Shopify Development Services
HelloDevs designs, builds and maintains Shopify stores and the software around them — themes, apps, integrations, headless storefronts and AI features. One team, from the first scope call to the fixes two years later.
- Five Shopify apps built in-house
- Source code in your repository
- Fixed quotes, not hourly guesses
Most Shopify problems are not solved by another app. They are solved by knowing which layer the problem lives in — the theme, an app, the checkout, the data, or the system on the other side of the API.
Which kind of Shopify development do you need?
Which kind of Shopify development do you need?
“Shopify development” covers very different jobs with very different budgets. Find your situation, and the right-hand column tells you which kind of work it is — and where to read more.
| Your situation | What it usually calls for |
|---|---|
| The store looks dated, or every edit needs a developer | Theme work — a customisation or a rebuild on Online Store 2.0, not a new platform. |
| You need a feature no app does well | A custom Shopify app, built for your store and installed directly. |
| Orders, stock or customers drift out of sync with your ERP, CRM or warehouse | An integration built by a Shopify full-stack developer — webhooks, queues and a reconciliation job, not a spreadsheet. |
| The theme genuinely cannot carry your brand or content | Possibly a headless storefront — but only after ruling out a properly built theme, which is cheaper and usually faster. |
| Search is poor, or support answers the same questions all day | AI integration grounded in your own catalogue and policies, with a human in the loop. |
| You need a person, not a project | Hire a Shopify developer on a retainer or inside your team, and pick the role that matches the work. |
| A slow store, and nobody knows why | A speed audit first. It is usually leftover app scripts, images and fonts — not the platform, and not the theme's structure. |
Shopify development services we deliver
Six kinds of Shopify work, each with its own page. Open one for the short version, or follow the arrow for the detail.
The Shopify platform, layer by layer
Where your problem actually lives
Shopify is not one thing to customise. It is a set of layers, each with its own rules — and most expensive mistakes come from solving a problem in the wrong one.
- The themeLiquid templates, JSON templates, and the sections and blocks your team edits in the theme editor. Everything a customer sees on the storefront before checkout.
- Theme app extensionsHow an app adds storefront UI — app blocks and app embeds — without editing theme code. They survive theme updates and leave nothing behind on uninstall.
- The GraphQL Admin APIThe primary API for reading and writing store data. Shopify made the REST Admin API legacy in October 2024, and new public apps must use GraphQL.
- The Storefront APIThe customer-facing API behind headless storefronts, mobile apps and custom carts.
- WebhooksShopify telling your systems that something happened — an order paid, stock changed. They can arrive twice, late, or not at all, so a reliable integration never trusts them alone.
- Metafields and metaobjectsMetafields add structured data to things Shopify already has; metaobjects create content types it does not. The difference decides whether your team can edit it later. The practical guide.
- Checkout extensibilityCheckout UI extensions and Shopify Functions for discount, delivery and payment logic. Extensions on the information, shipping and payment steps are Shopify Plus only, and so are custom apps that contain Functions.
- API versionsShopify ships a new API version every quarter and supports each for at least twelve months. An app nobody upgrades is an app that eventually changes behaviour on its own.
Where Shopify builds usually go wrong
- Four widget apps means four scripts on every page and four vendors to chase. One custom app, or one well-chosen public app, is usually cheaper within a year — why apps load late.
- Hardcoded changes to a theme's files are lost or fought with on every update. Sections, blocks and metafields put the same change where the theme editor can reach it.
- Webhooks are delivered at least once, not exactly once, and occasionally not at all. An integration without idempotency and a scheduled comparison of both systems drifts quietly until someone notices the stock numbers. Scaling a Shopify app.
- A well-built theme is fast enough for most stores. Headless costs you the theme editor, many apps' storefront features, and your own hosting — the honest comparison.
- Script tags are being switched off, new public apps can no longer use the REST Admin API, and custom apps can no longer be created in the Shopify admin. A build started on any of them starts with a migration already owed — the script tag change.
- If the code lives in an agency's account and nobody documented it, the store belongs to whoever is still answering email. Ownership, documentation and a handover should be in the first quote, not the last.
Most of these are cheap to avoid and expensive to undo.
Send us the store and the problem. A developer will tell you which layer it lives in before you pay for anything.
