the Theme Store
Shopify's commerce engine with a storefront that looks like your brand.
Shopify handles checkout, payments and operations very well, but stock themes make every store look like every other store. We build custom Shopify storefronts with your design, careful performance work, and the apps and integrations set up by developers instead of trial and error.
What’s included
Custom Theme Development
Storefronts designed for your brand and coded cleanly, instead of a purchased theme weighed down with apps until it crawls.
Apps & Integrations
The right apps and no more, custom functionality where apps fall short, and connections to your accounting, shipping and marketing tools.
Speed & SEO
Theme-level performance work and full structured data. Slow Shopify stores are usually an app problem that developers know how to untangle.
Why Shopify Stores Get Slow, and How We Fix It
The pattern is predictable: a stock theme, then fifteen apps each adding their own scripts, then a red mobile speed score and sliding conversions. We build lean, with custom theme code instead of an app for every feature, scripts audited and deferred, and images and fonts handled properly, so the store stays fast as it grows.
Because we're developers, functionality that would otherwise mean three overlapping apps often becomes a small piece of custom code that's cheaper over time, faster and yours.
What a Custom Shopify Build Includes
A theme built on Shopify's Online Store 2.0 sections, so your team can rearrange and edit pages from the theme editor without touching code. Collection and product templates designed for your catalogue, with the filters and product details your customers need. Cart and checkout settings, shipping profiles, taxes and payment methods configured and tested.
Then the parts that make a store run: the handful of apps you actually need, connections to your accounting and fulfilment, product and organization schema, and analytics with conversion tracking for your ad platforms.
Shopify Migrations Without Losing Rankings
Moving to Shopify from WooCommerce, Squarespace, Wix or an older custom store is common, and the risk is almost always search traffic. Shopify uses its own URL patterns for products and collections, so every old URL needs a redirect to its new equivalent. We map them all, move products, customers and order history, and check Search Console after launch until the new store is fully indexed.
Shopify Apps: What to Keep, Replace or Remove
Apps are the main reason Shopify stores get slow and expensive. Each one adds scripts to every page and a monthly fee to your bill, and many stores keep paying for apps they installed once and forgot. We start by listing every app, what it does, what it costs and how much it slows the store down.
Apps that handle complex, regulated or constantly changing work, such as subscriptions, reviews or shipping rates, usually stay. Apps that add a single small feature, like a size chart, a countdown banner or a custom product field, can often be replaced with a few lines of theme code. Apps nobody uses get removed, along with the leftover code they tend to leave behind in the theme.
The Right Amount of Shopify
We'll also tell you when Shopify isn't the answer. B2B quoting, service-booking hybrids and unusual business models sometimes justify a custom storefront instead. Recommending the platform that fits is the point of working with an engineering team.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a custom theme, or is a purchased theme fine?
When you're starting out with low volume, a good purchased theme is fine. Custom pays off once brand differentiation and conversion rate matter: your own design instead of a recognizable template, only the code you need, and usually much faster loads. We can help at either stage.
Can you speed up my existing Shopify store?
Usually by a lot. Most slow Shopify stores are weighed down by app scripts and unoptimized theme code. We measure what each app costs in load time, remove or replace the worst with lean custom code, and rework the theme's loading order. Speed helps conversion rate and SEO at once.
Do you build custom Shopify functionality?
Yes. Where the app store falls short we build it: product configurators, pricing logic and integrations with your back-office systems. That's the advantage of Shopify development by a software team.
Can you migrate my store to Shopify?
Yes, from WooCommerce, Squarespace, Wix or an older custom store. Products, customers and order history are migrated, URL redirects are mapped so rankings carry over, and payment, shipping and tax settings are done properly.
Does Shopify work for Canadian businesses?
Very well. Shopify is a Canadian company, and the platform handles CAD pricing, Canadian tax settings and local carriers cleanly. We set all of it up as part of the build, including GST and PST for BC stores.
How much does Shopify development cost?
It depends on whether you need a fully custom theme or changes to an existing one, the size of your catalogue, custom features, and any migration. We quote a fixed price after discovery.
Will I be able to edit the store myself?
Yes. We build with Shopify's section-based themes so your team can change banners, pages, collections and products from the theme editor and admin without a developer.
What's the difference between a Shopify theme and a custom storefront?
A theme runs inside Shopify's own storefront and is edited with Shopify's theme editor. A custom or headless storefront is a separate front end that uses Shopify for products, cart and checkout. Most stores are best served by a custom theme; headless suits stores with unusual front-end needs.