We’re a London-based Shopify e-commerce agency partnering exclusively with luxury brands, enterprise clients, and ambitious D2C companies. Most agencies build stores. We build strategic advantages for clients who need measurable returns and are ready to leverage the power of Shopify as a platform and engine for growth. We approach every project as a business challenge first, a technical challenge second. Before designing or writing code, we immerse ourselves in your commercial objectives and customer behaviour, ensuring every decision ties to measurable outcomes. Our technical excellence in visual/UX design, bespoke theme development, complex app integrations, headless commerce, and merchant operations is paired with strategic ecommerce thinking that challenges assumptions. We work with brands that have ambitious growth targets and view e-commerce as a strategic asset. We measure success by your metrics: conversion rates, average order values, and customer lifetime value. If you’re ready for a conversation about your goals and how we can deliver them for your business.
Hire Shopify Developers & Custom Solution Experts
"Shopify developer" describes at least six specialisms that share a platform and almost nothing else. Hourly rate tells you very little about fit — a strong theme developer given a custom app project delivers something that works and can't be maintained, and a senior backend engineer with no Liquid experience spends paid hours learning your theme.
Six specialisms cover nearly all Shopify development:
- Theme and front-end work — custom theme development, theme customisation, and anything visible on the storefront the editor can't do. On shopexperts, theme customisation packages have a median of $548. The majority of Shopify development sits here.
- App and API development — custom apps for internal workflows, public App Store apps, and API integrations. Custom development and app packages on shopexperts have a median of $1,000 for a defined scope; larger app builds are quoted per project. See Shopify app development.
- Checkout and Plus features — checkout customization, Checkout UI extensions and Shopify Functions development. Most of it needs Shopify Plus: extensions inside the checkout steps and custom Functions are Plus-only, although any plan can brand its checkout and use public apps built on Functions.
- Backend and systems — ERP and backend integrations, connecting Shopify to systems that weren't designed to talk to it. More data modelling than Shopify.
- Headless — Hydrogen and headless commerce development. A genuinely different discipline, and most stores don't need it; a well-optimised theme covers what merchants usually assume requires it.
- Fixing and hardening — bug fixes and troubleshooting, performance and speed optimization, and accessibility compliance. Reactive work, and frequently the right first purchase.
If you can't tell which applies, a short paid scoping engagement costs less than hiring the wrong specialism and discovering it in week three. Compare expert Shopify developers below, or browse the specific service you need.
Top-rated Shopify developers, agencies and Plus Partners
With over 13 years of experience on Shopify, Hatch are a certified Shopify Plus Partner, delivering beautifully engineered ecommerce experiences for a wide range of global clients, across various industries. How we help Shopify and Shopify Plus businesses: Considered visual and UX design Custom Shopify development App integrations Growth retainer services Ongoing store maintenance Ecommerce strategy
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A passionate and results-driven freelance Shopify Systems Engineer with over 8 years of expertise in designing and optimizing ecommerce solutions for high-growth brands. Specializing in developing and scaling custom Shopify themes, apps, and headless setups, I bring a strong blend of technical depth and business impact awareness. Proficient in integrating complex systems like Shopify APIs, webhooks, and ERP solutions, while optimizing checkout, subscription flows, and revenue-critical logic. With a focus on performance optimization, SEO, and conversion rates, I’ve helped clients increase AOV, reduce churn, and drive growth. Adept at using AI tools to accelerate development and streamline merchant operations, I provide end-to-end solutions that bridge the gap between technical execution and business goals. Whether working independently or as part of a team, I deliver high-impact solutions that ensure both technical reliability and measurable revenue improvement.
