SHOPIFY CASE STUDY
Bringing Bali to a Shopify Storefront
How WebSpero designed and built a Bali-inspired premium Shopify theme for a French garden decor brand, turning a product catalog into an editorial brand destination with structured category navigation, verified social proof, and a dual B2C/B2B channel layout.
Project Context
Client
Exotic Design (VB MOBILIER)
Niche
Shopify E-Commerce Redesign
The Tech Stack
- Shopify
- Liquid
- Custom Theme (Theme Strech Dev)
"That's my passion. That's the passion of Exotic Design."
Founder Valentin built Exotic Design around a single belief: that the right outdoor piece can transform any space. When the brand came to WebSpero, the products and the audience were already in place. What was missing was a storefront that matched the premium positioning they had built since 2019.
Founder, Exotic Design
VB MOBILIER · Gradignan, France
HOW WE BUILT IT
A Structured, Client-in-the-Loop Build Process
Exotic Design came to us with a clear brief: a storefront that felt premium and Bali-inspired from the first scroll, with a catalog structure that matched how the brand thinks about its products. Every design decision was validated against the brand’s identity before development began, and the founder reviewed each milestone before we moved forward.
DISCOVERY
A working session to understand the brand’s identity, catalog structure, target audiences (B2C and B2B), and what the existing store was not doing for the brand.
REQUIREMENT ANALYSIS
We mapped the homepage into sections by purpose: brand identity, category navigation, product discovery, social proof, and dual
B2C/B2B conversion paths. Each section was assigned a clear role before design began.
DESIGN DIRECTION
Defined the visual system: warm cream backgrounds, Bali-inspired photography direction, orange accent for CTAs, and editorial headline treatment. The
design language was agreed before any code was written.
THEME DEVELOPMENT
Built the custom Shopify theme in Liquid: hero section, filter-based universe navigation, product carousels, about section, review integration, blog layout,
Instagram feed, and footer trust architecture.
CONTENT ARCHITECTURE
Structured the four product universes as navigable sections. Set up carousels for Best Sellers and New Arrivals, each pulling dynamically
from the Shopify catalog with correct pricing and product imagery.
INTEGRATION & CONTENT
Connected Instagram feed, configured newsletter signup, set up blog section, and integrated verified review display with ACHETEUR
AUTHENTIFIE badge formatting throughout.
QA & TESTING
Cross-browser and cross-device testing across all homepage sections. Verified filter button switching, carousel behaviour, form submissions, and trust badge
display on mobile and desktop.
LAUNCH
Deployed the theme to the live Shopify store. Verified all integrations, confirmed product data populated correctly across all four universe filters, and handed
over full theme source code to the client.
Hero Section: Brand Statement and First Impression
The homepage opens with a full-width hero: Bali-inspired photography, a clear brand statement (BRING BALI AT YOUR HOME), and a single call to action (EXPLORE PRODUCTS). No competing messages. The brand’s identity is established before a visitor has scrolled.
Our Universes: Category Navigation
A filter-button section that organises the catalog by creative category: Exotic Garden, Japanese Garden, Modern Garden, and Home Decor, plus an All view. Visitors switch between categories in one click without leaving the section, and each filter button reveals its category’s products inline. This is the brand’s editorial logic made navigable.
About Exotic Design: Founder Story
A two-column section introducing founder Valentin with his photograph and a direct quote: “That’s my passion. That’s the passion of Exotic Design.” For a premium niche brand, showing the person behind the products matters at least as much as showing the products.
Best Sellers: Curated Product Discovery
A scrollable carousel of Exotic Design’s best-selling pieces, each with product photography, name, and price. Buyers on this page who know what category they want are met with the most-trusted products first, with no hunting required.
Deals and Professional Offer: Dual Conversion Paths
A two-column section that separates the consumer and trade buyer journeys. The left panel takes deal-seekers to a promotional offers page. The right panel speaks to B2B professionals (landscapers, decorators, architects) with its own call to action and offer description, without interrupting the consumer experience.
New Arrivals: Fresh Inventory Feed
A second carousel surfacing the most recently added products. Return visitors and active browsers check this section. It updates automatically as new products are added to the Shopify catalog, with no manual homepage editing required.
Customer Reviews: Verified Social Proof
A carousel of verified buyer reviews, each with a star rating, reviewer name, and ACHETEUR AUTHENTIFIE badge. French-language reviews from real customers supply the trust that a premium niche product requires before a first purchase. The badge format communicates verification without explanation.
Our Blogs: Editorial Content
A three-card blog section linking to editorial articles on garden and decor topics: why to have a Buddha statue at home, how to design a modern garden, how to care for solid wood furniture. Editorial content signals expertise and keeps the brand relevant between purchase decisions.
Instagram Integration: Community Feed
A scrollable Instagram feed showing the brand’s products in real spaces: statues in gardens, pieces installed in homes. Social feeds on product pages extend the browsing session and reinforce the brand’s visual identity beyond curated photography.
Footer: Trust Signals and Navigation
The footer opens with a four-point trust bar: 2-year warranty, 100% secure payment, 30-day return policy, and home delivery or collection. Below it: organised links across About, Products, Customer Service, a newsletter block with a first-order discount, social links, and the company address (Gradignan, France, since 2019).
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM US
Transparent Build Process and Clean Delivery for Shopify Projects
If you are building or rebuilding a Shopify store and weighing agencies, here is what working with our team actually looks like.
A plan before a proposal.
We start with a working session to understand what your store needs to do, who it serves, and where the gaps are. For a brand store, that means understanding the brand identity, not just the feature list. You leave with a delivery plan, not a sales pitch.
Brand-first, not feature-first.
Every section of your homepage exists for a reason. We agree on the purpose of each section before we design it. The end product reflects your brand’s actual logic, not a template someone built for a different business.
Clean theme code from the start.
We write Shopify Liquid that any competent developer can read and maintain. No third-party app dependency for functionality that belongs in the theme. No workarounds that break on the next Shopify update.
One team from design to launch.
The same team that designs your theme builds it and tests it. There is no handoff between a design agency and a development shop. When the design changes, the developer who built it makes the change.
A milestone review at every stage.
You review the actual work at each stage: design direction, theme in staging, integrations live, final QA. You always know what has been built and what is left. No month-long silences followed by a reveal.
Quality that does not depend on one person.
Every change is tested before it reaches you. Every section is reviewed across browsers and devices, not just on one screen. Nothing ships because one developer said it looked fine on their machine.
You own what we build.
At handover you get the full theme: Shopify Liquid source files, all custom CSS and JavaScript, and documentation. Your team can take it forward independently or keep us on; that is your choice.
A founder-friendly working rhythm.
You review every milestone. The brief you gave us, the thing that makes your store feel like your brand and not a template, is what we build to. You are not a ticket number.