Overview
The Running Well Store, a well-established running shoe retailer, wanted to migrate from WordPress WooCommerce to Shopify to address speed and scalability issues while maintaining their existing design and branding. The goal was to replicate the current layout with improved performance and a smoother user experience.
I handled the entire migration and redevelopment, building a custom Shopify 2.0 theme from the Dawn base, enhanced with custom-coded features and editable fields to give the client complete control over content and settings.
Goals & Challenges
- Migrate the entire WooCommerce store to Shopify while preserving design, layout, and branding.
- Improve site performance and speed.
- Implement a custom Fit Finder (Decision Tree) tool to help customers select the right shoes.
- Display store-specific stock levels using Shopify’s multi-location inventory.
- Simplify product variant management (sizes, colors, styles) for hundreds of SKUs.
- Ensure that the new store is easy for the client to maintain and edit.
My Role
- Full Shopify Development: Migrated WooCommerce data (products, customers, orders) and rebuilt all key sections natively in Shopify.
- Custom Theme Development: Built on the Shopify Dawn theme and extended it with custom Liquid and JavaScript components.
- Custom Fit Finder: Developed the decision tree–based product recommendation system entirely with custom code—no third-party apps.
- Inventory by Location: Implemented store-level stock visibility, showing availability for each retail location.
- UX Improvements: Enhanced variant selection, out-of-stock visibility, and product page clarity.
- Performance Optimization: Achieved significant speed gains compared to the WooCommerce site.
- Client Empowerment: Added custom fields and modular blocks to make updates easy through the Shopify admin.
Process
- Migration Planning – Exported and mapped WooCommerce data to Shopify using a structured schema.
- Theme Development (Dawn Customization) – Rebuilt layouts, navigation, and styling to match the existing site design.
- Feature Development – Implemented Fit Finder, inventory display, and improved variant presentation.
- UX Refinement – Simplified product browsing and checkout flow for better user engagement.
- Testing & Deployment – Conducted cross-device testing and deployed the store to production.
- Post-Launch Maintenance – Continued performance tuning and minor feature improvements.
Key Features
- Custom Fit Finder Tool: A fully coded decision tree guiding users to the right running shoes.
- Store-Specific Inventory Display: Shows real-time stock levels per location for transparency and convenience.
- Optimized Variant Management: Improved how sizes, colors, and stock levels are displayed.
- Enhanced Speed: Shopify version loads significantly faster than WooCommerce.
- Fully Editable Layouts: Dynamic fields and sections empower the client to manage content easily.
- Consistent Branding: Maintained original design while leveraging Shopify’s modern framework.
Outcome
The migration achieved a dramatic improvement in site speed, reliability, and ease of management. The new Shopify store offers a smoother browsing experience, higher user satisfaction, and easier backend maintenance.
The client was extremely happy with the results and continued to work with me for ongoing updates and new features.
Tech Stack
- Shopify 2.0 (Dawn Theme)
- Liquid
- JavaScript
- CSS
- Shopify Admin API
- Google Analytics