Why We Use WordPress and Shopify at Giant Peach

We’ve been designing and building websites for almost two decades. In that time, we’ve worked with more content management systems than we’d care to count, fallen in love with a few and even had a go at building our own.

Some were brilliant. Others were slightly less brilliant. And a few gave our developers the sort of headaches that required an unusually strong cup of coffee.

But after years of trying different platforms, experimenting with new technology and learning what actually works for our clients, two have become firm favourites.

WordPress and Shopify.

And there’s a rather good reason for both.

We’ve Been Around the CMS Block a Few Times

Back when Giant Peach first started, content management systems (CMSs) weren’t quite the sophisticated creatures they are today.

In fact, we built our own.

It did the job, but as websites became more complex, maintaining and developing our own system started becoming a rather impressive amount of work.

So we began exploring what else was out there.

Over the years, we’ve tried plenty of platforms, including Statamic, which came rather close to stealing our hearts.

But the more websites we built, the clearer things became. For the types of projects we were working on, WordPress consistently gave us the flexibility we needed.

And when ecommerce entered the picture, Shopify became our platform of choice for online stores.

Two platforms we’ve come to know inside out, each bringing something rather useful to the table.

Why We Keep Coming Back to WordPress

WordPress gives our designers and developers room to get creative without making everyday website management a nightmare for our clients.

We use it primarily for bespoke business websites, from lead-generation and brochure sites to more complex platforms with multiple audiences, content types and integrations.

And we’ve developed our own bespoke WordPress framework to make the whole process work even better.

Rather than starting from scratch every time, we’ve got a carefully developed foundation that lets us build efficiently while still creating something completely tailored to each business.

That means custom layouts, clever functionality, CRM integrations and flexible content blocks that clients can actually get their heads around.

Got a new service to shout about or a landing page to put together? You should be able to crack on with it yourself, without having to call in the cavalry every time.

WordPress in action: Cyan Solutions

When Cyan Solutions came to us, they had an impressive collection of IT services and a website that wasn’t quite doing them justice.

Customers needed a clearer picture of what they offered, and the business needed a better way of turning website visitors into enquiries.

So we rolled up our sleeves, rethought the structure, simplified the navigation and gave everything a fresh new look.

We also connected the WordPress website to Pipedrive, bringing the customer journey and sales process a little closer together.

And it worked rather nicely, if we do say so ourselves. Website traffic rose by 80%, while contact form submissions increased by 158% in the first 90 days after launch compared with the same period a year earlier.

See what else we can do with WordPress

A Quick Word About Page Builders

WordPress gives developers plenty of freedom, which is lovely until you inherit a website that’s been assembled using every plugin and page builder under the sun.

We’ve seen enough of those to know we’d rather do things differently.

Tools like Elementor have their place, but they can introduce unnecessary complexity when a more considered approach would do the job better.

Our custom-built framework gives us control over the functionality while keeping the editing experience nice and straightforward.

Less digging through endless settings, more getting on with the job.

And Why Shopify Gets the Ecommerce Gig

When it comes to ecommerce, Shopify has well and truly won us over.

It’s built for selling online, with everything from product management and payments to inventory, subscriptions and integrations already part of the picture.

Which means we can spend less time reinventing the wheel and more time making the shopping experience a breeze.

Can customers find what they’re looking for? Is buying something on mobile a pleasure or a test of patience? Can your team update products without needing to call in reinforcements?

Shopify gives us the tools to tackle all of that while creating custom designs that feel like the brand, rather than another shop from the same old mould.

Shopify in action: Higher Nature

Higher Nature has been helping people look after their health for over 30 years. But with a refreshed brand identity ready to go, its online shop needed a little love of its own.

We wanted to make finding the right supplements feel wonderfully straightforward, taking the faff out of browsing and making the whole shopping experience a pleasure.

We gave Higher Nature’s online shop a proper rethink, rebuilding it on Shopify with easier product navigation, a smoother mobile experience and a much clearer approach to subscriptions.

We also made sure the clever stuff carried through to the backend, creating reusable content blocks that Higher Nature’s team could work with confidently, rather than having to summon a developer every time inspiration struck.

Higher Nature now has a website that looks the part and makes shopping considerably more straightforward, with a flexible setup that won’t throw a spanner in the works every time the business wants to try something new.

See what else we can do with Shopify

What Does All This Mean for Our Clients?

The platform is only the beginning.

You can have all the clever technology in the world, but if the website hasn’t been properly thought through, it won’t count for much.

Luckily, that’s the bit we rather enjoy getting stuck into.

At Giant Peach, we’ve developed an approach that gives businesses more control over their websites without sacrificing the creative or technical possibilities.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Websites that feel like your brand. We design around the business, its personality and the people using the site, rather than trying to squeeze everything into a ready-made template.
• Content that’s easy to manage. Our custom blocks and layouts help teams create pages, update information and keep the website looking consistent.
• Functionality with a purpose. From CRM integrations to ecommerce tools, we build around what the business actually needs.
• Room for what comes next. A well-built website should have room to grow, making it easy to add new pages, introduce clever functionality and adapt as your business develops.

And because we’re building on widely used platforms, clients aren’t tied to a mysterious piece of software that only three people on the planet know how to operate.

Always reassuring.

We Don’t Disappear Once the Website’s Live

We’ve always thought it would be a bit cheeky to hand someone a lovely new website, wish them luck and disappear into the sunset.

So before handing over the reins, we make sure our clients know their way around, with training, handy screen recordings and a real person to call when something isn’t playing ball.

And once the website’s live, we’re still here to help with maintenance, optimisation and marketing.

So, Why WordPress and Shopify?

After nearly twenty years of building websites, we’ve tried enough platforms to know which ones deserve a permanent place in the Giant Peach toolkit.

WordPress is our go-to for bespoke business websites, while Shopify gets the nod when there’s an online shop involved.

We’re always curious about what’s new, but we’re not about to abandon something brilliant every time a shiny bit of technology comes along.

We’d much rather put our experience to good use creating websites that look fantastic, work beautifully and make life easier for the businesses behind them.

So, if you’ve got a new website in mind, we’d love to hear what you’re thinking and have a proper chat about where to go from here.

Let’s get your website off the ground