Shopify Development

Shopify combines an online storefront with an e-commerce management system. Products, collections, customers, orders, inventory, discounts, payments and shipping can all be managed through the Shopify administration area.

The customer-facing store is built using a Shopify theme, which can range from an off-the-shelf theme to a heavily customised or completely bespoke Shopify storefront.

Additional functionality can be introduced through Shopify apps, custom Liquid development and integrations with external platforms such as ERP, CRM, accounting, inventory and fulfilment systems.

Shopify offers several subscription plans, with pricing depending on the plan, country and billing cycle you select.

The platform ranges from plans aimed at smaller businesses through to Advanced Shopify and Shopify Plus for larger e-commerce operations. In addition to the Shopify subscription, you should budget for any premium theme, paid apps, payment processing, third-party transaction fees and custom development your store requires.

For this reason, the monthly Shopify subscription is only one part of the total cost of operating a Shopify store.

Shopify is not a permanently free e-commerce platform. It normally offers a short free trial followed by promotional introductory pricing before the standard subscription charge applies.

You can therefore build and test a store before committing to a full subscription, but an active commercial Shopify store will require a paid Shopify plan.

Shopify currently allows businesses to begin its free trial without supplying credit card details.

A valid billing method will eventually be required when you choose a paid Shopify plan and want to keep the store active beyond the trial or promotional period.

Yes. Shopify is one of the world’s established e-commerce platforms and is used by businesses ranging from start-ups to international brands.

The platform manages hosting, SSL certificates and much of the underlying infrastructure and security associated with running an online store. Shopify is also PCI DSS compliant for handling payment-card information.

As with any e-commerce platform, store security can still be affected by factors such as account access, staff permissions, third-party apps and custom integrations, so these should be managed carefully.

A Shopify store typically starts with creating an account, selecting a plan and determining how the store should be structured.

You then need to configure areas such as:

• Theme and website design
• Products and product variants
• Collections
• Navigation
• Payment methods
• Shipping
• Tax settings
• Domain configuration
• Customer notifications
• Analytics and conversion tracking
• Search engine optimisation
• Apps and integrations

For an established business, it is worth planning these elements before development begins rather than simply selecting a theme and adding products.

A basic Shopify store can be created using one of Shopify’s existing themes and the built-in theme editor. More advanced stores generally require custom theme development, Liquid development, custom sections, additional apps or integrations.

The development process should also consider catalogue structure, product filtering, mobile usability, page speed, technical SEO, tracking, conversion optimisation and how the store needs to integrate with the rest of the business.

For larger e-commerce projects, planning the architecture before development can prevent expensive limitations later.

Yes. Shopify websites can be extensively customised.

Shopify themes can be modified using the theme editor as well as HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Shopify’s Liquid templating language. Developers can create custom sections, product templates, collection layouts, functionality and integrations that go well beyond the standard theme configuration.

For businesses with more specific requirements, a Shopify store can also be developed using a completely custom theme rather than relying on an off-the-shelf design.

There is no single Shopify theme that is best for every store. The right theme depends on factors such as your product catalogue, branding, merchandising requirements, filtering, content requirements and the functionality you need.

A large fashion or homeware store, for example, may require considerably more advanced collection navigation and filtering than a business selling a small range of specialist products.

We generally recommend choosing a theme based on its underlying functionality and flexibility rather than simply selecting the design that looks best in the demo.

Shopify supports unlimited products on its main online-store plans, making it suitable for businesses ranging from small catalogues to stores containing thousands of products.

However, larger catalogues require careful planning. Collections, filters, product types, variants, tags and navigation need to be structured so customers and search engines can efficiently discover products.

The larger the catalogue becomes, the more important product architecture, search, filtering and integrations with inventory or ERP systems become.

Yes. Shopify can integrate with a wide range of external platforms and services.

Common Shopify integrations include:

• ERP systems
• Inventory management platforms
• Accounting software
• CRM systems
• Warehouse management systems
• Fulfilment providers
• Shipping platforms
• Email marketing platforms
• Payment gateways
• Product information management systems
• Marketplaces
• Custom business applications

Integrations can use existing Shopify apps, middleware platforms or custom API development depending on the systems involved and the complexity of the requirements.

An ERP can be integrated with Shopify so information flows automatically between the two systems. Depending on the requirements, this could include products, pricing, stock, customers, orders, fulfilment information and returns.

The integration can use an existing ERP connector, integration middleware or a custom Shopify API integration.

Before development begins, it is important to determine which system will be the primary source of truth for each type of data. For example, inventory may be controlled by the ERP while Shopify manages customer-facing product information. Getting this architecture right helps prevent stock discrepancies, duplicate information and unreliable order processing.

Yes. South African businesses can use Shopify to create and operate online stores in much the same way as businesses in other countries.

Shopify can be used for product management, orders, inventory, shipping, international sales and other e-commerce functionality. The main difference is payments: Shopify Payments is not currently available to businesses based in South Africa, so merchants generally need to use a supported third-party payment provider.

This does not prevent South African businesses from using Shopify successfully, but the payment configuration should be considered when planning the store.

Yes. Both Payfast and Yoco can be integrated with Shopify for South African merchants.

These payment providers allow Shopify stores to accept local online payments without relying on Shopify Payments. The most appropriate provider will depend on factors such as payment methods, transaction fees, settlement requirements and the needs of the business.

When comparing payment gateways for Shopify, it is also important to consider any third-party transaction fee charged by Shopify in addition to the payment provider’s own processing fees.