Cafe Nairobi brings authentic Kenyan coffee to American customers through a seamless e-commerce platform. While the coffee is sourced directly from Kenya, Codevant Technologies built a U.S.-focused Shopify store optimized for American consumers — handling everything from domestic logistics and payment processing to performance optimization and market positioning.
Building for the U.S. Coffee Market
Cafe Nairobi needed an e-commerce platform that could compete in the saturated American specialty coffee market while authentically telling the story of Kenyan coffee origins. The challenge was creating a fast, trustworthy shopping experience optimized for U.S. consumers, while maintaining the brand’s connection to its Kenyan roots and managing the complexities of international sourcing.
Technical Architecture & Development
Custom Shopify Theme Development
Built a performance-focused custom theme from the ground up:
- Liquid Template Engineering: Developed modular, reusable Liquid components for product displays, collection grids, and dynamic content sections. Used Liquid logic to handle conditional rendering based on product availability, shipping zones, and customer segments
- JavaScript Functionality: Implemented vanilla JavaScript for interactive features, including product image galleries, variant selectors, cart functionality, and real-time shipping calculators. Avoided heavy frameworks to maintain speed
- CSS Architecture: Built a scalable CSS system using BEM methodology for maintainability. Leveraged CSS Grid and Flexbox for responsive layouts that adapt seamlessly across devices
- Mobile-First Responsive Design: Engineered a breakpoint system optimized for mobile devices (where 60%+ of traffic originates), progressively enhancing for tablets and desktops
Performance Optimization
Speed was critical for competing in the U.S. market:
- Asset Optimization: Implemented an automated image compression pipeline using WebP format with JPEG fallbacks. Configured lazy loading for below-the-fold images and deferred non-critical JavaScript
- Code Minification: Minified CSS and JavaScript files, removed unused code, and concatenated assets to reduce HTTP requests
- Critical CSS Inlining: Extracted and inlined critical above-the-fold CSS to eliminate render-blocking resources
- CDN Utilization: Leveraged Shopify’s global CDN to serve assets from edge locations closest to U.S. customers, reducing latency
- Caching Strategy: Implemented browser caching headers and optimized server-side caching for faster repeat visits
- Performance Monitoring: Set up continuous monitoring with Lighthouse CI and Core Web Vitals tracking to maintain speed benchmarks
International Payment Processing
Configured robust payment infrastructure for cross-border transactions:
- Multi-Gateway Setup: Integrated Shopify Payments as the primary gateway with Stripe and PayPal as backup options to maximize payment approval rates
- Currency Handling: Implemented automatic USD display with real-time exchange rate updates. Built backend logic to handle currency conversion and protect against forex fluctuations
- Fraud Detection: Configured Shopify’s fraud analysis tools with custom rules for international transactions, balancing security with conversion rates
- Payment Method Optimization: Enabled credit cards, digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay), and buy-now-pay-later options popular with U.S. consumers
Shipping & Logistics Integration
Built sophisticated shipping infrastructure:
- Multi-Carrier Integration: Connected FedEx, DHL, and USPS APIs for real-time shipping rate calculations based on weight, dimensions, and destination
- Shipping Zone Configuration: Created complex shipping zones with tiered pricing for different U.S. regions (continental, Alaska/Hawaii, territories)
- Delivery Estimates: Developed custom logic to calculate and display realistic delivery timeframes, accounting for international transit and customs processing
- Customs Documentation: Automated generation of commercial invoices, customs declarations, and harmonized tariff codes for smooth international clearance
- Package Tracking: Integrated tracking number webhooks to automatically update customers on shipment status
Data & Analytics Infrastructure
Implemented comprehensive tracking and analytics:
- Google Analytics 4 Implementation: Set up GA4 with custom event tracking for enhanced e-commerce. Configured user properties, custom dimensions, and conversion events for granular analysis
- Event Tracking Architecture: Built a data layer structure tracking: product impressions, clicks, add-to-cart actions, checkout steps, purchases, and custom events like brewing guide views
- Meta Pixel Integration: Implemented Facebook/Instagram pixel with standard and custom events for remarketing and lookalike audience building
- Server-Side Tracking: Configured Shopify’s server-side tracking to maintain data accuracy amid browser privacy restrictions
- Dashboard Creation: Built custom Shopify reports and Google Analytics dashboards for real-time visibility into sales, traffic sources, customer behavior, and product performance
