Launching Paleo Ridge’s New Shopify Website

A Seamless Leap Forward:

On 1st July 2025, Paleo Ridge officially launched its brand-new website built on Shopify Plus, marking a strategic pivot in the company’s digital growth journey. While for customers the change might look like a slicker website and easier checkout, under the bonnet this launch represents a major evolution in how Paleo Ridge engages with its audience, manages operations, and positions itself in a competitive market.

As Director of Sales and Marketing, I’ve had the privilege (and the occasional sleepless night) of overseeing this complex transformation from initial scoping to final deployment. In this article, I want to take you behind the scenes – from the commercial thinking that led to the move, to the functionality we prioritised, and the lessons we learned along the way.

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Why Move to Shopify?

Paleo Ridge previously operated on a Craft Commerce (designed and developed by Our Name is Mud) a platform that had served us well – up to a point. But as our product range expanded, subscriptions grew, and the need for performance and stability intensified, it became clear that we needed a platform purpose-built for scalability, integration, and customer-centricity.

After a detailed audit and consultation process, Shopify Plus stood out as the most commercially and technically suitable solution for our needs. Here’s why:

• Speed and Reliability: Shopify’s globally distributed infrastructure ensures fast loading times and rock-solid uptime – crucial for a customer base that expects seamless transactions.

• Flexibility for Growth: With Shopify Plus, we can more easily test new product lines, build seasonal campaigns, and adapt to market changes.

• Ecosystem and Integration: From Klaviyo to ReCharge, Shopify’s partner ecosystem gives us access to best-in-class tools that connect with minimal friction.

• Support for Subscriptions: Given our high percentage of returning customers, improving our subscription offering was a must. Shopify supports advanced subscription logic and better user control.

This was not just a tech upgrade – it was a strategic decision to better align our digital experience with customer expectations.

Customer Experience First

Let’s be honest: raw feeding can feel complex to newcomers. With 100% transparency in our sourcing, ingredient quality and production, we needed our website to mirror those values in how it communicates and serves. Every decision we made throughout the build had our customer in mind.

Here’s what’s new:

• Detailed Recipe Breakdowns
  Every product page now includes a clear, readable ingredient and composition breakdown – offering complete transparency about what’s in each meal. This was about more than compliance; it’s about building trust.

• Enhanced Product Filters
  Whether you’re feeding a puppy, managing allergies, or catering to a picky eater, our new filters help users navigate by flavour, size, life stage, or dietary need. As a brand committed to education and accessibility, this level of personalisation is non-negotiable.

• Smarter Subscriptions
  We’ve completely overhauled our subscription service with a sleek new dashboard that lets customers pause, change or cancel their deliveries with ease. This was an essential step in giving our loyal customers more control and confidence.

• Improved Navigation and Performance
  Through user testing and heatmapping, we identified pain points and friction in our old navigation. The new site loads faster, has cleaner menus, and allows users to get to what they need in fewer clicks.

Behind the Build: Managing a Major eCommerce Migration

Launching a new website is a team effort – and no small task when you’re juggling live operations, active customers, and a time-sensitive migration. From a project management perspective, we took a phased approach with clear delegation across technical leads, content creators, and customer service.

Key challenges and learnings:

• Data Integrity: Migrating hundreds of SKUs, news articles and customer accounts without compromising data and content integrity was no small feat. We partnered closely with Our Name is Mud to migrate data using the Matrixify app.

• SEO Safeguarding: One of the biggest risks in any platform migration is organic traffic loss. We implemented redirects, ensured meta content continuity, and took a meticulous approach to maintaining search equity.

• Clear Customer Comms: From email campaigns to pop-ups and press releases, we made sure our customers knew what was happening and when. Transparency breeds patience – and loyalty.

• App Selection and Testing: In total we have installed 27 apps via the Shopify App Store, but each one had to be thoroughly tested audits fair to say we kissed a few frogs along the way.

And yes – as with any large digital project – there were last-minute curveballs. But thanks to tight coordination and contingency planning, we launched on time with minimal disruption.

Bigger Picture: This Isn’t Just a Website Launch

This new site isn’t just about improved UX or backend efficiency. It’s a cornerstone of our broader digital strategy – one that supports our growth into new markets, allows us to scale our DTC and B2B models, and helps further our mission to make raw feeding more accessible.

It’s also a reflection of our values as a brand. At Paleo Ridge, we’re committed to sustainability, transparency, and animal welfare. Our digital presence must reflect that commitment in both tone and function.

From a marketing operations perspective, we can now:

• Launch campaigns faster with a dynamic range of promotions and sales mechanisms

• Segment our audiences with more precision via Shopify integrations

• Collect and analyse richer behavioural data to inform product development

• Automate marketing activities and harness new AI capabilities

This gives us the agility we need to meet – and exceed – the expectations of today’s conscientious pet owner.

What’s Next?

Now that the new site is live, the work continues. We’ll be closely monitoring analytics, conversion rates, and customer feedback over the coming weeks to fine-tune features and content.

Our roadmap includes:

• Refined Educational Content: We’re expanding our raw feeding guides and introducing tools to help customers build the right meal plans for their dog.

• Sustainability Spotlights: Highlighting our environmental commitments through product badges and eco-friendly packaging breakdowns.

• Personalised Feeding Profiles: Deeper personalisation tools to tailor recommendations by breed, weight, age and preferences.

This is just the beginning of a more intelligent, supportive, and empowering digital experience for dog owners.

Final Thoughts

Launching a new website is never just a ‘tech job’. It’s a brand moment. A chance to recalibrate, refocus, and reconnect with your customers. At Paleo Ridge, we’ve treated it as exactly that – an opportunity to elevate the raw feeding experience and prepare for our next chapter of growth.

To those marketers planning a similar migration or digital refresh, my advice is simple:
Plan like a pessimist, launch like an optimist.
The details matter, and getting the foundations right gives your brand the best chance of long-term success.

We’re proud of what we’ve built – and even more excited for where it will take us.

TL;DR

• Paleo Ridge launched a new Shopify Plus website on 1st July 2025 to enhance customer experience and support long-term business growth.

• The move offers faster performance, smarter subscriptions, detailed product breakdowns and improved filters.

• Migration involved careful planning, SEO preservation, and customer-first communication.

• This isn’t just a redesign – it’s a step forward in Paleo Ridge’s mission to lead the raw feeding revolution.

• The marketing team, led by Will Green, used a strategic and user-focused approach to deliver a launch that reflects the brand’s values and growth ambitions.