Verified Shopify Partner
Building conversion-focused stores for over a decade
For brands who care about feel as much as function.
I design and build Shopify eCommerce websites that combine considered design with a clear, easy path to purchase; one that makes your product look as good as it actually is, and gives someone a genuine reason to want it.
Official Shopify development partner in Cape Town. Offering Shopify design and development services for wellness, beauty, apparel and lifestyle brands.
Official Shopify Partner Studio
Shopify Design & Development
Buyer Psychology & Conversion Strategy
Shopify B2B & Wholesale Systems Setup
Portfolio
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.
Who I work with
I work with growing product brands; those in beauty, skincare, wellness, apparel, food & beverage, jewellery, and homeware, in South Africa and further afield. That includes:
- Established stores ready for a strategic redesign.
- Brands migrating from WooCommerce, Wix, or Squarespace.
- New stores that want to launch strong.
Worth knowing before you book a call: I'm not right for everyone. If you need a huge catalogue built cheap and fast, or you're not planning to invest real time in brand positioning, content and imagery, you'll get more for your money elsewhere - a templated store or a bigger production-line agency. I do my best work when the product and the brand deserve thought and consideration.
What does it cost? Every project is priced differently, depending on scope and what functionality you need. Packages start from R30,000 (or $2,200 USD). You can pay in instalments.
What goes into every Shopify build
Built on buyer psychology, not just trends
Design and copy decisions that follow how someone decides to buy, not what looks good in a portfolio. It's the part of the work I find most interesting, and a philosophy-and-journalism background turns out to be strangely good training for it.
Built to last
Clean architecture. Strong foundations. A store that can support your business at every stage, not just the one it's at now.
Simple to own
Video training, plus 30 days of support after launch. You stay in control of your own store; you won't need a developer just to change a banner or some copy on your homepage.
You work with me, not a rotating team
No account manager. No handoff to whoever's free that week. I'm on your discovery call, your design reviews, and I'm still here when your store needs to evolve.
Clients have featured in
About the studio
I'm Meg Hodson. I built my first Shopify store back in 2015: 200 products, for a mountain bike shop in Pietermaritzburg, back when Shopify barely had a footprint in South Africa and there was no one to ask when something broke. That build took months. But once the orders started coming in, 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 Shopify, I worked in journalism and communications, and studied Philosophy. Odd training for eCommerce, until you realise it's exactly the job: taking something complicated and making it feel simple. That's the thinking behind every store I build. How your products are presented. Where customers hesitate. What gives them the confidence to complete the purchase.
I offer a personalised, guided process, and it starts with a discovery call - a friendly conversation about your project and what you need.
The Details
What's included
What's included in every Shopify project:
Strategy & Planning
Clear goals, keyword research, and positioning that connects with your target customers.
Professional Shopify Design
Custom design optimized for mobile, fast load times, and conversion—from product discovery to checkout.
Straightforward Process
Discovery call, design reviews, development updates, and post-launch support. You're involved at key points without constant back-and-forth.
Shopify Website Services
- Shopify store redesigns
- Platform migrations to Shopify
- New store builds
- Shopify B2B setup
Process
A supportive and collaborative process with expert guidance:
1. Discovery Call
We chat through your business, products, goals, and what you need your Shopify store to do.
2. Onboarding & Content Collection
You’ll receive a checklist of everything required for your projec: branding, product details, images, and website copy.
3. Design & Build
We build your Shopify ecommerce system.
4. Review & Feedback
You’ll receive a walkthrough and can share any tweaks or refinements you’d like.
5. Launch
Once everything is approved, your new store launches.
6. Handover Training
You get access to personalised training videos and 30 days' post-launch support.
Pricing Guide
Project prices vary depending on scope and functionality required. Packages start from R30,000 (or $2,200 USD). Payments can be made in installments.
Every project includes:
✔ Expert Consulting (working with Shopify since 2015)
✔ Conversion-focused design
✔ Full store setup, foundational SEO, training and email marketing automations.
Book a discovery call.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why Shopify, and not WordPress or something else?
I've built extensively on both. For a product-based store, Shopify wins for one honest reason: it's built for selling things, so you're not stitching plugins together to do what the platform should already do. Hosting, security, payments — all handled. WordPress still has its place; service businesses and highly custom content sites are often better suited to it, which is why I offer that separately. But if you want a store that sells reliably without needing a developer on speed-dial, Shopify's the more sensible choice.
2. What's actually included when you build my store?
A store designed around how people decide to buy, not just how it looks. In practice, that's custom design on a premium theme, mobile-first and fast-loading, payment gateway setup, foundational SEO — structure, meta, headings, image tags — and email automation for welcome series and abandoned carts. Plus video training, so you can run it yourself once it's live. It's a complete, done-for-you build, but the goal is a store you understand, not one you're stuck depending on me for.
3. When can you start my Shopify project?
We'll confirm dates on your discovery call. I'm usually booked 1–3 months out, so it's worth reaching out early if you want a specific slot.