- A/B Testing Framework: Set up infrastructure for testing product page layouts, CTAs, and checkout variations
Backend Automation Systems
Streamlined operations through automated workflows:
- Shopify Flow Automation: Built 15+ automated workflows, including:
- Order confirmation and shipping notification sequences
- Inventory restock alerts when products fall below thresholds
- Customer segmentation based on purchase history and engagement
- Abandoned cart recovery with progressive discount offers
- Post-purchase review requests and loyalty program enrollment
- Email Marketing Integration: Connected Klaviyo for advanced email automation with behavioral triggers, dynamic content blocks, and revenue tracking
- Inventory Management: Synchronized inventory levels across sales channels with automatic safety stock calculations to prevent overselling during long international shipping times
- Customer Data Platform: Built a customer segmentation system tagging users by purchase frequency, average order value, product preferences, and lifecycle stage
Search Engine Optimization
Developed a comprehensive SEO strategy for U.S. market visibility:
Technical SEO Foundation:
- Implemented semantic HTML5 structure with proper heading hierarchy
- Created a clean, keyword-rich URL structure following best practices
- Built XML sitemaps with priority weighting and image sitemaps
- Configured robots.txt for optimal crawling efficiency
- Set up canonical tags to prevent duplicate content issues
- Implemented hreflang tags for potential international expansion
Structured Data Implementation:
- Added JSON-LD schema markup for products (name, price, availability, reviews)
- Implemented Organization and LocalBusiness schema for brand entity recognition
- Created BreadcrumbList schema for navigation clarity
- Added Review and AggregateRating schema for rich snippets
On-Page Optimization:
- Researched and targeted keywords: “Kenyan coffee,” “African coffee beans,” “specialty coffee online,” plus long-tail variations
- Optimized meta titles and descriptions with compelling CTAs and keywords
- Wrote unique product descriptions emphasizing origin, flavor profiles, and brewing methods
- Optimized image alt text for accessibility and image search visibility
- Created content hierarchy with strategic keyword placement in H1, H2, and H3 tags
Content Development:
- Built a resource section with brewing guides, coffee origin stories, and roast explanations
- Created blog targeting informational queries: “how to brew Kenyan coffee,” “best African coffee beans,” “coffee flavor notes explained”
- Developed an FAQ section addressing common international shipping concerns
Performance SEO:
- Achieved Core Web Vitals compliance (LCP < 2.5s, FID < 100ms, CLS < 0.1)
- Optimized for mobile-first indexing with a responsive design
- Implemented HTTPS across the entire site
Security & Compliance
Ensured platform security and regulatory compliance:
- SSL/TLS Configuration: Enforced HTTPS with modern TLS protocols
- PCI DSS Compliance: Leveraged Shopify’s Level 1 PCI DSS certification for secure payment processing
- Data Privacy: Implemented GDPR-compliant cookie consent and privacy policy
- Security Headers: Configured CSP, X-Frame-Options, and other security headers
- Regular Updates: Maintained theme and app dependencies with security patch management
Technical Stack
Platform: Shopify (Liquid templating engine)
Frontend: HTML5, CSS3 (BEM methodology), Vanilla JavaScript
Responsive Framework: CSS Grid, Flexbox, custom breakpoint system
APIs: Shopify Admin API, Storefront API, REST & GraphQL
Payment Processing: Shopify Payments, Stripe, PayPal
Shipping APIs: FedEx, DHL, USPS integration
Analytics: Google Analytics 4, Meta Pixel, Shopify Analytics
Automation: Shopify Flow, Klaviyo email marketing
SEO Tools: JSON-LD structured data, XML sitemaps, Google Search Console
Performance: Image optimization (WebP), lazy loading, code minification, CDN delivery
Platform Performance
The technical implementation delivers measurable results:
- Page Speed: Sub-2-second load times with 90+ Lighthouse scores
- Uptime: 99.9% availability, handling traffic spikes without performance degradation
- Conversion Rate: Above industry average for international e-commerce
- Mobile Performance: Optimized experience, driving 65% of transactions from mobile devices
- Organic Traffic: Consistent growth in U.S. search visibility for target keywords
- Payment Success: 98%+ payment authorization rate through multi-gateway strategy
- Operational Efficiency: 80% reduction in manual order processing time through automation
Key Technical Achievements
This project showcases expertise in:
- Custom Shopify theme development with Liquid templating
- Performance optimization and Core Web Vitals compliance
- Complex international shipping and payment integration
- Advanced analytics implementation and data architecture
- E-commerce automation and workflow engineering
- Technical and on-page SEO for competitive markets
- Responsive design and mobile-first development
- API integration and third-party service configuration
Experience the platform: cafenairobi.com
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