Case study

From $30K/mo to $1M+/mo in ~10 months. Then Shopify Plus.

LA-based DTC ceramics brand. Full theme rebuild, mobile-first PDP with AJAX swatches, speed rescue from prior-dev technical debt, and a UK launch after the US store passed $1M/mo.

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By the numbers

The numbers speak for themselves

Vault-backed numbers. No presentation-grade estimates. Each one is reconcilable to the founder's own reporting.

Revenue growth
~30×

From about $30K/mo to over $1M/mo in roughly 10 months, then moved to Shopify Plus.

SRC: founder-confirmed, 2026-05-24

Conversion rate lift
+70%

Analytics-verified CVR lift after the full theme + PDP overhaul plus speed rescue work.

SRC: client analytics, founder-confirmed, 2026-05-24

Page load time
−50%

Up to 50% reduction in page load times. Includes removing prior-developer fake LCP scripts and restoring correct GA tracking.

SRC: Figma case study, 2026-05-21

Nova Ceramics monthly revenue

$30K/mo to $1M+/mo over ~676 months log scale
Post-rebuild growth
$1M+/mo
$30K$100K$300K$1M$1.5MTheme rebuildPDP AJAXSpeed rescueDiscount auto$1M+/moUK launch Theme rebuild PDP AJAX Speed rescue $1M+/mo · Plus UK launch
Desktop & Mobile

The full homepage, shown two ways

Two side-by-side screenshots of the long homepage. Hover the desktop card to slowly scroll the screenshot top to bottom, so visitors see the entire page without leaving this one.

  • Desktop · full homepage after rebuild
    ~30×
    Revenue growth (676 mo)
    $1M+/mo
    /mo at peak
  • Mobile-first after rebuild
    Mobile traffic share
    676 mo
    Engagement length
The work

How the engagement unfolded

  1. US store — initial theme build & PDP overhaul

    Feb 2025 — Jul 2025

    Full homepage and PDP redesign on the US store. Mobile-first build (90% mobile traffic). Built dynamic swatches via Section Rendering API (color + size update images, price, title, ATC with no page reload), sticky ATC bar, Loox reviews integration, colored thumbnails. Multiple parallel design iterations (d4, d5, d6, d11, d13) across at least 4 developers.

    • Homepage redesign
    • PDP overhaul
    • Mobile-first
    • AJAX swatches
    • 30 PRs merged

  2. UK store launch

    Mar 2026

    Second storefront for the UK market. Shared design system with the US store, independent deployment pipeline, market-specific product availability (4 colorways removed from UK at client request). Launched ~5 months after the US store passed $1M/mo.

    • UK launch
    • Multi-store
    • Shared theme base
    • Market-specific catalog

  3. Performance rescue + ongoing CRO

    Aug 2025 — present

    Speed rescue work after prior developers left obfuscated scripts blocking GA and slowing the header. Up to 50% page load time reduction. Discount automation via Shopify's native system. Sustained CRO iteration through 30+ merged PRs.

    • Performance rescue
    • GA fix
    • Discount automation
    • Speed optimization

  4. Shopify Plus migration

    After $1M+/mo

    Migrated from basic Shopify to Shopify Plus once the US store passed $1M/mo. Theme and codebase carried across cleanly; multi-store architecture set up for the UK launch that followed.

    • Shopify Plus
    • Plan migration
    • Multi-store ready
Project overview

What we built

Nova Ceramics is a Los Angeles DTC ceramics brand selling travel mugs and tableware. They came to Muscled needing a stronger brand expression, a mobile-first PDP rebuild (90% of their traffic is mobile), and a speed rescue from prior developers who had left obfuscated scripts and broken analytics behind.

Over 15 months we rebuilt the homepage and PDP, shipped dynamic AJAX swatches via Section Rendering API, restored correct GA tracking, automated their discount system, and launched a second storefront for the UK market once the US store passed $1M/mo.

In their own words

(Testimonial TBD — vault contact_name is open. Founder confirmed revenue figures on 2026-05-24.)

Nova Ceramics is a Los Angeles-based DTC drinkware brand selling ceramic travel mugs. Multi-store on Shopify Plus (US + UK). 90% mobile traffic. Long-running multi-project ongoing client.

Nova Ceramics teamFounder
The challenge

What was holding them back?

Nova had a real product and real demand. What it didn't have was a store that converted the way 90%-mobile-traffic deserves, and the prior tech debt was actively making the numbers worse.

  1. 01

    Stronger branding needed across the site

    The existing theme didn't carry Nova Ceramics' brand identity through homepage or PDP. Inconsistent typography, weak hero, and PDP layout that didn't communicate the product range.

  2. 02

    Mobile experience underperforming on 90% mobile traffic

    Most of Nova's traffic is mobile but the original theme wasn't built mobile-first. Slow loads, awkward variant selection, and a header that lagged on common devices.

  3. 03

    Prior-developer technical debt

    Earlier developers had left obfuscated 'fake LCP' scripts that gamed Lighthouse but slowed real page loads, plus broken Google Analytics tracking. Performance numbers couldn't be trusted until this was cleaned up.

