For a long time, I ran Palettes with the website I had — not the website I wanted. The shop worked, the products were beautiful, and people found us. But the shopping experience? It was fine. Just fine. And for a brand built on the idea that details matter, fine wasn't good enough.
So this spring, I did something I never thought I'd do: I rebuilt the entire website myself. No developer. No agency. Just me, a lot of late nights, and an AI called Claude.
This is the story of that relaunch — why I did it, how I actually learned to write code without any background in tech, and what it means for how you shop Palettes now.
Why the old site needed to go
The original Palettes site was built when the shop was smaller — when the product range was simpler and the vision was still forming. But Palettes has grown into something more layered. We have gift wrap and wallpaper in the same patterns. We have frame liners, art prints, and — coming very soon — textiles. The old navigation didn't tell that story clearly, and customers were getting lost.
I'd hear from people who didn't realise they could buy the same pattern in both wallpaper and gift wrap. I'd hear from customers who couldn't figure out how to mix and match. Shopping felt harder than it should, and in a world where someone has ten browser tabs open and limited patience, "hard to navigate" means lost sales and — more importantly — a missed connection with someone who would have genuinely loved what we make.
I knew the site needed to change. What I didn't know was how I was going to do it without spending thousands on a developer — or waiting months for someone else to understand the brand well enough to build it properly.
Enter Claude: an AI that actually explains things
I'd used AI tools before, mostly for copywriting — drafting product descriptions, email subject lines, that kind of thing. But coding felt like a different frontier entirely. I had no background in HTML, no idea what CSS stood for, and the mere thought of JavaScript made my eyes glaze over.
What changed was the way I started using Claude. Instead of asking it to just write code for me, I started asking it to teach me. I'd say things like: "I want to move this product image to the left side of the page — what do I need to change, and why does that code work?" And it would actually tell me. Not in developer-speak. In plain language, the way a patient friend would explain it.
Over the course of a few weeks, I went from copying and pasting code I didn't understand to genuinely knowing why things worked. I could spot a bug. I could tweak a layout. I could read an error message and actually diagnose it rather than panic. It was the first time technology had felt like something I could wield, not something that happened to me.
The most useful thing I learned: you don't need to learn to code perfectly. You need to learn to ask good questions. Claude is remarkably good at understanding what you're trying to accomplish — describe the outcome you want, and it can help you get there.
What actually changed on the site
The relaunch wasn't just a cosmetic refresh. It was a rethinking of how someone moves through the Palettes world from the moment they arrive. Here's what's genuinely different now:
- Redesigned product pages that show all formats of a pattern together — wallpaper, gift wrap, and frame liners in one place, so you can compare and shop without hunting
- Cleaner navigation with a proper home decor section, making it easier to discover the art prints and frame liners alongside our core patterns
- A new textiles category — finally live — with longer sheet options that so many of you have been asking about
- Faster load times and a cleaner mobile experience, because most of you shop on your phone
- Bundles and pairings made more visible, so the discount for ordering more actually makes sense at a glance
The goal with every decision was the same: make it easier to fall in love with a pattern and understand how to use it. The products have always been beautiful. Now, hopefully, the website is too.
The big news: textiles are here
I've been quietly working on this for a while, and I'm genuinely thrilled to say it out loud: Palettes is officially in textiles.
The same patterns you love on your walls and your gift tables are now available on fabric. We're launching with a curated range of designs — all the same watercolour-inspired, quiet-luxury aesthetic — with longer sheet options that give you real flexibility for home projects, tablescapes, and beyond.
This felt like the natural next chapter for Palettes. Pattern has never been just for walls. It's for the table, the shelf, the corner of a room that needs warmth. Now we can go there with you.
What I'd tell any small business owner thinking about this
Building your own website sounds terrifying. I know, because it terrified me. But here's what I actually found:
The hardest part isn't the code. The hardest part is knowing what you want. If you can clearly articulate what you're trying to achieve — "I want customers to see the wallpaper and gift wrap versions of a pattern side by side" — AI can help you build it. What it can't do is replace your vision for your brand. That has to come from you.
I spent more time thinking about customer experience — drawing little flow diagrams on paper, writing out what I wanted someone to feel at each step — than I did actually writing code. The code was almost the easy part, once I knew what I was building.
There's also something incredibly grounding about understanding how your own shop works. I no longer feel helpless when something breaks or when I want to try something new. That's a kind of independence that money can't easily buy — and that AI made genuinely accessible.
Come have a look around
The new site is live, the textiles are here, and I'm so curious what you think. Wander around. Look at the patterns you've always loved and notice if they're easier to find, easier to understand, easier to picture in your home.
If something feels off or unclear, I genuinely want to know. This is a small brand built by one person who cares deeply about the experience of shopping here. Your feedback makes it better.
Thank you for being part of this. Palettes has always been about the idea that beauty is worth getting right. Apparently that applies to websites too.
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