Shopify Development Built to Hold Up When Your Store Actually Takes Off
We build Shopify and Shopify Plus stores, move stores onto Shopify from Magento or WooCommerce, and take the calls other agencies pass on. A theme that broke after the last Online Store 2.0 update. An app stack nobody has cleaned up since launch. A Checkout Extensibility project someone else quoted six months for. Same senior developer from kickoff to launch, working out of Surat and Cologne.
Fortnightly sprint demos · Direct Slack access · No black-box development
Verified Credentials & Partner Certifications
Why Stagebit for
Shopify Development?
Most of our Shopify work falls into one of two buckets. Either you’re building something new and want it done right the first time, or you’re already live and something specific is broken: a theme that’s outgrown Online Store 2.0’s default sections, an app stack nobody’s touched since the store launched, or a Checkout Extensibility migration that’s been sitting on someone’s backlog for months. We take both kinds of projects, and we tell you honestly which one yours is.
Speed you can actually feel
Theme and app auditingMost slow Shopify stores aren’t slow because of Shopify. They’re slow because of app scripts stacking up in the theme, unused Online Store 2.0 sections still loading assets, and Liquid loops nobody’s looked at since launch. We go through the theme.liquid and app embed blocks line by line and cut what’s actually costing you load time.
Checkout that fits how you sell
Checkout Extensibility done properlycheckout.liquid is gone. If your store still relies on old checkout scripts, they’ll stop working on Shopify’s own timeline, not yours. We move stores onto Checkout Extensibility and Shopify Functions properly, rebuilding custom discount logic, shipping rules and post-purchase upsells the way Shopify actually wants them built now.
An app stack that isn’t fighting itself
App bloat is a real problemEvery app you install on Shopify adds a script tag, a webhook, or an app embed block, and most stores never uninstall the ones they stopped using. We audit your installed apps against what they actually add to page weight, then decide what to keep, replace, or move into a custom app you own outright.
Migrations that don’t tank your rankings
URL structure and metafields, mapped properlyMoving to Shopify changes your URL structure whether you plan for it or not. We map every old URL to its Shopify equivalent before cutover, rebuild your custom attributes as metafields instead of losing them, and rebuild any B2B pricing logic your old platform had baked in.
One developer, start to finish
No subcontractors, no rotating teamA senior developer scopes your project, builds it, and is still the person you’re talking to at launch. We don’t hand builds off to whoever’s available. Our team has shipped standard Shopify stores, Shopify Plus B2B setups, and headless Hydrogen builds for over a decade combined.
You see the build before launch day
A theme preview link, not a surpriseYou get a live theme preview link every two weeks on a staging theme, not a screenshot in a status update. Direct Slack access means you can flag something small before it becomes a bigger change request later in the build.
“Stagebit rebuilt our Shopify store from the ground up in six weeks with zero downtime. Page load dropped from 4.8 seconds to under 1.2. Our conversion rate went up 41% in the first month. It was the right call, technically and financially.”
Lynda Bouvier
Owner, Party Expert. Magento 1 to Shopify migration
Not sure what’s actually wrong?
A free 30-minute audit tells you what’s slow, what’s fragile, and what’s fine as is.
Shopify & Shopify Plus Services
Eight Kinds Of Shopify Projects
We Actually Take On
New build, migration off another platform, a theme that needs surgery, or a store that’s fine but just needs to run faster. Every card below has real scope and a real timeline behind it, not a placeholder.
Custom Liquid Theme Development
A theme built section by section on Online Store 2.0’s own architecture, not a stock theme with your logo dropped in. Typical timeline: around 6 weeks from Figma to launch.
- Custom sections and blocks, merchant-editable
- Metafields set up for your actual product data
- Clean, documented Liquid your future dev can read
Custom Shopify App Development
When the App Store doesn’t have what you need, we build it. Custom apps built on Shopify’s own Admin API and Polaris design system, so they survive platform updates instead of breaking every time Shopify ships a new API version.
- Embedded admin apps built on Polaris
- REST and GraphQL integrations to your ERP or CRM
- A handoff doc your team can actually use
Checkout Extensibility & Shopify Functions
If your custom checkout logic still lives in old checkout.liquid scripts, it’s on borrowed time. We rebuild discount rules, shipping logic and post-purchase offers using Shopify Functions and checkout UI extensions, the way Shopify supports going forward.
