Most brands decide to hire a Shopify developer when the store backlog starts slowing down marketing. A new landing page waits two weeks. A tracking fix sits behind a theme update. The size guide still does not work on mobile. When you hire Shopify developers through 95 Solutions, you get one named developer who knows your theme, your apps and your priorities, and who works through that list every week instead of quoting each task from scratch.
This suits brands that have outgrown searching for a Shopify developer for hire every time something breaks, but do not need a full store rebuild. If you do need a new store, a redesign or a platform move, our Shopify development agency team handles that as a fixed-price project. Hiring a developer is for the steady flow of work that comes after launch.
What You Can Hire a Shopify Developer For
| Area | Typical tasks |
|---|---|
| Theme development | New Online Store 2.0 sections and blocks, JSON templates for specific products or collections, header and navigation changes, mobile fixes |
| Product data and content | Metafields and metaobjects for size charts, fabric details, ingredients or specs, rendered through theme blocks your team can edit |
| Apps and integrations | Installing and configuring apps, removing leftover app code, connecting ERPs, 3PLs, reviews and subscription apps |
| Custom apps | Private apps built on the Admin GraphQL API for bulk updates, syncing data or workflows no public app covers |
| Discounts and checkout logic | Shopify Functions for discount, delivery and payment customizations, and Checkout Extensibility work on Shopify Plus |
| Speed and Core Web Vitals | Reducing app scripts, image and font loading, render-blocking code, and improving LCP, INP and CLS |
| Tracking | Customer events and web pixels, GA4 and Google Ads tags, Meta pixel and Conversions API checks |
| Automation | Shopify Flow workflows for tagging, inventory alerts, fraud checks and order routing |
If you are looking for a Shopify app developer for hire to build a private app, the same developer can take it on. Public apps for the Shopify App Store are scoped as projects by our Shopify app development team. For work that is mainly upkeep (app updates, small fixes, monthly checks) our Shopify maintenance plans can be a lighter fit than a dedicated developer.
How to Hire a Shopify Developer
To hire a Shopify developer, list the work, decide between monthly and hourly help, grant collaborator access with limited permissions, and start with small tasks delivered on a copy of your theme. Here is how we run each step.
- Backlog review (2 to 3 business days). Send us your list, however messy. We sort it into theme work, app work, custom development and marketing requests, and estimate whether you need a full-time developer, part-time hours or a short hourly block.
- Store access (day 1 of work). You add the developer as a staff account or approve a collaborator access request with the permissions you choose. Collaborator accounts do not count toward your plan's staff account limit, and you can remove them at any time.
- Theme and code setup (days 1 to 2). We duplicate your live theme or connect it to a GitHub repository through Shopify's GitHub integration, so every change has a history and can be rolled back.
- First tickets (week 1). The developer starts with two or three small tasks, each delivered with a preview link. You approve before anything is published.
- Weekly cadence (from week 2). A weekly update lists what shipped, what is in review and what is blocked. Larger changes are published at quiet times, and never during a sale or launch window unless you ask.
- Monthly review (end of each month). We check the backlog, hours used and store health with you, and adjust hours for the next month.
How Our Shopify Developers Work on Your Store
The biggest risk when you hire a Shopify developer is someone editing the live theme on a Friday afternoon. Our developers follow a fixed way of working:
- Never edit the live theme directly. Work happens on a duplicate theme or a Git branch and is previewed with Shopify CLI (shopify theme dev) or a preview link.
- Lint before publishing. Theme Check, built into Shopify CLI, runs on changes to catch Liquid errors, missing assets and performance problems.
- Keep the theme editable. New features are built as sections and blocks with settings, so your team can change copy and images in the theme editor without calling a developer.
- Ask before installing apps. Every app adds cost and often scripts. If a feature can be built in the theme with a few lines of Liquid and a metafield, we will tell you before you pay for an app.
- Log every change. A short changelog records what changed, where and why, which helps when a problem appears weeks later.
