Revitalising The Artisan Smokehouse’s Online Presence: A Case Study in Shopify Theme Customisation

Introduction

The Artisan Smokehouse is a family-owned small business based in Falkenham, Suffolk. Managed by Gill and Tim, the business is known for its award-winning smoked meats, cheeses, and hampers. While their original Shopify site had served them well, the need for a Shopify site upgrade led them to partner with me, a seasoned Shopify theme developer, in creating an enhanced online presence.

Challenges

The Artisan Smokehouse’s Shopify site had become outdated, and didn’t fully utilise the advanced functionalities that the platform offers. Consequently, the website was heavy with custom code, slowing it down and affecting its user experience. Additionally, their robust blog and recipe section, which garnered consistent traffic, lacked an effective Shopify internal linking strategy, leaving potential to convert content readers into customers untapped.

Objectives

With a shared vision to revitalise their site’s aesthetics and functionality, The Artisan Smokehouse and I set out on a mission. The primary goal was to boost their Google Insights performance, accelerate the site’s speed using Shopify site speed optimisation techniques, and improve accessibility. We also aimed to enrich their customers’ shopping experience by offering more control over delivery dates, special requirements, and gift messages.

Solutions

Leveraging the latest Shopify functionalities and code drops, we worked together to create a user-centric, streamlined online store. Custom checkout options were developed, affording customers greater control over their deliveries. In an innovative move, we linked recipes on the blog with specific product collections. This meant that customers could easily purchase all the ingredients needed for their chosen recipe – a practical example of our Shopify conversion rate optimisation strategy.

Result

The new theme brought significant improvements in key performance metrics. Our Shopify SEO strategy paid off with the average conversion rate increasing by 31% to 1.9%, and session conversions rising by 47%. Sales jumped by 44% compared to the previous period, and an optimised Shopify mobile experience led to a 40% rise in mobile usage. Significantly, our work resulted in a surge in the Google In-page Insights score from 76% to 93%.

Feedback

Our collaborative efforts won praise from The Artisan Smokehouse. In their testimonial on my Google Listing, they stated…

“We asked Rik to help us with some general advice, support, and bespoke coding for a new Shopify website we were working on. He has been extremely helpful and delivered on everything we have asked.”

Gill, Owner of The Artisan Smokehouse

The newly launched Shopify theme had a substantial positive impact on business operations, yielding an increase in average sales value and conversion rates. This not only enhanced profitability but also improved the overall customer experience.

Future Strategy

Following the success of the new theme, we are now developing a long-term Shopify SEO strategy to drive more traffic through a content strategy and further improve product page SEO. As a seasoned Shopify theme developer, I am excited about this continued collaboration and look forward to further improvements and growth for The Artisan Smokehouse.

Conclusion

This collaboration exemplifies how an optimized Shopify website can significantly enhance business performance. It underlines the transformative power of a well-executed Shopify site upgrade, showcasing how modern best practices in Shopify theme customisation can drive substantial quantitative and qualitative improvements.

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