Lost Sheep Coffee

Project: Two-phase migration and consolidation of the brand's separate SEO/content website and Shopify store onto a single, high-performance Shopify platform, focusing on enhanced SEO and wholesale capabilities.

Lost Sheep Coffee products

The Challenge

Lost Sheep Coffee initially operated a split digital presence: a legacy WordPress site for content and SEO, and a separate Shopify subdomain for the actual e-commerce shop. The core challenge was twofold:

  1. Phase 1 (Initial): Replatform the slow, complex WordPress content site to a faster, less complex Gatsby build while improving local SEO.
  2. Phase 2 (Consolidation): Fully migrate and consolidate all content, pages, and blog posts from the SEO site onto the Shopify platform to unify the brand experience and streamline management, all while maintaining SEO authority and overcoming technical limitations like Shopify's GTM restrictions.

The Solution

The Juniper Studio executed the project in two strategic phases, ensuring continuous improvement and technical adherence at every step.

Phase 1: Gatsby Replatform & SEO Foundation (Initial Engagement)

  • Platform & Hosting: We migrated the existing WordPress SEO site to a modern, less complex platform (Gatsby), optimising its infrastructure and discussing migration to SiteGround hosting.
  • SEO Optimisation: Significant effort was placed on local search terms to drive visibility for both consumer and business customers.
  • Content and Design: The existing design was replicated on the new platform with subtle improvements, such as ensuring the email sign-up was visible on every page. We also addressed technical issues with icons and background images to support a clean dark mode.
  • Analytics Setup: We established a robust Google Analytics setup to accurately track website performance and user behaviour.

Phase 2: Comprehensive Shopify Migration & Consolidation

  • Migration Strategy: We executed a comprehensive migration, transitioning the brand's primary URL from the shop subdomain (shop.lostsheepcoffee.com) to the main domain (lostsheepcoffee.com).
  • Redirects & SEO Preservation: Critical work involved implementing extensive 301 redirects to manage the new URL structure limitations inherent in Shopify, ensuring the original SEO site's authority was passed to the new unified platform. The sitemap was immediately resubmitted to Google Search Console (GSC) post-launch.
  • Technical Workarounds: To overcome Shopify's recent limitations on the official Google Tag Manager (GTM) application, we implemented the GTM code directly into the theme template as a technical workaround, ensuring full tracking capability.
  • Post-Launch Checks: We conducted rigorous post-migration checks, including testing all redirects, verifying Google Analytics 4 (GA4) tracking, and checking form functionality across the wholesale pages. Ahrefs reports were used for continuous SEO monitoring of backlink changes.
  • Wholesale & UX Improvements: We supported the ongoing content strategy, adding new client spotlights to the blog and addressing user experience issues, such as implementing a linked online version for a previously malfunctioning inline email review form.

Results & Client Impact

The project successfully unified Lost Sheep Coffee's online presence, consolidating their SEO authority and e-commerce operations onto a single, powerful Shopify platform.

  • Streamlined Management: The client now manages all content, e-commerce, and marketing from one simple platform, reducing complexity and costs associated with maintaining two separate websites.
  • SEO Integrity: Through careful redirect management and ongoing monitoring, the website maintained its search engine authority and visibility gained from the initial SEO optimisation efforts.
  • Enhanced Tracking: Technical workarounds ensured that full Google Tag Manager functionality was restored, providing the client with essential data tracking capabilities despite platform restrictions.

Key Services Delivered

  • Platform Migration (WordPress to Gatsby, then Gatsby/Shopify Consolidation)
  • Comprehensive E-commerce Migration
  • SEO Optimisation (Local Search Terms & Content)
  • URL Restructure and 301 Redirect Implementation
  • Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and GTM Implementation (including technical workarounds)
  • Wholesale Integration Strategy
  • Post-Launch Monitoring & Technical Support

Link: lostsheepcoffee.com

Project Type:
ShopifySEO