Toptal is a marketplace for top remote Shopify developers, engineers, programmers, coders, architects, and consultants. Top companies and startups choose Toptal to hire professional Shopify freelancers for their mission-critical software projects.
Freelancers from the Toptal network are Shopify experts experienced with the Shopify ecosystem and are not employees of Shopify or Toptal. Toptal is an equal opportunity workforce.
Anton is a solid communicator with extensive developer expertise in Shopify and BigCommerce. He uses frameworks like Hugo and React and headless CMS platforms—Strapi, Contentful, Storyblok, and Sanity. He has executed numerous headless eCommerce implementations on CDNs like Netlify, creating robust customer experiences with Bootstrap 5, Sass, HTML5, and jQuery. Anton has integrated eCommerce platforms with Pipedrive CRM and Flxpoint ERP. He diligently follows best practices and the Git workflow.
Vladimir is a Shopify expert with 6+ years of experience and a decade of experience as a web developer, specializing in custom app development and third-party systems integration. He has delivered projects across the entire spectrum, from the tiniest theme adjustments to entire custom Shopify apps. With a wide variety of projects under his belt, Vladimir quickly analyzes client's problems, describes a number of possible solutions, and recommends the optimal way to go and why.
Radu is a full-stack developer based in Romania, specializing in Shopify, WordPress, and Laravel. He has more than a decade of professional experience and has been working as a full-time freelancer since 2012. His go-to languages are PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Lately, he's been mainly working with agencies—developing WordPress themes and plugins and Shopify for 3rd-party apps where he uses Laravel and PHP.
Alexa has over 15 years of experience in designing and developing websites. She focuses on WordPress, Shopify, and React to create a variety of projects, from simple landing pages to sophisticated storefronts and progressive web apps. She has been called a “mad scientist,” but don’t worry; she has lovingly left the purple comic sans and lime green backgrounds in the past.
Thanos is an exceptional, versatile full-stack web developer with hands-on experience in WordPress and Shopify theme and plugin development. Thanos has updated and maintained more than 50 WordPress and Shopify sites throughout his 14-year career, having worked on as many other projects with different technologies. Thanos is passionate about being of service to people and he's great with communication. Thanos loves learning new skills.
Matthias has an impressive 15-year track record of creating and maintaining successful eCommerce systems. He has expertly built numerous Shopify apps, Vue integrations to Shopify, UI functionalities, and Shopify integrations to 3rd-party providers. Matthias can provide complex front-end solutions and outstanding back-end experiences, which makes him an ideal candidate for full-stack roles.
Vivian is a senior front-end developer with 8+ years of experience in the industry, creating beautiful web interfaces using popular technologies like Vue.js and TailwindCSS. She specializes in building Shopify themes for brands intending to take their eCommerce store to the next level, focusing on performance optimization and faster loadings. Vivian is a highly-skilled professional eager to tackle new challenges.
Zakaria is a front-end software engineer specializing in eCommerce, SaaS, and Shopify development. He has extensive experience as a full-stack TypeScript developer, using technologies such as Node.js, GraphQL, tRPC, and Next.js to build solutions for startups quickly. Zakaria has considerable experience building Shopify applications using React and its large ecosystem of packages. He fluently speaks English, Italian, and Moroccan Arabic.
Satyajit is a full-stack architect with 18 years of experience in enterprise web apps and eCommerce for startups and top companies like Microsoft, Flipkart, and General Electric. He specializes in UI technologies, including React, React Native, JavaScript, TypeScript, Angular, Next.js, Remix, and Redux. Proficient in back-end technologies like C#, Node.js, Express.js, and Go, Satyajit has a strong foundation in data structures, algorithms, and cloud platforms such as Azure and AWS.
Chintan has 14+ years of experience in web and software development using technologies like PHP, React, and Node.js with Express.js and frameworks like Laravel and CodeIgniter. He has also worked in the Shopify ecosystem for 10+ years, honing his expertise in Shopify Plus and private and public app development. A logical and analytical thinker, Chintan produces high-quality systems with outstanding coding standards. He built the 3rd largest eCommerce platform across the US, UK, and Canada.
