What do Shopify development services include?
Shopify development services cover the technical work of building, extending and maintaining a Shopify store. That usually means theme development in Liquid, custom and third-party app work, checkout and discount logic built with Shopify Functions and checkout extensions, integrations with systems such as ERP, inventory and marketing tools, store migrations, and, for some brands, headless storefronts built with Hydrogen. A good development partner also handles testing, speed, accessibility and ongoing maintenance, not only the launch.
This guide explains each type of Shopify development service, what is possible on each Shopify plan, how to scope a project, what drives cost and how to judge a proposal. At PROSeCommerce, part of PROS Global in San Diego, we build and maintain Shopify stores, and this is how we break projects down for clients. Platform details come from Shopify’s developer documentation and Help Center, checked as of October 2026. If you are at the stage of comparing agencies or freelancers, our guide on how to choose the best Shopify developers covers the hiring side.
Why Shopify development is different from general web development
Shopify is a hosted platform. Shopify runs the servers, hosting, security patching and the core checkout, so a Shopify developer does not set up or maintain servers. Instead, the work happens inside the tools Shopify provides: themes for the storefront, apps and the Admin API for back-office logic, and extensions for checkout and customer accounts.
That changes what you are paying for. You are not buying infrastructure. You are buying design and code that fit Shopify’s architecture, survive platform updates and stay easy for your team to manage.
The main types of Shopify development services
Theme development and customization
Shopify themes are built from layouts, templates, sections, blocks, snippets and assets, written in Shopify’s Liquid template language with HTML, CSS and JavaScript. According to Shopify’s theme architecture documentation, JSON templates store a list of sections that merchants can add, remove and reorder in the theme editor, and blocks let them change the content inside each section.
Theme work usually falls into one of three levels:
- Configuring an existing theme: settings, colors, fonts, section layout and content, with little or no code.
- Customizing a theme: new sections and blocks, product page changes, metafield-driven content and design changes in Liquid.
- Building a custom theme: a theme built for your brand from the start, usually when your design or content model does not fit any existing theme.
A good developer builds new features as sections and blocks so your team can edit them in the theme editor, instead of hard-coding content that needs a developer every time it changes. Our guide on how to customize Shopify explains what you can change yourself before you hire anyone.
App development and app integration
Apps extend Shopify beyond the storefront. Development services here include:
- Choosing and configuring public apps from the Shopify App Store, and checking how each one affects speed and theme code.
- Building custom apps for one store, for example to sync orders with a warehouse system or automate a back-office task through the Admin API.
- Replacing several overlapping apps with one custom app or a few native features, which can lower monthly app costs and reduce code loaded on the storefront.
Checkout, discounts and Shopify Functions
Checkout is where Shopify development has changed most. Shopify’s documentation describes several technologies for customizing checkout:
| Technology | What it does | Availability (per Shopify) |
|---|---|---|
| Checkout UI extensions | Add custom content to checkout and the Order status page | Checkout steps: Shopify Plus. Thank you and Order status pages: all plans except Shopify Starter |
| Shopify Functions | Custom backend logic, such as discounts, shipping and payment rules | All plans except Shopify Starter; some Function APIs are in feature preview |
| Web pixel extensions | Track customer behavior for analytics | All plans except Shopify Starter |
| Checkout branding through the GraphQL Admin API | Change the look and feel of checkout | Shopify Plus |
The old checkout.liquid file is no longer supported for the Information, Shipping and Payment steps. Shopify’s documentation says checkout.liquid and additional scripts were sunset on the Thank you and Order status pages on August 28, 2025, and that script tags on those pages were sunset for Plus stores on the same date and for non-Plus stores on August 26, 2026. If your store still depends on old checkout scripts for tracking or post-purchase content, upgrading those customizations to extensions and pixels should be near the top of your development list.
Integrations
Most growing stores connect Shopify to other systems: ERP and accounting, inventory and warehouse tools, CRM and email marketing, reviews, shipping and marketplaces. Integration work includes choosing between an existing connector and a custom build, mapping data such as SKUs, customers and order statuses, and handling errors so orders do not silently fail to sync. Our Shopify integration guide covers the common patterns.