I help Shopify and Shopify Plus brands increase revenue by fixing the highest-leverage parts of the funnel. Product pages, cart experience, checkout flow (within platform limits), site speed, and UX. Why clients work with me: I’m not “design-only” or “dev-only.” I combine CRO analysis, UI/UX design, and performance-first implementation - so changes aren’t just “prettier.” They ship cleanly, load fast, and can be measured in GA4. My approach: Audit → prioritized roadmap → implementation → measurement Core services: CRO & UX audits (GA4 funnels, heatmaps, session recordings) PDP/collection/cart optimization (conversion + theme architecture) Speed & Core Web Vitals improvements (render-blocking cleanup, image strategy, JS reduction) Custom theme development (Figma → Shopify, modular Liquid/JSON) Shopify migrations (staged rollout, SEO preservation, QA + rollback plan) Technical stack: Shopify/Shopify Plus, Liquid, Hydrogen, JavaScript (ES6+), GA4, A/B testing tools, Figma. No page-builder bloat. No app stacking. No fragile workarounds - just clean code your team can maintain. Send your store URL + goals — I’ll reply with the highest-impact opportunities and the key risks to address first.
Friction Studio — Conversion-Led Shopify Development for Ambitious Brands Friction Studio is not just a Shopify agency — we are strategic partners for DTC and eCommerce brands that want stores built to perform, scale, and convert. We don’t simply deliver a website; we engineer Shopify systems that elevate revenue, reduce friction, and strengthen customer experience. We help established and scaling brands unlock higher growth by combining conversion-driven design with robust Shopify engineering. Our focus is simple: high-impact UX, scalable development, and business outcomes that matter. How We Help You Grow: Custom Shopify & Shopify Plus Builds — Premium, performance-focused stores designed for long-term scalability. Conversion-Focused Redesigns — Strategic UX and merchandising upgrades that increase conversion rates and AOV. Platform Migrations to Shopify — Seamless transitions from legacy systems without data loss or SEO setbacks. Performance & Speed Optimization — Technical tuning to improve user experience and search performance. Landing Page & CRO Systems — Revenue-driven landing pages and CRO experimentation for paid acquisition and retention. We take a systems-first approach, aligning design, development, analytics, and conversion strategy so every touchpoint drives measurable results. Why Brands Choose Friction Studio: We operate as long-term growth partners, never one-off vendors. We’re obsessed with clean code, fast experiences, and friction-less buying journeys that turn visitors into loyal customers. Our work isn’t just technically sound, it’s commercially intelligent. From advanced integrations to retention-driven experiences, we build Shopify solutions that strengthen both brand perception and bottom-line performance.
I help e-commerce brands unlock growth, turn attention into action, and transform traffic into meaningful, measurable revenue. For over 5 years, I’ve been passionately focused on conversion optimization and Shopify development, working closely with teams to identify friction points, remove hesitation, and create clear, confident paths to purchase. I don’t just analyze data, I turn insights into impactful improvements that consistently move core KPIs. I’ve partnered with brands across fashion, home, lifestyle, and multiple DTC verticals, delivering strong, repeatable gains in add-to-cart rates, checkout conversion, revenue per session, and full-funnel performance, on average 5-10% improvement. What motivates my work is understanding the real reasons behind user behavior and turning those insights into sustainable, long-term growth. I am now looking to bring this expertise to a dedicated team in a full-time capacity. My approach combines robust quantitative analysis with deep qualitative research, blending GA4, heatmaps, session recordings, and user audits with clear experimentation roadmaps and disciplined A/B testing. This balance allows me to drive reliable results because lasting growth comes from intentional experimentation, thoughtful UX, and confident, data-backed decisions.
Always Open Commerce (AOC) is a Shopify focused Free-Agency and BigCommerce for established brands that need reliable execution and measurable growth. We handle end-to-end builds, redesigns, and platform migrations, plus ongoing optimization and support. Our team is structured by specialty, not generalists: Shopify developers, UX/UI designers, CRO specialists, technical SEO, paid media, content, and data/catalog specialists. This allows us to diagnose issues quickly and actually implement fixes, not just provide recommendations. Core services: Shopify theme builds, redesigns, and performance improvements Migrations from Magento, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and legacy platforms with SEO-safe redirects and data validation CRO and UX optimization (navigation, collection architecture, PDP systems, cart/checkout improvements) Technical SEO and analytics setup (GA4, Search Console, tracking) Product data management and catalog scaling (attributes, filters, rules, feeds) Tech stack and tools: Shopify (Online Store 2.0, Liquid), GA4, Google Tag Manager, Search Console, Hotjar, Figma, and common eCommerce apps and integrations depending on the project. We work best with teams that want a long-term partner, clear communication, and disciplined delivery, especially for technically complex catalogs, B2B and industrial eCommerce, and brands that care about UX and conversion performance. Built like an agency, priced like a freelancer.
