedules that know when a class is full
Schedules that know when a class is full
Dates as text with the next openings first, seats left or sold out, prerequisites and what to bring. If your booking system can feed the schedule, it updates itself.
03
Booking tied to the system you already run
Booking tied to the system you already run
We connect the site to your booking or point-of-sale system where it allows, or link to its booking page cleanly. That's API integration work, and bigger needs like member portals are custom software.
04
Rental pages that do the math
Rental pages that do the math
Daily, weekend and weekly rates in one table, with what each package includes, the deposit, the damage policy and how to reserve.
05
Gift cards in the main menu
Gift cards in the main menu
Sold online, linked from the navigation and footer, with a clear line on what they cover, classes and rentals included if you allow it.
06
A redirect for every old page
A redirect for every old page
Before launch we map each old product, class and category address to its new home, so bookmarks, shared links and search results keep working.
What a shop or studio site must have
- 01Hours, holiday hours, parking and tap-to-call on every page
- 02Real prices, or a clear starting price, for products, services and classes
- 03A schedule written as text, not a PDF, with the next dates first
- 04Sold-out and waitlist labels that change as sessions fill
- 05Prerequisites, age minimums, gear lists and the cancellation policy up front
- 06The full price of a class series, not just the first session
- 07The brands you carry, with photos of your own floor, studio or workshop
- 08Gift cards and rentals one tap from the main menu
What a small retail store's website has to answer
What a small retail store's website has to answer
For many customers the visit starts on a phone, with three questions: do you carry it, what does it cost, are you open. Studios get a fourth, whether there's room in the class. Answer them faster than a chain's site does, then show the reasons to buy locally: the fitting, the advice, the service after the sale.
| Business | The first question | What the site should show |
|---|---|---|
| Boutique | Is it in my size, and is it still there? | New arrivals, size notes, a hold-or-ask button, pickup |
| Bike shop | What does a tune-up cost, and how backed up are you? | Service menu with prices, repair drop-off, rentals |
| Ski and snowboard shop | Can I rent or lease for the whole season? | Season lease terms, tune prices, boot fitting |
| Music store or lesson studio | Is there a lesson time that fits, and can we rent the instrument? | Teacher bios, open times, rent-to-own terms, repairs |
| Yoga, Pilates or fitness studio | What's on tonight, and what does a first class cost? | Live schedule, intro offer, memberships |
Catalog first, checkout when it pays
Catalog first, checkout when it pays
Not every shop needs a full online store on day one. Plenty of specialty sales still need a fitting, a test ride or advice at the counter. A priced catalog brings those customers in, and checkout earns its keep on gift cards, class seats, rentals and reorders.
Two ways to put the store online
- Products, prices and photos; the sale happens in the store
- Nothing to ship and no stock counts to sync
- Hold-for-me and ask-about-this buttons
- Best for fitted, tested or advice-heavy gear
- Customers pay on the site at any hour
- Needs synced stock, pickup or shipping rules and sales tax by item
- Only pages where a shopper can buy qualify for Google's merchant listings
- Scoped on a short call, since catalog size and your systems set the price
A Minnesota sales tax detail for boutiques
Minnesota exempts clothing for general use from sales tax, but the Department of Revenue (opens in a new tab) lists jewelry, backpacks and nonprescription sunglasses as taxable accessories, and helmets and life vests as taxable sports gear. A checkout has to know which is which, item by item (a summary, not tax advice).
A class booking website people actually finish
A class booking website people actually finish
For a studio, the schedule is the sales page. List the next open dates first, show which sessions have room, and spell out what beginners worry about: prerequisites, what to bring, what's included and the cancellation policy. If a class has several parts, show the total so nobody is surprised at the counter.
When your booking system can publish its calendar, the site shows it live. When it can't, we build the schedule into the site so a new season goes up quickly, as part of your care plan edits.
Rentals and gift cards: the easy sales
Rentals and gift cards: the easy sales
Rental customers are doing math: a day versus a weekend versus a week, plus the deposit and what's in the package. Put it in a table and the decision gets easy. Gift cards are simpler still: sell them online, link them from the main menu and say whether they cover classes and rentals.
Minnesota law makes the pitch for you: it's unlawful to sell a gift certificate with an expiration date or a service fee of any kind, apart from narrow exceptions like promotional cards given away free (Minn. Stat. § 325G.53 (opens in a new tab); not legal advice). “Never expires” on your gift card page is accurate, and it's a selling point.
