Models too heavy for mobile
A 3D file exported straight from design software can be far larger than a phone can load comfortably. The page stalls, the phone warms up, and the customer leaves.
AR and 3D experiences
AR and 3D Experiences for UK Retail, Property and Training
Let customers spin, configure and place your products in their own room, walk through a property before a viewing, or practise a task safely — in the browser or in your app, with no headset required.
- Browser-based where possible, native where needed
- Tested on mid-range phones, not just flagships
- Your CAD files or 3D models, optimised for the web
Why 3D projects disappoint
Impressive in the demo, unusable on a phone.
3D and AR can answer questions photos cannot — how big is it, how will it look in my space, what does the other finish look like. Too often they fail on the basics instead.
Where 3D and AR earn their keep
They work best where a customer or trainee has a question a flat image cannot answer:
- Will it fit, and how will it look in my space?
- What will my configuration look like before I order?
- What is the layout of this property before I book a viewing?
- How do I carry out this procedure before I do it for real?
- How does this product work inside, not just outside?
An app nobody will download
Asking customers to install an app just to see a sofa in their lounge loses many of them at the app store. Browser-based AR avoids the download entirely.
Novelty without a purpose
An experience built because it looked impressive, rather than to answer a buying question or cut a training cost, gets used once and quietly removed.
A pipeline for one product only
The first model is prepared by hand at great expense. With a full catalogue and new ranges each season, nobody planned how the rest would be made.
What we build
3D and AR experiences, built to load fast.
We focus on experiences that run in the browser or inside your existing app, on the devices your customers already carry. We do not build headset games — we build tools that help people decide, visualise and learn.
3D product viewers
Rotate, zoom and inspect products on the product page, with realistic materials and lighting, built with three.js or <model-viewer> and loaded only when needed.
Website development
Product configurators
Customers choose colours, materials, sizes and options and see the result update in 3D, with the configuration passed straight to your basket or quote.
Retail and eCommerce
“View in your room” AR
True-to-scale products placed in a customer’s own space from the product page, using the AR viewers built into iPhone and Android, or WebXR where it is supported.
Web development UK
Virtual property tours
Interactive 3D floor plans and walkthroughs built from plans or scans, so buyers and tenants understand a layout before booking a viewing.
Property technology
Training simulations
Browser-based 3D simulations for procedures, equipment and safety training, with each step tracked so you can see who has completed what.
Manufacturing
Native AR in your app
ARKit on iOS and ARCore on Android, in Swift, Kotlin or your cross-platform app, for features that need tracking, anchoring or performance the web cannot yet match.
Mobile app development
How we work
How we build 3D people actually use.
Our usual seven stages, with extra attention on the two things that make or break 3D projects: the asset pipeline and performance on real phones.
- 01
Discovery
We start with the question the experience must answer — will it fit, which finish, what is the layout — and how you will know whether it helped.
A purpose and a success measure
- 02
Strategy
Web or native, viewer or configurator, and where the 3D models will come from: your CAD files, a 3D artist, scans or a mix. We also set a size budget for each model.
Approach, asset plan and performance budget
- 03
UX & architecture
We design the interaction for thumbs, not just a mouse: loading states, image fallbacks for older devices, and clear prompts for placing items in AR.
Interaction design and device fallbacks
- 04
Development
We build the experience and a repeatable pipeline for preparing models — geometry, textures and compression — so adding products later is routine rather than a project each time.
A working experience and asset pipeline
- 05
Testing
Testing on real mid-range iPhones and Android phones as well as flagships: load time, frame rate, battery and heat, AR placement, and the accessibility of the surrounding page.
Device test results
- 06
Launch
A staged release with analytics on how people interact — rotations, configurations, AR sessions — so you can see whether it is used and whether it helps.
A live experience with usage analytics
- 07
Optimisation & support
We add products and features, keep up with browser and operating system changes to AR support, and refine the experience based on what the analytics show.
Ongoing updates and new models
Technology
The 3D and AR stack we work with.
Open web standards first, so experiences run on the devices customers already own; native frameworks where the web cannot yet do the job.
Web 3D
three.jsReact Three Fiber<model-viewer>WebGL
Augmented reality
WebXRARKit (iOS)ARCore (Android)Built-in phone AR viewers
3D assets
glTF and GLBUSDZ for iPhoneMesh and texture compressionLevel-of-detail models
Apps
SwiftKotlinReact NativeFlutter
Around the experience
Next.js and ReactTypeScriptHeadless ShopifyNode.js APIs
Performance
Lazy loadingPer-model size budgetsReal-device testingImage fallbacks
We do not create 3D artwork from scratch or build VR headset games. We work from your CAD files, scans or a 3D artist’s models, and can advise on how to source them.
Use cases
Where 3D and AR make a difference.
Practical uses where seeing something in three dimensions answers a real question — for a buyer, a tenant or a trainee.
