The British Museum eCommerce Shop – A New Look for a World-Renowned Institution

The Hyvä theme for Adobe was selected to help the British Museum Shop to take full advantage of this modern frontend framework known for dramatically improving performance, reducing page load times, and simplifying development. Hyvä strips away unnecessary complexity, allowing developers to build fast, lightweight Adobe Commerce stores with clean code, while still delivering a rich user experience. 

We began the discovery process with a series of workshops, including: 

• An Objectives & Priorities workshop, mapping business goals and user expectations. 

• A Data Deep Dive, leveraging GA4 user behaviour, Adobe Commerce revenue data, and conversion paths to inform design decisions. 

• A Persona Validation session to better understand audience types and how they interact with the site. 

Armed with actionable data, the Williams Commerce team moved into wireframing guided by a well-prepared reference document from the British Museum’s ecommerce team that clearly outlined brand guidelines and design preferences. This strong foundation, paired with our deep experience in the Arts and Culture sector and real-world user insights, enabled a focused, collaborative, and insight-led design process. 

The process culminated in the final design unveil, always a highlight for both the Williams Commerce team and the client. Thanks to the thorough discovery process and data-driven decision-making throughout, the design was met with positive feedback from the British Museum team. 

The most complex integration challenge involved working with the British Museum’s third-party payment provider which was solved by engineering a bespoke solution that delivered a successful outcome for the client.