Creating a Brand and Strategic Website for Bob & Friends, a Sussex Gift Shop for Dogs and Humans

The Brief

Bob & Friends is a new online shop selling colourful, characterful gifts for dogs and their humans, with a strong focus on handmade and hand picked products from small UK makers. Jo already had a clear idea of what she wanted the business to feel like, but she needed the structure around it, including the brand, website, customer journey and a practical plan for how people would find the business and feel confident enough to buy from it.

The project became much bigger than creating a logo and an ecommerce website, because every part needed to support the same goal, getting relevant people to Bob & Friends, building enough trust for them to shop and making the route to purchase as easy as possible. That meant thinking about what somebody sees before they reach the website, what happens while they are browsing and what Jo can keep doing herself after launch to bring people back.

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The Approach

I started with a full website sales and conversion strategy, with conversion simply meaning turning more website visitors into customers. I researched the audience and competitors, worked through the positioning of Bob & Friends and planned the customer journey, including how somebody could first discover the business, what they would need to see before trusting a new online shop and how the website could make browsing and buying straightforward.

That thinking covered the structure of the website, the amount of information shown at different stages, where products should appear, how trust could be built and how the business could encourage people to return if they were not ready to buy straight away. It also considered traffic sources such as Google, social media, recommendations and ongoing visibility work, because even a very well designed shop needs people arriving before it can make sales.

From there I created the moodboard and creative direction, so the visual identity and website could grow from the same strategic work.

Creating the Brand

I created the full Bob & Friends visual identity, including the main logo, stacked logo and alternative logo formats, along with the colour palette, typography and a custom set of illustrations and icons. I also created brand examples and mockups, so Jo could see how the identity would work across the website, packaging, social media and printed materials, then pulled the main information into a one page brand sheet she can use as a quick reference when creating things herself.

The brand then moved into practical materials for the business, including a business card template and a thank you for your order card. I also created the initial mailer box concept and packaging direction, with the final print artwork planned for when Jo launches and has the exact production specifications from her chosen supplier.

Building the Ecommerce Website

I designed and built the ecommerce website in Wix Classic Editor, which gives Jo enough flexibility to update and maintain the shop herself while also giving her access to Wix’s built in SEO tools. The site was designed responsively for desktop and mobile, with the customer journey from the earlier strategy shaping the page structure, navigation, product areas, calls to action and trust information throughout.

The finished website includes Home, About, Shop All, 18+ Gifts, FAQs, Blog and Contact, alongside the ecommerce shop itself and customer Log In functionality. I also worked through practical parts of the buying experience such as checkout, related product opportunities, customer reassurance and email capture, with MailerLite integration included where needed.

I created the main page copy and search friendly headings, metadata and image alt text, alongside a worked product page structure that Jo can use when adding new products herself. The FAQ section was also planned around both common customer questions and search behaviour, which means it can answer things somebody may be unsure about before ordering while also giving the site more useful information for search engines to understand.

There was also practical ecommerce work beyond the visible main pages, including an order cancellation page and supporting shop information, because the less glamorous parts of running an online shop still need somewhere sensible to live.

Creating an SEO Content Strategy Jo Can Continue Herself

Alongside the website build, I created a full SEO content strategy and explanation, with SEO meaning search engine optimisation, or the work that helps search engines understand a website and show it for relevant searches. This included keyword research, a keyword bank and guidance around how different types of website content can reach people at different stages, from somebody researching a question through to somebody actively looking for a product.

GEO was considered within this too, with GEO meaning generative engine optimisation, or making information clear and useful enough for AI based search tools to understand and potentially use when answering questions. The guide explains the thinking in plain language, so Jo can actually run with it herself and keep adding useful content as Bob & Friends grows, instead of being handed a technical document that requires somebody else to interpret it every time she wants to write something.

Setting Up the Blog

I designed and set up the blog as part of the website, including the visual styling, categories and initial structure, then added example blog content so Jo could see how it should work in practice. I also created a bank of future content ideas based on the audience and keyword research, giving her subjects she can build on herself over time.

Jo also received a reusable blog writing template and publishing checklist, with guidance on things such as titles, page structure, search terms, internal links, FAQs and directing readers towards relevant products. The idea is that the blog can keep bringing new people into the site while also answering useful questions and giving somebody a natural route from reading to shopping.

Planning How Social Media Can Drive Website Traffic and Sales

Social media was included as part of the wider website sales and conversion strategy, because it is one of the ways Bob & Friends can bring potential customers into the website. This is separate from my full social media strategy service, with the work here focused specifically on giving Jo a useful starting point for creating content, reaching relevant people and encouraging them towards the shop.

I covered product storytelling, Reels, carousels, Stories, behind the scenes content, values led content and ways to introduce the small UK makers behind the products. I also looked at how Jo and Bob can become part of what people remember about the business, with ideas for Bob reviewing suitable products, Jo sharing why she chose particular things and recurring formats such as Bob Tests Things, Adventures with Bob, What’s New at Bob & Friends, Meet the Maker and Why We Chose It.

