Shopify app development
Shopify App Development for Agencies and Brands
- Public apps live on the Shopify App Store
- 10
- Verified App Store reviews
- 101
- Average rating across rated apps
- 4.8★
- Merchants using ALT SEO, my first app
- 1,000+
Who it's for
Who I build Shopify apps for
Four kinds of teams usually get in touch. Each one works with me a little differently, but they all get the same standard of code, documentation and support as my own apps.
Shopify agencies
White-label app development when a client needs more than a theme or an App Store app can do. Your brand and your client relationship, my code, under NDA.
Brands and Shopify Plus merchants
Custom apps that connect your store to your ERP, warehouse or internal tools, automate admin work, or add a feature no App Store app offers.
SaaS and tech companies
A public Shopify app that brings your product to Shopify merchants: installation, billing, the App Store listing and review, built to Shopify's current requirements.
Teams with an existing app
An app that needs an audit, an API upgrade, a new host or a new developer because the original one moved on.
Proof
10 apps live on the Shopify App Store, built and run by me
Most developers can show a portfolio. I can show apps that merchants install, pay for and review every day. I designed, built and launched each of them, and I still support and improve them. Every review below is a verified Shopify App Store review.
The products looks much better and the store more professional, the support is great.
Incredible tool for Shopify SEO. It handles Alt Text optimization in the background while I run my shop.
SEO game changer and great support.
I bulk-tagged hundreds of products in minutes instead of hours. Seo friendly and perfect for big catalogs.
Excellent backlink quality and very easy to use. It has helped improve my store's SEO and overall online visibility. Highly recommended.
High quality and relevant Meta titles and descriptions. Worth every penny.
Services
What I build
From a small admin tool for one store to a public app with thousands of installs, these are the projects I take on.
Custom apps for one store
Apps for a single store or a Shopify Plus organization: admin tools, bulk operations, reports, workflow automation and integrations with the systems you already use.
Public App Store apps
Multi-store apps built to pass App Review: OAuth and session tokens, the GraphQL Admin API, mandatory compliance webhooks, Shopify Billing and a listing that explains the value clearly.
Integrations and data sync
Connections between Shopify and ERPs, PIMs, CRMs, marketplaces, email platforms and in-house APIs, with webhooks, queues, retries and logs you can read.
AI features that hold up in production
Text, image and video generation that merchants trust in bulk: prompts grounded in real product data, credits, background jobs and a review step. My own apps do this every day.
Extensions inside Shopify
Theme app extensions, app blocks and embeds, admin UI extensions and Shopify Functions when the logic has to run inside Shopify itself.
Maintenance, upgrades and rescues
API version upgrades, REST to GraphQL migrations, performance fixes, hosting moves and takeovers of apps whose original developer is gone.
Why hire a Shopify app developer who runs his own apps
Writing the code is the easy half of a Shopify app. The hard half is everything around it: getting through App Review, billing merchants correctly, keeping up with Shopify's quarterly API versions, answering support and staying fast inside the Shopify admin. I deal with those problems every week across my own apps, so they are already solved before your project starts.
I know what Shopify App Review checks
Each of my 10 public apps went through Shopify's App Review. I build to the requirements from the first commit: session token authentication in the embedded admin, the three mandatory compliance webhooks for customer and shop data, charges through the Shopify Billing API, and the GraphQL Admin API, which Shopify requires for new public apps since April 2025. That avoids the reject-and-rework loop that delays many first submissions.
Billing that matches what merchants pay
Subscriptions, yearly plans, usage-based charges and one-time purchases, all through Shopify, including the cases that are easy to get wrong: upgrades, downgrades, cancellations and paused stores. If your app makes money, billing is the part that most often goes wrong, and it is the part I have practiced most.
Production AI, not demos
My apps generate alt text, meta tags, product tags, descriptions, blog posts, edited photos and product videos. ALT SEO alone wrote more than two million alt texts last year. I know how to ground AI output in real product data, handle large catalogs reliably, keep usage costs predictable and let merchants review the output before it changes their store.
Fast inside the Shopify admin
Shopify measures embedded apps on Largest Contentful Paint, Cumulative Layout Shift and Interaction to Next Paint, and those Web Vitals count toward the Built for Shopify status. I build with these metrics in mind from the start, so merchants get an app that feels quick.
