Ecommerce platform
Shopify development
Shopify handles the hard, dull parts of running a store: hosting, checkout, payments, and security. Our work is the rest: a store that fits your products, connections to your stock and accounts, and the custom features that set you apart.
- 1,200+ clients helped
- Building since 2010
- 15 services, one team
- 50+ technologies
At a glance
What it is
Shopify is a hosted platform for running an online store: it provides the catalog, checkout, payments, and order management, and extends through themes and apps.
Problems it solves
Stores that grow outgrow their first set-up: slow pages, clashing apps, manual order handling, and a checkout that loses sales.
Who it suits
Businesses starting or running a Shopify store, and sellers moving from another platform or struggling with an overgrown store.
How to choose
Use Shopify when standard selling covers your needs and you want a reliable, hosted store. Add custom work only where your model is unusual.
What it means
A store you do not have to host
Shopify is a hosted ecommerce platform. It runs your store's servers, checkout, and payment handling, and you shape the look and features through themes, apps, and custom code.
That takes away a lot of risk. You are not responsible for patching servers or protecting card data, and the checkout is among the most tested in the industry.
The trade-off is that you work within the platform's model. For most sellers that is a good bargain. For unusual products or pricing, it takes thought.
Options
What kind of Shopify work do you need?
Most work falls into one of three shapes.
Where are you starting from?
Choose this when
You are launching, or moving from a basic site or marketplace.
- What you get
- A store with a theme, a clean catalog, shipping and tax settings, and tracking from the first day.
- Keep in mind
- Start with fewer apps than you think you need. Each one adds weight.
Choose this when
You are leaving WooCommerce, Magento, or another system.
- What you get
- A planned migration of products, customers, and order history, with redirects that protect search traffic.
- Keep in mind
- Some history and custom features do not move cleanly, so decide early what to keep.
Choose this when
Pages are slow, apps clash, or the checkout loses people.
- What you get
- An audit, then focused fixes to speed, apps, and the buying journey.
- Keep in mind
- Measure before and after, so changes are judged on evidence.
Where it fits
What Shopify covers, and what we add
| Area | What Shopify provides | What we add |
|---|---|---|
| Store and checkout | Hosting, catalog, basket, checkout, and payments. | A theme matched to your brand, and a faster, clearer checkout journey. |
| Products and stock | Product records, variants, and inventory tracking. | Links to your warehouse or stock system, and bulk tools for large catalogs. |
| Orders and shipping | Order handling and shipping label tools. | Connections to carriers and fulfillment partners. |
| Money | Payments and payouts. | Links to accounting, and handling of tax and refunds your way. |
| Custom needs | Apps and a developer platform. | Custom features and private apps for what the store cannot do. |
What DECHY can do
Working with Shopify
Build
- Custom themes and store sections.
- Product data structures that suit your catalog.
Extend
- Custom features and private apps.
- Special pricing, bundles, and rules.
Connect
- Stock, accounting, shipping, and customer records.
- Payments and subscription tools.
Improve
- Speed and conversion audits.
- Search-ready structure and tracking.
Typical uses
Stores that suit Shopify
A direct-to-customer brand
A focused catalog with a strong storefront, subscriptions or bundles, and email and advertising connected.
A seller growing out of a marketplace
Your own store alongside marketplace listings, with stock kept in step across them.
A business that sells in person and online
One catalog and one stock count shared between a shop, events, and the website.
A wholesale and retail mix
Separate prices and ordering rules for trade customers, with checkout rules that suit each.
Choosing the right approach
Where Shopify has limits
Very large catalogs, complicated pricing, and unusual checkout flows can strain what a hosted platform allows. Some needs are met by apps or custom code. Others suggest a different platform or a custom commerce system.
We tell you early which category you are in. See also our page on commerce systems.
Technical depth
How we build with Shopify
Our engineering choices on theme and performance, apps and the platform, and headless options, written for the people who will own the system after launch.
We build themes with Shopify's templating language, keep scripts and apps to a minimum, optimize images, and measure real-user speed on product and collection pages.
- The platform's APIs (the ways other programs read and change store data) and webhooks to connect stock, orders, and customer data to your other systems.
- Private or custom apps where a public app would be too heavy or too generic.
- Checkout customizations through the platform's supported extension points.
Where a custom front end is justified, we can build one with Next.js over Shopify's data. It costs more, so we recommend it only for stores where the storefront experience is a core part of the business.
Common questions
Questions about Shopify
Is Shopify right for a large catalog?
It can handle large catalogs, with design work for product data and speed. Very large or complex catalogs deserve a closer look, and we compare alternatives.
Will our search traffic survive a migration?
With planning, yes. We map old addresses to new ones, redirect them, and check search performance after launch.
Can you connect Shopify to our stock and accounting?
Yes. We link orders, stock levels, and payments so staff are not re-typing data.
How are payments handled?
Shopify provides its own payments and supports others. We help choose and connect them, including Stripe where it fits.
Have a different question?
Tell us what you are weighing up and we will answer it plainly.
Ask a questionAlready a client? Email support@dechytech.com
Tell us what you sell
Describe your products and how orders are handled today. We will say what Shopify covers, what needs custom work, and what to connect first.