Bettylicious — Magento Ecommerce Redesign

Magento redesign for a vintage swimwear label

Bettylicious is an independent UK fashion label and online retailer specialising in 1950s-style Esther Williams swimsuits and bikinis. The existing site was functional but showing its age — not responsive, limited in its ability to promote products, and built on a framework the client could not manage easily. open-ecommerce.org was brought in to move Bettylicious to Magento and deliver a full redesign: responsive, mobile-first, with a WordPress blog for content marketing and proper payment and shipping integrations.

We worked in close collaboration with Flipside, the design agency handling the visual identity, adapting their artwork and brand assets to the new Magento theme. The result was a platform Anja could manage herself — adding products, running promotions, and updating content without needing developer support for routine changes.

What We Built

The project moved Bettylicious from their existing platform to Magento, rebuilding the shop from the ground up with a responsive theme designed around their brand identity. Key deliverables included:

• Custom responsive Magento theme built to the brand assets provided by Flipside — colours, typography, homepage banners with SEO-friendly text capabilities, and a clean product browsing experience with colour and size filters
• WordPress blog integrated alongside the Magento store for content marketing — giving Bettylicious the ability to publish editorial content, styling guides, and brand stories to drive organic search traffic
• Product catalogue rebuilt with simple and configurable product types, category structure, and promotional blocks that the client could update without developer involvement
• Full content migration from the old site with 301 redirects configured across all changed URLs to protect existing search engine rankings
• CMS training covering categories, products, promotions, order management, shopping cart rules, and email customisation — delivered via Skype sessions and documentation

Payments, Shipping, and Integrations

Payments. We integrated two payment gateways: PayPal for customers who prefer to pay via their PayPal account, and Sage Payments for direct card processing. Both were configured within the Magento checkout with appropriate fallback and error handling.

Shipping. Royal Mail was configured as the shipping provider within Magento, with methods and rates set up to match Bettylicious's actual despatch process. Customers see accurate delivery options and costs at checkout based on their order.

Reporting. Standard Magento sales reports were configured so Anja could track orders, revenue, and product performance directly from the admin panel without exporting data to a separate tool.

Social and SEO. Social media sharing plugins and account links were added throughout the site. All content was reviewed at launch for SEO — page titles, meta descriptions, heading structure, and image alt tags — and the site was submitted to search engines with a verified Google Analytics setup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Magento handle a WordPress blog alongside the ecommerce store?

Yes. We integrated a WordPress blog alongside the Bettylicious Magento store — giving the client a separate content publishing tool for editorial content, styling guides, and brand stories, while keeping the ecommerce functionality on Magento.

How do you protect existing search rankings when migrating to a new Magento store?

By mapping all changed URLs from the old site and implementing 301 redirects before go-live. We did this for Bettylicious — every URL that changed was redirected to its new location, preserving the link equity and rankings the old site had built.

Can multiple payment gateways be integrated in Magento?

Yes. We integrated both PayPal and Sage Payments for Bettylicious — giving customers the choice of paying via their PayPal account or directly by card. Both gateways run within the standard Magento checkout.

About This Project

We build Magento ecommerce stores for independent retailers across the UK. Read more about our Magento ecommerce service or get in touch to discuss your project.