DTC Brand: Headless Shopify Storefront with Sub-2s Load Time
Rebuilt a slow Shopify theme as a headless Next.js storefront, dramatically improving load times and enabling custom UX the brand needed.
What needed solving
The brand's Shopify theme was slow (4–6s LCP on mobile), difficult to customize, and limiting their ability to create the immersive product experience their marketing team needed. Conversion rate was below their industry benchmark.
How we solved it
We rebuilt the storefront as a headless Next.js application using Shopify's Storefront API. This gave full control over UI, performance, and the checkout experience while keeping Shopify as the backend for inventory, orders, and admin.
Diagnosed the conversion drag
We profiled the existing theme and confirmed slow mobile LCP and template limits were capping the product experience and conversion rate.
Went headless on Next.js
We rebuilt the storefront against Shopify's Storefront API, keeping inventory, orders, and admin in Shopify while taking full control of the UI and performance.
Optimized for Core Web Vitals
An optimized image pipeline, CDN, and lean component design brought mobile LCP under two seconds, with monitoring to keep it there.
What we shipped
- Headless Next.js storefront connected to Shopify Storefront API
- Custom product page with video, 3D, and social proof
- Optimized image pipeline with next/image and CDN
- SEO-optimized collection and product pages
- Cart with optimistic UI updates
- Core Web Vitals monitoring dashboard
Results
Outcomes observed after shipping.
Mobile LCP improved from over 4 seconds to under 2 seconds
Lighthouse performance score improved substantially
Improved conversion rate tracked via analytics
Marketing team can now ship custom landing pages independently
“The site finally feels as premium as the brand. Our marketing team ships custom landing pages without waiting on developers.”Founder, DTC consumer brand
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