Shopify Migration + Digital Downloads for the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing

The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) is one of the dance industry’s most established and respected professional organisations. Founded in 1904, it is an international dance teaching and examining body, educational charity and membership association supporting teachers, students and dance professionals worldwide.

Its online shop provides digital teaching resources alongside physical products such as books, DVDs and merchandise, making e-commerce an important part of how members and customers access educational materials.

The problem

ISTD needed to bring its e-commerce operation into one streamlined Shopify platform.

Digital downloads and physical products were previously managed across two separate platforms, creating a fragmented experience for customers and additional administration for the ISTD team.

The new store needed to support a specialist catalogue of around 220 digital products and associated assets, alongside physical products, while accommodating different customer types and membership pricing.

Digital products added another layer of complexity. Customers needed to be able to purchase and immediately access downloads and streamed content, while the store needed to comply with the EU rules around the right of withdrawal for digital content.

The aim was not simply to migrate products into Shopify, but to create a scalable e-commerce setup where digital downloads, physical products, membership pricing, customer data and fulfilment could work together.

The solution

I delivered the Shopify migration in two phases, beginning with the digital catalogue before expanding the store to physical e-commerce.

Phase 1: Digital products and custom Shopify development

I audited and migrated ISTD's digital catalogue, creating a scalable Shopify product structure using collections, product types, tags and metafields. Digital assets were organised and connected to their corresponding Shopify products through FileFlare, with the complete journey tested from checkout through to download or streaming access. 

I customised ISTD's existing theme around their specialist catalogue, including navigation imagery, structured product information and refinements to the cart experience.

Product pages surface information such as dance genre, qualification level, format and SKU, while collapsible sections keep detailed teaching-resource information easy to navigate.

Membership pricing was built directly into the storefront. Price displays recognise qualifying customer tags and show relevant member, trainee or student pricing alongside the standard price and saving. ISTD can control qualifying tags, percentages and labels through configurable theme settings, with Shopify discounts applying the corresponding price at checkout.

Digital resources also required their own purchasing behaviour. I created shared download guidance, a dedicated playlist template with Spotify access for signed-in customers, and logic preventing customers from purchasing unnecessary duplicate copies of digital products.

EU digital-content compliance

An important part of the digital migration was supporting the EU Consumer Rights Directive requirements for immediately supplied digital content.

I implemented a dedicated consent step for digital purchases, requiring customers to actively confirm their agreement before proceeding. The logic was integrated into both the main cart and cart drawer, with express checkout behaviour controlled so the consent step could not simply be bypassed.

This allowed ISTD to provide immediate access to digital content while incorporating the required customer acknowledgement into the Shopify purchase journey. 

Phase 2: Physical e-commerce and fulfilment

The second phase expanded the same Shopify store to physical products including books, DVDs and merchandise.

I configured the physical catalogue and imagery, imported customer data with membership tagging and developed the fulfilment workflows and customer communications required for the new setup. 

I also continued to refine the storefront for a mixed digital and physical catalogue. Predictive search was enhanced with SKU information, breadcrumbs improved navigation between products and collections, and related-product logic uses factors such as dance genre, resource format and shared tags to prioritise more relevant recommendations.

Products that should not receive membership discounts can be managed using a dedicated product tag and automated collection, with the storefront pricing logic reflecting the exemption.

The cart was also refined so digital products retain their specific purchasing restrictions while physical products support normal quantity selection. 

A custom customer-account extension provides editable membership guidance within Shopify's account area, giving ISTD control over the content without requiring a separate backend or hosting service.

Giving ISTD control

The custom functionality was designed so routine changes would not require developer involvement.

I produced a GitBook documentation library covering products, collections, digital downloads, membership functionality, navigation, product tags, templates, metafields and theme settings. ISTD - Phase 1 Handover

Together with configurable Shopify settings, this gives the ISTD team practical control over the store while retaining the more specialist functionality developed for its catalogue.

The results

ISTD's digital and physical products are now brought together within one Shopify e-commerce platform, replacing the previous split across two systems.

More than 220 digital products and their associated assets were migrated into the new structure, alongside ISTD's physical catalogue. Project Proposal (5)

Since launch, the store has achieved an 11.11% e-commerce conversion rate and processed hundreds of orders through the new platform.

Customers now have one place to discover physical and digital teaching resources, see relevant membership pricing and access their digital purchases. Behind the scenes, ISTD has a more streamlined setup for customer data, fulfilment, product management and ongoing e-commerce development.