Case Study · Fashion & Apparel
Cove & Lane's previous developers had embedded a single React/HTML file directly into the store instead of building on Shopify's own architecture. We migrated it onto native Shopify the right way, rebuilt every approved design, and shipped the features that came next.
How it started
Karan Dubey, who'd already introduced us to Jaxon Lane through Tealbox Digital, connected us with Cove & Lane's team in May 2025 — with a simple note that he'd worked with us extensively and trusted our execution. A few weeks later we were signed on to migrate and optimize their store.
The challenge
Cove & Lane's storefront wasn't running on Shopify Hydrogen or any deliberate headless setup. A previous team of developers had embedded a single React/HTML file directly into the Shopify store instead of building a proper theme — using a stack they were comfortable with rather than Shopify's own standards. It looked fine on the surface, but the store couldn't be edited through Shopify's native customizer, couldn't cleanly use the app ecosystem, and was failing Core Web Vitals outright.
They needed someone to actually migrate it onto Shopify the right way — without losing the design they'd already locked in — then keep shipping the feature requests that come with running a growing fashion brand.
The migration itself wasn't simple: the existing implementation was undocumented and full of hardcoded values, so the first job was reverse-engineering how it actually worked before anything could move — all while switching back and forth between urgent live-site requests and the performance work underneath.
40%
GTmetrix score — up from 13%
45+
Features shipped & bugs resolved
Passed
Core Web Vitals — up from Failed
What we built
Rebuilt every client-approved design natively in Shopify — moving Cove & Lane off the bolted-on React/HTML embed and onto a platform they could extend with apps, themes, and their own team going forward. Version-controlled on GitHub with branch-based theme previews, so every change shipped with a clear commit history.
Optimized site images and the Slick Carousel library powering the storefront. LCP dropped from 2.3s to 2.1s, INP from 109ms to 101ms, and FCP from 1.8s to 1.7s — while CLS stayed at a perfect 0 and TTFB held at 0.6s, even as new sections were added. Overall GTmetrix performance score rose from 13% to 40%, and the site's Core Web Vitals assessment moved from Failed to Passed for real users.
Added clickable sliding banners on the homepage, a "Notify Me" flow for back-in-stock and coming-soon products, and sticky Buy Now / Add to Cart buttons — plus a Price Drop link feature with customizable styling, aimed squarely at reducing checkout drop-off.
Shipped a testimonials section, out-of-stock email notifications, product reviews and ratings, a referral integration, wishlist functionality, Buy-X-Get-Y promotions, order tracking, and a gift box email template.
Added breadcrumb navigation across collection and product pages, brought feature badges to the desktop view, enlarged product listing cards with smoother carousel behavior, added a dedicated offers section to the product page, and recreated the blog section that had gone missing in the migration.
Implemented cookie consent to meet Cove & Lane's compliance deadline, made sections customizable from the theme editor so the team isn't locked into calling a developer for routine updates, and stayed on as their monthly development capacity — running performance audits and picking up new requests as they come in, typically within 24 hours.
The result
The speed and UX improvements translated directly into a measurable drop in checkout drop-offs — the kind of outcome that matters more to a growing fashion brand than any raw speed score on its own.
It's been great working with Atul on our website maintenance and daily management! Thanks Atul.
Sanya Pradhan
Co-Founder, Cove & Lane
Cove & Lane moved off a hacked-together workaround, passed Core Web Vitals, and picked up a stack of new commerce features in the process — without ever taking the site offline.
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