shopify web designer
backTwelve Shopify stores live. None of them look like a Shopify store.
Most Shopify sites are the same free theme with a different logo. I am Joe Flynn, a Shopify web designer and developer based in Harrogate and in Leeds every week. I design and code stores for brands that want their site to feel like them - custom themes, drop launches, lookbooks and the small details people screenshot and send to their mates.
what I build on shopify
- Custom themes from scratch - written in Liquid, CSS and vanilla JavaScript from blank files, no starting template
- Redesigns of existing stores - built on an unpublished copy so your live store keeps trading until switchover
- Drop launches - countdown lock screens, password gates, early access windows, low-stock badges and launch emails
- Fast checkout flows - size pills on hover, slide-out carts, mini carts, all without a page reload
- Features without the app fees - lookbooks, galleries, size charts and filters built into the theme once, not rented monthly
- E-commerce SEO - structured data, collection copy, Search Console and Merchant Center set up properly
shopify stores I have built
- Drama Call, Manchester - full custom theme plus a hidden, playable 3D skating game that hands out a working discount code. Read the case study
- Best, Leeds - ground-up minimal rebuild with a shoppable lookbook and local SEO for the shop. Read the case study
- Parismo, Sheffield - video portal homepage and a VHS tape archive you can play. Read the case study
- threeten corps, London - military-spec theme written from blank files, published the day it was built
- Wear What You Feel, Australia - a mental health streetwear brand moved off a paid theme onto a bold custom build, with a practitioner hub
- Project Basel, UK - a homepage of AI-generated blocks replaced with a proper store: one-tap sets, sticker add-ons and a map of everywhere they have shipped
- INTRPD - lookbook hero, Supreme-style colour cards and thumbnail swatches on a Dawn base, with the store data tidied underneath
- Hudson's Gallery - a drop store covered in charms that scatter when you touch them
- Commotion, VSZN, Cloberry and OFFKEY - full redesigns, from polaroid galleries to glass headers and live drop countdowns
What I did on each one, in detail, is on the web design page.
three of them, in detail
All three, and the rest as they are written up, are on the case studies page.
shopify web design in leeds
Most of my Shopify work comes out of Leeds. Best, on New Market Street, is the one I have built twice: first for a drop launch, then from the ground up with a shoppable lookbook and local SEO for the shop itself. I am in the city every week, so a Leeds brand gets someone who can come to the shop, look at the rail and the stockroom, and then build the store around what is actually there. If you are searching for a Shopify designer in Leeds, that is the difference between me and an agency with a Leeds page.
"Amazing job, couldn't recommend more for my website project."
Ruben, Project Basel · 5.0 on Google
why brands come to me instead of an agency
I run a streetwear brand myself, so I know what a drop day actually feels like from the other side of the checkout. You deal with me directly - often over WhatsApp, often fixed the same day. I also shoot the flatlays, photos and films, so the photos, the video and the store all come from one person and look like one brand.
where I work
Based in Harrogate, in Leeds weekly, with stores built for brands in Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, London and Australia. Shopify work is remote-friendly, so I take on e-commerce projects across Yorkshire and the rest of the UK.
start a project see the work →"Quality work, great communication and best around for your website design!"
Joe Exley, OFFKEY LDN · 5.0 on Google
questions
How much does a Shopify website cost?
A restyle of an existing theme and a custom theme written from scratch are different jobs. I price each store personally. Email me with what you sell and what you have now and you will get a straight answer.
Do you build custom Shopify themes?
Yes. Several of my stores are full themes written from blank files in Liquid, CSS and vanilla JavaScript, with no starting template. Others are deep rebuilds on Dawn, kept upgradeable.
Can you redesign my existing Shopify store?
Yes - most of my Shopify work is redesigns. I build on an unpublished copy of your theme so the live store keeps trading, then switch over when you are happy.
Will I be able to edit the store myself?
Yes. Sections, text, images and menus stay editable in the Shopify customiser, so you can run the store day to day without touching code.
Do you use apps and page builders?
As few as possible. Most features people pay monthly app fees for can be built into the theme once. It keeps the store fast and the running costs down.
Can you run a drop or product launch?
Yes. Countdown lock screens, password gates, early access windows, low-stock badges and launch emails, all timed to the minute.