- Custom discount and validation Functions
- Shop Pay, Stripe, PayPal, and BNPL integrations
- Post-purchase and checkout UI extensions
Headless Shopify with Hydrogen
A separate offering from theme development, not the same thing with a different label. Hydrogen and the Storefront API give you a fully custom React front end, deployed on Shopify’s Oxygen hosting, when a Liquid theme can’t do what you’re picturing.
- SSR routing built for SEO, not against it
- Oxygen edge deployment, global CDN included
- Storefront API queries tuned for your catalog
Speed Score & Performance Audits
Shopify’s own theme Speed Score is the number that tells you where you actually stand, not a generic Core Web Vitals score borrowed from a WordPress checklist. We audit against it directly and fix what’s dragging it down, app by app and section by section.
- Shopify Speed Score audit, not a generic PageSpeed scan
- App script and theme asset audit
- Ongoing monitoring with alert thresholds
Store Access & Data Handling Review
Shopify covers PCI compliance and infrastructure security at the platform level. What’s left is staff access, app permissions and customer data handling, and that’s where most incidents actually come from. We lock those down before something goes wrong, not after.
- Staff permission audits and app access review
- Audit logs and real-time access alerting
- GDPR and CCPA data handling review
Migration To Shopify From Anywhere
Coming from Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce or a custom build, the same things break every time: URL structure, custom attributes, and any B2B pricing logic. We map every URL to a redirect, rebuild attributes as metafields, and stage the cutover so your Google rankings don’t reset.
- Full product, customer and order history migration
- 301 redirect mapping and Search Console handoff
- Custom attributes rebuilt as Shopify metafields
Ongoing Theme & App Maintenance
Shopify pushes theme architecture updates and deprecates old APIs on its own schedule. Someone needs to keep your theme compatible and your apps current so a routine platform update doesn’t quietly break your product pages.
- Monthly theme and app compatibility checks
- 24/7 uptime monitoring with instant alerting
- SLA-backed response, dedicated Slack channel
Not sure which one fits your situation?
A free 30-minute call is usually enough to work out where your project actually sits. Or browse our Shopify case studies →
For Agencies
Got A Client On Shopify But No
Shopify Developer In-House?
We work as your white-label Shopify build team. We stay behind the scenes, sign an NDA on every engagement, and only speak to your client if you want us on the call.
You own the relationship
Your client never hears our name unless you want them to.
NDA as standard
Not something you have to ask for separately.
Agency pricing
Volume rates for agencies sending recurring Shopify work.
Our Process
How A Shopify Project Actually Runs
Sprint-based, with a real theme preview link every two weeks, so you’re watching the store come together, not waiting for a reveal at the end.
6–12 wks
Typical new store delivery
8–16 wks
Typical migration delivery
- 01
Store Audit & Discovery
Week 1If you’re already live, we go through your theme structure, installed apps, and current checkout setup and score your Shopify Speed Score baseline. If you’re starting fresh, we work from your brief instead. Either way, we talk to your stakeholders before writing a line of Liquid.
You receive: Audit report · Speed Score baseline · Requirements doc
- 02
Plan: Shopify vs Plus
Week 1–2We settle the standard Shopify versus Shopify Plus question early, since it drives pricing tiers, app choices, and whether you need company accounts and B2B wholesale features from day one. The backlog is split into two-week sprints with acceptance criteria attached to each one, not left vague.
You receive: Architecture doc · Sprint backlog · Risk register
- 03
Design In Figma, Built For Sections
Week 2–3Wireframes and high-fidelity screens cover the full path: collection pages, PDP, cart, account. Every design decision is made with Online Store 2.0 sections in mind (or Hydrogen components, if the project’s headless), so nothing gets redesigned once development starts. Accessibility gets checked here, not bolted on after launch.
You receive: Figma prototype · Section/component map · Accessibility review
- 04
Build On A Staging Theme
Week 3–8A senior developer builds against a staging theme from day one, so your live store is never touched mid-build. Custom apps and Functions follow Shopify’s own API and design guidelines. ERP, CRM, and payment gateway work gets built API-first. You get a live preview link every two weeks and a dedicated developer for the whole build, not a shared resource across five other client accounts.
