Clear, beautiful & built to sell
Designed to convert
Built on buyer psychology, not just what looks good this year
Built to last
Clean, well-structured Shopify stores that won't need rescuing in two years
Simple to own
Custom video tutorials and practical guidance, so your team can run it
Verified Shopify Partner
Cape Town-based, building eCommerce stores since 2015
For brands who care about feel as much as function.
A website has a feel to it, the same way a physical shop does. You can tell within seconds whether someone thought about you being there. Ten years in, I build Shopify stores for that moment - the product looking desirable, the answer arriving before the question, and buying as simple as picking it up off the shelf.
Portfolio
Who I work best with
Three moments, usually. If one of them sounds like where you are, we'll get on well.
You've outgrown what you built. The store was right for the brand you were then. It's quietly costing you sales as the brand you've become.
You're on the wrong platform. WooCommerce is fine until it isn't, and you can feel the friction - the plugin that broke, the update you're avoiding, the feeling of dread before you log in.
You're launching, and you'd rather do this once, properly. Build it properly now, or rebuild it in eighteen months. Most people find that out the expensive way.
I take on a limited number of builds at a time. Currently booking 2 months in advance.
Brands I've worked with:
What's included in every Shopify build
Built on buyer psychology, not the latest trends
Design and copy decisions that are grounded in how someone decides to buy, not what just looks pretty or fancy. This is the work I find most interesting, and a philosophy-and-journalism background turns out to be strangely good training for it!
Built to last
A clean eCommerce system with strong conversion foundations.
Simple to own
Video training, plus 30 days of dedicated hands-on tech support after launch (including after hours WhatsApp support for urgent tasks). With Shopify your remain fully in control of your own store; you won't need a developer for simple and standard changes.
You work with me, not a rotating team
As an independent studio, you work one-on-one with me throughout. I gain an in-depth understanding of your business and product range, and provide personalised guidance and solutions at every stage.
Working with Megan Hodson has been a game-changer for Nuera Health & Wellness. We tasked her with redesigning our Shopify store, and she delivered more than just a beautiful site—she delivered a sales machine. Megan’s approach to design and customer flow completely transformed our user experience; the site is now intuitive, clean, and professional. But the most significant impact has been the bottom line. Since the launch, we have seen a marked and instant improvement in our conversion rates and sales. The return on investment has been fantastic. If you are looking for a developer who understands that great design should drive actual business growth, I couldn’t recommend Megan highly enough. She understands e-commerce strategy, not just aesthetics.
A Shopify expert
Her knowledge of Shopify’s technicalities and ability to create a visually stunning, functional store exceeded expectations. She’s patient, clear, and highly professional.
She's calm, quietly confident and wonderfully organised, and just "got" what I was trying to achieve
Working with Meg has been an absolute pleasure. She's incredibly intuitive and there’s such a calm, grounded energy about her that makes the whole process feel easy.
A pleasure to work with
It was an absolute pleasure working with Meg. She immediately understood what we were looking for and was approachable throughout the process.
She elevated our business to represent where we are today
We interviewed multiple design companies and from the moment we connected with Megan, we knew we had found someone who could elevate our business to represent where we are today. Megan came up with a detailed development plan and was very attentive. Nutmeg Design is highly professional and offers beautiful design ideas.
About the studio
I'm Meg Hodson. I started building on Shopify in 2015, back when the platform barely had a footprint in South Africa and there was nobody to ask when something broke. My first store was 200 products for a mountain bike shop in Pietermaritzburg. It took months. I learnt an enormous amount, most of it the hard way - and when the orders started arriving off the SEO work I'd done, something clicked. I've been doing this ever since.
A decade on, I'm a Verified Shopify Partner working with product brands across South Africa and abroad. Before this I worked in journalism and communications, and studied Philosophy - odd training for eCommerce until you notice it's the same job: take the mess and make it feel simple. That's the thinking behind every store I build. How the products are presented. Where customers hesitate. What gives someone the confidence to buy.
Everything starts with a call. Half an hour, no charge, no pitch - just a conversation about your brand and what the store needs to do.
Shopify Guides
The 5 most common conversion leaks I see in Shopify stores
The 5 most common conversion leaks I see in Shopify stores
The 5 most common conversion leaks I see in Shopify stores
Short answer: the leaks I see most often aren't dramatic. Nothing is broken. Checkout works fine. What's usually happening instead is a large catalogue with no clear starting point, trust-building...
How do you get your Shopify products recommended by AI tools like ChatGPT?
How do you get your Shopify products recommended by AI tools like ChatGPT?
How do you get your Shopify products recommended by AI tools like ChatGPT?
ChatGPT recommends products it can read clearly and has good reason to trust. For a Shopify store, that comes down to three things: 1. Make sure the AI can access...
Is Shopify the right platform for skincare and beauty brands?
Is Shopify the right platform for skincare and beauty brands?
Is Shopify the right platform for skincare and beauty brands?
If you sell skincare or beauty online and you're deciding where to build, the short answer is yes: Shopify is the platform I recommend for almost every brand in this...
Tell me about your brand
Where it is, where it's going, and what the store needs to do to get it there
Nutmeg Studio is a verified Shopify Partner studio, and I've spent over a decade building conversion-focused stores for product brands — combining considered design with smart UX and technical reliability. Trusted by 7-figure brands across South Africa.
Email: hello@nutmegstudio.co
WhatsApp (message only): +27(0)64 652 7428
Office Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Office Hours: 9am – 4pm, Monday – Friday, Central Africa Time
Please note that studio availability is limited, with bookings typically filling 1–2 months in advance. We encourage you to get in touch early to reserve your spot.