What I actually build on Shopify
Three things, primarily: custom Liquid themes for D2C brands that have outgrown templates, Hydrogen storefronts when you need a React-grade front-end against the same admin, and conversion-rate-optimisation engagements for stores that are profitable but stuck.
Not Shopify Plus apps. Not subscription-only stores. Not migrations off Shopify (I’d rather you stayed). The most common engagement: a brand that picked Dawn or a $300 ThemeForest theme, hit the ceiling, and needs a senior to rebuild the theme around their actual buyer journey.
Where Shopify earns the work
- D2C consumer brands with one to a few hundred SKUs and a marketing-led growth model.
- Apparel + accessories where size/colour variants and editorial photography are central to the brand.
- Beauty + wellness with subscription via Recharge, Klaviyo flows, and Shop Pay-led checkout.
- Stores running on Plus needing custom Scripts, B2B portal, or wholesale tier logic.
Where Shopify doesn’t
Heavy B2B distribution, complex tiered pricing with NET-30 terms, ERP-driven inventory across regions, or content-first sites with a small store attached. Those go on WooCommerce or headless WP + a checkout layer. I’ll tell you that on the call.
The Shopify stack I actually use
Theme: custom Liquid, Sections everywhere, no premium framework. Apps (kept ruthlessly): Klaviyo, Judge.me, Recharge, Shopify Inbox, Searchanise. Build: Shopify CLI 3, GitHub integration, Theme Inspector for performance. Headless when warranted: Hydrogen on Oxygen, Nuxt + Storefront API, Next.js + ISR.
Common questions
How long does a custom Shopify theme take?
Five to nine weeks for a focused D2C rebuild, including discovery, design, build, QA, and migration. Hydrogen builds run eight to fourteen weeks depending on integration complexity.
Will we keep the code?
Yes. Code is yours from commit one. Repo handed over on launch. No retainer required to keep working with the site you paid for.
Do you work with Shopify Plus only?
No. Plus is great when you need it (B2B, multi-store, Scripts) but most brands don’t. Happy to build on standard Shopify and migrate up if and when it earns the upgrade.