Shopify developer in San Francisco

An existing theme is a practical starting point when its layouts suit your catalogue. Customising it keeps setup lighter and makes later theme updates simpler. A custom theme gives you more room for unusual products and a distinct brand, though later layout changes need development work. Weigh that ongoing work against how much the existing layouts need to change.

Apps can add features quickly. Each one also brings recurring fees, extra scripts and reliance on its maker. Custom code or a custom app fits a specific need, but needs maintenance as Shopify changes. Decide what each feature must do before choosing how to add it, so you can compare the work involved in building it with the work of maintaining it.

A headless storefront using Hydrogen or Next.js suits content-led brands and unusual buying flows. You give up the theme editor, and apps that add features through the theme may not work. For international selling, one store can serve several markets with local prices, translations and domains; separate stores suit different catalogues, teams or payout currencies.

Statewide sales tax applies in many US states, while Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon have no statewide sales tax. Your selling market affects the tax settings in the store. We configure taxes, shipping and payments for your market as part of setup, using the details you provide.

Commercial email needs a valid physical postal address and a clear opt-out, with opt-out requests honoured. We connect email flows to your store data and include those details in the email setup, so customers have a clear way to stop receiving commercial messages.

Bring the material that describes your catalogue, operations and existing store.

• Your Shopify account and plan in your business's name and billing.
• Consistent product photos, with size charts, care instructions and specifications.
• Business and bank details for your payment gateway, plus your shipping, returns, privacy and terms policies. Review any generated templates before use.
• A list of current or planned tools, including what each needs to do.
• For a migration, product, customer and order exports, plus the URLs bringing the most traffic and sales.

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  Inconsistent product data

  Agree how staff will use tags, product types and vendors. Loose data can put products in the wrong collection or hide them from filters.

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  Editing the live theme

  Duplicate it, change the copy and preview it before publishing. A mistake on the live theme is visible to visitors immediately.

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  Too many small-purpose apps

  Check what each app adds before installing it, and inspect theme files after removal. Apps can add scripts and leave code behind.

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  Unfinished launch content

  Replace theme demo content, placeholder policies and default notification wording before buyers see the store.