Client build · Shopify rebuild · 2026
My-Mu Bookstore
Turned a generic Shopify template into a credible heritage bookstore with cleaner product data, structured data, trust signals, and SEO preserved.
- Problem
- A heritage bookstore looked generic, leaked trust, and gave search engines weak product context.
- Build
- Shopify rebuild, product data cleanup, structured data, redirects, trust signals, and mobile verification.
- Result
- A credible live storefront with a client-approved checklist and a cleaner path from search to purchase.
“You turned what I did into something presentable. I could not be any happier at the outcome.”
Jack Churchward · My-Mu Bookstore
What it is
A complete Shopify store rebuild for My-Mu Bookstore, which sells the works of James Churchward, run today by his descendant Jack Churchward. My first paying client ($747 Full Store Fix), featured with consent on file.
What I built
- 01A custom Shopify theme with a heritage visual system (sepia portrait hero, Cormorant / EB Garamond, cream/oxblood palette, mounted-plate book covers) replacing an untouched generic template.
- 02Reworked product data: unique SEO titles + meta descriptions naming the exact book and author, format cleaned out of display titles, accurate per-book bylines, real ISBNs only.
- 03Product + Book structured data (JSON-LD, single validated node, no fake ratings), canonical tags, and a 301 redirect to preserve existing SEO equity.
- 04A trust layer: real attributed reader reviews, an author signing band (verified), signed / out-of-print badges on genuine titles, and honest catalog framing.
- 05Killed the off-store navigation leak, added favicon + social card, set up Google Search Console + sitemap, and upscaled low-res covers to PDP-grade resolution.
Business problem
The store looked like an untouched template — slow, thin product data, no authority signal, no structured data, invisible in search, and a nav that leaked visitors to a legacy site. A bookstore competing for browsers who decide in seconds was leaking every visitor it worked to attract.
My role
Shopify developer & ecommerce consultant. Diagnosis, full rebuild, SEO/schema, and go-live.
Proof
- ✓Live at shop.my-mu.com.
- ✓Real before/after: raw template → clean editorial storefront.
- ✓10/10 products pass a verification checklist (schema, single H1, canonical, cover resolution, byline accuracy).
- ✓First paying client of my agency: $747 Full Store Fix.
Success criteria
The standard I held myself to
Before I touched the store, I wrote a checkable definition of done: what had to change, why it mattered, and how Jack could verify the work himself.
No ranking promises. No sales guarantees. Only verifiable work inside my control: structure, clarity, discoverability, trust, and the buying path.
Find
Help the right buyers discover the official store without already knowing its address.
- ✓Unique titles and meta descriptions for every book page.
- ✓Clean redirects, canonical tags, Search Console, sitemap, and crawl checks.
- ✓Valid Product and Book structured data with real author, format, price, and availability fields.
Trust
Make the store feel official, credible, and clearly connected to the Churchward family.
- ✓Homepage leads with buyable books and official-store positioning.
- ✓Legacy and family stewardship copy uses only client-approved facts and material.
- ✓Primary navigation keeps visitors in the store instead of leaking them to the old site.
Buy
Make the books easy to understand, select, and purchase.
- ✓Product pages show title, cover, edition, format, availability, price, and what the buyer receives.
- ✓Physical and digital editions are separated into clean lanes.
- ✓Checkout and key mobile layouts are verified without broken links, confusing steps, or overflow.
What this proves
This proves I can fix the unglamorous parts that make a store believable and findable: catalog structure, metadata, schema, redirects, trust, and visual authority. It was not a reskin. It was the kind of cleanup that helps a serious buyer understand what they are buying and helps search engines understand what the store actually sells.