One of the UK's leading motorcycle helmet and accessories retailers.
Client
Helmet City
Sector
Automotive
Platform
Magento 2
Project Time
On-going
16%
Increase in Conversion Rate
A complete Hyvä rebuild with a UX-first design started delivering results within four weeks of launch.
21%
Increase in Engagement Rate
A faster, cleaner experience meant customers stayed longer, browsed more, and converted with confidence.
4s
Shaved Off Page Load Time
Stripping out a bloated ThemeForest theme and dozens of unnecessary plugins made the site dramatically faster.
Five Stores Thriving. One Website Falling Behind
Helmet City is one of the UK’s leading motorcycle helmet and accessories retailers, with five stores predominantly across the south of England and a strong reputation built on stocking premium brands like Arai, Shark, HJC, and Muc-Off. In-store, the business was thriving. Online. It was a different story.
Their Magento 2 store had been running on a ThemeForest theme that was bloated, outdated, and hadn’t been properly maintained. It came loaded with dozens of required plugins, many of which were either unnecessary or poorly built, each one adding weight to an already sluggish site. The result was a slow, inflexible frontend that couldn’t be tailored to the way motorcycle gear shoppers actually browse and buy.
For any ecommerce leader running a multi-store retail operation, the frustration is familiar. Your physical stores are performing, your product range is strong, but your website isn’t pulling its weight. And the platform you’re on makes it feel like every improvement is an uphill battle.
Earning Trust Before Earning the Brief
Helmet City didn’t come to us for a website rebuild. They came to us because their GA4 tracking wasn’t working. And their previous agency had failed to fix it.
We got it working. It was a relatively small job, but it mattered. It gave Helmet City accurate data for the first time, and it gave them confidence that we could actually deliver on what we said we would.
With tracking in place, we audited the wider website. The findings confirmed what the team already suspected, the site was significantly underperforming relative to the brand’s strength and the quality of the product range. We patched the old ThemeForest theme as far as we could, stabilising immediate issues and buying time. But the honest recommendation was clear: stop patching and take a bigger swing.
We advised a full migration to Hyvä with a fresh UX/CX-focused design, a clean, fast, modern frontend that would finally give Helmet City an online experience worthy of the business. And with Black Friday approaching as one of their biggest trading periods, we set an ambitious target: get the new site live in time to maximise the peak.
Built for How Motorcycle Shoppers Actually Buy
A motorcycle accessories store isn’t a generic retail site. Customers are searching by helmet brand, by type, by size, by safety rating, often across multiple product categories in a single session. The UX needed to reflect that. We designed and built the new Hyvä frontend around the specific behaviours and expectations of Helmet City’s customers.
Black Friday Ready
Timing mattered. Black Friday is one of Helmet City’s biggest trading periods, and launching the new site ahead of it wasn’t just a nice-to-have. It was the commercial target. We delivered on time, ensuring a smooth transition and giving the business the best possible platform to capitalise on peak trading. Within just four weeks of going live, the new site had already delivered a 16% increase in conversions and a 21% increase in engagement.
From a Quick Fix to a Complete Rebuild
Helmet City didn’t come to us for a website rebuild. They came because their GA4 tracking wasn’t working. We fixed it, earned their trust, and then audited the wider site. The findings confirmed what the team suspected: a bloated ThemeForest theme loaded with dozens of unnecessary plugins was dragging performance down and preventing the online store from matching the strength of their five physical locations.
We recommended a full Hyvä rebuild with a UX-first design built specifically for how motorcycle gear shoppers browse and buy. The entire frontend was stripped back and rebuilt for speed, shaving 4 seconds off page load times. Product discovery was restructured around clear category architecture and intuitive filtering, and the project was delivered in time for Black Friday, one of Helmet City’s biggest trading periods.
Since the rebuild, Actuate has been retained for ongoing CRO and support, delivering smarter helmet sizing displays, cross-sell and upsell optimisation, and a completely rebuilt search solution that alone contributed an additional 9% conversion increase and 5% turnover growth.
Stripped-Back, Lightning-Fast Performance
The old ThemeForest theme came bundled with layers of unnecessary code and plugins that were taxing every page load. Hyvä gave us a clean slate, a lightweight, modern frontend that stripped all of that away. The result was 4 seconds shaved off page load times, delivering a noticeably faster experience that customers feel from the first click. For a retailer competing on product range and price, that speed advantage is a genuine differentiator.
UX-First Product Discovery
We restructured the browsing experience to match the way motorcycle gear shoppers think. Clear category architecture, intuitive filtering, and logical product groupings mean customers can get from landing on the site to finding the right helmet in fewer steps and with less friction. The design was built to handle a large, technical catalogue without overwhelming the customer.
What did this mean for Helmet City?
What started as a GA4 tracking fix has become a long-term strategic partnership. Helmet City now has an online operation that matches the strength of its five physical stores, a fast, modern, conversion-focused platform that continues to improve every month.
1
An Online Store That Matches the In-Store Experience
Five successful retail stores deserved an online presence that performed at the same level. The Hyvä rebuild finally delivered that, a fast, clean, modern ecommerce experience that reflects the quality of the brand and the expertise of the team.
2
Immediate Commercial Impact
A 16% increase in conversions and 21% increase in engagement within four weeks of launch proved the value of the rebuild. Launching ahead of Black Friday meant those gains landed at the most commercially important moment of the year.
3
Compounding Gains Through Retained CRO
The rebuild set the foundation. Ongoing CRO work, from sizing displays and cross-sells to a completely rebuilt search solution, has added a further 9% conversion increase and 5% turnover growth on top of the initial results.
