The Challenge:

Built on Wordpress, the Kaden Apparel website was problematically slow and difficult to maintain.

If there was one project that we could point to as a perfect example of how Stage can help soothe a client’s online pressure points, it would be our project with Kaden Apparel. In the Fall of 2020, Chelsea Camarata of Kaden approached us about making a new website. At the time, her direct to consumer e-commerce site was built on Wordpress and was experiencing the same issues that plague all Wordpress websites: slow speeds, plugin conflicts, and difficulties with managing and updating content.

Our Solution:

Rebuild the website in Shopify, giving it a design update in the process.

The solution in this case was immediately clear: we had to get the Kaden website setup on a different platform. Now, nine times out of ten our recommendation for clients is to go the Webflow route. With its powerful CMS, Amazon based hosting, and its ability to quickly create complex animated interactions, Webflow typically makes the most sense for businesses looking to build a new, more impressive website. In the case of Kaden however, our suggestion was different.

In this case, Shopify was the answer

After consulting with Chelsea about the struggles she was experiencing with Wordpress as well as some of the features she was interested in adding to her website, it became clear that a high quality E-commerce backend was the top priority for her. As such, for this particular project, building on Shopify was the easy choice as their focus on providing a range of tools focused on e-commerce enabled us to implement solutions for all of the problems that Chelsea was looking to solve.

Restructuring the website and transferring existing content

With a plan in place, we worked with Chelsea to identify a Shopify template that we could use to build her dream website. From there we utilized Shopify’s blog system to recreate the blog, ambassador, and press sections of her existing website, ultimately transferring her posts to the new backend, being sure to implement best SEO practices along the way.

creating a better shopping experience for customers

Next up in the process was setting up and dialing in her shop. Transferring the products from Wordpress to Shopify was a straightforward process, allowing us plenty of time to dial in some of the product filtering capabilities that Chelsea was looking to introduce to the site. Leveraging Shopify’s powerful e-commerce tools, such as shipping rates and integrations, tax rates, and inventory management, getting Kaden’s catalog ready to launch was a breeze.

Extending the shopify theme to create custom features

Finally, we rounded things out by extending the theme to allow for a custom about and contact page, as well as establishing a compelling homepage that would immediately engage and direct new customers through the sales funnel. Additionally, we're currently finishing a kit builder page which will allow users to visually pair Kaden tops and bottoms with the goal of increasing sales of full kits.

The Results:

An instant improvement in conversion rates.

After launching the new website, it became clear that relocating from Wordpress to Shopify would pay off immediately. Due to a confluence of factors, such as site speed, easy navigation, product filters, a streamlined checkout process, and improved mobile capabilities, there was an immediate increase in sales coming through the website. While it’s not our place to share specific figures, we can confirm that the initial week of the website represented one of the strongest weeks of online sales for Kaden up to that point.