With nearly 1000 unique products, W7 is widely available through major high-street retailers in the UK and internationally.
W7 Makeup is a UK-based cosmetics brand founded in 2002 by two entrepreneurs from West London. The brand has gained popularity for creating affordable alternatives to luxury items. Known for their vibrant packaging and inclusivity, they encourage self-expression. And importantly, none of their products have ever been tested on animals and never will be, aligning with cruelty-free values.
With nearly 1000 unique products, W7 is widely available through major high-street retailers in the UK and internationally, as well as online platforms like Amazon. Their commitment to affordability and quality has made them a favourite among budget-conscious beauty fans.
However, when you’re using a legacy Shopify theme, you will either need to heavily invest in custom theme development or risk being left behind.
Our partnership with W7 goes back many years, in fact, this will be the third Shopify theme refresh we’ve successfully launched for them. The last theme was launched nearly 10 years ago and it has served them well! Since the launch of that theme, we’ve been supporting them with iterative improvements that have been pivotal in their growth in the market.
However, when you’re using a legacy Shopify theme, you will either need to heavily invest in custom theme development or risk being left behind. Unable to take advantage of the latest advancements from Shopify. This is the predicament W7 Makeup found themselves in. After a strong period of growth a greater focus on their storefront. A new roadmap was drawn up with their plans and we discussed the best way to achieve their goals.
The decision was made, it was time to upgrade to a modern Shop 2.0 theme.
Upgrading to a Shop 2.0 theme unlocks a huge range of benefits that the W7 Makeup were eager to make the most of.
Here are some of the key highlights…
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On their legacy theme, W7 Makeup was only able to use Shopify sections on the homepage. If changes were required to the layout of internal pages then merchants had to invest in custom development to implement simple updates or new features. With Shop 2.0 themes it is now possible to easily add, remove and reposition sections on any page directly within the theme customiser without a developer’s input.
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As the ecosystem shifts toward OS 2.0, older themes face compatibility issues with new apps and updates. With the introduction of app blocks, new functionality can be implemented and positioned seamlessly within the 2.0 theme customiser without the need for custom code.
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The default Dawn theme loads 35% faster than previous themes, case studies report up to 47% faster page load times post-migration. Faster loading speeds lead to a better user experience, reduce bounce rates and improve SEO performance. W7 Makeup has seen comparable results too!
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Due to the limitations of the legacy theme the W7 Makeup team had to jump through some necessary hopes with product setup. For example, metafield references had to be hardcoded into the theme and the values had to be edited via a third-party app. As part of the process of migrating to a Shop 2.0 theme we undertook a data cleansing process where we simplified the product setup and utilised pinned product & variant metafields that are referenced directly within the Shop 2.0 theme. Making it quicker & easier for the W7 team to create and update products.
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Most importantly these combined improvements and increased flexibility mean that all future updates can be implemented faster, and require less effort. This can unlock that budget for other activities like marketing, optimisation and product development.
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W7 Makeup has seen an immediate and substantial improvement across key metrics since launching their Shop 2.0 theme.
While it’s early days still, W7 Makeup has seen an immediate and substantial improvement since launching their Shop 2.0 theme. If we compare the two-week period post-launch to the two-week period prior to launch we can see…
This provides a fantastic foundation for future optimisation & growth. With conversation rate optimisation tests being much simpler to implement simply by being on a Shop 2.0 theme.
Not only have we seen a substantial improvement in key performance metrics, we can also see a significant increase in page load speed with first content paint taking just 0.3s. This is three times faster than the legacy theme. These improvements are simply the results of being on a modern Shop 2.0 theme.
When your store loads fast it has a positive knock-on effect on conversion rate & organic search traffic.
Our team specialises in harnessing the full potential of Shopify’s latest theme architecture, delivering tailored solutions that enhance flexibility, performance, and customisation. Whether you're upgrading an existing store or launching on Shopify for the first time, we ensure seamless integration of features like app blocks, dynamic content, and optimised checkout flows.
If you’re thinking of upgrading to Shopify 2.0, reach out to our team and we’ll be happy to discuss your project requirements.
