Shopify Development Services

How Will You Use Shopify?

To learn how our Shopify designers can help you with your project, please skip forward to learn about:

• Starting a New Shopify Store.
• Migrating into Shopify from a Different Platform.
• Redesigning Your Existing Shopify Website.
• Extending the Functionality of Your Shopify Website.
• Questions to Ask a Shopify Website Builder.
• Issues to Avoid When Building a Website Design for Shopify.
• Why Choose our Shopify Web Design Services.
• Our Shopify Website Design Process.
• Hiring Shopify Web Developers.
• Shopify Website Design Cost Calculator.
• Shopify Development FAQs.

Starting a New Shopify Store

If you're starting a new ecommerce venture, we'd love to be part of your journey! We'll walk you through all the best parts of Shopify, from its vast selection of marketplace themes and apps, to configuring your store, adding products, managing collections, fulfilling orders, and more!

The Shopify platform is great for new ecommerce websites, but before deciding on Shopify it would be wise to discuss your project's requirements and goals with our team. This isn't to say Shopify can't handle most projects, but if your functionality or data requirements are far outside the normal scope of Shopify it would be prudent to discover that now.

Our ecommerce designers are highly skilled in BigCommerce, Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento, allowing us to provide an unbiased opinion on the best platform for your business.

When you start a new Shopify website build with WebCitz, you can rest assured we'll have options to help you from start to finish on your new custom ecommerce web design project!

Let's explore the two options we have for designing your new Shopify website:

Migrating into Shopify from a Different Platform

We have ample experience migrating ecommerce businesses from Magento, BigCommerce, or WooCommerce into the Shopify platform. That said, the most challenging type of ecommerce development project is the migration of a client's existing website into a new platform.

There are numerous factors to consider, including:

• To what extent will product, customer, and order data need to be migrated?
• What functionality does your existing website have that is missing from Shopify?
• How prepared are you for URL changes and 301 redirects?
• Are you using a WordPress blog that will need to be replaced?
• Do you have experience utilizing the Shopify admin area?
• If you have highly complex product data, will it be manageable within Shopify?
• Are you familiar with Shopify's use of collections instead of categories?
• How will the launch of your new website be coordinated, and will you need access to the old website?

These are all great questions to consider, and are often brought up by our team during the discovery process. We would enjoy the opportunity to discuss your project with you when you have time!

Redesigning Your Existing Shopify Website

There is nothing better than refreshing the design of an ecommerce website! This is the perfect opportunity for you to improve the look and feel of your website, fix user experience issues, and potentially even increase your conversion rate in the process!

Let's explore the two types of Shopify redesign projects we take on:

Switching to a Different Third-Party Shopify Theme

The most cost-effective way to refresh the look and feel of your Shopify website is to swap out your theme. We can help you find a new Shopify theme, install it on your website, and configure it to match your desired look and feel.

Designing a Custom Shopify Theme

If your budget allows, and your design expectations are high, we can create you a completely custom Shopify theme unique to your business. Although the cost is significantly higher, there are many benefits from this approach including faster page loads, improved user experience, cleaner source code, less app conflicts, and more!

Extending the Shopify Platform

We have considerable experience extending the core functionality of Shopify. As long as you can clearly explain the functionality you require, it doesn't matter how complex it is to develop. Our in-house Shopify consultants and web programming experts are ready to help you.

Here are some of the ways we've extended Shopify in the past:

• We've launched headless Shopify websites, and explored alternative ways to approach headless Shopify projects.
• We've developed Product Information Management (PIM) systems to replicate Magento product data management within Shopify.
• We've coded private Shopify apps using Laravel and Vue.js.
• We've created data migration tools to programmatically migrate data from Magento 1 or Magento 2 APIs.
• We've built out custom ecommerce sales funnels within Shopify.
• We've implemented custom product and category filtering systems through Laravel applications.
• We've utilized custom Laravel apps and Shopify webhooks to fix shortcomings within third-party apps.

Shopify Private App Developers

We have extensive experience developing private apps for Shopify clients. In past projects, we've been asked to develop custom functionality that wasn't supported by core Shopify or existing third-party apps. The solution required our developers to connect to the Shopify API using Laravel or JavaScript frameworks to implement the required functionality.

Shopify PIM (Product Information Manager)

The most common complaint we've heard from Magento merchants migrating into Shopify was the loss of Magento's product, attribute, and category management functionality. This is especially true for existing merchants trying to wrap their head around Shopify's collection system, which is a unique approach to categorization of product data.

Do you have a large product database with dependent custom options, nested configurable attributes, complex product relationships or other non-standard product data structures? If so, we might be able to help ease your transition into Shopify. We've developed a proprietary Product Information Manager (PIM) within Laravel to help new Shopify merchants regain some of the product, attribute, and category management functionality left behind in Magento.

