Boston-based The Elovaters, a dynamic Progressive American Roots band, sought to consolidate and elevate their online presence. They faced challenges with a fragmented digital ecosystem, utilizing separate platforms for their website and online store. Ambaum, a Shopify Agency specializing in enhancing digital experiences for bands and artists, stepped in to provide a solution. The goal was a seamless migration to a unified Shopify Digital Experience, enhancing brand consistency, improving user engagement, and optimizing sales.
The Challenge
The Elovaters' digital presence was divided between Squarespace for their website and Shopify for their merch store. This setup resulted in a disjointed brand image, potential SEO issues, administrative complexities, and scattered content. The Elovaters aimed to bring everything under one roof for a more cohesive and manageable experience. Ambaum recognized an opportunity to demonstrate its expertise in artist-focused Shopify migrations and build a compelling case study.
The Solution
- Theme Selection: Choosing a visually appealing and brand-aligned theme.
- Content Migration: Rebuilding all Squarespace elements and pages within Shopify.
- Merchandising Strategy: Developing effective product collections and optimizing product pages.
- Content Creation: Building out a blog and other content sections.
- Integration: Seamlessly embed third-party widgets and tools like Laylo for artist drops and and Seated for tour schedule and sales..
- Technical Setup: Ensuring proper analytics and DNS management.
- User Experience: Focusing on a dark, on-brand color scheme, incorporating large images and videos, and creating a visually engaging experience that leads with music.
The Elovaters desired an "ART forward" and music rich approach, prioritizing aesthetics and user experience over a purely sales-driven feel. They also emphasized the importance of being able to manage the site themselves after the migration. Inspiration for the design came from various sources, including minimal styles, music embeds, product feature accordions, stacked menu options, square collages for menus, and banner designs with letter outlines and Polaroid-style photos.
The Process
The project involved collaborative efforts between Ambaum and The Elovaters management team Ineffable Music, starting with theme selection and progressing through the build-out of all pages and functionalities. There was significant back-and-forth communication to ensure the design and content aligned with The Elovaters' vision. Key steps included setting up the theme, embedding third-party widgets, preparing content for review, finalizing content, making DNS changes, and executing URL redirects from Squarespace to Shopify. The process emphasized iterative feedback and refinement to ensure the final product met all requirements.
I had known for awhile that Shopify COULD theoretically be the platform for our entire website, but the process of switching everything over and rebuilding was too daunting to prioritize. Ambaum and the team were able to help us finally make that leap, and we could not be happier with the final results. In addition to looking sleeker across the board, deeper things like SEO, streamlining forms and smart links, making sure pixels and Google Tags were correct...all this was a huge weight off my shoulders, knowing it was properly handled by an expert.
Reid Foster, Manger - Inneffable Music Group
Outcome
- Enhanced brand consistency and a unified digital experience.
- Increased website traffic and engagement.
- Streamlined administrative processes and easier site management for The Elovaters.
- Rich art experience featuring concert imagery, albums and music.
- Better integration of marketing and analytics tools.
- Ease of management and administration
Conclusion
The migration project aimed to provide The Elovaters with a powerful, easy-to-manage, and visually stunning Shopify store that truly reflects their brand. This partnership will serve as a valuable case study for Ambaum, showcasing their ability to deliver tailored eCommerce solutions for the music industry. The project underscored the importance of collaboration, clear communication, and a deep understanding of the client's vision to achieve a successful digital transformation.