We are a UK-based Shopify agency working with ecommerce brands, retailers and B2B operators that need structure, not just speed. As a Shopify Partner, we support scaling teams launching, rebuilding or restructuring on Shopify with commercial discipline from day one.
Shopify Plus Developer for Growing & Global Brands I've spent the last 5+ years in the weeds of Shopify — not just writing Liquid, but figuring out how commerce actually scales. As a Shopify Select Partner, I've helped brands migrate messy legacy systems onto Shopify Plus, built custom middleware to connect ERPs with storefronts, and shipped apps and Functions that off-the-shelf solutions just can't handle. A few examples of what that's looked like in practice: cutting load times from 7-10 seconds down to under 2 for a jewellery brand doing a WooCommerce migration, and getting a Shark Tank India-featured ethnic wear brand to 65% faster load times with an 80% jump in mobile engagement. Where I can help: Complex migrations — moving high-volume stores to Shopify Plus without losing SEO rankings or data integrity along the way Custom app development — private apps built around your actual business logic, not whatever an app store happens to offer Performance engineering — getting heavy Plus stores down to sub-2-second loads, even under Black Friday-level traffic If your tech stack feels more like a bottleneck than an asset right now, that's usually a sign something in the architecture needs rethinking — happy to take a look.
At OnlyGrowth, we help Shopify and Shopify Plus brands grow through strategic website design and development. We partner with brands to plan, design, and develop high-performing ecommerce experiences, including full website redesigns, custom Shopify theme development, and conversion-focused landing pages built to support acquisition, retention, and long-term customer value. While our core offering is web design and development, we bring a deep growth background to every project. We analyze customer behavior, heatmaps, and data to identify friction points, uncover opportunities, and continuously improve how shoppers move through the store.
How to hire a Shopify developer
Development quotes vary widely — the same brief can return figures far apart, because it was ambiguous enough to support both readings.
Write the brief as an outcome with constraints, not a task. "Build us a custom app" produces vague quotes. "Build a custom app that syncs inventory between Shopify and our NetSuite instance every 15 minutes, handles 8,000 SKUs across three locations, and alerts us on sync failure" produces comparable ones. Time spent on the brief saves back-and-forth and money later.
Match the specialisation, not the rate. Theme and Liquid work fits freelancers and small studios. Custom apps need API experience. Shopify Plus builds, Functions and checkout work need a specialist with shipped Plus projects — a general developer learns them on your budget. On shopexperts, development freelancers list a median starting price of $100 and agencies $250 (October 2026).
Verify Partner status where it matters. Shopify's Partner Program has five tiers: Registered, Select, Plus, Premier and Platinum, with Platinum at the top. Verify claimed tiers in the Shopify Partner directory rather than accepting them from a proposal. Non-Partners can be excellent, but they lack the Partner support channel that resolves platform edge cases quickly.
Ask for live URLs and follow up on two of them. Three live Shopify stores from the last twelve months, and for a large project, contact two of those merchants directly. Ask whether the project shipped on time, what changed mid-project, and whether they'd hire again. That conversation is worth more than any portfolio.
Insist on milestone structure. Good quotes break into phases — discovery, build, QA, launch — with deliverables and payment tied to each. A lump sum with no phase breakdown means either a senior developer confident enough to absorb the risk, which is rare, or nobody has thought about the hard parts yet, which is common.
