In the world of e-commerce, technology should empower growth — not hinder it. That was the guiding principle behind the recent platform migration completed by View 6 for Shoe-Trees.co.uk, a premium retailer specialising in high-quality shoe care products, including cedar wood shoe trees, polish, brushes, and accessories.

Originally operating on Magento 2, Shoe Trees was facing several operational and strategic limitations. With Magento’s high technical overhead, performance inconsistencies, and reliance on developer resources for even minor updates, the business was finding it increasingly difficult to scale effectively. View 6 stepped in to lead a full migration to Shopify—delivering a fast, reliable, and visually polished e-commerce platform that reflects the brand’s commitment to quality and craftsmanship.

Why Shopify?

Magento 2 is a powerful platform well-suited to enterprise-level brands with in-house development teams. However, for businesses like Shoe Trees, where ease of use, reliability, and low maintenance are key, Magento had become more of a burden than a benefit.

Routine updates were complicated and often introduced new bugs. Site speed was a persistent issue, and even small design changes required custom development. The team at Shoe Trees wanted a platform that was intuitive, secure, scalable, and would enable them to react quickly to customer needs. Shopify checked every box—offering a lower total cost of ownership, better performance, and a wide app ecosystem to extend functionality without heavy development.

Planning the Migration

View 6 began the project with a comprehensive discovery phase, assessing Shoe Trees’ Magento 2 environment, product data structure, customer information, and custom functionalities. A clear roadmap was established to ensure every asset—product images, SKUs, customer records, SEO metadata, and order history—would be migrated accurately and securely.

Equally important was maintaining the brand’s search engine performance. Magento-to-Shopify migrations carry the risk of broken URLs and lost rankings, so View6 meticulously planned 301 redirects and ensured on-page SEO was preserved throughout the transition.

Design & User Experience

The migration presented an opportunity to refine the website’s design and user journey. View 6 created a custom Shopify theme that emphasised clarity, elegance, and ease of navigation—important qualities for a niche product like shoe trees, where education and trust play a big role in the buying process.

High-resolution imagery, trust-building product descriptions, and a simplified, mobile-first checkout experience were at the core of the design strategy. The end result was a site that looks as premium as the products it sells—while being faster, more responsive, and easier to manage.

Technical Highlights

  • Custom Product Filtering: View6 implemented advanced filtering options to help users quickly find the right product by shoe size, wood type, or use case.

  • Integrated Reviews & UGC: Shopify’s app ecosystem allowed the team to quickly implement reviews and user-generated content to increase buyer confidence.

  • Improved Analytics: With Shopify’s native analytics and third-party tools like Google Analytics and Hotjar easily integrated, the Shoe Trees team now has clearer insights into user behavior and conversion rates.

  • Subscription & Loyalty Options: The new platform also enables future enhancements, including loyalty programs or subscriptions, without the need for major development work.

Smooth Execution & Zero Downtime

The migration was carefully staged and tested before go-live. Thanks to thorough QA and contingency planning, Shoe Trees experienced zero downtime during the switch. Customers could continue shopping without interruption, and their accounts, order history, and passwords remained intact.

This seamless transition was made possible by View6’s deep experience in both platforms and their methodical approach to data handling and user experience continuity.

Post-Migration Success

Since the migration, Shoe Trees has reported several key improvements:

  • Site speed increased significantly, improving both user experience and SEO rankings.

  • Conversion rates have grown, driven by a faster, more intuitive checkout and enhanced mobile performance.

  • Internal workflows have improved, with easier product uploads, quicker promotions, and less reliance on technical support for updates.

Perhaps most importantly, the team at Shoe Trees can now focus on what they do best—growing their brand and serving their customers—without being held back by a heavy and complex platform.

Final Thoughts

The successful migration of Shoe-Trees.co.uk from Magento 2 to Shopify is a strong example of how the right technology can unlock new possibilities for growth. By partnering with View6, Shoe Trees transformed a rigid, developer-dependent site into a dynamic, user-friendly platform that’s built for the future.

At View 6, we believe great e-commerce experiences begin with simplicity, speed, and strategy. This project showcased just how impactful a well-executed platform migration can be.