About Charles Dowding
Charles Dowding is a highly regarded gardener, author, and educator known for his “no dig” method. Over the years, he has published books, produced YouTube videos, and run popular in-person workshops. As Charles’s global following grew, so did the need to offer online courses, eBooks, digital resources and physical products for his expanding audience.
Steve Bliss, Creative Director and Digital Lead on Charles’s team, was central to this initiative. In an in-depth interview, Steve shared the challenges of juggling multiple systems, the move to Shopify + Tevello, and the resulting boost in user satisfaction. His focus: unifying various technologies into a single, easy-to-use platform for gardening enthusiasts.
Charles Dowding’s combined approach to gardening courses and product sales
Charles Dowding is internationally known for his “no dig” approach to gardening. Over the years, he’s authored numerous books, published videos on YouTube, and conducted in-person workshops. As Charles’s audience grew, his team saw a need to combine gardening courses, ebooks, and products under one roof for a seamless experience.
They wanted to let gardeners learn from Charles’s expertise and purchase complementary items - like books, or digital guides - right in the same place. New customers typically discover Charles via YouTube or social media, attracted by his hands-on, sustainable techniques. With hundreds of thousands of followers, there was a clear opportunity: integrate learning, shopping, and community in a single platform.
However, the old setup involved Webflow, custom code, and membership plugins - leading to unwieldy maintenance and scattered customer data.
Steve knew that to scale sustainably, they needed a future-proof solution. Rather than patching more third-party integrations, they chose a single ecosystem that synced course hosting, store inventory, and user accounts.
Challenges: Keeping and Managing all the Courses and Products on Separate Platforms
Originally, Charles’s online courses were pieced together through custom code and separate logins. This meant:
Fragmented Customer Accounts and Confusing User Experience
Although customers had a login through Webflow, the platform lacked true customer account functionality. While users technically had a login, they couldn’t view past orders, receipts, or track shipments, creating a disconnected and frustrating experience.
Using multiple payment methods often resulted in the creation of multiple accounts, splitting course access and confusing users. Physical products and digital courses lived on separate platforms, making the journey even more fragmented.
Complex Data Management
Managing thousands of members across multiple apps led to repeated tech headaches, especially when rolling out promotions or new courses.
Limited Promotion Options
Basic store features made large campaigns difficult, and the user experience suffered - particularly on mobile.
A Unified Approach: Tevello + Shopify
Charles Dowding’s transition to Tevello provided several standout benefits that simplified operations and delivered a better user experience for gardeners worldwide:
Unified Login & Checkout
Instead of juggling different platforms, customers now access everything - courses, ebooks, physical goods - through one Shopify account. This reduces friction and dramatically cuts down on support issues.
Video Hosting & Mobile-Friendly Course Layout
Tevello seamlessly hosts Charles’s video lessons, quizzes, and resources. It’s easy for users to log in from their phones while out in the garden, so they can learn and practice on the spot.
Cross-selling Courses & Products
The platform’s locking and bundling features clearly show users what else is available. If they buy a beginner course, they’ll see suggested advanced lessons or gardening books right away.
Simple Course Creation & Support
Creating new courses no longer requires custom code. The team can spin up lessons quickly, and Tevello’s responsive support is on hand whenever questions arise.
The results: Streamlined gardening education with physical and digital sales under one roof
Since adopting Tevello, Charles Dowding’s team has seen significant improvements in efficiency and revenue. They successfully moved more than 14,000 existing members from their old systems, greatly reducing lost-login issues. A recent 7-day campaign brought in over 1,000 new learners - about 90% of them purchasing from Charles for the very first time, plus new members joining daily. Thanks to simpler, unified logins, support tickets dropped as fewer people struggled to access the material. Many newcomers also discovered additional ebooks and gardening products, which increased cross-sales in the same shop.
“It used to be sort of chaos and lots of customers had problems but since we moved to Tevello we haven’t really been getting any questions like that anymore. So obviously, the user experience for customers is much better, and people have been saying that it’s way easier”
Steve Bliss
Creative Director & Digital Lead of Charles Dowding
By offering courses, digital guides, and physical products together, Charles Dowding’s team can keep encouraging gardeners across the globe, confident that their platform is just as sustainable and future-ready as the “no dig” style he teaches.
Where Can You Find Charles Dowding?
Shopify store: https://shop.charlesdowding.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CharlesDowdingNoDigGardening/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charles_dowding
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CharlesDowding1nodig
Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/charlesdowding
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@charles_dowding
An easy-to-use solution in Tevello
Tevello is an all-in-one platform for selling courses, offering digital products, and building community. It plays nicely with systems like Klaviyo to cross-sell products to the users who purchase courses and products from Shopify stores.
Try it for free for 14 days directly installed from the Shopify App Store for 14 days free and see how you can unify courses, memberships, and eCommerce to grow your brand’s impact.