Headless Shopify Development

We have extensive experience with headless ecommerce, which is the separation of the frontend and backend of an ecommerce website. This means the frontend of your website be powered by Laravel, JavaScript, or some other framework, while the ecommerce backend is powered by Shopify.

The decision to pursue a headless Shopify project should not be taken lightly. These projects typically cost upwards of $75,000 to develop, simply due to extensive amount of work involved in recreating the ecommerce functionality within your custom frontend.

Why would you even consider a headless approach to ecommerce? Here are a few reasons:

• You require complete control over user experience, breaking free of any constraints of the Shopify CMS.
• You require the ability to control URL structures, such as keeping a WordPress blog in the /blog path versus moving it to a subdomain.
• You require custom functionality throughout the entire website, without being limited to Shopify apps.

We are more than happy to help you explore the potential for a headless approach to your Shopify development project.

Questions to Ask a Shopify Website Builder

Before selecting a Shopify agency, be sure to ask the following questions:

• How familiar are you with developing custom themes and using the Shopify CLI?
• Do you have experience consuming the Shopify API?
• What is your policy for maintenance and support after the website launches?
• Are you a Shopify Partner?
• Do you have more than one Shopify web design expert on staff?
• Do you outsource Shopify projects overseas or to other agencies?

You should gauge the level of knowledge and experience the developers have within the Shopify platform. We recommend you choose an agency based on the depth of experience they have manipulating the Shopify platform, not just on how many basic Shopify web designs they've built.

Issues to Avoid When Building a Website Design for Shopify

We want you to be happy with your Shopify website designer, regardless of the agency you choose to handle your project. Here are a few suggestions we have to help improve your Shopify experience.

• Request a mockup of the website before the developer starts the project.
• Ask if the design will be based on Online Store 2.0.
• For Shopify migrations, ask which data types will be migrated and how that work will be performed.
• Check if your ecommerce developer plans to outsource any of the work.
• For migration projects, request 301 redirects for ALL existing content, product, and category URLs.
• Ask for training in how to manage your website before it launches.
• Verify Google Analytics is recording data after the new site is launched.
• Ask for training in how to manage your website before it launches.

If you do you due diligence before selecting a Shopify web designer, you will likely find yourself launching an ecommerce website within your anticipated timeframe and budget.

Why Choose our Shopify Web Design Services

WebCitz has more than 17 years of experience developing successful ecommerce websites. We've launched hundreds of ecommerce websites in that time, using platforms like osCommerce, CubeCart, X-Cart, Magento 1.x, Magento 2.x, WooCommerce, Shopify, and BigCommerce. You won't easily find another development agency with such extensive ecommerce experience.

• We don't outsource Shopify web design projects, since we have our own in-house Shopify web designers.
• We have our own in-house team of Shopify experts.
• We take on complex projects other developers can't handle.
• We are highly experienced with the Shopify design framework.
• We are intimately familiar with the Shopify API.
• We don't give up on our clients because we are professional Shopify website designers!

Reach out to our team to get started on your Shopify web development project today by filling out our online contact form, by chatting with us in our live chat, or by giving us a call directly at (800) 796-8263. We look forward to working with you!

Our Shopify Website Design Process

We apply our standard ecommerce website design process to all Shopify projects. Let's go through some of the basic points:

Discovery Call. The first step in the process is to have a conversation with you to determine the scope of your project, your understanding of the Shopify platform, and the unique functionality requirements you have. This will allow us to put together a detailed quote for your project.

Kick Off Call. After approving the development proposal we will schedule a kickoff call. This will help get everyone on the same page, including your project's stakeholders and our project managers, graphic designers and ecommerce developers.

Mock Up Approval. Within a few weeks of the kickoff conversation you should receive mockups for the design of your Shopify website. Don't be afraid to ask for web design changes - we value feedback and would appreciate your honest opinion during this phase of the project.

Development Process. After the mock ups are approved the design will be handed off to our build team. This is the longest phase of the Shopify build, but you will be able to follow along through your password-protected Shopify website.

Website Launch. After the Shopify build has been completed, and it has passed your inspection, we'll work with you to plan out an appropriate launch window. This is also a great opportunity to request Shopify training if you've not yet become familiar with the admin area.

Hiring Shopify Web Developers

We are often hired by clients for our deep understanding of the Shopify platform. That said, we are always looking to augment our ecommerce team with additional experienced Shopify professionals! If you are a talented USA-based Shopify web designer, who prefers taking a modern approach to ecommerce web design, please send us your resume! We would be interested in discussing your past Shopify work experience and our potential career opportunities!