Dwarven Forge — Custom Search Engine & Platform Enhancements

Senior Shopify / Next.js Engineer

Ecommerce

Performance

Shopify

Next.js

Algolia

Next.js

React

Algolia

Shopify Storefront API

Shopify Admin API

Liquid

TailwindCSS

Vercel

Dwarven Forge — a globally recognized brand in tabletop terrain — needed a search and browsing experience capable of handling thousands of complex product variations with speed, accuracy, and intuitive UX. I architected and built a completely custom Next.js search application using Algolia, transforming performance from multi-second delays into millisecond responses. Beyond search, I rebuilt major parts of their Shopify theme: new homepages, PDPs, collection templates, AJAX cart features, dynamic recommendations, and UI improvements — all while optimizing for the enormous volume and complexity of their inventory system.

Overview

Dwarven Forge sells highly detailed, modular tabletop terrain kits with hundreds of SKUs and massive product bundles. Their standard Shopify apps and theme setup couldn't scale — search was slow, filtering was limited, and browsing thousands of SKUs caused performance issues. I was brought in to rebuild the foundation: • A custom high-speed search engine • New Next.js UI for product discovery • Theme upgrades and large-scale architecture improvements • Seamless AJAX-based cart workflows • Real-time product recommendations • Handling thousands of products with complex inventory structures

Architecture

• Next.js + Algolia InstantSearch for millisecond search results • Server-side indexing pipeline syncing Shopify -> Algolia • Dynamic ranking rules tailored for terrain categories and attributes • Optimized Shopify Storefront API queries for PDP & collection enhancements • Shopify Admin API for advanced product data access • Custom Liquid theme upgrades, including: • Rebuilt homepage • Faster collection pages • Overhauled PDP UX • AJAX cart system supporting: • Quick add • Real-time inventory checks • Upsell recommendations • Custom product recommendation engine analyzing: • Cart contents • User behavior • Product relationships • Performance restructuring: • Script deferrals • Image optimization • Lazy loading • CSS reduction • Fixing multiple long-standing theme bottlenecks

UI/UX

• New modular homepage layout • Improved collection filtering UX • Rebuilt product detail pages with clean component-based structure • Faster engagement paths for adding products to cart • Search UI that feels instant and responsive (true "app-like search") • Modernized design system for buttons, cards, and product blocks • Vastly clearer mobile navigation and product browsing flow

Challenges & Solutions

Challenges: • Indexing thousands of SKUs with deeply nested product options • Replacing slow Shopify-native search with custom Algolia • Optimizing legacy theme code filled with performance issues • Building predictive product recommendations • Handling large collection pages with heavy media • Delivering millisecond search for complex inventory categories • Integrating multiple APIs (Storefront, Admin, custom feeds) Solutions: Architected a full indexing pipeline, modularized the theme, used advanced Algolia indexing rules, implemented caching layers, and rebuilt multiple UI components from scratch for clarity and speed.

Impact

• Search performance improved from >2 seconds → <50ms • Dramatically improved user navigation and product discoverability • Reduced bounce rates on key collection pages • Increased cart engagement with smart AJAX flows • Built future-proof search infrastructure for large catalog growth • Delivered a premium, app-like browsing experience on Shopify • Reduced theme code complexity and long-term maintenance cost