Carman Ranch Provisions

Contract | Remote

What We Need

Our website was rebuilt in early 2026 on Shopify and is the primary storefront for our DTC (Direct to Consumer) business. We’re entering a critical growth year and the website is the infrastructure that makes that possible.

We recently completed a comprehensive website audit. This is an implementation contract organized around two phases. You’ll take the audit’s prioritized findings and make them real in Shopify: fix the checkout flow, restructure navigation, configure the subscription platform, build integrations, and ensure everything works on mobile.

We have an internal team member handling all copywriting work — new pages, copy, recipes, product descriptions, FAQ, trust-building content. What we can’t do is Liquid code, checkout flow repair, or custom theme work. That’s what this contract covers.

You’ll work with our team on content placement, fulfillment and subscription logic, and email capture and campaign integration.

Phase 1 — Foundation & Friction Removal

Objective: A clear, confident, conversion-ready website.

Deadline: June 1, 2026

The website audit we completed found that the site breaks trust at its most fragile moments — checkout, delivery eligibility, and navigation. Phase 1 removes those barriers so that when customers arrive (increasingly driven by events, social, and word of mouth), the site converts rather than confuses.

1. Fix Checkout & Cart Flow

Checkout is the single highest-risk moment for lost conversions. Three issues need to be resolved:

• Cart dead end. When a customer enters a zip code outside the delivery area, they hit “shipping not available” with no explanation and no next step. Build a graceful fallback that displays a content message, offers email signup for delivery expansion notifications, and suggests pickup as an alternative.
• Login-to-cart disconnect. Customers who log in during checkout are not returned to their cart. They lose their items and have to start over. This is a known Shopify issue with established fixes.
• Overall checkout hygiene. Audit the full path from cart to confirmation: discount codes, shipping option display, payment flow, confirmation page. Ensure nothing is broken or confusing.
  

2. Restructure Navigation

We are building several new pages in parallel (Start Here, FAQ, Why It Costs More, updated founder bio). These need a navigation architecture that guides new visitors rather than overwhelming them.

• Redesign primary navigation to accommodate new pages without clutter. 
• Implement a “Start Here” entry path that is visually distinct for new visitors — whether that’s a highlighted nav item, a homepage banner, or conditional display for first-time sessions.
• Clarify product pathways. A visitor wanting a single box, someone exploring bulk, and someone interested in the cowshare program should each find their way without confusion.
• Mobile-first audit. The majority of social-driven traffic arrives on mobile. Nav, product pages, and checkout must work on a phone. Flag anything that doesn’t and fix it.
  

3. Fix Delivery & Pickup Experience

We operate a regional delivery model with monthly home delivery in Portland, OR, and pickups in Portland and Seattle; we may offer pickups in other neighborhoods and cities in the near future. The current site doesn’t communicate this clearly enough.

• Build a delivery area lookup that feels helpful rather than exclusionary — zip code entry that confirms availability or redirects gracefully with a fallback message.
• Ensure locations and pickup times display clearly on the relevant pages. Customers shouldn’t reach checkout before learning when and where they can pick up.
  

4. Email Capture & Analytics Foundation

• Implement email capture on key pages (homepage, Start Here, recipe pages). 
  
• Set up conversion tracking: homepage → product page → cart → checkout → purchase funnel, plus attribution from email and social. The team needs to see where visitors drop off.
  
• Configure a clean, unobtrusive email capture pop-up (exit intent or timed). This is a premium brand — the execution should match.
  

PHASE 1 OUTCOME

By June 1, the website will be structurally sound: no dead-end carts, clear navigation for new and returning visitors, a working delivery area experience, email capture in place, and baseline analytics running. Our new content (new pages, rewritten copy, trust elements) will be live on a platform that supports conversion to purchase and makes navigating our website smooth and enjoyable whether it’s your first or 100th time visiting.

Phase 2 — Subscription, Scheduling & Community

Objective: Subscription live, pickup scheduling in place, and the site reflecting the community CRP is building.

Deadline: September 1, 2026

Phase 2 builds on the clean foundation. The technical infrastructure goes live for recurring revenue, and the site begins to support the events and social content the team is producing.

5. Subscription Platform Setup

We’re building toward a subscription club model. The technical infrastructure needs to be in place before the content and marketing team can launch it:

• Evaluate and configure a Shopify subscription app (Recharge, Seal Subscriptions, or equivalent). Set up skip, pause, and cancel functionality with a monthly cutoff date. Our brand philosophy is “trust over lock-in” — managing a subscription should feel easy, not punitive.
  
• Build the subscription purchase flow. A customer should be able to choose a box, select a delivery cadence (monthly or bi-monthly), and check out in a single path. Subscription boxes should not feel like a separate store.
  