Store migrations
Migration services move a store to Shopify from another platform, such as Magento, WooCommerce or BigCommerce. The work includes importing products, customers and order history, rebuilding the design, recreating key features with apps or custom code, and mapping old URLs to new ones with redirects so you keep search traffic.
Headless storefronts with Hydrogen
Shopify’s documentation describes Hydrogen as its React-based framework for building custom headless storefronts, and Oxygen as Shopify’s hosting for Hydrogen storefronts. Headless gives full control of the front end, but it also means your team maintains a separate application. For most stores, a well-built theme is faster to launch and cheaper to run. Headless usually makes sense only when you have specific needs a theme cannot meet and a development team to support it.
Performance, accessibility and maintenance
Development does not stop at launch. Ongoing services include theme updates, app reviews, speed work on images and scripts, accessibility fixes and testing after Shopify releases changes. Our guide to Shopify website maintenance lists the routine checks.
What you can build depends on your Shopify plan
Some development work is limited by plan. Based on Shopify’s checkout technologies page, the main split is:
- Shopify Plus is needed for checkout UI extensions on the Information, Shipping and Payment steps and for checkout branding through the GraphQL Admin API.
- Most other plans, except Shopify Starter, can use Shopify Functions, web pixel extensions and extensions on the Thank you and Order status pages.
Check the current Shopify plans and the plan requirements on each feature’s documentation page before you scope custom checkout work. A feature that needs Plus can change the budget more than the development itself.
How to scope a Shopify development project
A clear scope prevents most budget overruns. Before you ask for quotes, write down:
- Business goal: what the work should change, for example faster product pages, fewer manual order edits or a new wholesale flow.
- Current setup: your plan, theme and version, installed apps and any systems the store connects to.
- Must-haves and nice-to-haves: separate what you need for launch from what can wait.
- Content and design: who supplies product data, copy and images, and whether you have approved designs.
- Integrations: each system, which data moves, in which direction and how often.
- Success checks: how you will test the work, such as test orders, speed checks or a review of key pages on mobile.
- Ownership and access: confirm that you own the theme code, custom app code and any accounts created for the project.
What drives the cost of Shopify development
We do not quote typical prices here because they vary too widely to be useful. The main cost drivers are:
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Theme approach | Configuring an existing theme takes far less time than building a custom one |
| Custom features | Each new section, app feature or Function adds design, build and testing time |
| Integrations | Two-way syncs with error handling take more work than one-way exports |
| Data migration | Large catalogs, many variants and order history add mapping and testing time |
| Plan-limited features | Some checkout work requires Shopify Plus, which changes the platform cost |
| Ongoing support | Maintenance retainers or hourly support after launch |
Ask each provider for a written estimate broken down by these items. It makes proposals easier to compare and shows where you can phase work over time.
How to judge a Shopify development proposal
A strong proposal:
- explains how features will be built, such as theme sections, an app or a Shopify Function, and why;
- lists which apps will be added or removed and their monthly costs;
- includes a testing plan, including test orders and mobile checks;
- explains how theme updates and future changes will be handled;
- confirms you will own the code and have admin access to everything;
- names who will work on the project and how you will communicate.
Shopify also lists vetted agencies and freelancers in the Shopify Partner Directory, which is a useful place to check a provider’s listed services and reviews. If design is a bigger part of the project than code, our guide on how to hire a Shopify designer explains what to look for.
Frequently asked questions
What is included in Shopify development services?
Do I need a developer to customize my Shopify store?
Can I customize Shopify checkout without Shopify Plus?
Is checkout.liquid still supported?
What is Hydrogen, and do I need it?
How much do Shopify development services cost?
Plan your Shopify build with the right partner
Good Shopify development fits Shopify’s architecture, stays easy for your team to edit and is tested before it goes live. Start with a clear scope, check which features your plan supports and ask for estimates you can compare line by line. If you would like help scoping or building your store, contact PROSeCommerce.