Shopify, without the template look.
Shopify takes the hosting, the PCI compliance and the platform upgrades off your plate. What it does not do is make your store look like anything other than the theme you bought.
We build bespoke Shopify storefronts the same way we build Magento ones: UX designed in-house before the visual design starts, a custom theme rather than a marketplace one, accessibility as a pass condition, and the integrations behind the catalogue treated as part of the build rather than an afterthought.
- Shopify
The platform handles the plumbing. The storefront is still your job.
The argument for Shopify is a good one: no servers to patch, no upgrade projects, no version end-of-life dates to plan around, and a checkout that converts well out of the box. For a lot of merchants that is worth more than the flexibility they give up.
The catch is that the platform makes every store easy to build and therefore easy to build badly. A bought theme with the logo swapped is indistinguishable from ten thousand others, and the parts that actually decide whether people buy - the category experience, the product page, the path to checkout - are the parts a theme cannot know anything about.
- ✓ You want the platform maintained for you
- ✓ Your catalogue and fulfilment are straightforward
- ✓ You would rather spend the budget on the storefront than the stack
- ✓ You are on a bought theme and it shows
Good fit if
- ? You need logic the platform will not let you change
- ? Your pricing, catalogue or tax rules are genuinely complex
- ? You already run Magento and it is working - moving costs more than fixing
- ? You need to own the whole platform, not rent it
Worth a conversation first if
What we do on Shopify
Bespoke theme build
A custom Liquid theme drawn for your catalogue, not a marketplace theme reskinned.
UX before visual design
Journeys, wireframes and prototypes first - by the same team that then writes the code.
App discipline
Every app justified. Each one adds front-end weight and monthly cost, and most stores are carrying several they no longer use.
Core Web Vitals
Hosted does not mean fast. LCP, CLS and INP measured on your own field data and tuned before launch.
Integrations
ERP, 3PL, CRM and email connected properly, with the events tracked from day one.
Migration from a bought theme
Catalogue, content, redirects and SEO carried across, with rankings monitored either side of the switch.
What it costs
Storefront Review
The same audit discipline we apply to Magento: theme, apps, speed, accessibility and the path to checkout, with a costed plan at the end.
- Theme and app inventory
- Core Web Vitals baseline
- Checkout funnel review
- Costed, prioritised plan
Bespoke Shopify Build
A custom theme and storefront, designed in-house and built on your existing Shopify plan.
- UX and design in-house
- Custom Liquid theme
- Product and category experience
- Accessibility sign-off
- Analytics and event tracking
Store Care
Ongoing development time, monitoring and conversion work once you are live.
- Monthly development allowance
- Performance monitoring
- Conversion review
- Named engineer
Apart from the fixed-fee storefront review, all prices here are indicative. You get a fixed quote once we have scoped the work. Platform subscription and app fees are paid to Shopify directly and are not included. Ranges depend on catalogue size and how many integrations are in scope.
Shopify or Adobe Commerce?
We build both, so we have no reason to push you either way. This is the shape of the decision.
| Consideration | Shopify | Adobe Commerce / Magento 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Who maintains the platform | Shopify does. No upgrade projects. | You do, with us. Budget for it every couple of years. |
| Up-front cost | Lower. Most of it goes on the storefront. | Higher. The platform work is real work. |
| Ongoing cost | Monthly subscription plus app fees, forever. | Hosting and maintenance, but no platform rent. |
| Catalogue complexity | Straightforward catalogues, simple variants. | Tens of thousands of SKUs, complex attributes. |
| B2B and pricing rules | Limited without heavy app use. | Native, and the main reason to be here. |
| Ownership | You own the theme, you rent the platform. | You own all of it, outright. |
Shopify services
Shopify Storefront Review
Theme, apps, speed, accessibility and the path to checkout, with a costed plan at the end. £950, five days.
Read moreBespoke Shopify Build
A custom Shopify storefront designed in-house - not a marketplace theme reskinned. £12,000 to £20,000.
Read moreShopify Store Care
Ongoing development time, monitoring and conversion work once the store is live. From £550 a month.
Read moreWeighing Shopify against Magento?
It is the question we get asked most, and the answer genuinely depends on your catalogue and your margins. Tell us both and we will give you a straight recommendation.
Thinking about Shopify?
Tell us what you sell and what is wrong with the store you have. We will tell you whether Shopify is the right move - and we will say so if it is not.