Hosting and operations included
Deployment, monitoring, backups and scaling are part of the work, not an afterthought. Your app can run in your own cloud account, on your agency's hosting or on a managed setup I look after for you.
Documentation is part of the job
Each of my apps has its own website, help center and community in 12 languages. For client projects, that means handover documentation your next developer can follow, and help articles for your merchants if you need them.
Process
How a project works
Free scoping call
We go through the goal, the users, your Shopify plan, the data and the integrations. If an existing app or a theme change would do the job, I'll tell you.
Written scope and fixed quote
A short document with the features, the Shopify APIs and permissions involved, milestones, a timeline and a fixed price for the first version.
Build in milestones
Regular demos on a development store, code in your repository from the first commit, and a staging app you can test before anything reaches real merchants.
Launch and support
Deployment, App Store submission and listing for public apps, then an optional maintenance plan for API upgrades, monitoring and new features.
Engagements
Ways to work together
Fixed-price project
A defined first version with a fixed price and timeline, agreed before work starts. Best for new custom apps and the first release of a public app.
Agency partnership
White-label development booked per project or as monthly capacity, under NDA, with the code in your repositories.
Maintenance plan
A monthly plan for API version upgrades, monitoring, fixes and small features, so the app keeps working as Shopify changes.
Stack
Tools and Shopify APIs I work with
- Shopify's Remix and React Router app templates, React and Polaris
- App Bridge, session tokens and embedded admin apps
- GraphQL Admin API, bulk operations and webhooks
- Shopify Billing API: subscriptions, usage charges and one-time purchases
- Theme app extensions, admin UI extensions and Shopify Functions
- Node.js and Python back ends with SQL databases
- Cloud hosting, background jobs and monitoring
- Leading AI models for text, images and video
Already have a Shopify app that needs help?
Many projects start with an app that already exists. The original developer moved on, an API version is about to be retired, App Review flagged an issue, or the app slows down as more stores install it. I can:
- Audit the app and give you a written report on security, API usage, billing, performance and the risks to fix first.
- Upgrade API versions and migrate from the REST Admin API, which Shopify marked as legacy in October 2024, to GraphQL.
- Move the hosting to a setup that fits your traffic and budget, planned so merchants are not disrupted.
- Take over maintenance on a monthly plan, so someone is watching the app when Shopify changes something.
Ask for an app audit and tell me what the app does and what worries you about it.
FAQ
Shopify app development FAQ
What is the difference between a custom app and a public app?
A custom app is built for one store, or for the stores of one Shopify Plus organization, and is installed with a private link. It does not go through App Review. A public app can be installed by any merchant, is usually listed on the Shopify App Store, must pass App Review and charges merchants through the Shopify Billing API. The brands and SaaS page compares them in detail.
How much does it cost to build a Shopify app?
It depends on the number of screens, the integrations, the volume of data and whether the app must pass App Review. After a free scoping call you get a written scope and a fixed price for the first version, so the cost is known before any work starts.
How long does it take to build a Shopify app?
A focused custom app often takes three to eight weeks. A public app with billing typically takes two to four months to its first release, including App Review. The written scope includes a timeline with milestones.
Can you get my app approved on the Shopify App Store?
Approval is Shopify's decision, but I have taken 10 apps through App Review. I build to the requirements from the start, prepare the listing and the test instructions, and handle the review feedback until the app is approved.
Do you work white-label for agencies?
Yes. I sign your NDA, work in your repositories and project tools, and stay invisible to your client unless you want me on calls. See Shopify app development for agencies.
Who owns the code and the app?
You do. The code lives in your repository from the first commit and the app is created in your Shopify Partner organization or your client's. Ownership of the code transfers to you on final payment.
Can you take over an app built by another developer?
Yes. I start with an audit of the code, the hosting and the billing, then fix the urgent risks and take over maintenance if you want. API upgrades and REST to GraphQL migrations are common first jobs.
Where are you based and how do we communicate?
I'm in Ottawa, Canada, on Eastern Time, and I work with clients anywhere. We communicate by email, video calls and your project tools, and you always talk to me directly, not to an account manager.
Start a project
Tell me about your app
Describe what you want to build or fix, who will use it and when you need it. I reply within one business day, usually with a few questions and a time for a call.
- Email [email protected]
- Based in Ottawa, Canada (Eastern Time)
- Replies Within one business day
- Confidentiality NDA on request, before you share details