Lemajordome

Lemajordome, a luxury shoe, belt, and shoe care retailer with stores in Switzerland and the United States, approached us with a vision to scale their online store. They required a robust and scalable eCommerce solution to meet their growing demands, and Magento 2 was the platform of choice. 

The client wanted a website that would handle both their Swiss and U.S. markets, featuring multi-language support for Switzerland (CH/DE, CH/FR, and CH/EN) and a separate U.S. English site.

At the start of the project, Lemajordome faced several significant challenges:

• Migration from ProcessWare to Magento 2: The client’s previous platform, ProcessWare, was no longer scalable, and migrating all their data and functionality to Magento 2 posed a major technical hurdle.
• Custom Shoe Builder: One of the most unique aspects of the business was its custom shoe builder, where users could design shoes to their exact specifications. This required highly customized development work to offer a seamless and interactive user experience.
• Design Consistency: Lemajordome needed an upgraded look for some of their pages but also wanted to retain their site’s familiar design elements for consistency across markets.

We approached the project with a blend of technical innovation, creative design, and clear communication to ensure we met all client expectations:

• Data Migration: Our back-end development team built a custom script to efficiently migrate data from ProcessWare to Magento 2, ensuring that no customer, product, or order data was lost. This was a delicate task, as any error in the migration could lead to disruptions in the client’s business operations.
• Custom Shoe Builder: For the custom shoe builder, we created a fully interactive experience allowing customers to design shoes from the ground up. The user could select colors, materials, and details to create a unique product. This feature involved complex front-end development to ensure smooth transitions and responsiveness across all devices.
• Hyvä Theme Development: We developed the new site using the Hyvä theme, which is known for its lightweight design and speed optimization to enhance performance. This was key in improving both the user experience and search engine rankings due to better page load speeds.
• New Pages and Improved Design: We designed and developed new pages for the Swiss and U.S. markets, such as a fully revamped FAQ page, and incorporated custom design elements where needed. Some pages were completely redesigned, while others retained familiar layouts to ensure brand consistency.

Though the updated website is yet to be released into production, the development results are already highly promising in several key areas:

• Speed and Performance: The Hyvä theme, along with optimized server configurations, significantly improved site speed. We are currently tracking performance scores and will provide final data post-launch.
• Shoe Customizer and Enhanced User Experience: The custom shoe builder offers a cutting-edge, interactive experience, setting Lemajordome apart from competitors. This feature will also help boost engagement, as customers can visualize their custom products before purchase.
• Localized Multi-Region Support: Our development catered to both Swiss and U.S. markets, ensuring language support across three languages (German, French, and English) in Switzerland and English in the U.S., providing a seamless experience for users in both regions.

Lemajordome’s migration to Magento 2, combined with custom development and a new design, sets them up for long-term growth and success. Our collaborative approach, technical expertise, and focus on delivering high-quality results ensured a smooth migration and a feature-rich website that will support their expanding business in both Switzerland and the United States.

These improvements not only showcase the technical effectiveness of the new platform but also demonstrate how tailored development solutions can drive tangible business growth.

For businesses contemplating a similar migration from ProcessWare to Magento 2 or any other platform, here are some insights based on our experience:

• Flexibility & Scalability: Magento 2 offers superior flexibility, enabling businesses to scale as they grow. Its modular nature allows for future integrations and customizations that a smaller platform like ProcessWare may not support.
• Vast Extension Ecosystem: One of the key advantages of Magento 2 is its vast marketplace of extensions, covering SEO, marketing, payments, shipping, and more. These ready-made modules can significantly reduce development time and add advanced functionality quickly.
• Hyvä theme and Performance Boost: Leveraging the Hyvä theme and technologies like Varnish Cache and Redis can drastically improve site speed, which not only benefits user experience but also boosts SEO rankings.

However, businesses must also be aware of the potential challenges:

• Complex Migration Process: Migrating from an older platform like ProcessWare to Magento 2 is no small feat. Data migration must be carefully planned and tested to avoid issues post-launch. Additionally, businesses should budget for the time and resources needed for customization and integration.
• Regular Updates: Magento 2 requires regular updates for security and functionality improvements. Businesses must be prepared to invest in ongoing maintenance to ensure the site remains up-to-date without conflicts.