Slow Shopify themes
Most standard themes score 40–65 on Lighthouse. Every slow second costs you conversions and SEO ranking.
A sustainable storefront your brand can actually be proud of
Headless Shopify built with Astro, Sanity, and the Storefront API. Faster than any standard Shopify theme, lower carbon, and fully under your control - from day one and every day after.
Your Shopify store doesn't reflect the brand behind it
You've built a business around doing things properly - ethical sourcing, sustainable practices, real values. Then customers land on a sluggish Shopify theme you haven't been able to change since launch, and that reputation takes a quiet hit.
Standard Shopify themes are built for speed to market, not performance. They're loaded with JavaScript your store doesn't need, running on shared infrastructure that adds carbon you've never measured.
Your digital shopfront should work as hard for the planet as your supply chain does.
Unmeasured carbon footprint
A bloated storefront can generate grams of CO₂ per page view - adding up to tonnes per year across a real customer base.
A template everyone recognises
Out-of-the-box Shopify themes look like out-of-the-box Shopify themes. Your brand deserves better.
Shopify's commerce engine. Your front end. Full control.
A headless build disconnects your storefront from Shopify's theme layer. Shopify handles what it's genuinely brilliant at - products, inventory, orders, payments, and fulfilment. Astro handles everything visitors actually see.
The result is a site that's faster, lighter, and fully your own - without giving up the commerce infrastructure you already rely on.
Astro
Static-first front end
Pages are built at compile time and served as static HTML from Cloudflare's edge network. No server rendering, no bloat, no unnecessary JavaScript on load.
Sanity CMS
Full content freedom
You control every word on your storefront without a developer. Landing pages, editorial content, product copy, banners - all editable from a clean, structured CMS your team can actually use.
Shopify Storefront API
Commerce that just works
Products, cart, checkout, fulfilment, and payments stay inside Shopify. You keep all your existing integrations and fulfilment workflows - nothing breaks, nothing changes under the hood.
Is this the right fit for you?
This service is for ethical commerce brands who've outgrown what a standard Shopify theme can do, and who want a storefront that reflects the standard they hold everything else to.
It's a substantial investment and it's built to last. If you're an early-stage store still finding product-market fit, a standard Shopify theme is probably the right move for now. If you're established, values-led, and ready to own your digital presence properly, this is what that looks like.
This is for you if...
- You're a B Corp or ethical commerce brand selling online
- Your current Shopify store is slow, hard to update, or just doesn't look like you
- You've never measured the carbon footprint of your website and you'd rather it wasn't embarrassing
- You want a developer who understands what it means to run a values-led business
- You want to speak to one person from first call to launch, not a rotating cast
Not the right fit if...
- You're not selling products online (the content site or brochure site may suit you better)
- You need a full agency team with account managers, project managers, and multiple disciplines
- You need complex third-party Shopify app integrations that require bespoke API work - get in touch and we'll discuss scope
Everything you need to launch a high-performance ethical storefront.
No upsells halfway through. No 'that's extra' surprises. Here's what's in scope from the start.
Strategy & discovery
Audience research, competitor review, and SEO keyword mapping - so the site is built around what your customers actually search for and need.
Custom design
Wireframes and visual design built around your brand identity. No templates, no shortcuts. Fully reviewed and signed off before a line of code is written.
Astro + Sanity + Shopify build
Full headless build connecting all three layers - TypeScript throughout, clean component architecture, and a Sanity Studio setup your team can manage from day one.
WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility
Built to a high accessibility standard as default - not an add-on. Your store is usable by everyone. Fully audited before launch.
Core Web Vitals & SEO
On-page SEO, structured data, and real Lighthouse scores published publicly. Target: 95+ on Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, and SEO.
Carbon rating
Website Carbon badge on every page at launch - a real, measurable number, not a vague sustainability claim. I target an A or A+ rating on every build.
Cloudflare deployment
Deployed to Cloudflare Pages - served from a global edge network with 100% renewable energy. Fast everywhere. Low carbon everywhere.