• Build or configure the subscriber account dashboard — order history, upcoming delivery, skip/pause controls, and an add-on window before cutoff.
  
• Configure pre-cutoff reminder email automation (we will write the content; you set up the trigger timing and logic within the subscription platform).
  

6. Pickup Calendar & Scheduling

As DTC volume grows and events increase, customers need a reliable way to see upcoming pickup dates and locations:

• Build or integrate a visible pickup calendar so customers can see dates and locations before committing to a purchase. 
  
• Connect pickup scheduling to the checkout flow so that a customer selecting pickup sees available dates and locations as part of their order, not after.
  
• Create a map to show delivery neighborhoods as a visual complement to the zip code finder.
  

7. Cowshare Site Bridge

The cowshare program lives on a separate website with no navigation back to the main store. A full merger is a future project, but Phase 2 should close the gap:

• Add clear cross-navigation between the two sites so visitors can move between cowshare and the main DTC store without feeling lost.
  
• Implement a “sold out” state for the cowshare page that redirects visitors to the main store with context.
  

8. Community & Social Proof Integration

As the content team and events program generate customer photos, chef features, and event recaps, the site needs a way to display that material:

• Implement an Instagram feed or UGC gallery on the homepage or a dedicated community page. This should pull from tagged content and be easy for the team to curate.
  
• Add event recap capability and list of upcoming events — a simple page template where the Social Media Manager can post event photos and short write-ups that live on the site as permanent trust signals.
  

PHASE 2 OUTCOME

By September 1, the site supports recurring revenue (subscription live and manageable), the cowshare and DTC experiences feel connected, customers can plan around pickup dates, and the site reflects the community CRP is building through events and social. The website feels premium, intentional, and alive.

What’s Not in This Scope

The UX and conversion strategy has already been defined by our audit. Ellen and the content team own all written copy. To be specific, you will not need to produce:

• Homepage copy, hero headlines, product descriptions, or any page content
  
• Start Here page content, FAQ content, “Why It Costs More” page content
  
• Founder bio, recipe and culinary content, or customer testimonials
  
• Partner ranch profiles, restaurant/retail lists, or brand messaging
  
• Email copy, campaign content, or social media content
  

Your job is to build the structures, templates, and technical integrations. The team fills them with content. Where a new page needs a custom Shopify template or section, you build the container and hand it off for them to populate.

Ideal candidate profile

You are:

• A Shopify developer first. You write Liquid, you customize themes, and you fix checkout flows. You’ve done this enough times that you can look at a Shopify store and see what’s broken before anyone tells you.
• Experienced with DTC food, beverage, or subscription commerce. You’ve built or optimized stores that deal with delivery windows, perishable inventory, regional fulfillment, or subscription management. You understand why these details matter.
  
• Conversion-minded. You think about the site as a funnel. When you restructure navigation or configure a checkout, you’re thinking about what makes a customer continue rather than leave.
  
• Comfortable working with a small, direct team. We don’t have a product manager writing specs. You’ll talk with the CEO, the operations director, and the content lead. Communication is conversational and decisions happen quickly.
  
• Self-directed. You manage your own timeline, flag dependencies early, and don’t wait to be asked when something needs attention.
  
• Pacific Northwest time zone preferred for coordination, but not required.
  
  

Compensation and Structure

This is a fixed-scope contract with milestones aligned to the two phases. We’re open to project-based pricing or an hourly rate, depending on how you work.

Phase 1 (April–May): We estimate roughly 60–80 hours. Checkout repair, navigation restructure, delivery UX, email capture, analytics. This is the highest-urgency work — it directly unblocks conversion.

Phase 2 (June–August): We estimate roughly 50–70 hours. Subscription platform, pickup calendar, cowshare bridge, community integration. Builds on the Phase 1 foundation.

We’re more interested in your assessment of scope and cost than in prescribing hours. If you look at the site and see the work differently, tell us. We can also engage for Phase 1 first and evaluate fit before committing to Phase 2.

How to Apply

Email carmanranchjobs@gmail.com to apply. Please include:

• A brief note on your Shopify development experience, particularly any DTC food or subscription commerce work
  
• Links to 2–3 Shopify stores you’ve built or optimized (we’ll look at them on our phones)
  
• Your estimated timeline and rate for Phase 1, and a preliminary estimate for Phase 2
  
• Any questions or scope adjustments you’d recommend after reviewing our site at carmanranch.com
  

We have the strategy. We have the content team. We need the person who makes it work in Shopify and can design a clean, simple user journey throughout our site with the ultimate goal of driving subscriptions and building loyalty to the brand.