CRO for Shopify DTC brands

Better research
than any agency.
12 analyses,
running at once.

Frontward uses agentic research pipelines to find what's costing your Shopify store conversions — then implements the fixes with your approval at every step.

Get a research briefSee how it works →
Sample finding · Happy Being
Mobile hero CTA is below the fold on 3 of 4 viewport sizes
The primary "Shop Now" button renders below the viewport on 375px, 390px, and 414px screens — covering 68% of mobile traffic. Visitors must scroll before they can convert on their first action.
Mobile UXCTA ValidationUsabilityCode Structure
7of 12 analyses flagged this independently
The problem

Most Shopify brands either skip CRO entirely or pay agencies a fortune for it. Neither option makes sense.

Traditional CRO agency
One analyst, one perspective
  • Five-figure annual retainer, no end date
  • One analyst doing surface-level heuristic reviews
  • 5–6 dimensions checked per audit
  • Findings based on opinion, not cross-validation
  • Ongoing dependency — agency owns the process
DIY with A/B testing tools
Tools without process
  • You have Shoplift / Convert — and zero active tests
  • No systematic research to know what to test
  • Founder bandwidth is always the constraint
  • Good ideas stay ideas — nothing gets implemented
  • Infrastructure spend with no ROI
Frontward
Deeper research. You own the process.
  • 12 specialist analyses on every run, simultaneously
  • Cross-validation — issues flagged by 7+ analyses are findings, not opinions
  • Human approval gate before anything touches your store
  • Guardrails auto-kill tests if metrics fall below threshold
  • Phase 0 brief is fixed-scope — no commitment beyond that
The research

A human analyst looks at 5 things.
We look at 12, simultaneously.

Each analysis is a specialist — tuned for a specific conversion dimension. They run in parallel, and their outputs converge into a single prioritized brief. Issues flagged by multiple analyses independently carry more weight than any single finding.

01
Code structure
Shopify theme architecture, Liquid templates, performance bottlenecks at the code level
02
Mobile UX
Full viewport analysis at 375px, 390px, 414px, and 768px — every element, every scroll depth
03
Copy clarity
Value proposition, headline hierarchy, product description readability, messaging consistency
04
Page speed
Core Web Vitals, LCP, CLS, render-blocking resources, image optimization gaps
05
Trust signals
Social proof placement, review visibility, purchase anxiety triggers, return policy clarity
06
Competitor benchmark
Direct competitor storefront comparison across UX patterns, pricing presentation, and conversion mechanics
07
Ad-to-page alignment
Message match between paid traffic and landing experience — promise vs. delivery gaps
08
Traffic source expectations
Intent mapping per channel — organic, paid, social — and whether the page meets that intent
09
CTA validation
Button placement, copy, visibility, and hierarchy across every page viewport and scroll position
10
Usability heuristics
Nielsen's 10 principles applied to your specific store — friction, error recovery, consistency
11
Shopify analytics
Drop-off patterns, funnel analysis, segment behavior — where the data says you're losing people
12
Market positioning
Category fit, differentiation clarity, whether the storefront communicates what makes you worth buying
Example finding — redacted from real brief
Subscription value proposition is not visible until scroll depth 3 on mobile
The "subscribe & save 20%" offer — the primary retention mechanic — is positioned below the fold on all mobile viewports. First-time visitors making a purchase decision never see it. The page is converting visitors to one-time buyers at a rate consistent with a brand that doesn't offer subscriptions. Recommended test: variant with subscription callout in the hero vs. control.
Mobile UXCopy ClarityCTA ValidationTrust SignalsShopify Analytics
5
analyses flagged
this independently
How it works

Phased delivery.
You own every output.

Every engagement follows the same structure. You don't commit to the next phase until the previous one delivers. Nothing ships without your explicit approval — not a spec, not a code diff, not a live test.

