Birds of a Feather is a home décor destination offering a carefully curated selection of distinctive products not found anywhere else in South Africa. Whether it’s a striking centrepiece or the perfect gift, their collections are as refined as their customer base. This project showcases how even artisanal and boutique retailers can benefit from a well-planned platform migration and modern web development — a valuable takeaway for niche brands in the Isle of Man looking to elevate their online presence.
Birds of a Feather, a premium South African home décor retailer known for its unique, hand-selected items, partnered with Ruby Digital to revamp its online store and migrate from Shopify to WordPress. The goal was to create a more flexible, future-proof website that reflected the brand’s aesthetic, improved user experience, and enhanced its eCommerce functionality — all while retaining the charm and sophistication their customers love.
Though based in South Africa, this project offers valuable lessons for independent retailers and boutique brands on the Isle of Man looking to scale their eCommerce operations and modernise their digital storefronts.
This web development project presented several key challenges:
Shopify to WordPress Migration: Migrating products, customer data, and order history while preserving data integrity and avoiding disruption.
SEO Risk: The potential loss of organic traffic during migration required careful planning with redirects and SEO best practices.
Design Consistency: Replicating the visual appeal and brand identity from Shopify on a new WordPress platform demanded thoughtful design execution.
Feature Parity: Ensuring equivalent or improved eCommerce functionality — such as shopping carts, cross-selling, inventory management, and wholesale registration — in WordPress.
Minimal Downtime: Seamless execution was required to avoid any sales disruption or negative customer experience during the transition.
We developed a comprehensive migration strategy to securely transfer all products, customer accounts, and historical orders from Shopify to WordPress.
To ensure a smooth user journey and protect SEO performance, we implemented 301 redirects, maintained structured URLs, and followed SEO best practices.
Customised the WordPress site to match the visual tone and branding of the original Shopify store, ensuring design consistency and familiarity for returning customers.
Integrated key eCommerce functions including a Wholesale Registration section and cross-sell functionality, enhancing both retail and B2B user journeys.
Scheduled the site transition during low-traffic periods and performed rigorous testing to minimise downtime and catch potential issues pre-launch.
Built an adaptive design for full responsiveness across desktop, tablet, and mobile — critical for engaging today’s multi-device users.
Simplified site navigation with a restructured menu and intuitive layout, including filtering features to help customers explore products with ease.
Delivered a visual upgrade, incorporating high-quality imagery, refined typography, and brand-aligned colour palettes that bring the Birds of a Feather aesthetic to life.
Conducted user testing to validate usability and adjust final design elements before launch, ensuring the site met real-world expectations.
Successful Migration: All data was transferred securely, with eCommerce features fully replicated or improved on the new WordPress site.
Improved UX: A clean, responsive, and intuitive interface delivered an enhanced shopping experience across all devices.
Brand Cohesion: The refreshed design stayed true to the brand’s luxury, curated identity, helping maintain customer loyalty and brand recognition.
Increased Engagement: Simplified navigation and cross-sell tools made it easier for customers to discover and purchase more products.
Scalable Infrastructure: The new site provides Birds of a Feather with a scalable foundation for future growth, campaign promotions, and seasonal collections.
RubyWeb is a trusted web design agency based in the Isle of Man, proudly serving businesses in Douglas, Ramsey, Peel, Castletown, and surrounding areas. We specialize in custom digital solutions that combine creativity, strategy, and the latest technology to build websites that connect with your audience, inspire action, and support long-term growth.
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