Custom Shopify Apps and App Store Apps
Shopify App Development That Works With Your Store
When no App Store app does what you need, or several overlap and slow the store, we build one app for the job. It plugs into the places Shopify provides for custom features, not into your theme code.
- One Store or the App Store
- Custom or Public
- Demos of Working Features
- Weekly
- Only the Scopes the App Needs
- Least Access
- Code in Your Own Repository
- You Own It
Signs Your Store Needs a Custom Shopify App
Each app you install adds its own code, settings and often a monthly fee. When none of them fits, or several overlap, one app built for your store can replace the workarounds.
- No App Store App Does Exactly What You Need
- Several Apps With Overlapping Features and Fees
- A Slower Store After Each App You Install
- Theme Code Edited by Hand to Make an App Fit
- Discount or Shipping Rules Your Settings Can't Handle
- A Checkout Step You Can't Change Today
Shopify App Development Services
As a Shopify app development company, we build each feature where Shopify provides for it: in the theme, the checkout, the admin or on Shopify's own servers. These are common examples, not the full list.
Custom Shopify App Development
An app built for your store only, around one job: a missing feature, a team workflow or several overlapping apps rolled into one.
Public Apps for the Shopify App Store
For software companies: an app merchants install from the App Store to use your product, prepared for Shopify's app review, with charges through Shopify's billing.
Shopify Checkout Extensions
Delivery dates, gift notes, custom fields and product offers added to checkout, plus content on the thank-you and order status pages.
Shopify Functions for Discounts, Shipping and Payments
Bundle and tiered discounts, and shipping options and payment methods shown, hidden or renamed by your rules. Functions run on Shopify's servers, not in the shopper's browser.
Theme App Extensions
Size guides, product options and other blocks you place in the theme editor, without edits to theme code. Remove the app and its blocks go with it.
Admin Extensions and the Admin API
Buttons and panels on the order, product and customer pages your team already uses. Webhooks and Shopify's Admin API handle the work behind them.
Custom Shopify App or App Store App
Both use the same building blocks. The difference is who installs the app and how they find it.
Custom App for One Store
Installed on your store only and never listed in the App Store. Built around how your team and your customers already work.
- Built for One Store's Needs
- No App Store Review Needed
- Can Replace Several Overlapping Apps
Public App for the Shopify App Store
Listed in the Shopify App Store for merchants to find and install. Shopify reviews the app before it goes live, and merchants pay through Shopify's billing.
- Prepared for Shopify's App Review
- Plans and Charges via Shopify Billing
- Clean Install and Uninstall
Shopify Plus Development and Checkout Extensions
Shopify Plus opens the checkout steps themselves to custom fields, offers and rules. Checkout extensions follow your checkout's own branding, so they look like part of it.
- Delivery Date and Gift Note Fields
- Custom Fields Saved to the Order
- Product Offers Inside Checkout
- Cart Rules Checked Before Payment
- Shipping and Payment Options Set by Your Rules
- Wholesale and Tiered Discounts
Engineering Standards
Built for Store Speed and Secure Access
An app should add a feature, not weight or risk. We keep work off the storefront where Shopify allows it and give the app only the access it needs.
- Logic on Shopify's Servers Where Possible
- Storefront Code Only Where It's Used
- Code Review on Every Change
- Automated Tests for Core Workflows
- Tested on a Development Store Before Release
Our Shopify app developers are senior engineers who use AI coding tools for routine work.
Only the Access Scopes It Needs
The app asks for the store data it uses and nothing more, so the permission list merchants approve stays short.
Keys Kept in a Secure Vault
Passwords and API keys are stored in a secure vault, never in the code.
Verified Webhooks
Each message from Shopify is checked for its signature before the app acts on it.
Error Monitoring
Monitoring from launch day, so errors reach us instead of waiting for a customer to report them.
How Our Shopify App Development Works
You approve the plan, see working features every week and decide when the app goes live.
Discovery Call
We learn what your store or product needs, which apps you use now and which Shopify plan you're on.
Proposal
The approach, phases, timeline and cost, with where each feature will run in Shopify.
Build
We build on a development store and demo working features every week.
Test and Release
You test on the development store. Then we install the app on your store or submit it for App Store review.
Maintenance
Optional monthly support keeps the app current as Shopify releases new API versions.
Shopify App Development FAQ
How Much Does Shopify App Development Cost?
It depends on the number of features, where each one runs in Shopify and whether the app is for your store only or for the App Store. After a short call we send a proposal with the approach, phases, timeline and cost before work starts. Some apps run entirely on Shopify. Others need their own server, which adds a hosting cost.
How Long Does It Take to Build a Shopify App?
Your proposal sets the timeline before work starts. A single extension, such as a checkout field or a discount rule, is a smaller job than a public app with billing and an App Store listing. For a public app, plan extra time for Shopify's review.
What Is the Difference Between a Custom App and a Public App?
A custom app is built for one store and installed only there. What used to be a Shopify private app is now called a custom app. A public app is listed in the Shopify App Store, goes through Shopify's review and charges merchants through Shopify's billing.
Do We Need Shopify Plus?
Not for most apps. Two things need it: checkout UI extensions in the information, shipping and payment steps, and custom apps that use Shopify Functions. Extensions on the thank-you and order status pages work on most plans. We check which features your plan supports on the first call, before we quote.
Will a Custom App Slow Down Our Store?
Most of the work runs outside the storefront. Discount and shipping rules run on Shopify's servers, and order updates run in the background through webhooks. Code that does reach the storefront loads only on the pages that use it. Replacing several overlapping apps with one can also make the store lighter.
How Do You Keep the App Working as Shopify Changes?
Shopify releases a new API version every quarter and supports each one for at least 12 months. With a maintenance plan, we update and retest your app before the version it uses is retired. Maintenance is billed monthly, with no minimum term.
Do We Own the App and the Code?
Yes. Once the project is paid in full, the code is yours. It lives in your repository, so any capable team can take it over. For a public app, we recommend listing it under your company's own Shopify Partner account, so the listing stays with you.
Can You Fix or Replace an App Someone Else Built?
Yes. We review the code, the access it asks for and how it affects store speed, then recommend fixing it, rebuilding it or replacing it. If an app in the App Store already does the job well, we say so.
Can You Also Help With Our Store and Marketing?
Yes. New Shopify stores, redesigns and themes are part of our web design services. For ads and SEO that bring shoppers to the store, see our digital marketing services.
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Explore Digital MarketingCustom Software Development
Web apps, customer portals, internal tools and dashboards built for how your business works.
Explore Custom Software DevelopmentPlan Your Shopify App
Tell us the feature your store is missing, the apps you use now or the product you want in the App Store.
- Senior Engineers
- Weekly Demos
- Code in Your Repository
What Happens Next
- Intro CallYour store or product, the feature you need and the apps you use now.
- ProposalThe approach, phases, timeline and cost.
- KickoffA first build on a development store, with weekly demos.