Phase 0
Research brief
We run the full 12-analysis pipeline on your store. All findings converge into a prioritized brief — ranked by expected conversion impact, with specific test recommendations for each issue.
Deliverable: prioritized CRO brief
5–7 days
Phase 1
Implement & test
We take the top opportunities from the brief and build A/B tests. Spec approval, code review, and results review are explicit human gates — you sign off at each one before we proceed.
Deliverable: live A/B tests, results
4–6 weeks
Phase 2
Scale to full site
Pipeline expands from homepage to the full page set — PDP, collection, cart, checkout. Web UI replaces the terminal. No technical knowledge required to operate the system going forward.
Deliverable: full-site pipeline
Scoped after Phase 1
Four human gates. Nothing moves without your sign-off.
01
Brief review
What did the agents find, what do they recommend, and in what order. You decide what to build.
02
Spec review
Exactly what the test will change and why — before a single line of code is written.
03
Diff review
What changed in the code, explained in plain English. You see it before it goes to preview.
04
Results review
What won, by how much, what the revenue impact is. You approve before the winner ships to main.
Case study

Happy Being
DTC wellness brand
on Shopify

Happy Being sells functional beverages direct-to-consumer on Shopify. They had A/B testing infrastructure — and zero active tests. Not because they didn't want to optimize, but because systematic CRO research takes time and expertise they didn't have in-house.

Phase 0 ran 12 parallel analyses on their homepage. The brief identified 9 prioritized test opportunities. Seven were flagged by more than one analysis independently.

Analyses run
12
Test opportunities found
9
Cross-validated findings
7
Selected findings from the brief
Hero CTA below the fold on 3 of 4 mobile viewport sizes, covering 68% of mobile traffic
Mobile UXCTA ValidationUsability7 of 12
Subscription offer not visible above fold — converting repeat-intent visitors to one-time buyers
Copy ClarityTrust SignalsMobile UX5 of 12
No social proof in checkout flow — trust signal gap at highest-intent moment in the funnel
Trust SignalsUsability4 of 12
Hero copy leads with ingredient claims — competitors lead with outcome claims. Messaging mismatch with paid ad creative.
Copy ClarityAd AlignmentMarket Positioning4 of 12
Phase 1 in progress — implementing top findings. Full-site expansion (PDP, collection, cart, checkout) underway.
The model, not the domain

CRO for Shopify is where we started.
Not where we stop.

01
High-frequency, repeatable workflow
The workflow runs on a regular cadence — daily, weekly, monthly. Automation ROI compounds over time.
02
Structured output
The workflow produces a report, a decision, a document, a code change. Something measurable and reviewable.
03
Recoverable errors
Human review catches mistakes before they cause harm. The cost of a wrong output is low enough to fix.
04
Clear, quantifiable ROI
Automating it has a number attached — hours saved, revenue lifted, cost reduced. The case doesn't require faith.
Workflows that qualify
E-commerce CRO
Research, hypothesis generation, implementation, and A/B testing for Shopify storefronts.
● Current focus
Contract review
Parallel clause analysis, risk flagging, and redline suggestions across high-volume legal document workflows.
○ Accepting inquiries
Content operations
Research pipelines for SEO briefs, competitive analysis, and content performance audits at scale.
○ Accepting inquiries
Financial reporting
Automated variance analysis, commentary generation, and data quality checks for recurring finance workflows.
○ Accepting inquiries

If your team runs a high-frequency workflow by hand — one that produces a structured output and has a clear ROI case for automating it — it's likely a fit. The methodology generalizes. The domain is up to you.

Tell us about your workflow →
Get started

Get a research brief
for your store

We run the full 12-analysis pipeline on your Shopify storefront. You get a prioritized brief of every conversion issue we found, with specific test recommendations. If we don't find at least 3 issues worth testing, you pay nothing.

This engagement is a fit if:

  • You're running a Shopify or Shopify Plus storefront
  • You're doing $50K+ in monthly revenue (CRO ROI math works at this level)
  • You have A/B testing infrastructure — or are willing to set it up
  • You want to own the process, not rent it from an agency
Apply for a Phase 0 brief
We respond within 48 hours. If it's not a fit, we'll tell you — and why.