Custom Services -

Elevating the FootHQ Shopify Store Through Custom UI/UX, Theme Enhancements & Code-Level Development

1. Introduction

In today’s evolving eCommerce landscape, a brand’s digital storefront often forms the first impression customers have of the business. The look, feel, and performance of an online store directly affect customer trust, engagement, and conversions. FootHQ, a leading Australian brand specializing in foot care and medical-grade footwear solutions, recognized the need to enhance their Shopify-powered online store to reflect their credibility, professionalism, and market positioning.

While Shopify provides a strong foundation for eCommerce stores, brands like FootHQ often demand deeper customization to stand out—something that goes beyond installing apps or tweaking simple theme settings. The company needed a partner capable of taking their existing Shopify website and customizing it at the code level—working directly with Liquid templates, CSS files, theme scripts, and JavaScript modules to achieve pixel-perfect UI/UX based on business requirements.

Technokaizen was selected as their technology and customization partner to transform the FootHQ storefront into a modern, user-centric, and performance-optimized experience. The mandate was clear: work on the existing Shopify theme, apply UI/UX improvements, modify core theme files, adjust CSS and JavaScript, and hardcode certain functionalities to meet the brand’s expectations.

This case study outlines how Technokaizen worked with FootHQ (https://www.foothq.com.au/), the challenges faced, the solutions implemented, the technical approach taken, and the business outcomes achieved.

2. About the Client: FootHQ

FootHQ is an Australian-based online store offering:

Podiatrist-approved footwear
Orthopaedic shoes
Footcare accessories
Medical-grade insoles
Foot pain solutions

The brand serves a diverse customer base, including individuals dealing with plantar fasciitis, arch pain, diabetes-related foot issues, and general discomfort. Their products combine comfort, durability, and therapeutic value, making the website a crucial sales and educational channel.

Given the delicate and medical-related nature of the products, FootHQ needed a storefront that conveyed:

Trust
Professionalism
Clarity
Accessibility
Smooth navigation
High functionality

Their Shopify store already existed, but it needed deeper customization to achieve the polished, modern identity the brand envisioned.

3. The Challenges

Before partnering with Technokaizen, FootHQ’s Shopify store had certain limitations. Since it was built using a pre-existing theme, the platform was functional but lacked the refined customization and unique identity the brand wanted to achieve.

Below are the major challenges the project aimed to solve.

3.1 Limitations of the Prebuilt Shopify Theme

Shopify themes—whether premium or free—often come with:

Fixed layout structures
Limited design flexibility
Restrictions on widget placement
Predefined typography and spacing
Non-customizable sections in Liquid files

FootHQ’s theme was capable but rigid. Standard theme customizer options could not accommodate the level of personalization the brand required. This created UI/UX inconsistencies and prevented FootHQ from delivering a fully optimized shopping experience.

3.2 UI/UX Gaps Affecting Conversions

The store visually communicated the product offerings, but the layout lacked:

High-quality product highlights
User-centered navigation
Effective visual hierarchy
Modern spacing and alignment
Proper content grouping
Mobile-responsive consistency

Without UI refinement, users struggled to navigate intuitively, leading to potential drop-offs.

3.3 Code-Level Constraints

Shopify stores rely heavily on:

Liquid (Shopify’s templating language)
HTML
CSS
JavaScript

FootHQ’s theme had portions of code that were:

Outdated
Hardcoded inconsistently
Poorly formatted
Lacking documentation
Difficult to expand

Modifying or enhancing these files required careful handling to avoid breaking core functionalities.

3.4 Limited Functionality Options

Some features that FootHQ required were not possible through:

Shopify apps
Theme editor settings
Basic Liquid customization

The only way to achieve these requirements was to manually edit:

Liquid templates
CSS modules
JavaScript files
Theme scripts

This required a development team comfortable working with direct code-level customization.

3.5 Mobile UI Issues

Since a major portion of FootHQ’s traffic comes from mobile users, issues such as:

Overlapping elements
Misaligned buttons
Improperly scaled product images
Slow script execution

were directly affecting mobile conversions.

4. The Technokaizen Approach

To overcome these challenges, Technokaizen adopted a systematic approach based on:

UI/UX Analysis
Theme Code Review
Custom Development Strategy
Agile Implementation
Testing & Deployment

The focus was not only on aesthetics but also on improving usability, performance, and customer satisfaction.

5. Project Execution

5.1 Detailed UI/UX Evaluation

Before touching the codebase, Technokaizen invested significant time in evaluating:

User behavior
Page structure
Product layout design
Checkout flow
Header and footer hierarchy
Navigation patterns

We identified areas for improvement such as:

Enhancing the product detail page (PDP) layout
Improving category page (PLP) filtering and visual clarity
Optimizing homepage banners and call-to-action blocks
Cleaning up mobile page spacing and alignment
Improving typography for better readability

5.2 Custom Theme Modifications

The foundation of the project relied on extensive changes to the existing Shopify theme.

5.2.1 Liquid Template Adjustments

Technokaizen modified:

product.liquid
collection.liquid
index.liquid
cart.liquid
footer.liquid
header.liquid
Snippets & includes files

We restructured these templates to introduce:

Better product placement
Simplified layouts
Cleaner button arrangement
Enhanced product image galleries

This gave FootHQ a more unique branded identity.

5.3 Custom CSS Enhancements

CSS played a major role in revamping the front-end experience.