Tasha is a creative and efficient developer with a true passion for developing websites. She has 16 years of experience and skills in solving problems and implementing web and mobile development strategies. Tasha has created successful websites of varying sizes and implemented several eCommerce solutions.
Shopify developers are experts in building, modifying, and integrating e-commerce websites on Shopify, a platform where companies can build online stores, manage inventory, sell goods, and accept payments. This guide to hiring Shopify experts features tips for writing a job description, interview questions and answers, and the required developer skills that will help you identify the best candidates for your company.
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How to Hire Shopify Developers Through Toptal
1
Talk to One of Our Industry Experts
A Toptal director of engineering will work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics.
2
Work With Hand-Selected Talent
Within days, we'll introduce you to the right Shopify developer for your project. Average time to match is under 24 hours.
3
The Right Fit, Guaranteed
Work with your new Shopify developer for a trial period (pay only if satisfied), ensuring they're the right fit before starting the engagement.
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How much does it cost to hire a Shopify web developer?
Hiring a Shopify engineer can be expensive, especially when you need to build a custom or public Shopify app, as this task can become very complex quickly. And creating an app is not a one-time task: It is a long-term process that requires maintenance and adoption, adding costs for the support of project management, infrastructure, and tooling. As a point of reference, Glassdoor lists the average total pay for a front-end Shopify expert in the United States to be $87,796 as of June 29, 2023.
How do you hire a Shopify developer?
When hiring a Shopify engineer, you should first narrow down the role expectations—for example, whether you require a theme, custom storefront, or app developer—and the complementary skills that will drive your project toward success. Next, you should write a clear and well-considered job description, including project scope, technologies, and expectations. Finally, you should prepare detailed interview questions, catering to your developer type, and choose a developer with all the critical Shopify proficiencies you desire.
How in demand is Shopify?
According to BuiltWith, Shopify is the leading e-commerce technology in the United States, with nearly one in three websites using e-commerce technology trusting Shopify. And the number of merchants using Shopify grows larger each year, as new platform features and tools like Shopify Plus debut. Shopify experts are in high demand since the platform is a clear leader in the SaaS e-commerce market.
Why should you hire a Shopify developer?
Though the Shopify e-commerce platform may enable you to perform specific tasks yourself, an experienced developer ensures the optimum solution for your business and workflows. And though getting started with Shopify is simple enough, site upkeep becomes complicated as companies grow, and the platform has many advanced features and frameworks that require expertise. It is worth the initial investment to hire Shopify e-commerce developers—it will save you time and money in the long term and allow you to stay ahead of the competition.
How quickly can you hire with Toptal?
Typically, you can hire a Shopify programmer with Toptal in about 48 hours. Our talent matchers are experts in the same fields they’re matching in—they’re not recruiters or HR reps. They’ll work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics, and match you with ideal candidates from our vetted global talent network.
Once you select your Shopify expert, you’ll have a no-risk trial period to ensure they’re the perfect fit. Our matching process has a 98% trial-to-hire rate, so you can rest assured that you’re getting the best fit every time.
What technical skills are required for developing custom functionality on Shopify?
To develop custom functionality on the Shopify or Shopify Plus e-commerce platform, a developer should understand web development technologies, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Liquid (Shopify’s custom templating language). Familiarity with REST APIs and Shopify APIs is essential to integrate custom functionality into the platform when creating apps with Ruby, PHP, Java, and Python back ends.
Markus is a front-end developer, founder, and former head of IT and infrastructure with more than 20 years of experience. He specializes in performant web apps (e.g., React apps) and Shopify, having launched multiple custom Shopify online stores and themes. Markus has worked for Fortune 500 companies like Sony and was a speaker at the Web 2.0 Summit.
Shopify Engineers Enable Online Sales on the Leading E-commerce Platform
With global retail e-commerce sales expected to reach approximately $6.8 trillion by 2028, there is no question that this industry is still growing fast. Moreover, nearly one in three US websites using e-commerce technology (and millions of merchants worldwide) trust Shopify as their online store system, making it a leading software as a service (SaaS) solution.
