Emani · clean beauty
$2M/mo MRR
Shopify Plus rebuild. Headless front, OS 2.0 merchandising, subscription and bundle logic. 520% revenue growth year one.
§
§ · shopify development
Shopify developers for brands scaling past seven figures.
Nine years, 2,000+ brands, three stores above $420K/month — custom themes, headless commerce, Shopify Plus, and checkout extensions engineered to Shopify's own standards.
A Shopify developer builds and customizes stores on the Shopify platform — using Liquid (Shopify's templating language), JavaScript, the Shopify Admin API, and Online Store 2.0. Not to be confused with a Shopify expert who handles setup, or an agency that just installs themes. A Shopify developer writes code.
In practice, we spend our hours on six things: custom theme sections and blocks, app integrations (ERP, subscription, reviews, loyalty), Shopify Plus checkout extensions, performance tuning to hit Core Web Vitals, store migrations from other platforms, and Flow automation for back-office workflows. Three in four engagements touch at least three of those.
The reason founders hire developers, not themes, is that off-the-shelf Shopify themes are built for the mass case. The merchandising logic that made your brand worth scaling — bundled gifts, subscriber-only pricing, a custom pre-order flow, a quote-to-cart for B2B — rarely fits. Theme customization is what bridges the gap. Headless commerce bridges it further.
§ 02 · when
When to hire a Shopify developer (vs. do it yourself).
Honest criteria. If the job passes this test, it's developer-worthy. If it doesn't, keep your money and use an app.
hire a developer when
- ●Revenue is past $30K/month and a conversion-rate lift of even 0.5pt pays for the build.
- ●You've outgrown your current theme — the merchandising you need isn't in the settings panel.
- ●You're migrating from WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, or Wix.
- ●You have a B2B requirement (net terms, wholesale pricing, quote-to-cart, company accounts).
- ●You're on Shopify Plus and checkout extensions, Flow, or Launchpad are on the roadmap.
- ●Core Web Vitals are tanking organic traffic and the theme is the bottleneck.
skip a developer when
- ○You're pre-revenue. Buy a $180 premium theme, ship, learn.
- ○You want a feature that has a reputable app (Klaviyo, Judge.me, Recharge). Install the app.
- ○The change is text and images — that's the Shopify admin, not a dev ticket.
- ○You haven't mapped a single KPI to the ask. "Make it better" isn't a brief.
- ○Your real problem is paid ads, not the store — we'll tell you that on the call.
§ 03 · the stack
The Shopify stack, by surface.
No hidden "senior" markup on juniors. The people on your build — from Liquid to Hydrogen — have shipped for brands you've bought from.
storefront
Liquid & OS 2.0
Custom sections, blocks, metaobjects, metafields, JSON templates, section groups, app blocks.
headless
Hydrogen + Oxygen
Remix-based Hydrogen storefronts, Oxygen deploys, Storefront API, server components.
plus
Shopify Plus
Checkout extensions, Functions, Flow, Launchpad, Script Editor, B2B, Markets, expansion stores.
apps
Public & private apps
Remix + Polaris + App Bridge, Admin API, Storefront API, webhooks, GraphQL, BFCM-hardened.
integrations
ERP, OMS, 3PL
NetSuite, SAP, Brightpearl, Cin7, ShipBob, ShipStation, Klaviyo, Recharge, Yotpo, Judge.me.
performance
Core Web Vitals
LCP < 2.5s, INP < 200ms, CLS < 0.1. We benchmark before Build and again at Launch.
§ 04 · proof
Stores we've scaled past seven figures.
Big Game Sports · athletics
$850K/mo MRR
Custom Shopify theme with live-inventory feeds, team accounts, and a 4-step checkout extension that lifted completion 18%.
Noble Paris · fragrance
$420K/mo MRR
Editorial Shopify storefront, multi-currency Markets, limited-edition drop mechanic with queue-protected checkout.
§ 05 · the process
From brief to launch in six weeks.
Every engagement runs the same five acts. You always know which act you're in and what the next one looks like.
-
§ 01 · wk 1
Discover
Brief, KPIs, brand voice, stack audit, content inventory.
-
§ 02 · wk 2–3
Design
Wireframes, visual system, PDP + PLP + checkout comps, prototype.
-
§ 03 · wk 4–5
Build
Liquid + JS, OS 2.0 sections, apps, content, Core Web Vitals pass.
-
§ 04 · wk 6
Launch
QA matrix, staging sign-off, DNS cutover, post-launch monitoring.
-
§ 05 · ongoing
Optimize
A/B, cohort analysis, AOV lifts, monthly revenue review.
§ 06 · engagement
Three ways to work with us.
All three are real — no bait pricing. Senior-heavy delivery. Unused hours roll over. If we're not the right fit, we say so on the intro call.
retainer
Hours by the sprint
$2,500/mo
20 senior Shopify hours. Same-week turnaround. Unused hours roll over up to 3 months. No project overhead.
Detailsmost picked
custom build
A full store, launched.
$12K–$25K
Six weeks. Discover, Design, Build, Launch, Optimize. Theme, apps, content, migration, performance — all in.
Start a buildshopify plus
Plus & enterprise
$35K+
Plus migration, B2B, Markets, checkout extensions, Flow, multi-store, headless. 8–12 week timeline.
Plus engagementverified · certified · proven
Upwork Top Rated+
Trustpilot 4.9 ★
DUNS 650878346
UN Global Tier 1
§ 08 · questions
Shopify developer FAQ.
What does a Shopify developer do?
Builds and customizes Shopify stores using Liquid, JavaScript, and the Shopify APIs — custom themes, Online Store 2.0 sections, app integrations, checkout extensions (on Shopify Plus), performance tuning, and Flow automation. We also handle migrations and headless Hydrogen builds.
How much does a Shopify developer cost?
Mid-market Shopify development runs $2,500 for a retainer sprint to $35,000+ for a Shopify Plus engagement. A standard custom store build (theme + integrations + content + launch) is $12,000–$25,000. Clear scopes before contracts — price moves only if scope does.
Are you a Shopify Plus Partner?
Yes. Digital Heroes is a Shopify Plus Partner, Upwork Top Rated Plus, DUNS Verified (No. 650878346), and a United Nations Global Marketplace Tier 1 Registered company. We build on Shopify, Shopify Plus, and headless Hydrogen.
Can you migrate my store from WooCommerce, Magento, or BigCommerce to Shopify?
Yes — full replatform migrations from WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and Etsy. Products, customers, orders, SEO redirects, theme, and checkout carry over with zero data loss and zero ranking loss, verified in Search Console post-launch.
How long does a Shopify build take?
Six weeks from brief to launch for a standard custom store. Discover (1 wk), Design (2 wk), Build (2 wk), Launch (0.5 wk), Optimize ongoing. Shopify Plus migrations and headless Hydrogen run 8–12 weeks depending on catalog and app surface area.
What Shopify themes do you work with?
Dawn, Prestige, Impulse, Expanse, Be Yours, Sense, Stiletto, Broadcast, Studio, and 30+ premium themes. We also build from scratch on Online Store 2.0 when a brand needs logic off-the-shelf can't handle.
ready to ship
Brief us. Get a scope + timeline in 24 hours.
One business day. A senior Shopify developer reviews the ask, writes the plan, sends it back. If it's not a fit, we say so — and often point you to a better option.