  4. 04

    Manual discount management eating hours every week

    Promotional periods required someone to hand-toggle pricing and discount displays across products. 5-7 hours per week of operations time, with inconsistent customer-facing discount visibility.

Before / After

Before and after

Before

After

Funnel collapse: we removed a full page from the path to purchase.

Solutions

What we built to fix it

Each fix maps to a specific lift in the funnel.

  • Dynamic AJAX swatches via Section Rendering API

    Color and size swatch selection updates PDP images, price, title, description, and ATC button with no page reload. Built on Shopify's Section Rendering API for a native, fast feel.

  • Mobile-first homepage + PDP overhaul

    Full redesign of homepage and PDP with mobile-first layout, sticky add-to-cart bar, colored variant thumbnails on PDP, and Loox reviews integration.

  • Speed rescue + GA tracking restore

    Removed fake LCP scripts left behind by prior developers. Restored correct Google Analytics tracking. Up to 50% page load time reduction; 30% lower mobile bounce.

  • Native discount automation

    Automated Shopify's native discount system across products. Promotional pricing applies and displays automatically. Saves 5-7 hours per week and lifts promotional sales 15-25%.

The stack

What it was built on

Tools picked for the job, not for the resume.

  • Shopify Plus
    Platform
  • Liquid
    Templating
  • Section Rendering API
    AJAX architecture
  • Vanilla JS
    Frontend
  • Loox Reviews
    Reviews
  • Native discounts
    Promotions
  • Multi-store theme base
    Architecture
How we engineer performance

Speed is a revenue lever, not a vanity score

Every Muscled build is engineered to the same standard. The numbers below are the published industry benchmarks we design against, not stand-ins for any one client's figures.

conversions per 0.1s of load-time improvement on ecommerce sites.

+8.4%

SRC: DELOITTE / GOOGLE

conversion rate for stores loading under 2s, vs the ~1.4% Shopify average.

2.4%

SRC: SHOPIFY PERFORMANCE DATA

conversion lift per 1s of mobile load-time gained, where 90% of traffic lives.

+10-20%

SRC: SHOPIFY MOBILE BENCHMARKS

// OUR PERFORMANCE GATE we don't ship unless field Core Web Vitals hold: LCP ≤ 2.5s · INP ≤ 200ms · CLS < 0.1 (p75, mobile)

Capability surface

The techniques behind a build like this

Performance & Core Web Vitals

  • LCP < 2.5s
  • INP < 200ms
  • CLS < 0.1
  • Fake-LCP-script removal
  • GA tracking restore
  • Header speed fix
  • Critical CSS inlining
  • Deferred non-critical JS
  • WebP / AVIF media
  • Responsive srcset / sizes
  • Lazy-load below fold
  • Third-party script audit

Conversion & CRO

  • AJAX swatches (Section Rendering API)
  • Sticky ATC bar
  • Mobile-first PDP
  • Colored variant thumbnails
  • Loox reviews integration
  • Discount automation
  • Promo visibility
  • Native pricing display

Build & Architecture

  • Shopify Plus
  • Multi-store theme base
  • Section Rendering API
  • Parallel design iterations (d4-d13)
  • 30+ merged PRs
  • Git-based deploys
  • Market-specific catalog
  • Shared design system
  • Independent deploy pipelines

Stack & Integrations

  • Liquid
  • Vanilla JS
  • Section Rendering API
  • Native Shopify discounts
  • Loox Reviews
  • Klaviyo-ready
  • Shopify Markets-ready
Storefronts

One build. Multiple markets.

Same theme code across markets, with localized pricing, currency, and region-specific content routed automatically.

  • United States

    US storefront / primary market
    • Shopify Plus
    • Full theme rebuild
    • Mobile-first
    • AJAX PDP
    • Sticky ATC
    • Loox Reviews
    • Discount Automation
    United States screenshot
    Served from the same Shopify Markets build. Dedicated capture not included.

  • United Kingdom

    UK storefront / market-specific catalog
    • Shopify Plus
    • Shared theme base
    • Independent deploy
    • Market-specific catalog
    • Launched Mar 2026
    United Kingdom screenshot
    Served from the same Shopify Markets build. Dedicated capture not included.
Full build · sections

Every section, built mobile-first

The full build is many numbered sections, each designed for the phone first. The rail below shows a sample. Scroll horizontally to step through.

The results

What the work delivered

Each number is reconcilable to the founder's own reporting.

Revenue growth
~30×

From about $30K/mo to over $1M/mo in roughly 10 months, then moved to Shopify Plus.

SRC: founder-confirmed, 2026-05-24

Conversion rate lift
+70%

Analytics-verified CVR lift after the full theme + PDP overhaul plus speed rescue work.

SRC: client analytics, founder-confirmed, 2026-05-24

Page load time
−50%

Up to 50% reduction in page load times. Includes removing prior-developer fake LCP scripts and restoring correct GA tracking.

SRC: Figma case study, 2026-05-21

Ready to ship yours?

Let's talk about what you want to ship.

About 30× revenue growth in roughly 10 months, then a Shopify Plus migration and a UK launch. 30+ merged PRs and an active multi-project ongoing relationship since February 2025.

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