Shopify Maintenance & Support
HelloDevs keeps a live Shopify store working and moving: theme updates and customisation, app audits, bug fixes, monitoring, and the platform deprecations that quietly break stores — on a retainer or one job at a time.
- Six years on Shopify
- Developers, not a ticket queue
- Fixed quotes, not hourly guesses
A Shopify store does not stay finished. Apps update, APIs retire and themes drift, and the cost of nobody owning it arrives all at once. HelloDevs owns it before that happens.
Which kind of support do you actually need?
Which kind of support do you actually need?
Support ranges from a one-off fix to a standing arrangement. Find your situation below.
| Your situation | What it usually calls for |
|---|---|
| The store works, but nobody is responsible for it | A retainer: reserved developer capacity each month for updates, small changes and watching for problems, with a plain monthly summary of what was done. |
| You need small changes now and then: a new section, a banner, a layout tweak | Ad-hoc, fixed-price jobs. This is most theme customisation work, and it does not need a standing arrangement. |
| You inherited a store or an app from another agency | A health check first: what is installed, what is custom, where the risk sits. See taking over an existing app for the handover checklist. |
| The store has accumulated many apps and feels slow | An app audit: what each app costs in speed, what overlaps, what can be removed or replaced with native features, and what is worth keeping. |
| You rely on script tags, Scripts or checkout.liquid | A deprecation migration to app embeds, web pixels, Functions and checkout extensions. See what breaks when script tags are switched off and Shopify Plus development for how checkout extensibility works. |
| Something is broken right now | A triage call, a fix, and a short note on the cause so it does not recur. If the cause is deeper than a quick fix, we say so rather than patching over it. |
Six parts of Shopify maintenance and support
Maintenance is a set of distinct jobs. HelloDevs scopes the ones your store needs and leaves out the ones it does not.
Retainer, block of hours or ad hoc
Retainer, block of hours or ad hoc
There is no single right arrangement. The honest answer depends on how often your store changes and how much risk of a gap you can tolerate.
- Ad-hoc, fixed priceA defined job, a quote, a delivery. Best when changes are occasional and you are comfortable waiting for the next slot.
- Block of hoursA purchased amount of developer time you draw down as needed. Flexible, with the trade-off that unused time and priority are agreed up front.
- Monthly retainerReserved capacity, a developer who knows your store, and a regular review. Best when the store changes often or when downtime is expensive.
- Project then supportSupport starts from a build or migration, with the documentation and code already in your repository. Often the smoothest handover.
- Emergency fixA fault on a live store outside any arrangement. We take these where we can, and the timing depends on what is already in progress, which we state honestly.
- Takeover from another agencyAn audit and documentation phase before the first change, so we do not inherit a mystery. Code and access are moved into accounts you own.
The Shopify deprecations that break stores
The Shopify deprecations that break stores
Shopify retires old extension points on published timelines. Stores that ignore the changelog find out when something stops working. Check Shopify's own documentation for the current dates that apply to you.
- Shopify Scripts to FunctionsScripts, the older Ruby-based way of customising discounts, shipping and payments on Plus checkouts, are being replaced by Shopify Functions. Anything still relying on a Script needs rebuilding as a Function.
- checkout.liquid to checkout extensibilityEditing checkout.liquid is no longer how checkout is customised. Branding settings, checkout UI extensions, Functions and web pixels replace it, and code that injected scripts or styles into checkout has to be rebuilt.
- Script tags to app embeds and pixelsScript tags are being switched off for storefronts, with an earlier cut-off for creating new ones. Widgets move to app embed blocks and analytics to web pixels. See our guide for the detail.
- REST to GraphQL Admin APIThe REST Admin API is a legacy API and GraphQL is where new capabilities arrive. Custom apps and integrations on REST should be planned for migration, starting with the heaviest endpoints.
- API version sunsetsEach stable API version is supported for a limited period. A custom app pinned to an old version eventually fails, so bumping versions on a schedule is routine maintenance.
- Older themesThemes that predate Online Store 2.0 miss sections everywhere, app blocks and current performance practice. Moving to a modern base is cheaper done on your timetable than under pressure.
What an unmaintained Shopify store looks like
- Every app added to fix one problem leaves scripts and settings behind, and uninstalling does not always clean up. Years later the storefront carries code for apps the team has forgotten, each costing page weight.
- Edits made directly in the live theme, copied code and no record of why. A small change risks breaking something unrelated, so nothing gets improved. Version control and a staging process are the way out.
- An app update or a theme change quietly breaks one flow, such as a particular payment method, a discount stacking rule or a market-specific page. Regression checks on the money paths catch these before shoppers do.
- A script tag stops running or an API version is retired, and a feature disappears with no warning visible to the team. Someone has to read the changelog on your behalf.
- No single change makes the store slow, but a year of banners, widgets and tracking tags does. Regular Core Web Vitals checks catch the drift while it is still cheap to reverse.
