Case Study · 2026-08-29
Building a custom number plate builder with live preview and UK-wide checkout
Plates4Show needed an e-commerce site built around a genuinely custom product: number plates people design themselves. Here's how the plate builder and checkout came together.
Client
Plates4Show sells custom number plates: a product that doesn't really work with an off-the-shelf e-commerce template.
Problem
A customer needs to see exactly what their plate looks like, with their own registration on it, before they order it — not a generic product photo with a dropdown next to it. Every plate is effectively made to order, so a standard "stocked product" checkout doesn't fit either.
What we built
We built a custom number plate builder with a live-updating preview: the customer types in their registration and sees it rendered on the plate in real time, with plate size options built in. What they see in the builder is what they get, so there's no gap between "what I designed" and "what turns up."
Because every plate is made to order, the checkout needed to handle that cleanly rather than treating it like a standard stocked product. We built a streamlined checkout with UK-wide delivery, so the custom part (the plate itself) and the standard part (paying and getting it delivered) both feel like they belong on the same site instead of one feeling bolted onto the other.
The build is on a monthly retainer, so the site keeps getting looked after rather than being left to drift after launch.
Result
Customers can now design and preview their exact plate before ordering, with checkout built specifically around a made-to-order product rather than adapted from a generic template.
Testimonial
"I've been using Lee Day for about 3 years now and he has just rebuilt a site for a new venture. Can't recommend enough. Very informative, fairly priced and a pleasure to work with."
Ian Haigh, Plates4Show
If you're selling something that needs to be configured or previewed before someone buys it, a template builder usually won't get you there. Have a look at website design and build or get in touch to talk through what a custom build would look like for your product.
Topics: E-commerce, Case Study, Custom Build
By Lee Day · leeday.uk · UK-wide support