You receive: Staging theme preview · Sprint demos · Integration test reports
- 05
QA Against Your Speed Score Baseline
Week 8–9Automated tests cover search, product page, add-to-cart, checkout, and account creation. Your new Shopify Speed Score has to beat the baseline we captured in week one on both mobile and desktop before we sign off. Cross-browser and load testing happen here too, with results in your dashboard.
You receive: QA report · Speed Score comparison · Load test results
- 06
Cutover & Ongoing Improvement
Week 9+We publish the theme with a rollback plan ready and a 48-hour hypercare window where a developer is watching the store, not asleep. From there, your retainer covers theme and app updates as Shopify pushes platform changes, plus a monthly sprint slot for whatever you want to improve next.
You receive: Go-live checklist · Monitoring dashboard · Retainer plan options
- Get a Delivery Plan
Want to see this mapped to your project?
Send your brief and we’ll map out a delivery plan the same business day.
SHOPIFY CASE STUDIES
One Migration, Real Numbers
One of the 350+ stores we’ve built or migrated onto Shopify, with real performance numbers and a client willing to put their name on the result. More below.
Zero-downtime Magento 1 → Shopify migration
INDUSTRY FOCUS
Industry Expertise
Different industries hit different Shopify limits first. Here’s how we handle the ones we see most often.
Fashion
Fashion drops don’t wait for a developer’s schedule. We set up metafields and collection structures so your merchandising team can launch a new drop, swap out lookbook imagery, or reorganize a collection without filing a ticket. Brooklyn Industries and Bioworld International both run on this setup.
Automotive
Get the wrong fitment in front of the wrong buyer and it’s a return, every time. We build year/make/model lookups with metafields and filtering apps, then wire that up to real-time inventory so a part shown in stock is actually sitting on a shelf somewhere.
Electronics
Buyers here compare specs before they decide anything, so a solid comparison table matters more than a nice hero banner. We build layered navigation and comparison layouts with Shopify’s native filtering instead of installing yet another app that adds a script tag and slows the page down.
Food & beverages
Customers here reorder the same things week after week, so subscriptions and one-tap reorder matter more than they do almost anywhere else. We build subscription apps and quick-reorder flows that work on mobile, since that’s where most of this traffic actually shows up.
Luxury
Luxury shoppers judge the store before they judge the product, and a slow, generic PDP kills that impression fast. We build custom themes on Online Store 2.0 sections so every product story loads quickly and actually looks like it was built for your brand instead of borrowed from a theme marketplace.
Manufacturing
These buyers need a quote before they’ll commit, and that quote needs to match what’s actually sitting in your ERP. We build Shopify Plus B2B quoting workflows and connect them directly to your ERP, so a buyer’s negotiated price and real stock levels show up without anyone checking a spreadsheet by hand.
Furniture
Furniture sells on variants: fabric, finish, size. A clunky swatch picker that reloads the whole page loses sales it didn’t have to lose. We build custom variant pickers so shoppers can switch fabric or finish on one page, with images and pricing updating instantly instead of a full reload.
B2B
B2B buyers don’t shop like consumers. They need bulk order forms, negotiated pricing per account, and someone to approve the order before it goes through. We build this on Shopify Plus’s native B2B tools, company accounts, shared catalogs, quote requests, instead of forcing a consumer storefront to handle a job it was never built for.
Don’t see your industry here?
We’ve worked across 40+ industries on Shopify, B2C and B2B both. Tell us what you sell and we’ll tell you what’s actually relevant.
Technology Stack
What’s Actually Running Under
The Stores We Build
Nothing here made the list because it’s trendy. Every tool below solved a real problem on a real client’s store first.
Frontend & Storefront
What your customers actually click on
Shopify
Remix
Storefront
API
HTML5
Themes
Algolia
Custom
Apps
- 90+ Speed Scores. Custom-built themes on Online Store 2.0 sections beat stock theme templates every time. Unmodified default themes rarely get close.
- App-like speed on mobile. Hydrogen and headless builds are built for where most of your traffic already lives.
- No upgrade surprises. Custom apps are built to Shopify’s own API standards from the start, so a platform update doesn’t quietly break your store.
Development Tooling & Deployment
How we ship changes to a managed platform safely
Node.js
GitHub
GitHub
Actions
Docker
Vite
Cloudflare
- Sub-200ms TTFB, before we even start. Shopify’s own CDN handles that part. Our job is making sure your theme and apps don’t slow it back down.
