Client: Crosses & Medals
Website: crossesandmedals.com
Industry: Religious Jewellery & Gifts / eCommerce
Previous Platform: WooCommerce / WordPress
New Platform: Shopify (Online Store 2.0)
The Problem with WooCommerce
Crosses & Medals had built a niche presence offering religious medals, crosses, and gifts. But behind the scenes, their WooCommerce site was struggling to support their scale and growth ambitions.
With over 45,000 SKUs, the site’s performance had begun to degrade badly. Backend operations became clunky. Visitors waited for pages to load. Conversion rates dropped.
- Slow and unreliable product management: WooCommerce couldn’t handle the large product catalogue efficiently. Updating variants, prices, and descriptions took excessive time.
- Sluggish navigation and browsing: As catalogue size grew, filtering and page load speeds worsened especially on mobile.
- Low conversion rates: A slow, outdated UX and unresponsive menus led to user drop-off and abandoned baskets.
- High running costs: Monthly plugin subscriptions and hosting fees had ballooned into the hundreds of pounds.
- Inflexible structure: WooCommerce’s limitations forced the team to workaround rather than innovate.
The business needed a robust, future proof platform to organise tens of thousands of products while improving speed, UX, and profitability.
The ReCart.me Migration Plan
ReCart.me planned and executed a high-volume migration to Shopify, ensuring product structure, user experience, and operational workflows were preserved — and then improved.
Platform Setup
- Migrated 1,000+ orders, 1,000+ customers, and 45,000+ products into Shopify.
- Designed a custom variant management application using Shopify metafields to link products beyond the standard 100-variant limit.
Design & UX
- Implemented a Shopify OS 2.0 theme for flexibility and speed.
- Retained the brand’s visual identity while modernising layout and navigation.
- Created reusable content templates for policies, guides, and informational pages.
Product Navigation & Filtering
- Split large product sets (e.g. 1,500+ medals) into refined categories.
- Introduced dynamic filtering by type, finish, saint, and more.
- Grouped products visually (not dropdown-heavy) to reduce friction.
Content & SEO
- Guided the client in reformatting key content areas.
- Implemented redirects to preserve organic search value.
- Restructured pages for clarity, speed, and mobile-first performance.
Functionality Enhancements
- Custom Product Linking System: Used metafields to simulate variants across multiple standalone product pages.
- Bliss FTP Integration: Seamless connection with the warehouse system for automated order syncing and tracking updates.
- Klaviyo: Upgraded email automation, targeting, and segmentation.
- Metorik: Reintegrated advanced reporting with historical order and customer data.
- Forms & Reviews: Integrated trusted apps for customer interaction and social proof.
- TripleWhale: Connected for enhanced visibility into paid ad ROAS and channel performance.
Challenges Solved
- Migrated a large, unstable WooCommerce setup into a scalable, high-performing Shopify build
- Created UX-driven navigation tools to support product discovery across 45k+ SKUs
- Built a variant system workaround to retain flexibility without sacrificing structure
- Reduced plugin sprawl and third-party reliance
- Maintained backend fulfilment flows using distributor FTP
- Streamlined admin tasks, reducing the need for manual updates
Results & Outcomes
- Cut website running costs by over 50% (hosting, plugins, support)
- Doubled the site-wide conversion rate post-migration
- Increased average order value (AOV) through UX and structure improvements
- Improved email targeting and engagement via Klaviyo flows
- Enhanced visibility on paid media spend and profitability via TripleWhale
- Simplified backend product management and reduced staff workload
“We went from fighting the platform to focusing on growing the brand. ReCart.me made a very complex project feel incredibly manageable.”
— Crosses & Medals Team
Need to Handle High Product Volume Without the Headaches?
ReCart.me helps high-SKU stores migrate from WooCommerce to Shopify without losing SEO, structure, or sanity.
