Faster storefronts, cleaner feeds and less manual work for online stores
We rebuilt The Porch Swing Store, an online outdoor furniture retailer with a catalog of more than 3,700 products, as a fast headless storefront with Shopify still running the catalog, cart and checkout. These pages explain what we did there, what else we offer to online stores and what is live versus not yet.
Consultants In A Box is an independent consultancy. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Shopify or Google. Product names belong to their owners.
What slows down an online store
These come up again and again in online stores. Each one has a page that shows how we approach it.
A theme that is slow on phones
Most shoppers browse on a phone, and a theme loaded with apps and scripts makes every product page wait. Slow pages cost patience before the shopper sees the product.
Fast headless storefrontsMoving platforms and losing search rankings
A rebuild that changes URLs without redirects throws away pages that Google already knows. Old links, sitemaps and structured data all need a plan.
Migration without losing SEOProduct feeds that get products disapproved
Missing identifiers, mismatched prices and thin titles lead to warnings in Google Merchant Center, and products that do not show cannot sell.
Product feed & Google Merchant CenterAds that are not tied to what sells
If an account counts anything but purchases as a win, it optimizes for clicks. Shopping campaigns also depend on a clean feed underneath.
Google Ads for online storesCarts left behind and no follow-up
Shoppers leave without buying all the time. Without a reminder flow that sounds like your store, those shoppers are not asked to come back.
Email & abandoned-cart automationReviews that are scattered or missing
Reviews help shoppers decide and help products stand out in search, but only if they are collected after the order and shown on the product page.
Product reviewsA large catalog nobody has time to keep tidy
Thousands of products mean thousands of titles, descriptions and attributes, plus inventory and supplier updates to keep in step.
AI product content & catalog operationsSmall site edits that need a developer
Changing a headline, a banner or a page description should not mean a ticket and a wait. Editing should be safe and reviewed, not risky.
AI product content & catalog operationsSuccess story: The Porch Swing Store
The Porch Swing Store is an online retailer of porch swings, gliders, Adirondack chairs, benches and other outdoor furniture. We rebuilt its storefront as a prerendered Astro site that sits in front of Shopify. Shopify remains the back office for the catalog, inventory, checkout and customer accounts, and the store keeps its own web addresses.
We do not publish revenue, conversion, ranking-gain or customer-count figures for this store, and we do not promise your numbers will match anyone else's. Our speed measurements for this store, with the test method, are on the headless commerce page.
Honest status
- Headless storefrontThe store is served from the new site at its own domain.Live
- URL parity and redirectsOld product addresses and the old product sitemap redirect to the current ones.Live
- Structured data and llms.txtPresent on the live product and collection pages.Live
- Merchant feed, ads, email, reviewsWe offer these, but we do not publish results for this store.Not claimed
What we did for The Porch Swing Store
The work, described plainly. We describe what was built and how it was checked, not a promise about results.
A headless storefront in Astro
Every product, collection, page and article is built ahead of time as a fast page, instead of being assembled by a theme on each visit.
Shopify kept as the back office
Catalog, inventory, checkout and customer accounts stay in Shopify. Prices and stock refresh from Shopify in the shopper's browser, so a page built earlier does not sell at an old price.
Same addresses, plus redirects for the old ones
The new site uses the same product, collection, page and blog addresses as the old theme. Old redirects were carried over, and Shopify-only paths such as accounts and policies are sent to Shopify.
A cutover plan with a way back
Shopify moved to its own subdomain first so checkout links could not loop back to the new site, then the main web address moved, with a written rollback step.
Search and discovery features
Site search, filters, a mega menu, quick view and a cart drawer, with checkout handed to Shopify through cart links.
Search and AI-readiness markup
Product, Offer, FAQ, Breadcrumb and Collection structured data, a sitemap, and an llms.txt summary for AI assistants.