See it in your room
Customers place a true-to-scale sofa, table or lamp in their own room from the product page and check the fit before ordering — not after the delivery.
Configure before you buy
Kitchens, bikes, signage or furniture configured option by option in 3D, with the price updating and the final specification sent to the order or quote.
Interactive floor plans
A 3D floor plan or walkthrough linked from your Rightmove or Zoopla listing, so people understand the layout before they book a viewing.
Off-plan visualisation
Buyers explore homes that do not exist yet — room layouts and finish options — built from architects’ plans, on your website or in the sales suite.
Equipment and safety training
Step-by-step 3D simulations of machinery or procedures that staff can practise in a browser before they touch the real equipment.
Explaining complex products
Exploded views and animated cutaways that show how a product works inside, for sales teams, trade shows and technical buyers.
Why Techsleight
What working with us is actually like.
No inflated numbers — just how we run projects, and what you can hold us to.
Product engineering, not ticket-taking
We ask what the software is for before we estimate it — and we will tell you when something should not be built, or should be bought instead.
AI where it earns its place
LLM features, retrieval and automation built with evaluation, guardrails and cost controls, and plain software where that is the better answer.
Full-stack under one roof
Design, frontend, backend, mobile, cloud and QA in one team, so nothing falls between suppliers.
UK-focused delivery
UK business hours, estimates in pounds, and a contract with a UK company. Our engineers are based in the UK and India.
Flexible engagement
A fixed-scope project, dedicated developers or a monthly retainer — and you can move between them as the work changes.
You own everything
Code, IP, cloud accounts and documentation are yours from day one. We sign an NDA before discovery if you need one.
Support after launch
We stay on for fixes, upgrades and new features, or hand over cleanly to your in-house team with the documentation to match.
FAQs
Questions we get asked.
Straight answers on scope, cost, timelines and how we work. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Do customers need to download an app to use AR?
Usually not. Most recent iPhones and many Android phones can place a 3D model in a room straight from a web page, using the AR viewers built into the operating system. A native app makes sense when AR is part of something people use regularly, or when you need tracking and precision the web cannot yet deliver.
Where do the 3D models come from?
From your CAD or design files where they exist, from 3D scans, or from a 3D artist working from photos and dimensions. We do not create artwork from scratch, but we prepare, optimise and convert models for the web and AR, and can advise on sourcing them for a full catalogue.
Will a 3D viewer slow down our product pages?
Not if it is built properly. We show a normal image first, load the viewer only when it is needed, keep each model within an agreed size budget and test on mid-range phones. Customers and search engines still get a fast page, with the 3D layered on top.
How much does a 3D or AR project cost?
It depends mainly on the number of products or scenes and the state of your 3D assets. A viewer or configurator for a small range is a contained project, quoted at a fixed price after discovery; a full catalogue needs an asset pipeline, which is often where most of the effort sits. Discovery starts from £2,000 and tells you which situation you are in.
Does AR work on every phone?
No. Recent iPhones and many Android phones support it, but older and budget devices may not. We detect support and fall back gracefully — to an interactive 3D viewer, then to images — so nobody hits a dead end on your product page.
Do you build VR experiences for headsets?
Not games or standalone headset apps. Some WebXR experiences we build can run in headset browsers, which can suit a walkthrough or showroom. Our focus is 3D and AR on phones and the web, where your customers already are; for a headset-first product, a specialist studio is the better fit and we will say so.
Can a 3D configurator connect to our online shop?
Yes. The configuration a customer builds becomes a product variant, a custom line item or a quote request in your store, whether that runs on Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento or a custom platform. Prices and stock come from the same source as the rest of your site.
Is 3D content accessible?
The 3D itself is visual, so the page around it must carry the same information: text descriptions, dimensions, keyboard-operable controls and alternatives to drag gestures. We build the surrounding page and controls to WCAG 2.2 AA, so essential product information never depends on the 3D alone.
How will we know whether 3D or AR is working?
We add analytics from launch: how many visitors open the viewer, which options they try, how many place an item in AR, and how those sessions compare on conversion and returns. That tells you whether to extend it to more products — or to stop.
Can you build virtual tours for property listings?
Yes — interactive 3D floor plans and walkthroughs built from architects’ plans or scan data, on your own site or linked from portal listings. For off-plan developments we can show layouts and finish options before anything is built. We work from the plans and scans you provide rather than capturing sites ourselves.
Start a project
Thinking about 3D or AR?
Tell us what you want customers or staff to see, and what 3D files you already have. We will tell you what is practical on current phones and browsers — and what a first version would involve.
What happens next
- 1A senior engineer reads your brief within one working day, and replies with questions or a first view.
- 2A 30-minute call to understand the goal, constraints and what good looks like — no sales script.
- 3A written proposal with scope, milestones, team and a GBP estimate you can take to your board.
Techsleight Labs is a trading name of Krapton IT Consultancy.
Explore