Since launching the new website at the beginning of 2023, online sales have increased by 63% in three months compared to the previous period and the conversion rate has jumped by 10%.
Meaning is woven into everything they create. Each product has a story to tell of where it came from and why they made it. They work with artisans across Africa and here in South Africa they’ve built a team of women from their local community.
They reached out to me in 2022, wanting to redesign their Shopify website to reflect their brand aesthetic and communicate their values. They also wanted to make sure they had a strong foundation before investing in more paid ads.
I recommended we start the process with a UX audit of their existing website. Audits are a great way to identify things that are working and those that aren’t, according to best practice UX guidelines.
Clearly all the above usability issues needed to be fixed with the new website.
Part of my Shopify consulting service includes helping brands identify the right-fit Shopify theme base to use for their project. I only use themes from the theme store – https://themes.shopify.com/themes.
As you can see, there are a many themes to choose from, which makes it confusing and sometimes overwhelming for store owners to know which one’s will work best for them.
My job is to make sure the theme ticks all the must-have boxes. I also test out the theme before purchasing by creating a simple homepage mockup design. Only once we’re all happy, we purchase the new theme.
I shortlisted two Shopify theme bases to use for Soul Design’s revamp:
–Broadcast by Invisible themes
–Lorenza by Fluorescent Design Inc
These are two of my favourite themes. We decided to go with Broadcast because of one stand-out feature – the lovely product upsell box on the product page that works so well for Soul Design’s niche.
Once the theme was installed, I redesigned all the main content pages, including the homepage, collection pages and product page templates. The website remained live and functional while I rebuilt everything on an unpublished version of the new theme. This is one thing I love about Shopify – you can completely redesign your website’s look and feel on the backend while your old design remains active! And store owners can preview and approve the new design via preview links.
The new Soul Design website has the following features to improve user experience and drive sales:
It’s hard for me to articulate in words exactly how I feel about this project, and even thinking about it tears me up. Soul Design’s old Shopify website didn’t reflect the heart and soul of their business. This one really does. And it’s truly been a joy to help the team create this new online space, that gives them confidence knowing their website has been designed with so much thought and consideration. Designed to convert.
We’re still tweaking and adding a few details, but you can take a look here:
Souldesign.co.za
Need help with your Shopify website? Learn more about my Shopify service here or go right ahead and book a free 30-minute consultation with me here.
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A boutique web design studio based in Fish Hoek, Cape Town, South Africa. Working with businesses around the world.
Connect on Instagram @nutmeg_design
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