- Search that doesn’t choke on a big catalog. Shopify Search & Discovery or Algolia, tuned to how many SKUs you actually have.
- Deployments that don’t take you offline. GitHub Actions plus the Shopify CLI means theme and app updates ship without a maintenance window.
QA, Testing & SEO Infrastructure
How we keep things from breaking quietly
Cypress
Storybook
GA4
/ GTM
Search
Console
PageSpeed
Vitest
- Regressions get caught before launch. Cypress runs on every deployment, not just the ones before a big release.
- SEO is part of the build, not a fix afterward. Structured data, canonical tags, and sitemaps get configured during development.
- Real conversion data from launch day. GA4 and GTM are already configured when you open the store, so you’re not guessing what’s driving revenue.
Integrations & Commerce Connectors
Your existing systems, wired into Shopify properly
Stripe
PayPal
Klarna
Klaviyo
Akeneo
PIM
ERP
/ SAP
- Integrations that survive a platform update. Your ERP, PIM, or marketing stack connected properly, not patched together with a script that breaks the next time Shopify changes something.
- Fraud rules set to your actual risk tolerance. Shop Pay, Stripe, and Klarna configured deliberately instead of left on whatever ships by default.
- Product data that stays consistent everywhere. Akeneo PIM integration keeps your catalog clean across every market and language you sell in via Shopify Markets.
We’ll recommend what your store actually needs, not what costs the most. Not every project needs every layer here. We’ll tell you exactly what applies in a free scoping call.
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
What Our Clients Say
Real Shopify clients, store owners and ecommerce leads, on what actually happened after we shipped their project.
Upwork Top Rated
Clutch 4.8★
Cloud & DevOps Partners
“Migrating to Shopify gave us a platform that feels faster, easier to operate and better aligned with how our customers shop today.”
Project: Magento 1 to Shopify Migration
"We expected the migration to be stressful. Instead, it felt controlled…our customers never saw a maintenance page — they just got a faster store."
Project: Magento Store Migration & Performance Optimisation
"We were basically running a demo site before this. StageBit rebuilt it in Magento 2 and reworked the UI and UX — usability improved, conversions went up, and we started ranking better organically too."
Project: Magento 2 Migration & UI/UX Redesign
Stagebit did an excellent job fixing the website; they successfully addressed the issue quickly and fixed the problems that came up"
Project: Magento 2 Expert Needed To Fix Extension
"Excellent work attitude and skills. Managed to help me solve my magento problems that others couldn't and was very patient"
Project: Magento Help & Performance Optimisation
The Person Behind Every Project
Rohit Kundale
Founder & Lead Engineer, Stagebit
Ecommerce
4.8 · Reviews
You’re not hiring an agency.
You’re hiring
a team that’s done this before.
I started building ecommerce stores in 2013, after a client of mine lost forty thousand pounds in revenue during a botched platform migration. The agency handling it had subcontracted the work to developers who’d never touched the platform before. Their migration script silently dropped part of the order history and broke product URLs with no redirects in place. That’s the kind of mistake that should never make it past a staging environment, and it shaped how I built Stagebit. I founded the agency in 2017 to do it properly, with a vetted team instead of just me.
Every project I take on, I’m personally accountable for the architecture decisions, the Speed Score benchmarks, and the go-live. My team are all senior Shopify developers, not subcontractors, not juniors learning on your budget.
If something isn’t working, you have my direct email and you’ll hear from me the same day, not a support ticket in a queue.
Shopify Partner
Verified Shopify development partner
Upwork Top Rated
Top 3% of agencies globally on Upwork
Shopware Extension Partner
Certified Shopware development partner
350+ Stores Delivered
Across diverse eCommerce platforms
“Every Shopify project I take on comes with one personal commitment: if your store isn’t faster, more secure and easier to manage once we’re done, I’ll keep working until it is, at no extra cost. That’s not a line in a proposal. It’s the agreement I make in person before any project starts.”
Rohit Kundale · Founder & Lead Engineer, Stagebit
Verified credentials & partnerships
FAQ &SUPPORT
Frequently Asked Questions
Stagebit is a Shopify Partner agency that builds, migrates, and supports Shopify and Shopify Plus stores for ecommerce brands and agencies worldwide, from custom builds starting at $4,000 to full enterprise implementations.
Tanya Garcia
Customer Success Manager
Still have questions?
