How to Review Your Shopify Plus Store Design: Complete Guide
By Braincuber Team
Published on May 13, 2026
A thorough store design review can reveal opportunities to boost conversions, build brand credibility, and create meaningful connections with your customers. This complete step by step guide walks through a professional design review of Coconut Bowls, one of only two Shopify Plus stores operating out of Vietnam in 2019. You will learn what to evaluate on your homepage, product pages, and about us page.
What You'll Learn:
- How to evaluate homepage design: announcement bars, hero images, and CTAs
- How to optimize product pages with testimonials, payment options, and descriptions
- How to strengthen your About Us page to build brand trust
- What design elements to keep and what to avoid
- How sustainability and brand values drive conversions
Store = Coconut Bowls
Niche = Sustainable homeware (bowls from fallen coconuts)
Platform = Shopify Plus (1 of only 2 stores in Vietnam at the time)
Value Prop = Sustainability, global movement, eco-friendly products
Step 1: Review Your Homepage Design
The homepage is your digital storefront. Coconut Bowls demonstrates several strong design choices along with areas for refinement:
What Coconut Bowls Does Well
Eye-catching announcement bar with an interactive link that draws attention immediately. The call to action contrasts nicely from the hero image, making it easy to spot. Custom graphics state brand values and unique guarantees upfront, building trust before the visitor scrolls.
Area for Improvement
The heading text could contrast better over the hero image. When text sits on a busy background image, contrast can drop below readable levels. A semi-transparent overlay or text shadow can fix this without changing the visual aesthetic.
Step 2: Optimize Your Product Page
The magic of the sale happens on the product page. Coconut Bowls most popular product comes in the form of a set, and their product page offers several best practices you should consider for your own store:
Strengths to Emulate
Crisp product images that showcase the product from multiple angles. Two bright orange CTAs that stand out immediately. Choice of payment installments with AfterPay to reduce purchase friction. Testimonials and product reviews in abundance for social proof. A stunning Instagram gallery embedded to show the product in real use.
Areas to Improve
The product description could be more dense and benefit-driven, informing customers about the importance of recycling and natural materials. The accordion information element has formatting issues appearing stuck to the edge of the screen. Purchase pop-ups in the bottom left may be perceived as less credible by today's savvier consumers.
Product Page Best Practice Checklist
Include high-res images, clear CTAs, payment options like AfterPay or BNPL, customer reviews with photos, an embedded social media gallery, benefit-driven descriptions, and proper padding on all content elements.
Step 3: Strengthen Your About Us Page
The About Us page is vital to help visitors connect with your brand. Coconut Bowls About Us page was identified as an area that needed more substance:
Add Faces and Personal Stories
Photos of the founders, team members, and customers help humanize your brand. Personal stories and the journey behind the business create emotional connections that drive conversions far more effectively than generic copy.
Share Your Brand Mission and Values
Coconut Bowls excelled at communicating their sustainability mission through footer sections. Move these mission-driven messages to the About Us page where they are more likely to be seen by visitors who specifically want to learn about your brand.
Combine Visuals with Compelling Copy
A skimpy About Us page misses a huge conversion opportunity. Combine powerful visuals, team photos, customer stories, and detailed brand narrative to create a page that turns casual visitors into loyal customers.
Store Design Review Summary Table
| Page | Strength | Improvement |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage | Announcement bar, CTA contrast, brand value graphics | Improve heading text contrast over hero image |
| Product Page | Crisp images, AfterPay, testimonials, Insta gallery, reviews | Denser descriptions, fix accordion padding, reconsider pop-ups |
| About Us | Footer has strong mission/vision content | Add faces, photos, personal stories, more substance |
Key Lesson: Brand Values Drive Conversions
The most important takeaway from the Coconut Bowls review is that brand values are a powerful conversion driver. Coconut Bowls commitment to sustainability draws buyers to them. A simple set of values combined with a unique selling proposition can set your store apart in a competitive market.
Unique Context
Coconut Bowls was one of only two Shopify Plus stores in Vietnam at the time of this review. Their sustainability mission set them apart globally. Consider what unique angle your store can own.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most important page to optimize in a Shopify store?
The product page is where the sale happens. Focus on crisp product images, clear CTAs, multiple payment options like AfterPay, customer reviews, social media proof, and benefit-driven descriptions to maximize conversion rates.
Should I use purchase pop-up notifications on my store?
Purchase pop-ups can be effective, but consumers are increasingly skeptical of them. If you use them, ensure they show genuine recent purchases and do not appear too frequently. A/B test to determine their impact on your specific audience.
How can I improve text readability over hero images?
Add a semi-transparent overlay between the image and text, use text shadows, or choose a darker image section for text placement. Maintain a minimum 4.5:1 contrast ratio following WCAG accessibility guidelines for readability.
What makes an About Us page effective for e-commerce?
An effective About Us page includes founder photos, team member stories, the brand journey, clear mission and values, customer testimonials, and authentic visuals. It builds emotional connections that drive trust and ultimately conversions.
How does Shopify Plus differ from regular Shopify for store design?
Shopify Plus offers advanced customization capabilities, higher traffic capacity, dedicated support, and access to Shopify Scripts for personalized shopping experiences. The design principles remain the same, but Plus allows more sophisticated implementations.
Need Help with Your Shopify Store Design?
Our Shopify design experts can conduct a professional store review and provide actionable recommendations to improve your conversion rates. From homepage to product pages, we guide you through every step.