5 Shopify Mistakes to Avoid on Your Store (and How We Fixed Them for Léonie)

By Zak — Founder & Shopify Expert at Be To Solutions · Reading time: 7 min

💡 TL;DR — 80% of the Shopify stores we audit suffer from the same 5 mistakes: poorly structured product catalogue, product pages that do not sell, neglected mobile experience, generic design, and non-existent SEO/performance. Here is how we fixed them during the redesign of Léonie Maroquinerie, and how you can do the same.

What makes a Shopify redesign successful?

A Shopify redesign is the strategic rebuilding of an online store on the Shopify platform, going far beyond a simple theme change. It includes restructuring the product catalogue, rewriting product pages, mobile-first optimisation, creating a consistent visual identity, and SEO/performance optimisation. A successful redesign increases conversion rates, reduces mobile bounce rates, and improves organic search rankings.

The Context: The Léonie Maroquinerie Redesign

• Brand: Léonie Maroquinerie — premium French leather goods brand

• Old Site: leonie-maroquinerie.fr (generic theme, flat catalogue)

• New Site: leonie-maroquinerie.myshopify.com (complete mobile-first redesign)

• Timeline: December 2025 → May 2026 (6 months)

• Agency: Be To Solutions (beto.solutions)

Why should you read this article?

According to Shopify (2025 e-commerce report), more than 70% of global e-commerce traffic comes from mobile devices, yet the majority of stores are still designed for desktop. According to the Baymard Institute, the average shopping cart abandonment rate exceeds 70%, mainly due to avoidable user experience friction. A structured redesign can reduce this friction and significantly improve sales conversion.

Mistake #1 — A poorly structured product catalogue

The problem: A poorly organised Shopify catalogue is the number one reason for customer abandonment. Catch-all collections, lacking hierarchy or filters, confuse shoppers as soon as they land on the homepage.

For Léonie: The old catalogue was flat: all products were placed in a single collection, with no clear way to navigate between bags, accessories, and new arrivals.

The B2S solution:

1. Clear structure based on product use (day bags, evening bags, accessories).

2. Relevant filters: material, colour, size, price range.

3. Automated collections based on product tags to make updates easier.

4. Simplified navigation menu (maximum of 3 levels deep).

Best practice: A visitor should be able to find any product in 3 clicks or less from the homepage.

Mistake #2 — Product pages that do not sell

The problem: A Shopify product page is not just a technical spec sheet. It is your 24/7 sales representative. Poor photos, generic descriptions, and a lack of storytelling will hurt your conversion rates.

For Léonie: The old pages listed dimensions without context, lifestyle photos, or customer reviews.

The B2S solution:

Best practice: Every page must answer 5 key buyer questions: What is it? Who is it for? How do I use it? How much is it? Why should I buy from you?

Mistake #3 — A neglected mobile experience

The problem: According to Statista (2025), 73% of global e-commerce transactions take place on mobile devices. Yet, most Shopify stores are still built for desktop, with mobile treated as an afterthought rather than a priority.

For Léonie: The old mobile site featured a cluttered navigation menu, buy buttons hidden far down the page, and a checkout process that took 5 steps.

The B2S solution:

1. Mobile-first design: Figma layouts designed first for mobile screens (375px), then adapted for desktop.

2. Sticky buy button: "Add to Cart" is always visible on the product page.

3. 2-step checkout with Shop Pay and Apple Pay enabled.

4. Clean navigation menu with smart search accessible in 1 tap.

5. Lazy loading for images to keep loading times under 2.5 seconds.

Mistake #4 — A design that does not reflect your brand

The problem: Standard, uncustomised Shopify themes make every store look exactly the same. For a premium brand, this is a major issue: your website must reflect your high-end positioning.

For Léonie: The old theme lacked a distinct visual identity, using generic fonts, dull colours, and mismatched photos.

The B2S solution:

• Dedicated typography (premium serif fonts for titles + highly readable sans-serif fonts for main text).

• Colour palette aligned with luxury leather goods (camel, beige, deep black).

• Unified photography style (natural lighting and consistent product staging).

• Custom micro-interactions (smooth hover effects on products, elegant page transitions).

• Favicon, digital packaging, and custom 404 pages — because every detail matters.

Mistake #5 — No SEO or performance strategy

The problem: If your store is invisible on Google, it won't generate sales. Furthermore, a store that takes 6 seconds to load loses 53% of its mobile visitors according to Google Web.dev.

For Léonie: The mobile performance score was 38/100 before the redesign. There were no optimised meta tags and no structured product data for search engines.

The B2S solution:

1. Optimised tags: title, meta description, and Open Graph tags rewritten for every product and collection.

2. Clean URLs: /bags/leather-handbag-marie instead of /products/sku-12345.

3. Structured data added for Product + Review + Organization (schema.org).

4. WebP images compressed and configured for lazy loading.

5. Removal of unused Shopify apps (every app adds code that slows down your site).

6. Shopify CDN + browser caching fully configured.

The result: Mobile performance score after the redesign: 92/100.

Summary: The 5 fixes at a glance

FAQ — Shopify Redesign

How much does a professional Shopify redesign cost?

A professional Shopify redesign costs between £5,000 and £30,000 depending on the size of your product catalogue, the level of theme customisation, and your backend integrations (ERP, CRM, payment systems). For a direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand with 50 to 200 products, expect to invest £8,000 to £15,000 with a specialised Shopify agency like Be To Solutions.

How long does a Shopify redesign take?

A complete Shopify redesign takes on average 3 to 6 months: 1 month of audit and strategy, 2 months of design and development, and 1 to 2 months of testing, product migration, and SEO setup. The Léonie redesign project took 6 months (December 2025 — May 2026).

Do I need to redo my SEO after a Shopify redesign?

Yes. A Shopify redesign requires a 301 redirect plan from your old URLs, rewriting meta tags, and submitting a new sitemap to Google Search Console. Without this step, you risk losing 30% to 60% of your organic search traffic for 2 to 3 months.

Should I choose Shopify or WooCommerce for a DTC brand?

For a direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand with fewer than 1,000 products, Shopify is quicker to launch, more stable, and better supported than WooCommerce. WooCommerce remains useful for highly complex product catalogues or advanced custom backend requirements.

How do I measure the success of a Shopify redesign?

Track 5 key performance indicators (KPIs) before and after: overall conversion rate, mobile conversion rate, average order value, mobile performance score, and organic traffic. A successful redesign will significantly improve at least 3 of these 5 metrics within 6 months.

Do you recognize any of these mistakes on your own store?

🚀 Be To Solutions helps direct-to-consumer brands redesign their Shopify stores: audit, strategy, design, development, SEO, and performance optimisation.

Last updated on 19 May 2026.