Building a first website that’s simple and sustainable for Lillybuds Knitwear

Lillybuds is a Welsh independent knitwear design brand for babies and young children. When we started working together, Lillybuds was selling exclusively through Folksy. While the platform had been a great starting point, rising seller fees meant founder Liz wanted to explore building her own website - something she could fully own and control.

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The catch was that Liz had no technical background and didn’t want a complicated setup. She needed a website that felt straightforward, manageable, and realistic to run alongside a small but growing creative business.

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The challenge

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There were a few key challenges to solve:

• Moving from a marketplace to an independent website without adding complexity
  
• Designing a site that felt approachable for a non-technical founder
  
• Selling both digital PDF knitting patterns and printed, posted patterns - something Shopify didn’t handle cleanly out of the box
• Updating and digitising a large number of existing patterns, which were inconsistent in format and branding
  

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The priority throughout was simplicity: fewer tools, fewer costs, and clear workflows that Liz could confidently manage herself.

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My approach

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I looked after the project end to end, from early setup through to training and handover.

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First, I handled the practical foundations - registering the domain, setting up Google Workspace, and getting everything in place for Lillybuds to operate professionally day to day. From there, I designed and built a clean, easy-to-navigate Shopify site using out-of-the-box solutions that focused on usability rather than bells and whistles. The goal wasn’t to over-design, but to create something that felt calm, clear, and fit for purpose.

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One of the biggest challenges was Shopify’s lack of a simple native way to sell both digital and physical versions of the same product. Rather than relying on paid apps or complicated plugins, I designed a custom workflow that allows customers to choose between a PDF download or a printed pattern, while ensuring fulfilment is handled correctly behind the scenes. The result is a smooth experience for customers and a system Liz can manage without technical input.

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Alongside the website build, I worked on updating and digitising many of Lillybuds’ existing knitting patterns. I created custom, reusable templates so all patterns followed a consistent structure and visual style, helping bring the brand together more cohesively. These templates now make it much quicker and easier for Liz to create and release new patterns without starting from scratch each time.

Training and handover

Another core part of the project was making sure Liz felt confident running the site independently. I provided hands-on training covering how to upload new products, manage digital and physical orders, maintain the site, and use the custom workflows we’d put in place. Everything was designed to be practical and sustainable, rather than technically impressive but hard to maintain.

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The outcome

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Lillybuds now has its first independent ecommerce website, giving Liz full ownership over her products, pricing, and customer experience. The site supports both digital and physical patterns seamlessly, the brand feels more consistent across products, and Liz can manage everything herself without needing ongoing technical support.

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This project is a good example of how thoughtful setup, clear systems, and the right level of support can help small, creative businesses move away from marketplaces and grow in a way that actually feels manageable.

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Feedback from Lillybuds has been very positive:

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“Working with Chloe made the whole process of building my first website feel much less daunting. I had no technical experience at all, but everything was explained clearly and set up in a way that I can genuinely manage myself. The site feels like a real home for Lillybuds now, and the systems we put in place for digital and printed patterns have made such a difference to my day-to-day work.”

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