WordPress is a powerful content management system. But when it comes to eCommerce at scale — especially for brands with growth ambitions — it often becomes the obstacle to sustainable growth.
Over the past year, I've helped three very different brands move their websites from WordPress to Shopify. Each had different challenges, different audiences, and different goals. But they all shared one thing: WordPress was holding them back.
Here's what happened...
Jooce Supplements: From crashing under pressure to scaling with confidence
The brand:
Jooce Supplements is a woman-owned South African brand dedicated to supporting women with hormonal health through targeted natural supplements for PCOS, hormone balance and fertility.
The problem:
Jooce's business was growing, but their WordPress/WooCommerce website wasn't keeping up. In a saturated supplements market where competitors were outpacing them with sophisticated, fast, mobile-first stores, their outdated and slow website was actively costing them sales.
The issues were compounding:
Slow loading speeds were hurting conversions. In a competitive market where customers compare multiple brands from their phones before buying, a slow-loading eCommerce website meant they were losing to faster competitors.
The site crashed during critical sales moments. High-traffic events — influencer mentions, ad campaigns, promotional periods like Black Friday sales — brought the site down, costing them revenue when demand was highest.
Mobile experience felt like an afterthought. 95% of visitors were shopping on their phones, but Jooce's old website felt dated on mobile. Competitors had app-like experiences; Jooce had frustration.
Every update required a developer. Want to change a banner? Update product descriptions? Launch a promotion? The team was bottlenecked by technical dependency, slowing down their ability to respond to market opportunities.
Staying on WordPress meant falling further behind in an already crowded market. Jooce needed a platform that could match the speed and sophistication of their best-funded competitors — without the enterprise price tag.
What changed on Shopify:
Speed and stability became non-negotiable. The new Shopify store loads fast on mobile, handles traffic spikes without breaking, and gives Jooce the confidence to push harder on marketing without worrying about website downtime.
The team now controls and updates their own store. Product updates, homepage content changes, and promotional campaigns happen in minutes, not days. They're no longer waiting on developers to capitalise on time-sensitive opportunities.
Conversions improved immediately. A faster, mobile-optimised experience means customers who land on the site are far more likely to complete their purchase.
For Jooce, Shopify provided the foundation they needed to compete and grow in a market where speed and user experience directly impact revenue.
Beauty Treats: From barely functional to clean and elevated
The brand:
Beauty Treats is a local beauty and hair salon offering premium treatments and retail products.
The problem:
Their website looked dated and barely functioned. It didn't reflect the quality of their in-salon experience, and it certainly wasn't converting online visitors into bookings or product sales.
What changed on Shopify:
We didn't just migrate the site — we redesigned the entire brand experience. The new Shopify store feels clean, elevated, and aligned with the premium service Beauty Treats delivers in person.
The result: a website that finally matches the brand, builds trust with potential clients, and makes booking or buying feel effortless.
View Beauty Treats' website here.
Naki Manuka Honey: Building a global-ready store for a luxury product
The brand:
Naki New Zealand, one of the world's most refined and potent mānuka honey producers, needed a website that matched the integrity and craftsmanship of their product.
The problem:
On the cusp of launching a new luxury artisanal range and global PR activation, Naki's existing WordPress website no longer reflected their premium positioning — or their growth ambitions.
As Naki prepared for a global brand campaign, they needed a website that could deliver both seamless, fast eCommerce functionality and a stunning, editorial-level experience.
Key goals for this project included:
Multi-market functionality. Selling across South Africa, New Zealand, and the EU with differentwarehouselocations required infrastructure WordPress couldn't handle smoothly.
Multi-currency support. Customers in three core markets needed to see pricing in their local currency without friction.
SEO optimisation. Particularly for the South African market, where Naki was building brand awareness.
Beautiful, editorial-inspired design. For a luxury product, the website needed to feel as premium as the honey itself.
For Naki, staying on WordPress meant staying limited — and losing opportunities to build an online presence worthy of their global product.
What changed on Shopify:
Shopify's native multi-market and multi-currency functionality made global selling straightforward. No clunky plugins, no workarounds — just clean, reliable infrastructure.
The new site is fast, beautiful, and built to scale. It supports Naki's PR and growth ambitions without technical compromise.
The editorial design reflects the product's premium positioning, creating an experience that feels as intentional and crafted as the honey itself.
For Naki, Shopify became the platform that could grow with their global ambitions.
Why Shopify works for growing brands
Every brand is different. But the reasons WordPress/WooCommerce holds brands back tend to be the same:
Performance issues. Slow speeds, crashes during high traffic, poor mobile experience.
Technical dependency. Even small changes require a developer, slowing down responsiveness and agility.
Scaling limitations. As the business grows, the platform struggles to keep up — whether that's multi-market functionality, payment processing, or simply handling more transactions during peak periods.
Shopify removes those obstacles. It's fast, stable, and designed for eCommerce from the ground up. Teams can move quickly without needing technical support for every small change. And as the business grows, the platform grows with it.
For Jooce, Beauty Treats, and Naki, moving to Shopify fixed problems and unlocked the next stage of growth.
Thinking about making the switch?
If your WordPress site is slowing you down — whether that's through performance issues, technical dependency, or limitations as you scale — it might be time to explore what's possible on Shopify.
The platform shouldn't be the thing holding you back. It should be the thing that helps you move faster.
If you'd like to discuss your options, please book a free discovery call with Nutmeg Studio here. We can discuss what the migration looks like for your unique business.