4. How much does a Shopify website cost?
Depends on scope and functionality. Packages start from R30,000 (or $2,200 USD), and instalments are available. I'll give you a real, specific quote once we've talked through what you actually need — not before.
5. What results can I expect from working with you?
A store built on real conversion principles, not decoration. One that shows your products properly, builds trust fast, and makes buying easy. I'll guide you on homepage and product page layout too, plus recommended apps and payment gateways, and get your email automations running so you're capturing leads and recovering abandoned carts from day one. What I won't do is promise you a sales number before I've seen your product or your market. Anyone who does that is guessing.
6. Why should I choose Shopify instead of WordPress or other website platforms?
Because I've worked in both, and for eCommerce specifically, Shopify removes problems WordPress makes you solve yourself. Hosting, security, updates — handled. It scales without a developer for every small change, and it connects to sales channels, social and marketplaces, without extra plumbing. If you're running a service business rather than a product store, though, that calculation changes — and I'd tell you so.
7. Do I need a Shopify plan before you start building?
No. As a Shopify Partner, I build your store on a development plan, privately, while you're not paying for a subscription yet. You choose your plan once it's ready to go live.
8. Will my existing website go offline during the redesign?
No. If I'm redesigning an existing Shopify store, I work on an unpublished theme in the background, so your current site stays live until the new one's ready to go. Moving from another platform? Your old site stays active until we switch the domain over.
9. Will I be able to edit my Shopify website after launch?
Yes — that's the whole point. Edit products, change homepage content, update banners, add pages or blog posts, all yourself. I'll give you video training so you're confident doing it, not just guessing your way through.
10. What if I need extra functionality or custom features during the build?
We talk it through. Some things can be added via Shopify apps; others need custom coding. Anything outside the original scope gets quoted properly before I proceed. No surprise invoices.
11. How do I choose the best Shopify development partner for my business?
Look past the portfolio for a second and ask how they actually work. Do they specialise in Shopify, or is it one of six platforms they "also do"? Can you see live stores they've built, not just mockups? Do they understand conversion and buyer behaviour, or only the technical side of the build? And the big one: will you be working with the person you're speaking to now, or handed off once the contract's signed? I've been a Verified Shopify Partner since 2019 and building stores since 2015. You'll work with me directly, start to finish.
12. How long does it take to design and launch a Shopify store?
Most projects take 4–8 weeks, depending on your catalogue size, whether copywriting or SEO content's included, and any custom features. I'll map out a proper timeline with you on the discovery call.
13. What’s the best way to increase Shopify sales after launch?
Your Shopify store launch is just the beginning. To grow sales, I recommend:
- Ongoing SEO optimisation – target new keywords, optimise product descriptions, and create content for your blog.
- Email marketing automations – send welcome sequences, abandoned cart reminders, and post-purchase follow-ups.
- Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) – test headlines, product images, and calls-to-action to improve buyer engagement.
- Multi-channel selling – integrate Shopify with Facebook, Instagram, Google Shopping, Amazon, and Pinterest.
I offer ongoing Shopify support and optimisation packages to help you keep improving your store’s performance long after launch.
14. What types of businesses does Nutmeg Studio work with?
Growing product brands with a real budget for a premium, conversion-first store. Supplements, beauty, health, wellness, perfume, apparel, food and beverage, jewellery, among others. If you want a clean, considered, lifestyle-led look, and you're serious about the investment, that's my sweet spot.
15. What does a Shopify development partner actually do?
A Shopify development partner designs, builds and maintains your store's technical foundation — everything from the initial architecture and theme customisation to app integrations, checkout setup, migrations, and the ongoing changes your store needs as it grows. It's a broader, more strategic role than a designer who only handles the visual layer: a development partner is the person or studio you return to as your store evolves, not just for a single project.
Design vs development — what's the difference?
A Shopify designer typically focuses on layout, visual identity and user experience: how the store looks and feels. A Shopify developer works underneath that layer — theme code, app logic, custom functionality, platform migrations, and making sure everything performs properly at checkout. In practice, the best Shopify projects need both, which is why most experienced studios (Nutmeg included) offer design and development together rather than treating them as separate hires.
What working with a development partner (rather than a one-off freelancer) actually means:
- Continuity. Someone who already understands your store's architecture when you need a new feature, integration, or fix — not someone starting from zero each time.
- Strategic input, not just execution — a partner tells you what won't work, flags SEO or conversion risks, and pushes back when a request will hurt performance.
- Platform depth. Verified Shopify Partners have direct experience across themes, apps, checkout customisation, and migrations from other platforms (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace).
- Support after launch. A build is only the start — a development partner is there for the changes, growth, and troubleshooting that come after.
That ongoing relationship is the real distinction between hiring "a developer" for a single job and choosing a development partner for the life of your store.
Offcial Shopify Design & Development Partner, based in Cape Town, South Africa
Nutmeg Studio is an official Shopify Partner specialising in eCommerce website design and development in Cape Town, South Africa. We work with growing brands in the following niches: supplements, beauty, health, wellness, perfume, clothing, food/beverage, decor and jewellery brands.
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.