Custom Shopify theme development.
Written, not reskinned.
Most "custom theme" work is Dawn with the colours changed and six apps bolted on. We start from an empty folder and write the Liquid — which is why our storefronts stay fast after the third app is installed, and why your team can still operate them from the theme editor a year later.
What "from scratch" actually buys you
It is a fair question, because a marketplace theme is cheaper on day one. The difference shows up in the second year.
| Marketplace theme + apps | Written for you | |
|---|---|---|
| Page weight | Ships every feature you don't use, plus an app script per feature you do | Only the code your store runs |
| Changing something | Fight the theme's assumptions, or pay for another app | Change the section that does it |
| Recurring cost | App subscriptions, permanently | None — the code is yours |
| Updates | A theme update can overwrite your customisations | Version-controlled; nothing overwrites you |
| Core Web Vitals | Whatever the theme and apps leave you | A budget you set, measured before launch |
How a build runs
- 1 · ScopeWe go through your catalogue, your merchandising rules and the things your team does weekly. What comes out is a section list — the actual editable blocks your storefront will be assembled from — not a mood board.
- 2 · DesignDesigned against your real products and real copy. No lorem, no placeholder photography, because a layout that only works with perfect assets is not a layout.
- 3 · BuildLiquid, Online Store 2.0 sections and blocks, JSON templates. Every element the team should control becomes a setting in the theme editor, with sensible defaults so nothing looks broken when it is left alone.
- 4 · MeasureCore Web Vitals on real devices before launch, and again after your apps are installed — the second measurement is the one that matters and the one nobody takes.
- 5 · Hand overDocumentation for every section, a walkthrough with your team, and the code in a repository you own. You can hire anyone to work on it afterwards, including not us.
Proof, not portfolio
We put our own theme — Cinder — through Shopify's Theme Store review, where the bar is set by Shopify rather than by a screenshot. 49 verified feature tags, five colour schemes, five languages with RTL, zero external dependencies. The same standard is what your build is held to.
Who this is for
- Brands whose storefront is the product — apparel, streetwear, furniture, anything where the browsing experience carries the sale.
- Merchants who have hit the ceiling of a marketplace theme and are now paying four app subscriptions to work around it.
- Stores that need genuine Arabic or RTL, not a mirrored stylesheet. That is its own discipline.
- Teams migrating onto Shopify who cannot afford to lose their rankings on the way.
It is not for a store doing its first $1,000. A marketplace theme is genuinely the right call there, and we will tell you so on the call rather than sell you a build you do not need yet.
Questions we get asked before signing
How much does a custom Shopify theme cost?
It scales with the section count and the integrations, not with a page count, so we quote after the scoping conversation rather than off a price list. What we can tell you up front: a custom build is a one-time cost against a permanent app subscription, and the crossover is usually inside the first year once you count the apps it replaces.
How long does it take?
A focused storefront is typically six to ten weeks from scope to launch. The variable is almost never the code — it is how quickly product copy, photography and merchandising decisions arrive from your side.
Do we own the code?
Yes, entirely. It ships in a repository you own, with documentation. You can take it to another developer at any point; nothing is licensed back to us and nothing stops working if you stop working with us.
Can you work with our existing theme instead of replacing it?
Often, yes — and it is frequently the cheaper honest answer. If your theme is structurally sound and the problem is three specific things, we will fix those three things. We only recommend a rebuild when the theme itself is what is costing you.
What about apps — will they still work?
Yes. A custom theme is still a Shopify theme, so App Store apps install normally. The difference is we measure what each one costs you in page weight, and tell you when a $19/month app is doing something forty lines of Liquid could do for free.
Do you work with brands outside Egypt?
Most of our work is. We are in Cairo and work across European and Gulf timezones; the whole engagement runs remotely, in English or Arabic.
Tell us what your storefront has to do
A 30-minute call, no deck. Bring your store and the three things that annoy you most about it — we will tell you plainly whether that is a theme problem, an app problem, or neither.
Book a call →More on Shopify
Shopify app development
Embedded admin apps and theme app extensions, built to the Built for Shopify bar.
Store speed & Core Web Vitals
Measured with real Chrome instrumentation, not a synthetic score screenshot.
The real Built for Shopify criteria
Most write-ups quote numbers that appear nowhere in Shopify’s docs. These are the real ones.