Since 2006, Michael has been at the forefront of ecommerce innovation. After launching and scaling his first online business to significant revenue and earning recognition in Internet Retailer's Second 500, he sold the company in 2015. Now Michael dedicates his expertise to helping other entrepreneurs succeed, combining deep technical knowledge with proven strategic insights gained from real-world experience. His services Include: E-commerce Consulting, Shopify Development, Automated Email Marketing, Website Migration, AI integration & Visibility, Website Audits, and Amazon Optimization. He utilizes AI for the following Site Pre-Design, Customer Service and Shopping Agents, CRO, Descriptions, Icon/ Graphic creation, Market Research, and more as he finds additional uses that add speed and value.
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
When checkout, apps, or theme architecture hold the business back, more campaigns rarely help. I work with Shopify Plus teams that need a scalable foundation and a sharper merchant experience before the next phase of growth. From custom apps and checkout extensions to migrations and integrations, I own the architecture from first diagnosis through long-term delivery. https://ocontis.studio/
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We are a performance-driven Shopify Plus agency helping DTC brands grow through better design, smarter data, and continuous optimization. We specialize in conversion rate optimization (CRO), UX/UI enhancements, and Shopify development for high-growth brands. Whether it’s improving product storytelling, streamlining checkout, or optimizing multi-region performance, our focus is on measurable results — not just pretty pixels. Our clients include fashion, lifestyle, and wellness brands that want to elevate their online experience and drive consistent revenue growth.
We connect eCommerce brands and agencies with top freelance Shopify developers and designers. Hire for single projects or ongoing needs. No hiring fees or recurring charges.
HAS MERIT is a studio crafting conversion-driven Shopify storefronts and building brands for ambitious companies. We design and develop polished sites that feel like real brands (not quick templates) and back them with brand identity systems that create lasting recognition. From strategy to branding to design to development, everything’s done in-house for a seamless process. We’re a great fit for brands seeking personalized brand design paired with thoughtful conversion strategy, without the agency fluff or freelance hit-or-miss. Building Digital Storefronts: Personalised Design - tailored layouts built to sell, not just look good. Custom Development - beyond just templates, crafted solutions for your brand. Conversion Optimisation - auditing and smarter UI/UX so you don’t leave money on the table. Brand & Identity Design - constructing a brand that stands out and connects. Seamless Integrations - payments, shipping, and tools connected without friction. We just helped an FMCG brand increase conversions by 56% and increased net sale by 86% within 30 days by tweaking their existing page. Female-founded by a designer/developer with experience across brands of all sizes, partnered with a commercial lead from top global CPGs and agencies, we blend design, strategy, and business insight to help brands stand out and scale. Our clients have been featured in Forbes, Vogue, Allure, mindbodygreen, Whole Foods and more
Gloross helps ambitious D2C brands to migrate and accelerate growth on Shopify (Plus). Whether it's migrating to Shopify, increasing revenue and CR, improving user experience, or optimizing performance, we tailor our expertise to your specific needs and goals. With a dedicated team of experts in strategy, UX, design, development, and data-driven conversion optimization, we are committed to delivering solutions that drive measurable results.
Over the last 10+ years, I’ve worked as a freelancer, spent four years at a creative agency leading design, development, and client delivery, and now run a 2-person team that feels more like a creative partner than a traditional agency. We work closely with merchants who want a Shopify site that actually reflects the brand they’ve built — and can support where they’re going next. I’m most interested in projects where design, dev, and strategy all overlap — where there’s a real problem to solve, not just a template to swap.
I am a frontend web developer with over 14 years of experience, specialising in Shopify and WordPress development. My focus is on building seamless, conversion-focused eCommerce experiences that combine clean design with high performance. I work with a modern tech stack that includes HTML, CSS, JavaScript (ES6+), Liquid, React, Tailwind CSS, and popular CMS frameworks. I am also experienced in integrating marketing tools such as Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Google Tag Manager, helping brands automate and scale their online presence effectively. Some of the projects I am most proud of involve transforming underperforming storefronts into fast, mobile-first websites with measurable improvements in conversion rate and user engagement. My approach blends UX/UI enhancement, speed optimisation, and conversion rate optimisation (CRO) strategies to ensure every site not only looks great but delivers real business results. Whether collaborating with agencies or supporting in-house teams, I take a hands-on, performance-driven approach to development-turning creative ideas into high-impact digital experiences.
💌 Your outsourced marketing department. Founded in 2015, In Social is a full-service, Shopify Plus digital marketing agency that acts as the outsourced marketing department for our clients. From services such as; organic and paid social media, Google & PPC advertising, website design, development and conversion rate optimization, influencer marketing, branding and design, content creation, Ecommerce and Amazon store management, customer service (with our college educated, native English speaking Canadian based team of agents), US-based fulfillment, and everything in between, we leverage data to embody our methodology of “The Full Circle Approach to Digital Marketing,” developing, deploying, and optimizing holistic and cohesive marketing efforts that creates seamless customer journeys that drive brand affinity and, ultimately, sales conversion.
I build high-performing Shopify stores designed for speed, scalability, and long-term savings so your only monthly cost is your Shopify subscription. If your current theme is patched or bloated, a clean rebuild is the smarter move. All builds are theme-editable, free from third-party scripts, and made to be maintained forever. I work exclusively with the Horizon theme, the latest stack by Shopify, and also work with fresh paid themes without any dev history to create fast, SEO-ready, and easy-to-manage stores that convert. What I specialize in: - Shopify 2.0 and custom theme rebuilds - Web redesigns and new designs using Figma - Figma to Shopify development - Performance and SEO optimization - CRO-focused custom features/sections - Shopify API and app development (Shopify Plus) - Long-term store care and maintenance Most clients stay for years because I build clean, smart, and scalable stores that deliver real results. Let’s make your Shopify store work harder for you.
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.