Building A Multi-vendor Marketplace
Crafter’s Market UK is a multi-vendor marketplace for UK crafters. We developed the platform that runs it: a custom vendor dashboard on WooCommerce, the commissions and payouts engine, a messaging and support system, marketing and analytics tools, an integrated AI assistant, and native iOS and Android apps.
19.2%
MMR Growth Rate
15+
Seller Features
48%
Increased sales
iOS & Android
Native Apps
Not an off-the-shelf marketplace plugin
Crafter’s Market UK needed more than a generic multivendor plugin like WCFM or Doken bolted onto WooCommerce. They needed a platform built around how independent makers actually run a shop, and an admin layer that lets a small team run the whole marketplace from one place.
The functional goals were clear:
- A custom vendor dashboard, not a generic plugin UI, covering onboarding, product management, custom attributes, add-ons and media
- The full money flow handled properly: commission calculation, payouts, withdrawals, refunds and flexible shipping
- Real tools for vendors and admins alike: a messaging and support system, marketing and advertising, analytics and a financial ledger
- Reach vendors wherever they are, with native iOS and Android apps
- Solid, scalable WooCommerce foundations underneath, including HPOS support and a REST API for external integrations
Our job was to build the functionality that makes all of it run, reliably, at scale.
Four key moves.
One evolving platform.
A custom vendor dashboard, not a generic one.
We built a responsive vendor dashboard from the ground up using modern CSS (Grid, Flexbox, custom properties) rather than a stock plugin interface. Vendors manage their whole shop in one place, and a granular permission system controls what each role can do.
- Streamlined onboarding with shop names, descriptions, logos and banners
- Product management with custom add-ons, private vendor-specific attributes and custom product tabs
- Granular capabilities so vendor roles get exactly the access they should
Commissions, payouts and refunds, handled properly.
Behind the storefront we built the money flow: automatic commission calculation and tracking, a payout and withdrawal system, and a structured refund workflow integrated with Stripe. Shipping is fully configurable, with reusable profiles so vendors can manage costs across products in one move.
- Automatic commission calculation, payouts and vendor withdrawals
- Structured refund request and approval workflow via Stripe
- Per-product shipping rates plus reusable profiles (reduced rate, per item, combined order)
A messaging system built to perform.
We built a high-performance inquiry and support system with a modern chat interface, read and unread states, and smart conversation management. Consolidated AJAX handlers with multi-context nonce verification keep it secure, and an automated cleanup routine keeps the database tidy.
- Soft delete for vendors, permanent delete for admins, and auto-reactivation when a customer replies
- Structured help-ticket system for vendor assistance
- Global notifications plus automated, order-verified review invitations
Marketing, analytics and an AI assistant in the box.
Vendors get a marketing suite with coupons, advertising campaigns (with impression and click tracking) and a wallet for campaign spend. A full financial ledger with CSV export, date-range filtering and performance reports covers accounting and tax. And Ask Patch, our integrated AI assistant, helps vendors draft product descriptions.
- Coupons, ad campaigns with tracking, and an advertising wallet
- Financial ledger and performance reports with CSV export and date-range filtering
- Ask Patch AI assistant (OpenAI / Gemini) plus profit and pricing calculators
A platform built to grow
Real scale on a live, working marketplace – not vanity metrics.
1,700+
Real UK makers managing live shops through the dashboard and apps.
▲ and growing
7
Onboarding, products, messaging, orders, marketing, analytics and integrations, unified.
▲ 1
iOS + Android
Vendors manage listings and orders from their pocket, with SMS order alerts.
▲ live
Nebula exceeded all of our expectations in helping shape the next chapter of Crafter’s Market. Their meticulous attention to detail throughout both the customer and admin journeys has been instrumental to our success. David and the team didn’t stop at launch, they have continued to work alongside us, helping us expand the platform and successfully launch our own mobile app. Nebula has been a trusted partner every step of the way, and we highly recommend them.
The finished website at a glance.
Five stages. No mystery.
This project followed our typical workflow for WordPress development projects to ensure the website was delivered on scope, budget and time.
Discover
Time with the CMUK team and the makers who sell on the platform. We mapped how a vendor actually runs a shop into a concrete feature set.
Design
The vendor dashboard, the admin layer and the app flows designed around real workflows, then built in modern, maintainable CSS rather than a page builder.
Build
The WooCommerce platform, the transaction engine, messaging, marketing and analytics, plus the native iOS and Android apps. Staging from day one.
Launch
Payments live through Stripe and GoCardless, order alerts firing, REST API in place, apps in the stores, HPOS enabled.
Support
The feature list is driven by vendor requests. We keep shipping new tools and integrations on an ongoing basis.
The stack we shipped – and what we didn’t ship.
• What we built with
Boring tech, used carefully.
Nothing exotic. Everything battle-tested, well-documented, and friendly to the next agency that ever has to touch it.
No Elementor. No Divi. No JS framework on the front end. No third-party donate widgets.
Engineered for scale.
Full HPOS compatibility for WooCommerce order storage, a REST API for external access to platform data, and an automated cleanup routine that purges inactive conversations on a configurable retention setting.
Security handled with consolidated AJAX handlers and multi-context nonce verification.
An admin layer that runs the whole marketplace.
Beyond the vendor experience, administrators get platform-wide analytics, permanent conversation control, granular vendor permissions, and oversight of commissions, payouts and refunds from one place.
What makes it different, in plain English.
Before · the legacy site
A generic multivendor plugin
A one-size-fits-all dashboard. Stock UI, limited control, and no room for the way handmade vendors actually work.
Basic messaging and rigid shipping. No smart conversation handling, no reusable shipping profiles, no AI, and nothing native on mobile.
After · the rebuild
What we built instead
A custom dashboard. Private vendor attributes with stock-level control, product add-ons, custom tabs, and visual earnings charts.
The full toolkit. A performant messaging and ticketing system, reusable shipping profiles, the Ask Patch AI assistant, native iOS and Android apps, a REST API and full HPOS support.
Ready for a website you can actually be proud of?
Tell us about the organisation, the problem, and what “good” looks like. We’ll come back within a day with questions, honest thoughts and rough numbers.