Projects /Nuraya shopify website
A Shopify rebuild for a Doha-based online Islamic education platform — crafted to feel like an illuminated manuscript brought online, while selling programmes, masterclasses and certificates with the ease of modern e-commerce.
A digital home for scholar-led programmes, Qur'an & Tajweed pathways and masterclasses, rebuilt on Shopify for a global, multilingual community of learners.
Online Islamic Education Platform
Engaged directly by Nuraya, a Doha-based Islamic education platform, to rebuild their e-commerce presence on Shopify. The client offered structured, scholar-led programmes across Qur'an & Tajweed, Islamic Studies, Arabic, Contemporary Issues, Personal Development and Masterclasses — sold as paid courses, subscriptions and certificate pathways.
Their existing storefront was templated and generic, undermining the trust a faith-based learning brand depends on. The goal was a platform that felt calm, scholarly and warm — closer to an illuminated manuscript than a typical online store — while still converting browsers into enrolled learners.
The audience spans first-time learners exploring the basics and returning students pursuing certification, from Qatar and across the wider Gulf, UK, North America and South Africa.
The challenge was building a Shopify store that could carry the weight of sacred subject matter with the right tone, while still performing as a clear, conversion-ready course catalogue for a global audience.
Shopify's default commerce patterns — badges, urgency banners, cart pop-ups — felt at odds with the reverence the subject matter demanded. The interface needed restraint without losing clarity on price, format and enrollment.
Six learning categories, multiple programme lengths, free and paid courses and masterclasses risked overwhelming new visitors. The catalogue needed a browsing structure that felt like guided discovery, not a product grid.
Learners arrived at very different starting points — from complete beginners to those seeking advanced certification — across time zones and devices. The experience had to feel personal at every level, on every screen.
We started from Nuraya's existing brand voice — scholarly, warm and unhurried — and asked what an e-commerce platform would look like if it respected that voice instead of overriding it with generic Shopify patterns.
Research into faith-based and premium education brands informed a system built on cream tones, deep green, restrained gold accents and generous whitespace, paired with a clear commercial backbone underneath.
Warm cream backgrounds, deep green sections and gold accents evoke illuminated manuscripts rather than a typical storefront.
Programmes were organised into clear categories and learning paths, so visitors self-select a starting point in seconds.
Enrollment and pricing were kept transparent and calm — no countdowns or scarcity banners — matching the trust the brand is built on.
Custom sections and metafields replaced heavy apps wherever possible, keeping the storefront rich but fast.
The homepage was rebuilt around a calm hero, a clear feature grid and a curated "begin where you are" programme picker, replacing a generic Shopify product wall with an editorial, story-led layout.
Custom sections for categories, learning journeys, testimonials and a newsletter signup gave the Nuraya team full control over storytelling without touching code after launch.
The storefront was developed as a custom Shopify theme using Liquid, with a modular section architecture so the Nuraya team could add new programmes, categories and masterclasses independently.
Course products, bundles and certificate tiers were structured with metafields and collections, with checkout, currency handling and responsive behaviour tuned for an international audience.
The rebuilt storefront balanced a warm, editorial identity with a conversion-ready commerce backbone — and gave the Nuraya team room to grow the catalogue without developer support.
Increase in completed programme enrollments in the first two months after launch.
Storefront load times held under 2.5 seconds despite richer imagery and interaction.
Qur'an & Tajweed, Islamic Studies, Arabic, Contemporary Issues, Personal Development and Masterclasses.
Modular theme let the Nuraya team add programmes and pricing independently post-launch.
As the lead freelance designer and Shopify developer, I worked across the design and build process to translate Nuraya's brand voice into a functioning, sellable digital experience.
Learner journeys, catalogue architecture and high-fidelity interface design.
Responsive layouts, visual system and component-based design exploration.
Custom Liquid theme with modular, metafield-driven course architecture.
Product, bundle and certificate-tier structuring, collections and checkout tuning.
Optimized assets, sections and app usage for a fast, calm experience.
Consistent experience across desktop, tablet and mobile devices.
The project reinforced that faith-based brands don't need to choose between reverence and results — the two reinforce each other when the commerce layer is designed with restraint.
From strategy and UI/UX to Shopify development and launch, Ilmora Soft Labs creates digital experiences designed to move businesses forward.
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