Every business owner dreams of viral success. But for Anime Weebs, a UK-based retailer of premium anime collectibles, going viral was becoming a nightmare. Their business model relies on "limited edition drops"—launching exclusive products at a specific time. Thousands of eager fans would flood the site simultaneously.
The result? Their standard WooCommerce site would crash. Pages wouldn't load. Carts would freeze. Customers were furious, and thousands of pounds in potential revenue evaporated in minutes.
This is a classic example of a business outgrowing its tools. At Custom Coded Websites, we stepped in to rebuild their infrastructure from the ground up using Python and Django. The result was not just a stable website, but a 40% increase in online sales in the first quarter post-launch. Here is exactly how we did it.
The Challenge: The "Plugin" Trap
Before working with us, Anime Weebs was running on a heavily modified WordPress theme. To get the functionality they needed, they had installed over 35 plugins.
The site suffered from three critical issues:
- Instability: During high-traffic drops, the database couldn't handle the concurrent requests, leading to "Error 500" messages.
- Inventory Conflicts: The plugins couldn't sync fast enough, allowing them to oversell limited items, creating a customer service headache.
- Slow Mobile Speed: The site took nearly 6 seconds to load on 4G, causing a massive bounce rate among mobile users.
The Solution: A Bespoke Python Platform
We didn't just "fix" the site; we re-engineered the entire sales flow. By moving to a custom Django architecture, we stripped away the bloat and built a lean, high-performance engine tailored to their specific business model.
1. The "Anti-Crash" Drop System
We built a custom queuing system that activates only during high-traffic events. Unlike generic "waiting rooms" that block everyone, our system intelligently manages server load, allowing a specific number of users to check out simultaneously without slowing down the browsing experience for others.
Result: 100% uptime during their biggest Black Friday launch ever.
2. Real-Time Inventory Locking
We coded a custom inventory management system. When a user adds a limited item to their cart, that item is "reserved" for 10 minutes. This reservation is synced instantly across the database.
Result: Zero overselling. Zero refunds needed. The customer trust score skyrocketed because if the site said "In Stock," it was in stock.
3. The One-Page Checkout
Analyzing their analytics, we saw a huge drop-off at the "Shipping Address" stage. The previous form was clunky and hard to use on mobile.
We built a custom, single-page checkout flow with:
- Google Maps API Integration: Auto-completing addresses to save users typing time.
- Guest Checkout by Default: Removing the forced "Create an Account" barrier.
- Instant Stripe Processing: Reducing payment friction.
The Results: Data Doesn't Lie
Three months after launching the new custom platform, the numbers spoke for themselves:
- 40% Increase in Revenue: By eliminating crashes and speeding up the site, more visitors successfully completed their purchases.
- 65% Faster Load Times: The homepage now loads in under 1.2 seconds, drastically improving their Google SEO rankings.
- Reduced Operating Costs: By ditching the monthly fees for 35 premium WordPress plugins, they saved over £4,000 annually in software subscriptions.
Client Feedback
"We honestly thought our only option was to move to Shopify Plus and pay huge monthly fees. Custom Coded Websites built us something better that we actually own. The drop system is flawless—we just sit back and watch the sales come in without panicking about the server crashing." — Founder, Anime Weebs
Conclusion
This case study proves that a website is not just a cost; it is an investment. A cheap template cost Anime Weebs thousands in lost sales. A custom build paid for itself within weeks.
Is your website holding your business back? If you are ready to stop fixing bugs and start breaking sales records, we should talk.
Click here to book a strategy call with our development team.