Can't find what you're looking for? Our team is here to help! Whether you need clarification, have a specific question or want to learn more about our services, we'd love to hear from you. Let's get you the answers you need.
How much does Shopify development cost?
We start every project with a free technical audit and give you a fixed-scope quote before any work begins, so you know the number upfront instead of watching it grow as we go. Pricing is shown in USD, but if you're in the UK or Europe, tell us on the first call and we'll invoice in GBP or EUR instead.
How long does a Shopify build or migration actually take?
It really comes down to what kind of project you're running:
- A new Shopify store: 6 to 12 weeks, kickoff to launch
- A custom theme on its own: 4 to 8 weeks
- Migrating off Magento or WooCommerce: 8 to 16 weeks, including data migration, redirect mapping and testing
- Migrating off BigCommerce or another platform: 8 to 14 weeks
- A Shopify Plus B2B build or headless Hydrogen project: 3 to 6 months
We map out a sprint-by-sprint delivery plan before we start, so you can plan a launch around your actual trading calendar instead of guessing at it.
Is Shopify Plus actually enough for a large store?
There are still cases where Magento or Adobe Commerce makes more sense, mainly if you want full source-level control over checkout logic, or your inventory rules go further than what Shopify's app ecosystem can cover. We're not going to pretend Shopify is the right call for everyone.
If you're not sure which side of that line your store falls on, we offer a free 30-minute platform consultation and we'll tell you honestly, including the cases where Magento is genuinely the better fit.
What's the actual difference between Shopify and Shopify Plus?
As a rough rule, Plus starts making sense once you're doing seven figures or more a year, running B2B pricing that needs real logic behind it, or need a guaranteed uptime SLA for your biggest sale days. We build on both tiers, and we'll tell you which one you actually need, not which one costs more.
Do you actually build custom Shopify themes, or just customize a template?
We also build custom sections, port existing brand designs into Liquid, and hook everything into Checkout Extensibility and your app stack. Most of our storefront work defaults to a Liquid build, unless a headless Hydrogen setup is genuinely the better call for what you're trying to do.
How do you actually make a Shopify store faster?
- Theme code: a Liquid audit, cutting render-blocking scripts, inlining critical CSS
- Apps: going through every installed app and pulling the ones quietly slowing you down
- Images: WebP compression, responsive sizing, lazy loading
- JavaScript: bundling, deferring what can wait, killing what's blocking the page
- Search: Shopify Search & Discovery or Algolia, tuned to how big your catalog actually is
- Monitoring: tracking Speed Score and Core Web Vitals through PageSpeed Insights and Search Console after launch, not just once
We're aiming for LCP under 2.5 seconds, CLS under 0.1, TTFB under 200ms. Most first audits turn up somewhere between 8 and 12 things worth fixing.
Can you build a custom Shopify app for us?
Every app we build follows Shopify's own API and admin design standards, comes with automated tests, and is documented well enough that your team can actually use it without calling us every time. We'll also go through apps you already have and rebuild or replace anything that's dragging your storefront down.
If we move to Shopify, will we lose our SEO rankings or any data?
We've done this from Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and custom-built platforms without organic rankings dropping in any meaningful way. It's not luck, it's just doing the redirect mapping properly instead of hoping Google figures it out
What actually covers our store's security once you're done?
- Staff permission audits, so nobody has more access than their role needs
- Two-factor authentication enforced across every admin login
- Reviewing installed apps and removing anything unnecessary or risky
- Encrypted API credentials and proper environment variable handling on custom apps
- A GDPR and CCPA data handling review
- Alerts for unauthorized admin access
- Regular offsite backups of your store data
Maintenance clients get a monthly security report and an incident response window we actually stick to.
Do you offer ongoing Shopify support after launch?
Critical issues get a response inside 4 hours. Standard requests, within 2 business days, depending on your plan. Maintenance clients also jump the queue when they want new development work done.
Plans start at $800 a month. Tell us your store's size and traffic and we'll give you an exact number.
Do you only do Shopify, or do you work on other platforms too?
We also run migrations between any combination of Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce and Shopware, keeping SEO, customer data and performance intact along the way.
We're stuck on an old, unsupported platform. What are our actual options?
We've run over 100 of these migrations with zero data loss and no ranking drops we're aware of. A migration audit usually takes about a week and gets you a fixed-scope quote before you commit to anything