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UX design that makes book discovery effortless House of Books

Industry

Education & e-Learning

Timeline

2,5 months

Impact

+83% increase in monthly website visits

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Context

Some websites shout. House of Books wanted theirs to whisper — with confidence. As a subscription-based book curator in the UAE, they didn’t need flashy gimmicks. They needed a site that felt calm, premium, and easy. Something that lets readers focus on their next page-turner, not on figuring out how to subscribe.

They asked us to design and develop a custom site from scratch — no WordPress, no WooCommerce — just a smart, modern custom system tailored to their needs. Oh, and the deadline? Let’s just say we had to move fast.

The challenge

This project came with a short runway. The client needed:

  • A fully custom-designed frontend and backend
  • A clean UX that makes it simple to browse and subscribe
  • Smooth subscription logic and checkout integration
  • Space for book summaries, blog posts, and seasonal boxes
  • A backend dashboard to manage orders, users, and content

And the brand itself? High-end, minimalist, with an editorial edge.

Our approach

We split the project into three tight sprints:

1. Wireframing & visual concept

We started with wireframes that mapped the customer journey clearly: from homepage to subscription, all the way to email confirmation. Once approved, we worked these into a clean, content-led design using the client’s brand materials.

2. Custom development

We coded the front-end from scratch — lightweight and fast. No bloated themes or prebuilt plugins. On the backend, we built a custom admin dashboard that gives the client full control over:

  • Subscriptions
  • Orders
  • Product content
  • Blog posts
  • User base

3. Launch & maintenance

Once live, we added tracking tools, validated all forms, connected emails, and tested the checkout across devices. The client also signed on to our SLA support plan, so we help them weekly with content updates, feature tweaks, and hosting.

Final results

The new House of Books site went live on time — elegant, intuitive, and tailored down to the last pixel. The client now has:

  • A full-featured subscription system without.
  • A custom CMS that’s as easy to use as their reading list
  • A solid base for future features (gift cards, loyalty, language switch, etc.)
  • A managed hosting setup with fast support and updates

No fluff. Just a premium custom site that does what it’s supposed to.

Tech stack we used
  • Frontend: HTML5, CSS3 (Flexbox & Grid), JavaScript (ES6+)
  • Frameworks & Libraries: Bootstrap 5, jQuery (selective use), Alpine.js
  • Backend: Custom PHP (no WordPress or CMS)
  • Database: MySQL
  • Payments & Integrations:
    • Stripe (secure subscription billing)
    • Custom email confirmation & notifications
  • Infrastructure:
    • Hosted and maintained on Studio Ubique’s private server
    • Regular backups, weekly updates, and uptime monitoring
Curious how we’d build yours?

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