New online shop launches for Furniture Helpline

Websites naturally evolve over time and as such we always take the time with clients at the beginning of a project to scope out the current and future wish lists for their site before we start work. Invariably budget or time pressures or business administration changes stand in the way of completing a website which ticks every single box on the inevitably long list, so we work together to plan a staged completion of the project to suit the clients’ needs as their business evolves.

One such project is the website for The Furniture Helpline. We designed, built and launched their original website in March 2013 which has been working brilliantly to support the work they do, to process enquiries and to process bookings for their bulky waste collection service.

The next phase of development planned was an ecommerce function to sell their pre-loved furniture via their online shop. Integrating with their existing software and stock management system, enabling real time updates with the website’s database ensures the shop is always bang up to date. This was particularly important for Furniture Helpline as they only sell one-off pieces, so a transaction in their warehouse shop, or on the online shop, must update their stock levels instantaneously to ensure the item isn’t sold twice.

By building in this database integration, we were also able to streamline their administration, meaning product names, descriptions, photographs and dimensions only need to be entered once, not in both systems, saving them time and money.

We wish the charity continued success and look forward to supporting them in continuing to evolve their website. View the site here at www.furniturehelpline.co.uk