You can tell when a website was built to tell a story and when it was built to sell. The best brand sites do both: they open with a clear story that earns attention, then they guide people down a short funnel that turns attention into action. This piece tells the story of one brand rebuild where UX decisions raised conversion, then gives practical templates and technical guidance so you can run the same playbook.

A rebuild story: clearer UX, measurable results

A premium food brand had beautiful photography but a confusing site. The homepage was very long, product pages hid critical purchase information, and the checkout forced seven steps. Traffic was healthy but conversions lagged.

We worked in three focused phases. First, we clarified the homepage: one strong line in the hero, a benefit-driven CTA, and three trust signals above the fold. Next, we restructured product pages so every page always showed the hero photo, a clear buy box, a very short product story, and shipping info. Finally, we simplified checkout to two steps and prioritized guest checkout.

The results at 90 days were straightforward and meaningful: page load time dropped from 4.2 seconds to 1.6 seconds, product page conversion nearly doubled from 2.1 percent to 3.9 percent, cart abandonment fell from 68 percent to 50 percent, and average order value rose 12 percent thanks to clearer upsells. Small UX changes removed friction and let the brand’s story actually convert.

Start with a sitemap people can read

Before you push pixels, sketch a sitemap. Treat it like the story map for the site so every page has a job. A short, action-focused sitemap looks like this:

Sitemap template (short and action-focused)

• Home (hero, three proof points, primary CTA)
• Shop / Products
  • Category page (filters, hero)
  • Product detail (hero image, price and purchase options, 60-second story, specs, FAQ)
• About (brand story, pillars, proof points)
• How it works (fulfillment, sourcing, sustainability)
• Enterprise / Wholesale (optional)
• Resources (blog, guides)
• Account (login, orders, subscriptions)
• Cart / Checkout
• Contact / Support (FAQ, live chat)
• Legal (privacy, returns, terms)

A clear sitemap helps you choose which templates you really need and where calls to action should live.

UX priorities that reliably lift conversion

Start with hero clarity: one sentence that explains what you sell and why it matters. Reduce choice and give people clear next steps. On product pages prioritize the buy box, price, shipping info, a short story, and social proof. In checkout aim for guest checkout, minimal fields, and clear progress indicators. Trust signals—shipping windows, simple returns, secure payment badges, and short testimonials near CTAs—work quietly but powerfully.

Core Web Vitals checklist, in plain terms

Core Web Vitals are not just technical vanity metrics; they measure the experience your customers feel. Use Lighthouse or a RUM tool, and focus on these:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): target under 2.5 seconds, aim closer to 1.5–2.0 seconds. This usually means optimizing hero images and server response.
• Interaction responsiveness (INP or formerly FID): aim under 100 ms so people can tap and interact without lag.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): keep under 0.1 by reserving space for images and embeds.
• First Contentful Paint (FCP): desirable under 1.8 seconds so the page starts to appear quickly.
• Total page weight: aim to keep the initial page under about 1.5 to 2 MB for mobile-first experiences.

If LCP is slow, look at your hero image size and server TTFB. If CLS is high, make sure images and embeds include width and height so the layout does not jump.

Tech stack options and when to choose them

There is no single perfect platform; pick based on speed to market, commerce complexity, and long term scale.

Shopify is great for quick commerce launches and a rich app ecosystem. It gives fast time-to-market and many native integrations, though deep customization can be costly unless you go headless.

BigCommerce suits mid-market brands that need stronger B2B features out of the box. It handles catalogs and wholesale needs well, with hosted commerce reliability.

Webflow is ideal for marketing-led sites that want precise visual control without heavy front-end development. It shines for content-first experiences; if you need full commerce capabilities you will likely integrate with a backend.

WordPress with managed hosting (WP Engine) is a solid choice for editorial-heavy brands. It gives plugin flexibility and familiar content workflows, but you must manage performance and avoid plugin bloat.

Headless (Next.js or similar with a commerce backend) is best when you need ultimate performance and custom UX across multiple channels. It delivers the fastest experiences but requires engineering resources and ongoing maintenance.

Payments and integrations: Stripe is the modern, flexible option for payments and subscriptions; include PayPal to cover different audiences and wallets. For tax, shipping, and analytics, choose partners that scale with your region and volumes.

Design and tooling suggestions

Prototype in Figma and share responsive components with stakeholders. Use Webflow for marketing pages if you want visual control without a full dev cycle. Start commerce on Shopify or BigCommerce to launch quickly, and consider headless later if you need custom frontend performance. Monitor performance with Lighthouse, Google Search Console, and a real user monitoring tool. Serve images in next-gen formats like WebP or AVIF where possible and use a CDN.

Checkout and conversion mechanics, with practical details

Show shipping windows and return commitments early so buyers feel secure. Offer guest checkout and encourage account creation after purchase. Reduce form fields using address autofill and card tokenization, and add inline validation so errors are fixed in real time. Provide multiple payment options: Stripe, Apple Pay, and PayPal reduce friction and catch more buyers.

Key form optimizations:

• Use address autocomplete to cut typing time.
• Offer saved-card tokenization for faster repeat checkout.
• Display progress steps so users understand how close they are to completion.
• Keep required fields minimal; ask for extras in post-purchase flows.

From sitemap to launch: a short checklist

• Finalize the sitemap and decide which page templates you need.
• Wireframe homepage, product, cart, and checkout in Figma.
• Optimize hero assets to improve LCP: compress images, use CDNs, serve proper formats.
• Prototype checkout on mobile and test form flows and validations.
• Run Lighthouse and fix the highest-impact issues first.
• Soft launch to a test cohort, collect behavior data, and iterate.

Final thought

A brand website is a living product. Treat the rebuild like product work: form a hypothesis, test, measure, and iterate. Start by clarifying the homepage story, simplify product pages, and make checkout as short and predictable as possible. Make Core Web Vitals part of your scorecard so performance and user experience are not afterthoughts.

If you want a hands-on audit and a prioritized build plan, join the LiLA community for peer reviews and templates, or book LiLA Studios to audit your site and map a practical build plan that balances story, speed, and conversion. Tell us which single page matters most to your business and we will show you the three UX changes that will move the needle first.

Other Articles in the Brand Development Series

Brand Story First
Logo Design in 2025
Brand Kits & Governance
Color, Type & Aesthetic
Visual Language & Imagery
Motion & Video Branding
Voice, Tone & Brand Messaging
UX & Website for Brands
E-commerce Operations
Social Strategy & Creator Partnerships
Print & Packaging
Brand Legal Guide
Measuring Brand Health