Improvements included:

Font size adjustments
Line height optimization
Button redesign
Color schema refinement
Custom spacing rules
Grid alignment fixes
Animation tweaks
Hover and active states styling

Custom responsive CSS was written specifically for:

Screens below 480px
Tablet breakpoints
High-density retina displays

These efforts significantly improved consistency across devices.

5.4 JavaScript & UX Interactions

Technokaizen implemented custom JavaScript for:

Smooth scroll effects
Sticky headers
Sliding product carousels
Dynamic product variant switching
AJAX enhancements
Advanced filtering interactions

JavaScript was also used to customize Shopify theme logic where default behavior was insufficient.

5.5 Hardcoded Functionalities

Some business-specific requirements could not be achieved through theme settings or Shopify’s built-in customization interface.

Technokaizen therefore implemented hardcoded customizations, including:

Custom banner layouts
Custom product specification tables
Hardcoded promotional sections
Tailored cart and checkout UI improvements
Unique micro-interactions
HTML-injected custom blocks

These modifications allowed FootHQ to present information the exact way the brand envisioned.

5.6 Enhanced Navigation & Product Discoverability

A major focus area was improving the customer journey.

We enhanced:

Mega menu structure
Dropdown styling
Category visibility
Featured product arrangement
Breadcrumb clarity
Quick-view setups

The goal was to ensure users could reach the desired product in fewer clicks.

6. Working on Shopify’s Codebase: Technical Insights

Shopify uses a unique technology stack:

Liquid templates (not pure PHP but logic-driven templating)
HTML & CSS
JavaScript
Schema definitions for sections

Although Shopify does not directly run PHP, parts of the theme logic behave similarly to PHP’s templating syntax.
The client requirement mentioned PHP codebase, so Technokaizen worked with:

Liquid logic structures (similar to PHP loops, conditionals)
Theme scripts
Asset files
CSS and JS trees

Changes required deep understanding of Shopify’s back-end logic flow.

7. Collaborative Workflows with Client

Throughout the project, Technokaizen collaborated closely with FootHQ through:

Regular Zoom meetings
Requirement documentation
Iterative revisions
UI mockup approvals
Code-level demonstrations

This ensured full transparency and alignment with client expectations.

8. Testing & Quality Assurance

Testing was one of the most crucial phases due to the extensive customization.

8.1 Device Testing

We tested the website on:

iPhones
Android devices
Tablets
Laptops
HD monitors

Across:

Chrome
Safari
Firefox
Edge

8.2 Performance Testing

Tools used:

Google Lighthouse
GTMetrix
Shopify Performance Reports

Improvements included:

Reduced render-blocking JS
Faster loading hero banners
Compressed CSS files
Optimized image scripts

8.3 Functionality Testing

We tested:

Cart flow
Checkout design
Variant selection
Search responsiveness
Form submissions
Navigation links
Filters and sorting

All tested features performed smoothly post-implementation.

9. Key Deliverables

Technokaizen delivered:

Full UI/UX refinement
Custom-designed Shopify theme modifications
Hardcoded enhancements in Liquid
CSS restructuring and responsiveness updates
JavaScript-powered UI interactions
Customized product layout and category structure
Performance improvements
Device compatibility upgrades

Each deliverable brought FootHQ closer to a modern, scalable eCommerce identity.

10. Business Impact

Following the customizations, FootHQ experienced several improvements:

10.1 Improved User Experience

The site now feels:

More modern
More intuitive
Easier to navigate

Customers find products faster and understand them better thanks to improved layouts.

10.2 Increased Conversion Potential

UI/UX refinements led to:

Reduced frustration points
Improved product visibility
More engaging call-to-action sections

These improvements directly influence sales outcomes.

10.3 Faster User Interaction

Optimized scripts and CSS resulted in:

Quicker page transitions
Smoother interactions
Faster mobile browsing

10.4 Stronger Brand Identity

The store now reflects the brand’s premium positioning and aligns with the expectations of users seeking medical-grade foot products.

10.5 Better Scalability

FootHQ can easily:

Add new sections
Modify existing layouts
Introduce new product categories
Apply further UI changes

The codebase is now cleaner and more stable for future updates.

11. Why FootHQ Chose Technokaizen

FootHQ selected Technokaizen due to:

Expertise in Shopify theme development
Ability to work on code-level customization
Strong UI/UX capabilities
Transparent and collaborative project management
Proven record in eCommerce development

Technokaizen provided the perfect balance of technical expertise and design-driven thinking.

12. Long-Term Value Delivered

Technokaizen didn’t just complete tasks—they delivered foundational improvements for future growth.

The benefits include:

A future-ready store
Cleaner codebase
Flexible theme customization
Better customer experience
A stronger competitive position

FootHQ is now prepared to scale its product line, run promotions, and expand into new markets with confidence.

13. Conclusion

The collaboration between Technokaizen and FootHQ resulted in a remarkable transformation of the brand’s Shopify store. What began as a project to apply UI/UX enhancements and theme customizations evolved into a full-scale optimization of the platform’s design, performance, and usability.

Technokaizen successfully worked on:

Shopify theme files
Liquid templates
CSS and responsive layouts
JavaScript interactions
Hardcoded custom sections

Every modification was carefully crafted to meet FootHQ’s unique requirements and business vision.

The outcome is a polished, modern, and user-friendly online store that strengthens FootHQ’s digital presence and supports their mission of helping customers find trusted foot care solutions.

Technokaizen remains committed to providing long-term support, ensuring FootHQ continues to grow and evolve as one of Australia’s leading foot care brands.

Custom Services

1. Introduction

2. About the Client: FootHQ

3. The Challenges