Ask who owns the code and where it lives. Repository access, documentation, and whether you can hand the project to another developer without an archaeology exercise. This costs nothing to agree upfront and is expensive to resolve later.
Which kind of Shopify developer do you actually need?
Six distinct specialisations, and the wrong choice costs more than the rate difference. Match your project to one of these before you shortlist. The prices below are fixed-price packages listed on shopexperts in October 2026; each covers a defined scope, so larger projects are quoted separately.
Theme and Liquid developer — theme customisation packages have a median of $548, custom section packages $280 and custom theme builds $1,750. Custom sections, layout changes, theme customisation, OS 2.0 migrations, styling beyond the editor. This covers the majority of Shopify development work. If your requirement is something visible on the storefront that the theme editor can't do, this is your hire.
Custom app developer — custom development and app packages have a median of $1,000 (middle half $390 to $2,499); larger app builds are quoted per project. Custom apps for internal workflows, public apps for the App Store, embedded admin tools, and anything using the Admin API, webhooks or OAuth. Distinct skill set from theme work; the overlap is smaller than merchants assume.
Shopify Plus and checkout specialist — Plus and checkout packages have a median of $1,050 (middle half $625 to $8,000). Plus setup and migration, Functions, Checkout Extensibility, multi-store, B2B. In practice it needs someone with shipped Plus projects. Mistakes here affect checkout, which makes them immediately expensive.
Integration engineer — integration packages have a median of $625, across 7 packages from $250 to $10,000. Connecting Shopify to ERPs, 3PLs, PIMs, CRMs and accounting systems. The work is data modelling and error handling more than it is Shopify, and someone who has only worked inside Shopify usually underestimates it.
Headless and Hydrogen developer — three headless packages are listed, at $2,499, $2,800 and $5,000; full builds are scoped per store. React engineering against the Storefront API. Genuinely different discipline, and most stores don't need it — a well-optimised theme covers what merchants usually think requires headless.
Maintenance and support developer — monthly support retainers have a median of $1,950 (middle half $500 to $2,575), and bug-fix packages $95. Ongoing fixes, theme updates, app conflicts, small features. Undervalued and frequently the right answer when the real problem is that nobody owns the store technically.
If you can't tell which of these your project needs, that's a legitimate reason to pay for a short scoping engagement before hiring. It's cheaper than hiring the wrong specialisation and discovering it in week three.
How much does a Shopify developer cost?
Shopify development spans a wide price range, because "development" covers everything from a CSS fix to an enterprise replatform. Typical market ranges, followed by what developers on shopexperts list:
Per project
$500 – $500,000+
Small fixes to enterprise Plus builds
Hourly rate
$60 – $400
Freelance developers to senior Plus specialists
Monthly retainer
$500 – $30,000+
Maintenance to active feature development
Starting prices on shopexperts
$85 – $1,000
Middle half of 596 listed; median $200
The first three tiles are typical market ranges, not shopexperts data. The fourth is: in October 2026, 596 Shopify Development experts listed a starting price. A starting price is the smallest job an expert will quote, often an audit or a small fix, so treat it as a floor, not a quote.
In the wider market, small theme fixes and Liquid customisation sit at $500-$3,500. Custom section development runs $600-$3,000 per section. Full theme development or heavy customisation runs $5,000-$30,000. Custom app development runs $12,000-$120,000+ depending on whether it's a private internal tool or a public App Store listing with billing and review. Integration work — ERP, 3PL, PIM, accounting — runs $15,000-$150,000+. Shopify Plus setup and enterprise builds run $20,000-$400,000+ depending on migration complexity and checkout customisation. Headless builds run $25,000-$500,000+.
Ongoing retainers sit at $500-$3,000/month for maintenance and small fixes, $3,000-$10,000/month for regular feature work, and $10,000-$30,000+/month for dedicated Plus development capacity. Well-specified work — theme customisation, defined feature builds, app configuration — travels well across time zones.