What Comes With a Dedicated Shopify Developer
| Included | What it means for your store |
|---|---|
| A named Shopify developer | The same person learns your theme, apps and metafields, so small requests stop needing a long explanation |
| Store health check in week one | A list of leftover app code, duplicate tracking tags, slow templates and theme errors, ranked by impact |
| Speed baseline | PageSpeed Insights and Core Web Vitals figures for the home, collection and product templates, so later changes can be measured |
| Preview links for every change | You see the change on a duplicate theme before customers do |
| Changelog and Git history | A record of what changed and why, plus the ability to roll back |
| Senior review and cover | A senior lead checks risky work, such as checkout or tracking changes, and covers planned leave |
Shopify Plus Developer Work: Checkout Extensibility and Functions
Shopify Plus stores carry extra technical work that a theme-only developer may not have done before. Checkout.liquid has been replaced by Checkout Extensibility, so older checkout customizations have to be rebuilt as checkout UI extensions, and post-purchase and thank-you page changes follow the same model. Shopify Scripts are being retired in favor of Shopify Functions, which means discount, shipping and payment logic written in Ruby Scripts needs to be rebuilt as Functions. Plus stores also tend to use B2B features, multiple markets and Shopify Flow more heavily. When you hire a Shopify developer for a Plus store, ask specifically about these, and expect a senior rate for the work.
Shopify Store Problems Our Developers Fix Most Often
- Leftover app code. Uninstalled apps often leave snippets and scripts in the theme that still load on every page. Removing them is one of the quickest speed wins.
- Duplicate tracking. GA4 or the Meta pixel installed twice, once by an app and once by hand, which doubles purchase events and misleads your ad platforms.
- Hard-coded content. Banners, size guides and shipping messages written into Liquid files, so marketing cannot change them without a developer.
- Too many apps doing small jobs. Features such as a product badge or a delivery estimate that a metafield and a few lines of Liquid could handle without a monthly fee.
- Edits on an outdated theme copy. Changes made on an old duplicate theme that never get merged, so work is lost when the live theme is updated.
Why Hire a Shopify Developer Instead of Relying on Apps
Apps are the right answer for many features: reviews, subscriptions and loyalty programs are hard to build well and easy to buy. The trouble comes when every small request becomes another app. Each one adds a monthly fee and usually some JavaScript, and a store with dozens of apps often loads slowly and breaks in ways nobody can trace. A Shopify developer can tell you which requests need an app, which can be built into the theme with metafields and sections, and which existing apps can go. Any saving on app fees and page weight offsets part of the developer's cost, and we list candidates for removal in the first week.
Hire a Shopify Developer, a Freelancer or an Agency Project?
| Option | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated Shopify developer (this page) | Ongoing backlogs, frequent marketing requests, stores that change every month | You need someone to set priorities each week |
| Freelancer | One small, well-defined task | Availability, no cover, knowledge leaves with the person |
| Agency build project | New stores, redesigns, Shopify migrations | Fixed scope, so ongoing requests need a separate arrangement |
| Maintenance plan | Stable stores with occasional fixes | Limited hours, not suited to feature work |
Shopify Developer Tools and Tech Stack
| Category | Tools |
|---|---|
| Theme development | Liquid, Online Store 2.0, JSON templates, Shopify CLI, Theme Check, Dawn and premium themes |
| Front end | JavaScript, CSS, Tailwind CSS, web components, Alpine.js |
| Apps and APIs | Admin GraphQL API, Storefront API, Shopify Functions, theme app extensions, webhooks |
| Headless | Hydrogen, Oxygen, Next.js with the Storefront API |
| Automation | Shopify Flow, Matrixify for bulk data, AM Jarvis bulk product editing |
| Version control | Git, GitHub, Shopify GitHub integration |
| Performance and tracking | PageSpeed Insights, Chrome DevTools, Lighthouse, GA4, Google Tag Manager, Shopify customer events |
Shopify Developer Deliverables Each Month
- Shipped tickets with preview links, published on the agreed schedule.
- A weekly update and a monthly summary: what shipped, what is waiting on you, hours used and the next priorities.
- A changelog and Git history for every theme and custom app change.
- Before and after speed figures for any performance work.
- Notes on apps that could be removed or replaced, with the reasons.
What success looks like with a Shopify developer
Marketing requests stop waiting weeks. Your team edits banners, landing pages and product content in the theme editor without calling anyone. No change reaches the live store without a preview, and tracking stays clean after every theme update. Sales depend on far more than development, so we measure the store's technical health and the speed of delivery, not promised revenue.