Leaving an old site or hosted cart without losing links
Leaving an old site or hosted cart without losing links
An old store site is often worth more than it looks. Years of product and class pages have links from clubs, forums and search results pointing at them, so before launch we match every old address to its new page with a permanent redirect, the method Google's documentation recommends.
Don't redirect many old URLs to one irrelevant single URL destination, such as the home page of the new site. This can confuse users and might be treated as a soft 404 error.
Google also advises keeping redirects for at least a year, and warns that rankings can fluctuate while it recrawls. Our guide to a redesign without losing rankings has the full checklist, and a free audit of your current site shows where you stand today.
Your products on Google, too
Your products on Google, too
Google Business Profile has a product editor (opens in a new tab) for local stores selling physical goods, especially items without barcodes. For barcoded stock, Google points you to connecting your point-of-sale system to its Local Inventory app. Either way, the profile and the site should agree on what you carry, and our local SEO work keeps them in step.
See your store online before you pay
Tell us about your shop or studio in four quick questions; it takes about two minutes. We build a free preview of your homepage around your real products and schedule, and you review it on your phone; if it's not for you, you owe nothing. Websites start at $500; checkout and booking connections are scoped on a short call.
You see your site before you pay.
Where to start
Most stores and studios begin with the site and a care plan from $75/mo. Tying the site to your booking or point-of-sale system is integration work, and bigger builds like a member portal start at $5,000 as custom software.
- 01Web DesignStart hereCustom-coded websites for local businesses, with a free homepage preview before you pay.From $500
- 02API IntegrationsBooking, ordering, payments and your CRM, connected so every customer is entered once.Quoted per project
- 03SEO & Local SEOShow up on the map when nearby customers search.From $300/mo
- 04Hosting & Care PlansHosting, security, monitoring and two edits a month, from $75/mo. Month-to-month.From $75/mo
- 05Analytics & ReportingSee where your calls and customers actually come from.Quoted per project
- 06Custom SoftwareCustomer portals, quote tools and dashboards built around how your business works.From $5,000
Questions shop and studio owners ask
How much does a website for a small shop or studio cost?
A typical five-page shop or studio site starts at $500. A full catalog, online checkout or a booking connection adds scope, so we quote those on a short call after seeing your inventory and systems. Care plans from $75/mo cover hosting, security and monthly edits; see pricing for the rest.
Do you do boutique website design, or mostly gear shops and studios?
Boutiques too. The homepage leads with new arrivals, clothing gets size and fit notes, and a hold-for-me button lets someone claim a piece before they drive over. Checkout can come later, and when it does, it has to know which items Minnesota taxes.
Can you work with the booking or point-of-sale system I already use?
Usually. If your system can publish a schedule, a booking page or a product feed, we connect the site to it; if not, we link to its booking page or build the schedule into the site. We look at what you run before quoting.
Do I need online checkout?
Not always. If most sales need a fitting, a test ride or advice, a priced catalog with a hold-or-ask button is often the better first step. Gift cards, class seats and rentals are usually the first things worth selling online.
Will moving off my old site hurt my Google rankings?
Broken links are the real risk, so every old product, class and category page gets a permanent redirect to its new address before launch. Some movement while Google recrawls is normal, and it can take a few weeks for new addresses to replace the old ones.
Do I have to write the product descriptions?
No. Send what you have, like a price list, a spreadsheet, supplier sheets or photos of the shelf, and we shape it into pages. You approve everything before launch, and names and prices go up exactly as you give them to us.
Who keeps the schedule and new arrivals current?
If your booking system feeds the schedule, it updates itself. Otherwise, text or email us the changes: your care plan includes two content edits a month, and extra edits are $30 each. The process page shows how a build and handoff run.
See your site before you pay.
Tell us about your business and we build a preview of your homepage, free. You review it on your phone. Love it, and we finish the build. Not for you, and you owe nothing.
Websites from $500 · Care from $75/mo · No long-term contract
- 01
Tell us about your business
Four quick questions, about two minutes.
- 02
We build a preview of your homepage
On your real business, free.
- 03
You review it on your phone
Love it: half to finish, half at launch (websites from $500). Not for you: you owe nothing.
- 04
Care plan from $75/mo
Month-to-month.