Platform decisions that stand up over time

Platform choices shape how ecommerce operates long after the initial build. They determine what becomes easy, what becomes fragile, and how much effort progress demands.

We’re often brought in when a platform decision is approaching, or when the consequences of an earlier one are starting to show.

Our role isn’t to promote particular technologies. It’s to help teams understand what their platform enables, what it constrains, and what it commits the business to next.

Platform decisions are rarely just technical

Choosing a platform is a commercial and operational decision, with technical consequences.

Good platform decisions consider:

  • What the business needs to do next, not just now

  • How commerce fits into existing operations

  • The experience customers expect

  • The organisation’s ability to maintain and evolve what’s built

When these factors aren’t considered together, platforms quietly become sources of friction rather than foundations for progress.

Platforms we work with

Shopify and BigCommerce frequently sit at the centre of ecommerce decisions, whether already in place or under consideration. Because of that, we’re both a Shopify Partner & a BigCommerce Partner.

However, we don’t start with the platform. We start by understanding the situation, what’s working, where constraints lie, and what the business is trying to move toward. As a result, we’ve also worked with retailers using
Adobe Commerce (Magento), WooCommerce, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud.

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Learn about Shopify →
Logo with the words 'BIG COMMERCE' in black and white.
Learn about BigCommerce →
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WORRIED THE GRASS IS GREENER?

Regardless of your current platform, it doesn’t automatically mean a change is required.

In many cases, performance issues come from how decisions have accumulated around a platform over time, not from the platform itself. Replatforming too early, or without a clear rationale, often introduces disruption without resolving the underlying problem.

We regularly help teams stabilise and improve what they already have before any major change is considered.

Replatforming: when it helps, and when it doesn’t

Replatforming can unlock progress, but only when the timing and intent are right.

The role is to understand the trade-offs clearly, so the decision can be made with confidence.

It helps when:

  • the current platform limits what the business needs to do next

  • temporary workarounds have become structural constraints

  • future plans can’t be supported without change

It rarely helps when:

  • it’s used to compensate for unclear priorities

  • deeper operational or commercial issues remain unresolved

  • the organisation isn’t ready for the disruption involved

How we approach platform decisions

Platform choices don’t sit in isolation. They connect to growth plans, experience, operations and sequencing.

Through our Clarity Cycle, we help teams:

  • understand what’s actually driving performance

  • see how their current platform supports or limits progress

  • decide whether change is needed, and when

  • make decisions that hold up beyond the next phase

The goal isn’t to pick a platform. It’s to make the next stage easier, not harder.

The impact was clear immediately for us and for our customers. Their clarity, experience and way of guiding decisions made the whole process straightforward. We’d recommend them without hesitation.
— Jamie Symmons, Director, EA Symmons

Make the next platform decision clearer

A short conversation can help clarify what your platform enables, where it’s constraining progress, and whether change is actually needed.

Book a Clarity Call →