Training & handover
A recorded walkthrough of your Sanity CMS and Shopify admin so you and your team can manage the store confidently without needing to call me for every update.
From first call to launch - usually ten to fourteen weeks.
Every project is different, but this is the shape of how most ecommerce builds go.
-
Discovery
Audience research, keyword mapping, competitor review. We figure out what the site needs to do before we touch the design.
-
Design
Wireframes, then visual design. You review and feed back at each stage. Build doesn't start until you're happy with what it looks like.
-
Build
Astro front end, Sanity CMS, Shopify Storefront API integration. You see progress on a staging environment throughout - no surprises on launch day.
-
Launch & handover
Lighthouse audit, carbon rating, accessibility check. Deployed to Cloudflare. Recorded CMS training session for your team. Ongoing support available.
Starting from £8,000
Ecommerce builds start at £8,000. Final cost depends on the number of pages, the complexity of the product catalogue, and which optional extras you need.
You'll receive a detailed fixed-price quote after the intro call - no hourly rates, no open-ended budgets.
Free, no obligation. Just a conversation.
Every ecommerce build includes:
- Discovery, strategy & sitemap
- Custom wireframes & visual design
- Astro + Sanity + Shopify Storefront API build
- Full product catalogue integration
- Cart, checkout & payments via Shopify
- WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility minimum
- SEO foundations + structured data
- Cloudflare deployment
- Lighthouse scores + carbon rating at handover
- CMS & Shopify admin training recording
- Ongoing maintenance (see Editor/Creator plans)
- Paid media or ongoing SEO
Common questions
What is headless Shopify?
Headless Shopify separates the front end (what customers see) from the back end (Shopify's commerce engine). Instead of using a Shopify theme, I build a custom front end with Astro and connect it to Shopify via the Storefront API. You get all of Shopify's commerce functionality - products, cart, checkout, payments - with a front end that's faster, lighter, and completely bespoke.
Is headless ecommerce faster than standard Shopify?
Yes - significantly. Standard Shopify themes load a lot of JavaScript and CSS that your store doesn't need, running on Shopify's shared infrastructure. A headless Astro build serves pre-rendered, static HTML from Cloudflare's edge network, with only the JavaScript that's genuinely required. The difference in Lighthouse Performance scores is typically 30–40 points.
How do I make my Shopify store more sustainable?
The biggest lever is reducing the amount of code that's downloaded on every page view - smaller files mean less energy consumed per visit. A headless build on Cloudflare's 100% renewable network reduces both page weight and the carbon intensity of serving your store. I publish a Website Carbon badge and score on every site I build so the number is real, not a claim.
What is the carbon footprint of an ecommerce website?
It depends on page weight and traffic. A typical Shopify theme page can transfer 2–4MB of data per visit - multiply that across thousands of monthly visitors and it adds up to a measurable carbon cost. A well-built headless store typically transfers 0.3–0.8MB per visit, hosted on renewable infrastructure. That's the difference between a D rating and an A+ on Website Carbon.
Can I still use my existing Shopify apps and integrations?
Most integrations that work via Shopify's admin - fulfilment, payments, email marketing, subscriptions - continue to work as normal. Apps that rely on injecting scripts directly into a Shopify theme (some review widgets, loyalty apps) need checking on a case-by-case basis. We'll review your existing app stack during discovery and flag anything that needs a different approach.
Do I need to move away from Shopify entirely?
No. Shopify stays as your commerce backbone - products, inventory, orders, checkout, and payments all remain there. What changes is the front end your customers see. You keep the Shopify admin you're used to for managing your catalogue. Sanity handles your editorial content (pages, banners, editorial copy). The two work together.
Ready to build a storefront worth sharing?
Book a free 30-minute intro call. We'll talk about your store, your goals, and whether a headless build is the right move - no pitch, no pressure.
Free, no obligation. Just a conversation.