Why Hire Shopify Developers From 95 Solutions
- We build software for Shopify stores. Our team co-builds AM Jarvis, which imports products into Shopify and WooCommerce, edits catalogs in bulk with preview and undo, and scans for Google Merchant Center violations. Our developers know the Shopify APIs from building on them, not only from theme tweaks.
- Developers who understand marketing. Mustafa has 11+ years in digital marketing and has run marketing for a US fashion brand since 2016. The developers working with him know why a collection template, a structured data fix or a faster product page matters to revenue.
- Senior review. Every placement is overseen by Mustafa or a senior lead, who checks work quality and catches risks before they reach your live store.
- Everything stays yours. Your store, themes, custom app code and repositories belong to you. Remove access and nothing is held back.
- Working hours that fit US and UK teams. Our hours overlap UK business hours and the full US business day, so urgent fixes during your trading day get handled during your trading day.
Who Should Hire a Shopify Developer From Us
A good fit
- Shopify and Shopify Plus brands with a steady list of theme, app and marketing requests
- Marketing teams that keep waiting on development for landing pages and tests
- Agencies that need a Shopify developer embedded with their team (see white label development)
- Stores that lost their developer and need someone to take over the codebase
Probably not a fit
- You need a brand-new store built from scratch (hire our build team instead)
- You have one small fix and no further work planned
- Your store is not on Shopify (see our dedicated developers for other stacks)
Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Shopify Developer
- Do you work on a duplicate theme or on live? Anything other than a duplicate theme or a Git-connected branch is a risk.
- Can you show me a section you built? Look for settings and blocks the merchant can edit, not hard-coded text.
- How do you decide between an app and custom code? A good developer weighs monthly app cost and script weight against build and maintenance time.
- Have you worked with Shopify Functions and Checkout Extensibility? On Shopify Plus, checkout.liquid has been replaced by Checkout Extensibility, and older customizations need rebuilding.
- How will you measure speed changes? Ask for before and after figures from PageSpeed Insights or Search Console Core Web Vitals, not a feeling that the store is faster.
Shopify Developer Pricing
You can hire a dedicated Shopify developer on a monthly rate (full-time on your store), at a senior rate for Plus, custom app and architecture work, or on an hourly basis for smaller queues. The cost depends on how many hours a month your backlog needs, whether the work is theme-level or Plus checkout and custom app work, and whether you need cover during peak trading periods. All rates are shown below, billed in USD, with a short minimum term for dedicated plans.
Full-time means 160 hours a month on your work only, during hours that overlap with your team.
Dedicated Marketer
$2,600 /month
Full time, billed monthly
- SEO, PPC, paid social or email specialist
- Works in your tools and channels
- Senior review of work each week
- Daily overlap with US or UK hours
- Minimum term
- 1 month, then 2 weeks notice
Dedicated Developer
$3,200 /month
Full time, billed monthly
- Mid-level Shopify, WordPress, React or PHP developer
- Code review by a senior developer
- Your repos, your standups
- Daily overlap with US or UK hours
- Minimum term
- 1 month, then 2 weeks notice
Senior Developer
$4,400 /month
Full time, billed monthly
- Senior full-stack or mobile developer
- Architecture and code review
- Can lead a small team
- Minimum term
- 1 month, then 2 weeks notice
Hourly
$40 /hour
Billed monthly in arrears
- Development: $40/hour
- Marketing: $35/hour
- Senior or architect: $55/hour
- Minimum 10 hours a month
All prices in USD. Need something different? Ask for a custom quote.
Want a developer for a launch season only, or a developer plus a Shopify marketer? Contact us and we will quote the setup.
Need a broader team rather than one Shopify developer? Read how we place dedicated developers across other stacks, or go back to our staff augmentation overview.
Next Step: Hire a Shopify Developer for Your Backlog
Send us your store URL and your current list of requests, even if it lives in a messy spreadsheet. We reply within one business day, review the list on a short call and send back a written recommendation: monthly or hourly, the hours we expect the work to need, and which items could be handled without a developer at all. Send us your Shopify backlog to start.