The guidance also covers practical content creation, including posting frequency, filming in batches, building a footage bank, using captions on Reels and using Stories for the less polished day to day parts of the business. Customer content and reviews are included too, so orders and customer reactions can gradually become useful proof for future customers instead of disappearing after somebody posts them once.

I also gave Jo direction around finding the types of people most likely to care about Bob & Friends, including relevant communities, events, pet accounts, gifting audiences and people interested in colourful products and independent businesses. That included search guidance, useful terms and hashtags, how to engage naturally and why building an audience of potential customers matters more than collecting a large number of unrelated followers.

Creator Content and the Instagram Launch Carousel

Creator collaborations and UGC were included within that traffic and trust guidance, with UGC meaning user generated content, such as somebody opening an order, wearing a product or filming their dog trying something from the shop. I covered choosing creators based on how relevant their audience is, agreeing deliverables before products are sent and understanding usage rights if Jo wants to repost, edit or use that content elsewhere.

I also created a full branded Instagram introduction carousel for the launch, introducing Bob & Friends, Jo and Bob, the products, the values behind the shop and customer proof before directing people through to the website. The design can be reused as a carousel template for future content, and I created it in a format that could also be useful if Jo ever wanted to boost it, because I use my own introduction carousel that way to bring new people towards my website.

Building Trust and Visibility Beyond Social Media

The strategy also goes beyond the channels Bob & Friends owns, because being mentioned by other people and organisations can give a new business useful credibility. I created an ongoing visibility plan covering awards, press and podcasts, with guidance on where Jo could start, how to choose opportunities that make sense for the business and how to present the Bob & Friends story when approaching them.

The awards section included both accessible opportunities for a newer business and more specific industry awards to work towards, alongside advice on what makes a stronger entry and what evidence Jo can build up over time. I also researched relevant local, consumer and trade press, then gave Jo guidance on pitching an actual story instead of simply asking a publication to feature the shop.

Podcast visibility was included too, with relevant types of shows to approach, an example pitch and practical guidance on finding more opportunities herself. I also explained the basic structure of a press release, how to approach editors and when it would make sense to involve somebody who specialises in PR, so Jo has enough knowledge to handle smaller opportunities herself without treating DIY press work as the same thing as professional PR.

I included guest blogging and relevant link sharing with other small businesses as another way to build visibility, while making it clear that this should be useful and relevant instead of turning into mass link swapping. All of this connects back to the website, because an award badge, press feature, podcast appearance, review or mention elsewhere can become proof that reassures somebody considering an order, while credible external mentions can also support search visibility.

Measuring What Happens After Launch

I also gave Jo guidance on how to judge whether the work bringing people towards the website is actually doing anything useful, because likes and follower numbers only tell part of the story. The guidance covers saves, profile visits, website clicks, website traffic, product page visits, messages and eventual sales, along with checking whether the people responding to content actually look like the kinds of customers Bob & Friends is trying to reach.

That then connects to the website analytics, where Jo can see how people move through the customer journey once they arrive, including whether they browse products, move towards checkout or repeatedly leave at a particular point. The strategy also explains how to test and adjust things over time, so Jo can build on what customers actually respond to instead of assuming the original plan can never change.

The Outcome

Bob & Friends now has a complete visual identity, including its logo suite, colour palette, typography, custom illustrations, icons, brand examples, mockups and a one page reference sheet, alongside practical materials including the business card template, thank you card and mailer box concept. The visual work has been applied across the places customers will actually experience the business, including the website, print, packaging and social content, instead of stopping once the logo files were exported.

Jo also has a custom ecommerce website built in Wix Classic Editor across desktop and mobile, with seven main pages, the shop itself, customer accounts and the supporting ecommerce setup needed around them. The website was planned around a full sales and conversion strategy, with audience and competitor research, positioning, conversion guidance and a customer journey designed to help people understand the business, trust it and move towards a purchase.

The search work gives her the main on page setup plus an SEO content strategy she can continue using herself, including keyword research, a keyword bank, blog ideas, a reusable blog template and guidance for adding future product and website content. GEO was considered within that work, while the wider visibility plan gives her ways to build the external proof that can support trust and search visibility over time.

She also has guidance on using social media to bring relevant people towards the website, including product content, Reels, Stories, recurring formats, customer content, audience discovery, engagement, creator collaborations and UGC. Her finished introduction carousel gives her launch content and a reusable template, while the measurement guidance shows her how to look beyond likes and connect what happens on social media with actual website behaviour and sales.

On top of that, Jo has a longer term visibility plan covering awards, press, podcasts, pitching, press releases and relevant guest content opportunities, giving her ways to build recognition and credibility outside her own channels as the business grows.

The result is a full launch system built around visibility, trust and sales, where the brand helps people remember Bob & Friends, the marketing guidance helps bring them in, outside recognition can strengthen credibility, the website is designed to turn that interest into purchases and the packaging continues the experience after the order arrives. Jo has the finished work she needs to launch, plus the templates and guidance to keep building the business herself afterwards.

References & Links

Client - Jo is still getting ready for her launch but you can find them on Instagram @bobandfriends.shop