Shopify Development Agency
Shopify stores that load quickly and sell without a pile of apps
The typical Shopify store we get asked to rescue has twenty-odd apps installed (three of which quietly do the same job) and a theme that loads half a megabyte of JavaScript before the first product photo even shows up. Fixing that is often the cheapest conversion win on the table, and it doesn’t need a single pixel of redesign.
We build custom themes on Online Store 2.0, write the small apps and checkout extensions a store genuinely needs, and strip out the ones it doesn’t. Where AI actually helps, we add it: recommendations that react to what a shopper’s doing right now, search that understands what they meant to type rather than what they fat-fingered, and cart-recovery messages that don’t read like a form letter.
For stores running cash on delivery, we build order verification too. A customer places a COD order, gets a confirmation on WhatsApp or SMS, and it’s only released for dispatch once they reply. It won’t kill every bad order, but it takes a real bite out of the fake and abandoned ones that quietly eat your shipping budget.
What we do for Shopify stores
Custom theme development
Built on Online Store 2.0 sections, so your team can rearrange a page without emailing a developer every time.
Speed and app cleanup
We work out what each app is really costing you in load time, bin the dead weight, and replace the small ones with a few lines of code.
Custom apps and checkout extensions
Bundles, custom pricing rules, B2B features: the things the app store doesn’t quite stretch to.
COD order verification
Confirmation by WhatsApp or SMS before dispatch, with order tagging and rules for dodgy addresses and repeat offenders.
AI recommendations and search
Product suggestions and a search box that cope with typos, synonyms and the vaguest of queries.
Cart recovery and post-purchase flows
Email and WhatsApp sequences with proper opt-in, written to sound like your brand rather than a robot.
Migrations
Moving off WooCommerce, Magento or some custom cart, with products, customers, orders and redirects all landing intact.
How a Shopify project runs
-
01
Audit the store
Speed, installed apps, tracking, where the checkout’s leaking customers. We tell you what’s costing you money before we suggest spending any.
-
02
Agree the scope
A written list of what we’ll build, what we’ll rip out, and what we’re deliberately leaving for later.
-
03
Build on a development theme
We never touch your live theme. Everything’s built and tested on a copy, then published the moment you’re happy with it.
-
04
Launch and check
We confirm tracking, redirects and checkout on real devices, then keep an eye on the first week of orders for anything odd.
When you probably don’t need us yet
- You haven’t sold anything yet. Start on a good standard theme and prove people actually want the product before paying for custom work.
- You need one small tweak. A freelancer or the Shopify community will probably sort it for far less than we’d charge.
- You want a guaranteed jump in conversion rate. Nobody honest can promise that, though what we can do is show you exactly what we changed and what the numbers did either side of it.
Questions people ask us
How much does a custom Shopify store cost?
It swings mainly on how many unique page templates you need, how much custom functionality is involved, and how much data has to be migrated: a tidy-up of a premium theme and a fully custom build are a long way apart. We’ll give you a real figure once we’ve seen the store and the scope; the pricing itself we sort out with you directly.
Custom theme or a premium theme?
For plenty of stores, a premium theme customised properly is the sensible call. A custom theme earns its keep when the brand needs a genuinely distinct experience, when the catalogue is structured oddly, or when a bought theme is lugging around features you never use and dragging your speed down with them.
Will apps slow down my store?
Some do, and noticeably: each one can drop scripts onto every page whether you’re using it or not. We measure what each app costs you and swap out the heavy ones where it’s worth it.
How does COD order verification work?
When a COD order comes in, the customer gets a message asking them to confirm it. Confirmed orders are tagged and released for fulfilment; unconfirmed ones are held, chased once, then cancelled according to your rules. You set the wording and how long to wait.
Can you move my store from WooCommerce or Magento?
Yes. We migrate products, customers, orders and content, set up redirects from the old URLs so you don’t throw away your search traffic, and test checkout and tracking thoroughly before the switch.
Do you work with Shopify Plus?
Yes, including checkout customisations, B2B features and multi-store setups.
Related services
Got a store that should be selling more?
Share the store link and whatever’s bugging you about it. We’ll take a proper look at the speed and setup and come back with what we’d fix first.