- Former agencies and freelancers still hold staff accounts and API credentials. A support engagement starts with an access review so you own and control your own store.
If nobody owns your store's upkeep,
the first sign is usually a problem on a busy trading day. HelloDevs would rather find it on a quiet one.
What Shopify maintenance and support includes
What every HelloDevs support quote covers
Every quote covers all of this. If a support proposal leaves out any of it, the gap becomes a surprise later.
- Store health checkTheme, apps, access, speed, tracking and deprecations reviewed, with findings ranked by risk.
- Inventory of what is installedEvery app, script and custom code block, what it does and who owns it.
- Written scope and expectationsWhat is covered, how requests come in, and how quickly we aim to respond, agreed in writing rather than implied.
- Staging and review processChanges made on a duplicate theme or branch and checked before publishing.
- Regression checksThe cart, checkout and key revenue pages tested after every significant change.
- Monitoring and alertsUptime and error visibility, with a named person receiving the alerts.
- Change logA running record of what was changed, when and why, so the store is never a mystery again.
- Regular summaryA plain report of work done, issues found and what is coming from Shopify.
- Access and code in your accountsRepositories and credentials owned by you, from the first day.
How a support engagement runs
Five steps, starting with a look before touching anything
We learn the store before we change it, and every change after that is reviewed and recorded.
- Problem callYou tell us what keeps going wrong or what you want kept safe. We tell you honestly whether a retainer or ad-hoc work fits.
- Health checkAccess review, app and theme inventory, speed and deprecation check. You receive findings before any change is made.
- Agree the arrangementA written scope and price, and the way requests, urgency and response expectations will work.
- Work in a steady rhythmRequests triaged, changes staged, tested and published, with the change log kept current.
- Review and adjustA regular look at what was done and whether the arrangement still fits, with no hard feelings if you scale it down.
Shopify maintenance tech stack
Version control and tooling, not edits in the live theme
Included because technical buyers ask, and because a store maintained through the theme editor alone leaves no record and no way back.
The Maintenance Stack
Shopify CLI and Git for versioned theme work, Theme Check and Lighthouse for catching regressions, GraphQL Admin API for audits of apps, metafields and data, Shopify Functions and extensions for rebuilding deprecated customisations, and uptime and error monitoring on the pages that matter.
- Shopify CLI
- Git
- Theme Check
- Lighthouse
- GraphQL Admin API
- Shopify Functions
- Liquid
- sections/header.liquid01
- config/settings_data.json02
- extensions/discount-function/src/run.ts03
- docs/change-log.md04
Staged, Then Published
Every change lands on a development theme first, passes a check, and is published only when you are happy with it.
shopify theme check
shopify theme push --unpublishedNo Live-Theme Edits
We do not edit the published theme directly. A quick fix made live is a record-free change nobody can undo.
live-theme-edit.liquid
No Subcontracting
We do not subcontract. The developer who audits your store is the one who fixes it.
CheckFix
Shopify maintenance and support questions
- It typically depends on four things: how much changes on your store, how many custom pieces (apps, extensions, integrations) have to be watched, how quickly you need responses, and whether you want reserved capacity or work per job. We quote a fixed price for a defined scope, not an open-ended hourly figure.
- Depends on how often the store changes. Occasional small changes suit ad-hoc work, while a store with frequent launches, many integrations or expensive downtime usually suits a retainer. You can start ad hoc and move to a retainer, or the reverse.
- We agree response expectations in writing for each arrangement, including what counts as urgent and how to reach us for it. We do not publish a headline response figure, because it depends on the arrangement and we would rather promise only what we have agreed with you.
- Yes. We start with an audit of access, theme, apps and custom code before changing anything, and move repositories and credentials into accounts you own. If the code is in poor shape we will say so and give you the options, including a rebuild if that is cheaper than patching.
- Yes. Customisation is done in versioned theme code or through sections and blocks, and theme updates are merged deliberately rather than overwritten. For changes that need real engineering, our theme developers can be engaged directly.
- We list every installed app and what it adds to the storefront and checkout, check for leftovers from uninstalled apps, measure the speed cost of each, and return a keep, replace or remove list. Where a feature can be done natively or with a small custom build, we say so; a custom app is the last option, not the first.
- Yes, for the store-side work: configuration, integration, customisation and fixes around them. For a third-party app's own defects, we raise them with its developer on your behalf. We also maintain the apps and themes we build ourselves.
Tell us what needs looking after
Send the store and what worries you. A developer at HelloDevs replies within one business day.
Project examples and buying guides
Review the work, compare your options and prepare a brief before choosing your next step.
- Take over an existing app
Access, recovery checks and a maintenance handover for a stalled project.
- Shopify script tags are being switched off
The dates, what breaks and how to audit your store.
- Shopify app security review
What to check when an app has access to your store's data.
- App performance and metafields
How installed apps and data access affect storefront speed.
Talk to us about Shopify support
Tell us what needs looking after
Send the store and what worries you. A developer at HelloDevs replies within one business day.
