New website boosts business for Shropshire-based online retailer

The launch of a new website has seen a significant increase in business for a Shropshire-based online retailer - who says the difference between the old and new websites is like going from driving a Fiat Uno to a Ferrari!

Nick Clark upgraded his Blanket World website through Newport-based digital expert Ascendancy - and it proved something of a double family project with Nick’s daughter Lucy also going for a new website build for her Cosibox business at the same time.

The two online Shropshire retailers say they couldn’t be more pleased with the results. Cosibox was launched by Lucy just over a year ago and provides luxury cosy items in a box for any occasion, while dad Nick’s Blanket World delivers top quality blankets, some of which are in demand as items in Lucy’s cosiboxes.

Nick said: “It had become clear that we needed to upgrade our website to meet the demands of a successful growing business. Lucy was going through the process as well so we decided to visit Ascendancy.

“It quickly became evident that Ascendancy was a company we could work with. A really professional set-up completely focused on us and what we needed. They handled us both gently, are experts in every field and led us down avenues we had never even thought of.

“This is my third website and the difference between the previous two and the new one is like going from driving a Fiat Uno to jumping into a Ferrari! The website absolutely flew, sales rocketed and the traffic ramped right up.

“Ascendancy helped us with Google Ads and were very proactive - a good solid company that really wants to do a good job. I am very impressed. The back-up support is also important and it’s reassuring to know that it’s always there at the end of the phone.”

Lucy added: “When I first launched Cosibox my website was slow and sluggish and it didn’t have the functionality I was hoping for, such as our ‘Build-A-Box’ feature. I wanted customers to be able to select all of the cosy items they thought perfectly suited their recipient and create the perfect gift for them, but sadly the original website just couldn’t offer this.

“It was also prone to issues and faults which made the user experience poor at times and I definitely lost a lot of sales from these issues. After about three months of trying to make do, I realised that the current website was holding me back and that I needed a website that had the functionality I wanted and crucially was reliable.

“The new website looks fantastic and has all of the functionality that I need. It has great impact for that crucial first viewing by customers and looks really professional.

“The website is easy to navigate and is really well laid out, which I think instils confidence in the customer visiting the site. I have already had more orders than usual and I haven’t even started marketing it yet!

“Ascendancy was amazing through the whole project; I couldn’t have hoped for more. Right from the initial meetings I really felt that they listened and took on board exactly what my business needed.

“They were great at communicating next steps as well as having brilliant ideas for improvements that I wouldn’t have thought of. They helped to train me on the new site so that I can maintain most of it by myself, but they’re always on hand if I need a refresher or I’m not sure how to do something.”

Helen Culshaw. Of Ascendancy, said: “We worked with Nick and Lucy every step of the way on their respective website builds and both have now gone live. We are delighted to have been able to help and pleased with the positive feedback we have had from them.”

Nick has been building his businesses since 1986 and was latterly selling designer products before adjusting to the circumstances of a post-Covid environment, opting to concentrate on one product - luxury blankets.

Lucy, mother to young twin girls, was also partially motivated to start her business by the pandemic which made her appreciate the importance of taking time out to do what she loved, reclaiming those cosy moments more than ever - something she was keen to share with others through her cosiboxes.