Architecture decisions, Plus edge cases and anything where the specification will change mid-project go better with a developer who shares some of your working hours, because the cost of a misunderstanding scales with the complexity of what's being built. Request a free quote for a figure specific to your project.
What do Shopify developers do?
Six specialisations, and most developers are genuinely strong in one or two:
Theme Development and Liquid
Custom sections, layout, OS 2.0 migration, storefront work
Custom App Development
Private and public apps, Admin API, webhooks, embedded tools
Shopify Plus and Checkout
Plus migration, Functions, Checkout Extensibility, multi-store, B2B
Integrations and Data
ERP, 3PL, PIM, CRM and accounting system connections
Headless and Hydrogen
Storefront API, React storefronts, PWA and mobile
Maintenance and Support
Theme updates, app conflicts, bug fixes, ongoing small features
Frequently asked questions about hiring Shopify developers
Shopify development covers six fairly distinct specialisations: theme and Liquid work on the storefront, custom app development against Shopify's APIs, Shopify Plus and checkout work using Functions and Checkout Extensibility, integrations with ERP, 3PL and accounting systems, headless builds with Hydrogen, and ongoing maintenance. Most developers are genuinely strong in one or two of these, and matching the specialisation to your project matters more than comparing hourly rates.
On shopexperts, the 596 development experts who list a starting price have a median of $200, and the middle half sit between $85 and $1,000 (October 2026). A starting price is the smallest job an expert will quote. Fixed-price packages are closer to project costs: theme customisation has a median of $548, custom development and apps $1,000, Shopify Plus and checkout $1,050, and monthly support retainers $1,950. Larger builds are quoted per project, so request a free quote with your scope.
Freelancers fit theme work, defined features and maintenance. Agencies fit larger projects where design, development and project management need coordinating, and where continuity across a longer engagement matters. Plus specialists fit Plus stores and projects with custom Functions, in-checkout extensions, multi-store or B2B. On shopexperts, development freelancers list a median starting price of $100 and agencies $250 (October 2026). Pick the smallest team that can credibly deliver your scope — a larger team costs more and rarely delivers more until the scope needs it.
Not necessarily. Plus work (custom Functions, checkout extensions, multi-store, B2B) rewards prior Plus experience, so ask for shipped Plus projects and check any claimed tier in Shopify's Partner Directory. A general developer can work on a Plus store, but learns its enterprise layer at your expense.
Small theme fixes take 1-3 weeks. Full theme development or heavy customisation takes 4-12 weeks. Custom app development runs 6-16 weeks. Integration projects run 8-20 weeks depending on the system at the other end. Shopify Plus migrations and enterprise builds take 12-32 weeks. Rush timelines are possible, usually at a premium, and almost always achieved by compressing QA, which is where the cost reappears later.
Platform-specific knowledge: Liquid templating, Shopify's app architecture and injection patterns, checkout extensibility rules, Functions, Plus enterprise features, and how to ship without breaking site speed or app compatibility. A capable general web developer can learn Shopify, but the ramp-up comes before productive feature work starts, and you're paying for it. For a store that runs its business on Shopify, platform-specific experience usually pays for itself.
For well-specified work, location matters less than the brief — theme customisation, features built from clear specifications, app configuration, and defined bug fixing travel well across time zones. Don't assume it costs less: on shopexperts, development experts based outside the US, Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand list a median starting price of $300, against $199 for those based there (October 2026). Where it goes wrong is anything where the specification will change mid-project, or where architecture decisions are being made rather than executed, because the cost of a misunderstanding scales with what's being built. Many mid-market brands run a hybrid: local senior direction and architecture, offshore implementation underneath it.
Five things. Which of the six specialisations is their primary one, and what proportion of their last year was spent there. Three live Shopify URLs from the last twelve months, ideally in a comparable scope. How they structure customisations so future theme updates don't destroy them — the answer should involve separate section and snippet files rather than edits to core theme files. Who owns the repository and documentation at the end. And what happens if the scope changes mid-project, because it will.