Built from your brand, not a stock template.
We start with your brand guidelines (or build them with you) and design every section in Figma before writing a line of Liquid. No bolted-on third-party themes.
SHOPIFY THEME DEVELOPMENT
Custom Shopify themes that load fast, convert visitors, and don't fight your marketers.
We build Online Store 2.0 themes from your brand, not from a stock template. Mobile-first, accessible, Lighthouse-tuned, and fully editable by your team — so you stop paying a developer every time you want to change a hero image.
Starter custom themes from $4,500 USD · 6–8 weeks · 30 days post-launch support included
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Six things in every theme we ship.
Lighthouse-tuned out of the box.
Mobile Lighthouse score ≥90 is the baseline, not the goal. Critical CSS, image optimization, lazy loading, and minimal JS are non-negotiable.
Online Store 2.0 sections everywhere.
Every section editable from the theme customizer. Marketers can rearrange the homepage without touching a developer.
Accessibility-first.
WCAG 2.1 AA compliance: keyboard navigation, focus states, ARIA labels, contrast ratios, screen reader testing.
International-commerce ready.
Multi-currency, multi-language, country-redirect logic baked in via Shopify Markets + our Geo Redirect Xpert app.
Conversion patterns built in.
Sticky add-to-cart, optimised PDP layouts, social proof, urgency (when appropriate), upsell hooks — based on what's working in the stores we operate.
THE PROCESS
Six steps. Eight weeks. Predictable.
We've shipped enough themes to know where projects go off the rails. Every step has a clear deliverable and a sign-off point.
- 1
Discovery & scoping
Week 130-min kick-off call, brand questionnaire, competitor research, sitemap, content inventory. You get a written scope doc with milestones, deliverables, and a fixed quote.
- 2
Design (Figma)
Week 2-3Homepage, PDP, PLP, cart, checkout, account screens. Mobile + desktop. Two design rounds included. You sign off in Figma comments.
- 3
Liquid development
Week 4-6OS 2.0 theme built section-by-section. Every section is JSON-driven and editable from the theme customizer. Daily preview links so you watch progress.
- 4
Performance + accessibility audit
Week 7Lighthouse mobile + desktop, WAVE accessibility scan, manual screen reader test, real-device check on iPhone + low-end Android. Fixes ship same week.
- 5
Migration + content load
Week 7-8Product import (CSV or API), collection setup, navigation, redirects from old theme, robots.txt verification, GA4/GSC update.
- 6
Launch + 30-day support
Week 8 + 30 daysCoordinated cutover (low-traffic window), DNS verification, smoke-test checklist, then 30 days of bug fixes and tweaks at no extra cost.
TECH STACK
What we build with.
Default stack is Liquid + OS 2.0 — battle-tested, marketer-friendly, and what the majority of Shopify merchants actually need.
- ✓ Shopify Online Store 2.0
- ✓ Liquid + JSON templates
- ✓ JavaScript (vanilla / Alpine / minimal React)
- ✓ CSS Grid + Flex (no Tailwind unless you ask)
- ✓ Vite for asset bundling
- ✓ Lighthouse CI for perf gates
- ✓ Figma for design
- ✓ GitHub for version control
VS. ALTERNATIVES
Custom build vs Dawn vs another agency.
| Feature | Xpertshire custom | Dawn / free theme | Generic agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom design from your brand | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| OS 2.0 sections everywhere | ✓ | ✓ | depends |
| Mobile Lighthouse ≥ 90 | ✓ | ✓ | depends |
| WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility audit | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| International + multi-currency setup | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Migration from old theme included | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| 30-day post-launch support | ✓ | ✕ | extra |
| Fixed quote (no hourly surprises) | ✓ | Free | ✕ |
↔ Swipe horizontally on mobile
FAQ
Questions, answered.
How much does a custom Shopify theme cost?
It depends on scope, but our starter custom theme builds typically begin around $4,500–$8,000 USD. Stores with 50+ products, complex collections, or B2B/wholesale features land in the $8K–$15K range. We give you a fixed quote in writing before any work starts — no hourly billing surprises.
How long does it take?
Standard builds are 6–8 weeks from scoping call to launch. Complex builds (B2B portals, headless, heavy custom apps) can run 10–12 weeks. We can move faster if you have a hard deadline — let us know in the scoping call.
Can you customize an existing theme instead of building from scratch?
Yes. If you've already bought a theme like Impulse, Prestige, or Studio, we can do design customisation, performance fixes, and feature additions on top. Pricing is usually 40-60% of a full custom build.
Do you build with Liquid or React/Hydrogen?
Default is Liquid + Online Store 2.0 — that's what 95% of Shopify merchants need. We only recommend Hydrogen (headless React) if you genuinely need it: heavy custom UX, multi-storefront from one codebase, or you have an in-house React team. See our /headless-shopify page for the trade-offs.
Will my marketers be able to edit the theme without a developer?
Yes — that's the point of Online Store 2.0 sections. Every section we build is editable from the Shopify theme customizer: text, images, colors, layout. Your marketers can rearrange the homepage, swap product images, change copy, and run promotions without touching code.
What if I want to change something after launch?
30 days of post-launch support is included — bug fixes, content tweaks, small section additions are free. After 30 days, we offer monthly retainer plans starting at $500/month for ongoing changes, or you can pay per task.
Do you handle migration from WooCommerce / Magento / BigCommerce?
Yes. See our /shopify-migration page for the dedicated process. The theme build can run in parallel with migration — the new theme launches with all your products already imported.
Can you make my theme rank on Google?
We bake on-page SEO basics into every theme: clean URLs, structured data (JSON-LD), Core Web Vitals, image alt text, semantic HTML, sitemap, mobile-first. Ranking is a content + backlink game though — the theme alone won't rank you. We offer dedicated /shopify-seo-audit work for that.
Ready to start?
Send us your store URL + a paragraph on what you need. We'll come back within 24 hours with a fixed quote and proposed timeline. No commitment until you sign off.