Re-platforming for a Simplified B2B Buying Experience

OneMagnify helped GoldBio transition to Shopify Plus, enhancing their eCommerce platform to deliver a streamlined, scalable, and compliant buying experience.

Who Should Read This?

This case study will be especially relevant for those interested in the following topics:

B2B eCommerce
Shopify Plus
Platform Migration
Improved Checkout
Custom PDP
UX/UI Audit
Tax Exemptions
Lift and Shift
Custom Quoting

THE CHALLENGE

GoldBio's proprietary eCommerce platform had become outdated, resulting in maintenance risks, technical debt, and scalability limitations. The company needed a modern, B2B-focused solution that maintained their site's familiar feel while simplifying the buying experience. Key goals included streamlining product discovery, bundling, checkout, and implementing robust B2B features such as tax exemptions, custom catalogs, and two distinct quoting paths.

Beyond technology, GoldBio sought to assess the current digital experience of their website and identify opportunities for improved usability, accessibility, and value communication.

THE BRAND

Founded in the 1980s, GoldBio supplies affordable, high-quality chemicals and reagents for research in life science, plant science, and molecular biology. The company started with a catalog of just three products, and has since grown to offer over 3,000 SKUs to universities, government institutions, and biotech companies. GoldBio's mission is to fuel scientific discoveries by providing researchers with low prices while maintaining the highest quality standards in the industry.

From Legacy Code to Modern Infrastructure

GoldBio’s proprietary eCommerce platform had reached the end of its lifecycle, creating risk, technical debt, and limiting B2B growth. OneMagnify recommended re-platforming to Shopify Plus to provide a modern SaaS foundation while preserving GoldBio’s familiar customer experience and minimizing business disruption.

Instead of a full redesign, OneMagnify executed a platform migration while preserving the existing customer experience on the front end. Using GoldBio’s existing website as a visual and functional reference, our design team evaluated and presented three Shopify themes that closely matched the current look and feel. The chosen theme also met accessibility, usability, and B2B requirements.

Once a theme was selected, OneMagnify extended its capabilities with custom development. To bridge gaps between the legacy platform and Shopify, our team adapted layouts, navigation logic, and product presentation through a mix of native Shopify functionality, metafields, and custom code.

Creating a Pixel-Perfect User Experience

To determine the User Experience optimizations that were needed, OneMagnify conducted a comprehensive UX/UI audit of GoldBio’s existing site. We evaluated the experience across 246 criteria, including the homepage, navigation, task flows, forms, visual design, and accessibility.

Our team followed a structured process of discovery, evaluation, and analysis. This included reviewing site analytics, mapping user flows, and testing core purchasing tasks. We scored the site against UX best practices to uncover friction points and usability gaps.

The audit identified strong product content and credibility, while revealing challenges around an unclear value proposition on the homepage, duplicated navigation paths, and inconsistent form feedback. We identified accessibility issues, including low color contrast and limited keyboard navigation, along with high cart abandonment rates and a strong reliance on desktop organic search traffic.

The findings were synthesized into practical recommendations and provided to the GoldBio team. The client intends to apply several key takeaways in future project phases.

Addressing Dynamic Quoting Needs

GoldBio required two distinct quote workflows to support different B2B purchasing behaviors. They needed a fast, self-service option and a traditional negotiated quote process tied to purchase orders.

We built the instant quote solution to function like a wishlist. Customers can compile products into a quote and then share it internally with a purchaser. The purchaser can easily see the itemized pricing and convert the quote into an order, streamlining internal approvals.

For negotiated pricing, we implemented a special quote flow. In this process, customers submit product lists for review by GoldBio. Once pricing is approved, the quote becomes immutable and can be converted to an order using a purchase order, preserving the integrity of the negotiated price.

OneMagnify used third-party Shopify apps to support both workflows. We configured them to align with GoldBio’s internal sales processes and Shopify’s order management system.

Shopify Features Built for B2B Success

Shopify Plus’ native B2B functionality formed the foundation for GoldBio’s wholesale and institutional purchasing needs. OneMagnify configured company hierarchies, customer to company associations, and custom catalogs to support differentiated pricing structures.

To highlight B2B discounts, our team used Shopify Flow. This allowed us to display strike-through retail pricing alongside contracted prices. The feature improves transparency and reinforces value for logged-in B2B customers.

GoldBio also required flexible tax exemption options during checkout. We built custom Checkout UI extensions that allow customers to declare personal or corporate tax exemptions directly in the checkout flow. Tax exemption selections are stored with each order, which enables GoldBio’s customer service team to reconcile and verify tax status through the Shopify admin. This reduces manual follow-up and potential errors.

Distributing Product Details

Certificates of Analysis (COAs) are critical compliance documents for GoldBio’s customers. Buyers needed a reliable way to locate COAs associated with their orders, without exposing sensitive data publicly.

OneMagnify designed Shopify MetaObjects to act as structured storage for COA data. This approach allows GoldBio to manage and maintain COA records directly within Shopify.

Because MetaObjects are not searchable through Shopify’s native search, we developed a custom page template that queries COA data using the Storefront API. Customers can search for documents only when they provide a valid lot number, ensuring data privacy. The solution improved compliance, reduced customer service requests, and provided customers with fast, self-service access to essential documentation.

Results

The project delivered a seamless Shopify Plus implementation, transforming the platform into a B2B-ready solution with advanced features.

By significantly reducing manual processes, customer service teams can now focus on higher-value tasks, while purchasers enjoy enhanced self-service capabilities. Compliance and trust were strengthened through custom UI enhancements, ensuring regulated workflows and seamless post-purchase documentation access.

This robust platform now empowers the client to streamline operations and meet complex B2B requirements with ease.

Summary

GoldBio partnered with OneMagnify to transition from an outdated eCommerce platform to Shopify Plus, addressing scalability, technical debt, and user experience challenges. The project included custom B2B solutions like tax exemption handling, dual quoting workflows, and a tailored COA search feature, as well as a UX/UI audit to identify additional improvement opportunities.

Through a strategic implementation, OneMagnify improved navigation, accessibility, and mobile optimization while preserving GoldBio’s brand identity. The result was a seamless transition to a scalable, modern platform that supports their growing catalog and diverse customer needs.

Services

eCommerce
Experience Design / Creative Audit
Project Management
Website Development
Custom Integrations
Theme Selection
Data Migration Consulting

Technology Solutions

Shopify Plus
Swym Wishlist Plus
Easy Purchase Orders
Taxcloud Sales Tax Automation
Shopify: Search and Discovery
Searchandise Search & Filter
Yagi DraftOrder Lister
OptinMonster Email Popups
Quick Quote
Authorize.net

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