What every Shopify project includes
What every HelloDevs Shopify quote covers
Every HelloDevs quote covers all of this. If an agency leaves any of it out, the cost reappears later as a change request.
- Scoping documentWhat gets built and what does not, agreed in writing before any code is written.
- A fixed quotePriced against the written scope, not an hourly estimate that grows.
- Weekly progress you can seeA preview or a build you can use every week, not a reveal at the end.
- Source code in your repositoryYours from the first commit — no lock-in, and nothing about your store depends on us.
- DocumentationEnough that your team, or the next developer, can understand what was built without calling us.
- 30 days of post-launch fixesIncluded in every project, not billed as an extra.
How a Shopify project runs
Five steps, and working software in every one
The same shape whether it is a theme, an app or an integration. You see progress weekly, and you can change your mind while it is still cheap to.
- Scope callWe work out which layer the problem lives in and what you actually need — which is often smaller than the brief.
- Written scope and quoteWhat gets built, what does not, how long it takes and what it costs. Agreed before any code.
- BuildWeekly previews on a development store or a preview theme, so feedback arrives while it is cheap to act on.
- LaunchA checklist, a rollback plan and someone watching the store on the day — not a handover email.
- SupportThirty days of fixes included, then a retainer if you want one. You have the code and the documentation either way.
Shopify development tech stack
Built on the platform, not around it
We build with Shopify's own tools and current APIs, so what we ship keeps working when Shopify changes — and you can hire anyone to maintain it.
The Shopify Stack
Included because technical buyers ask, and because a vague answer here usually means the work is subcontracted. Liquid and Online Store 2.0 for themes; theme app extensions for storefront features; the GraphQL Admin API, webhooks and Polaris for apps; the Storefront API for custom frontends; and Shopify CLI for local development and version control.
- Liquid
- Online Store 2.0
- Theme App Extensions
- GraphQL Admin API
- Storefront API
- Webhooks
- Shopify CLI
- sections/featured-product.liquid01
- extensions/theme-block/blocks/widget.liquid02
- app/routes/app._index.tsx03
- shopify.app.toml04
Liquid First
Server-rendered Liquid for anything a customer sees before checkout, and JavaScript only where the page genuinely needs to react.
{% for product in collection.products %}
{% render 'product-card', product: product %}
{% endfor %}GraphQL, Not REST
Shopify made the REST Admin API legacy in 2024. Everything we build talks to the GraphQL Admin API, where new platform features ship.
const res = await admin.graphql(`#graphql
query { shop { name } }`);No Page Builder Apps
We do not use page builder apps to fake a custom theme. They slow the store down and lock you into a subscription to keep your own layout.
page-builder-app.zip
Shopify development services questions
- Everything Shopify does not give you out of the box: custom and customised themes, apps, integrations with your other systems, headless storefronts, AI features, and the maintenance that keeps them working as Shopify changes. Most projects are one of those, not all of them — the table above is the fastest way to find yours.
- Usually a premium theme, customised properly. Build custom when your brand or your products need a layout no theme sells, or when a theme has been patched so often that nobody wants to touch it. When a custom theme is worth it.
- It depends on what you need to change, not on revenue alone. Two things Plus unlocks that matter to development: checkout UI extensions on the information, shipping and payment steps, and custom apps that use Shopify Functions. Shopify's plan comparison lists the rest. If none of it is on your roadmap, a standard plan usually covers what you need, and we will say so on the scope call.
- A fixed quote against a written scope, agreed before any code is written — not an hourly estimate. Retainers are a monthly block of hours with a named engineer.
- Often, yes. We read the code first and tell you honestly whether continuing is worth it or a rebuild is faster, and you get that answer before you pay for the work.
- Yes. Every project includes thirty days of fixes, and most stores keep a retainer for the changes that keep arriving. You can also hire a Shopify developer directly on a retainer or inside your team.
- Yes, from the first commit. It lives in your repository, not ours, and nothing about your store depends on HelloDevs to keep running.
Didn't get your answer?
Send the store and the problem, not a spec. A developer at HelloDevs will read it and reply with an honest recommendation.
Get a quote for Shopify development
Tell us what you need
Send the store and the problem, not a spec. A developer at HelloDevs will read it and reply with an honest recommendation.
