Ave Maria Press
A 150-year legacy, modernized, for stability, high-performance storytelling, and seamless DTC growth.
Ave Maria Press came to us with a mandate: protect a century and a half of craft while rebuilding for the future.
Their previous platform had become unstable, crashing under load and creating significant friction for their readers. They needed to move from a restrictive, outdated system to Shopify Plus to gain a reliable foundationthat could handle complex B2B needs, a growing DTC business, and a sophisticated educational curriculum, all without the fear of technical failure.
Partners
Deep Heritage, Dynamic Navigation
Ave Maria Press needed a modern site that respected their past but felt fast and fresh. We focused on a performance-first design and a custom author feature called "Ave Explores." This dynamic setup showcases authors and their books in a way that’s beautiful for readers and simple for the team to manage.
Precision in Promotion
We used the Shopify ecosystem and our Checkout Boost app to build over 40 custom discount logics—from BOGOs to tiered pricing for schools. By integrating Okendo and Avalara, we cleared the operational hurdles so the Ave Maria Press team could focus on their mission instead of their tech stack."
A Resilient Backend
We migrated 200,000+ records to a resilient architecture with a custom, "fail-safe" Sage integration. This system monitors sync health and prevents order loss during downtime, ensuring the Ave Maria Press team never leaves a reader waiting."
Established in 1865 in South Bend, Indiana, Ave Maria Press is one of the oldest continually operating Catholic publishing houses in the United States that began as a 16-page weekly magazine. It remains a leader in publishing high school religion textbooks, ministry resources, and books on prayer, honoring heritage through great writing.
Ave Maria Press provides a wide-ranging catalog that supports the entire Catholic community, from high school religion curriculum and ministry resources to personal books on prayer and spirituality. As the home to imprints like Sorin Books and Christian Classics, they offer an essential outlet for award-winning Catholic authors. Whether through digital textbooks or hardcover collections, they bridge the gap between historic scholarship & modern-day spiritual seekers.
Quality, Start To Finish
A 150-year-old mission requires an engine that doesn't quit. By optimizing every asset and refining every user pathway, the result is a modern shopping experience that is as stable as it is visually striking. For Ave Maria Press, the move to Shopify Plus wasn't just about a new storefront; it was about ensuring their "abundant blessings" and storied legacy are easy to access for the next century of readers.
