Asylum Coffee is a speciality coffee roaster in Swindon, founded by roaster Note Thisawat. Note roasts in small batches every week, and runs a small shop and coffee lab where people can stop in for a drink or pick up a bag. In September 2026 we replaced Asylum's old Wix website with one we designed and built from scratch. Since launch, Asylum has been taking seven times as many orders a week through the website as it did on the old site, and that number is still climbing.
Where Asylum started
The old website ran on Wix. Note was paying a yearly bill for it, plus bundled extras he didn't need, and looking after the site himself on top of roasting and running the shop. Selling online took more of his time than it should have, and the site wasn't bringing in many orders.
The website and Google also told different stories. Asylum's Google listing said the beans were only sold online, while the shop is open to visitors six days a week. When Google and a website disagree, customers aren't sure which to believe.
A simpler deal
We swapped the Wix bill for two things that are easy to follow:
- A website Note owns outright. We build it, and it's his. If he ever wants to take it elsewhere, he can, with no platform holding it hostage.
- A small monthly maintenance plan. It covers hosting, updates and the changes a shop needs as it goes, like new wording or new photos. Note just asks, and we make the change.
Asylum is also on one of our monthly SEO plans. We'll write that work up separately. And if you're weighing up what a site like this costs, we've set out how much a website costs in Swindon.
What we built
We designed the new site around how Asylum actually sells: a weekly roast, regulars who come back for the same coffee, and a shop people can visit. A shop with subscriptions is the kind of job where we'd build custom rather than use WordPress; we explain why in WordPress vs a custom website.
- A page for every coffee. Each roast has its own page, so people can see exactly what they're buying before they add it to the basket.
- A shop that's quick to buy from. Customers add bags to a basket and pay by card through Stripe, and the money goes straight to Asylum.
- Subscriptions for each coffee. Regulars can have their favourite delivered every month without reordering.
- Easy browsing. Search, plus filters for the single-origin and decaf ranges, so people find their coffee in a couple of taps.
- Order alerts. Note gets an email the moment an order comes in, so it can be packed and sent quickly.
- A simple back office. Note adds new coffees and manages orders himself. Everything else is covered by the maintenance plan.
- Nothing lost in the move. Every old product and category link forwards to its new page, so links people had saved still worked on day one.
- A Find Us page with a real map, so people know the shop is there to visit, not just to order from.
We also updated Asylum's Google Business Profile so it links to the new website and shows the same name, address and opening hours.
Built to be quick on a phone
Most people find a coffee shop on their phone, often on a patchy signal. So we built the site to load fast on one.
We tested Asylum's homepage with Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool on 12 November 2026. It simulates a mid-range phone on a slow 4G connection. The site scored 95 for performance and 100 for accessibility, best practices and SEO.
In plain terms: the main content appears in about 2 seconds, the page responds straight away, and nothing jumps around while it loads.
What changed
- Seven times as many website orders a week compared with the old site, and still rising.
- A smaller, simpler bill. No yearly Wix charge or bundled extras, just a small monthly plan.
- No more website admin for Note. He spends his time roasting and running the shop. The only website jobs left to him are adding new coffees and handling orders.
Why orders went up
More orders came from the same thing every shop needs: making it easy to go from "that looks good" to "paid".
- Buying takes fewer steps. Basket, card payment, done, with nothing in the way.
- Finding a coffee is easy. Every coffee has its own page, and search and filters get people to the right one in a couple of taps.
- Pages load fast. People don't give up waiting, especially on a phone.
- Getting around is clear. Simple menus, so nobody gets lost between browsing and the basket.
- Ordering again is effortless. A subscription means a regular's next bag arrives without them lifting a finger.
In Note's words
"Before the new site, I was paying Wix every year for things I didn't need and doing all the website work myself, and it wasn't bringing in many orders. Shae took the time to understand how Asylum works and built a site that fits it, and it's mine. Now people can find a coffee, subscribe and pay in a couple of minutes, I get an email the moment an order lands, and if I want something changed I just ask. We're taking about seven times as many orders a week as we did on the old site."
Note Thisawat, founder, Asylum Coffee
What Note said on Google
"Top notch service, really understanding your needs and prompt response."
Asylum Coffee, Google review, September 2026
What's next for Asylum
The new website was step one. Two things come next:
- A loyalty card system, built for Asylum. We're building a bespoke loyalty scheme that fits how the shop already works at the counter. The more customers buy, the bigger their discount. Customers already know how loyalty cards work, and a reason to come back is one of the simplest ways to turn a one-off visit into a regular.
- Long-term SEO, so more people searching for coffee in Swindon and beyond find the shop in the first place. More visitors to a site that already turns them into orders is where the growth comes from.
What other Swindon businesses can take from this
You don't need to sell coffee for these to apply:
- Own your website. If you can't take it with you, you're renting it.
- Build the site around how you sell. Start from what your customers do, not from a template.
- Give every product or service its own page. One page listing everything is hard for customers to read and hard for them to buy from.
- Make it quick on a phone. That's where most local customers will find you.
- Make buying again easy. Subscriptions, saved details or a quick reorder: whatever suits your trade.
- Hand off the parts that aren't your job. Hosting, updates and small changes shouldn't eat into time you'd rather spend on your business.
- Keep old links working when you move. Customers who saved a link, or found you through one, should still land in the right place.
- Make your Google profile match your website. Same name, address, opening hours and offer, everywhere.
Thinking about a new website?
If your website takes up your time without bringing in sales, we'd be happy to take a look. See how we approach web design in Swindon, read the full Asylum Coffee case study, or find out more about e-commerce website design and website maintenance.
Websites for a growing business start from £2,000 (see our pricing). Every business needs something a little different, so the quickest way to a real figure is a quick chat: give us a call or send us an email.