What we checked, and where
- The storefront is live and indexable at www.theporchswingstore.com, with Shopify checkout and accounts on a separate store subdomain.Live site and response headers, checked 22 October 2026
- The sitemap lists 3,724 product pages, 404 collection pages and hundreds of blog pages; the llms.txt summary also says 3,724 products.Live sitemap.xml and llms.txt, checked 22 October 2026
- Product pages carry Product, Offer, Brand, FAQPage and BreadcrumbList data; collection pages carry CollectionPage and ItemList data.Live product and collection pages, checked 22 October 2026
- An old Shopify-style product address (collection path plus product) answers with a permanent redirect to the clean product address, and the old product sitemap redirects to the new one.Live requests, checked 22 October 2026
- The bare domain redirects to www, and account addresses redirect to the Shopify store subdomain.Live requests, checked 22 October 2026
- The build is a prerendered Astro site fed from Shopify's public catalog data, and the migration runbook records 4,491 of 4,491 live Shopify URLs resolving on the new site and 555 redirects in the redirect map.Project README and MIGRATION notes. The link check was not re-run for this page.
- Search, filters, mega menu, quick view and cart drawer exist in the build.Project README and source components. Not re-tested in a browser for this page.
Seven ways we help online stores
Start with the one that hurts most. Each page says plainly whether it is live on a real store, in development or a setup we offer.
Fast headless storefronts
A prerendered storefront in front of Shopify, with Shopify still running catalog, cart and checkout.
Read the playbook Live on The Porch Swing StoreMigration without losing SEO
Keep addresses, redirect the old ones and move the domain in an order that cannot break checkout.
Read the playbook Available setupProduct feed & Google Merchant Center
Clean product data so listings are approved, accurate and ready for Shopping ads.
Read the playbook Available setupGoogle Ads for online stores
Shopping and search campaigns that count purchases, not clicks, built on a clean feed.
Read the playbook Available setupEmail & abandoned-cart automation
Cart reminders, welcome and post-purchase flows in your voice, with a person on replies.
Read the playbook Available setupProduct reviews
Ask after delivery, show reviews on the product page and keep them working with a rebuild.
Read the playbook In developmentAI product content & catalog operations
Draft titles and descriptions, keep structured data and AI summaries current, with a person approving.
Read the playbookOne team for the storefront and what surrounds it
Shopify stays your back office. We work on the parts that decide whether shoppers find you, trust you and buy.
Build
Fast storefronts, safe migrations and the structured data and sitemaps that search engines and AI assistants read.
Market
Product feeds, Google Ads, email and reviews, set up to be measured against your own orders.
Operate
Catalog clean-up, AI-drafted content with a person approving, and safer site editing.
Start with a free business evaluation
No commitment. You get a plain list of what to fix first, whether or not you work with us.
Free business evaluation
We look at your store, search presence, feed, ads and email setup and tell you what we would fix first.
Pick one playbook
Most stores start with the one that hurts most, usually speed, the product feed or follow-up email. You decide what we take on.
Build, train, review
We configure and connect it, train your team, and look at the numbers with you after a few weeks.
Questions from online store owners
Who are these pages for?
Owners and marketers at online stores, especially Shopify stores with a large catalog, a slow theme or a platform move on the horizon.
What is live and what is not?
The headless storefront and the migration approach are live on The Porch Swing Store. Feeds, ads, email and reviews are setups we offer, and we do not publish results for them. AI catalog operations are in development. Each page says which one it is.
Do I have to be on Shopify?
Our verified work is on Shopify, and most of what we describe is built around it. If you use another platform, tell us and we will say honestly whether the ideas carry over.
Will a rebuild hurt my search rankings?
Not by design. We keep addresses the same where we can, redirect the rest, rebuild the sitemap and structured data, and check the result. No one can promise rankings, so we describe the work and not an outcome.
What is in the free business evaluation?
A look at how your store shows up and runs today: speed, search, feed, ads and follow-up. You get a plain list of what we would change first. There is no obligation to hire us.
What does it cost?
It depends on the playbook, the size of the catalog and your team. We tell you what we would do and what it would cost before any work begins.
Find out what to fix first in your online store
Tell us about your store and we will look at its speed, search presence, feed, ads and follow-up, then send a short list of what we would change first.