How hard is it to find a developer for such a popular e-commerce technology? Hiring someone to quickly modify your theme, change colors, or add an input field is easy. But minor UI modifications, especially if performed without care, may significantly impact your store’s performance and scalability—or even break your store’s functionality. Therefore, it is crucial to find experienced Shopify developers who are proficient in working with the platform and have a thorough understanding of Shopify’s architecture to support your long-term vision and strategy.
This hiring guide defines the attributes of a top Shopify candidate—differentiating between Shopify app developers, custom storefront developers, and theme developers—and offers custom interview questions and job description tips for each type of expert.
What Attributes Distinguish Quality Shopify Developers From Others?
The first step of your journey is to vet candidates for the core Shopify developer skills required to deliver quality work on this e-commerce platform, including proficiency with standard Shopify platform features:
Partner accounts – Every serious Shopify website developer must actively use a Shopify Partner account, which enables the setup and management of Shopify apps and the creation of development stores, as well as providing communication features.
Performance and scalability – Since page speed directly affects e-commerce sales, performance and scalability are critical for any online store. Developers should understand Shopify’s architecture and how customization options may influence overall performance.
APIs – The Shopify GraphQL and REST APIs are extremely powerful and enable developers to securely access almost all Shopify resources, from the product catalog to customer data and orders. Look for candidates familiar with these APIs who can use them efficiently.
Community – Experienced candidates are typically active members of the Shopify developer community. Being involved in Shopify’s ecosystem of experts, partner developers, marketing specialists, and e-learning channels helps developers troubleshoot problems and stay up to date on the latest developments.
Storefront options – The Shopify storefront is the first thing customers see and use; it must be intuitive and performant to stand out from competitors’ sites. Engineers create Shopify stores with ready-made themes or code a storefront from scratch using Shopify’s developer APIs and tools. Shopify experts know the available options and can support you in finding the best path for your business.
However, Shopify expertise requires more than being proficient in Shopify tools alone. Shopify candidates should also possess an assortment of related web development skills crucial for building online stores:
HTML5 – HTML defines the structure of a webpage and is an essential Shopify developer skill when creating templates for Shopify themes.
CSS3 – CSS adds styling to a website or online shop. Candidates should be familiar with vanilla CSS or popular CSS frameworks like Bootstrap or Tailwind.
Liquid – Liquid, Shopify’s templating language, provides access to data displayed from the Shopify back end (e.g., the product title and price on a product detail page); engineers working on custom Shopify theme development or modifying an existing theme need to understand Liquid.
JavaScript – JavaScript is the standard programming language for web application development and is a common technology for writing and deploying Shopify apps. Developers use JavaScript or other languages to add dynamic behavior to online stores, such as adding a product to the cart without refreshing the page. (Alternatives include Ruby on Rails and Python, both of which have official Shopify app development libraries.)
TypeScript – TypeScript is a strongly typed programming language that adds static type-checking to code for better tooling support. Many modern teams prefer using TypeScript for web development, as it helps identify errors so developers can correct them early in development.
React – React is a JavaScript framework that simplifies building UI/UX with reusable components. Shopify offers many frameworks that use React components for building user interfaces (e.g., the Polaris design system and Hydrogen for headless commerce), so it benefits Shopify developers to have a strong foundation in React.
jQuery – jQuery is a JavaScript library that initially gained popularity by creating an abstraction layer to simplify coding across browser differences. It is still widely used by expert Shopify developers as a productivity tool that simplifies writing JavaScript code, especially when creating themes or working with legacy applications.
Aside from possessing these essential technical skills, the best Shopify experts have also mastered relevant soft skills and custom design capabilities (e.g., UX development and web design). Excellent UX design is a crucial component of your e-commerce store setup, and providing an exceptional user experience increases customer loyalty, builds a strong corporate identity, and distinguishes a business from its competitors. Look for candidates who can speak to their experiences in delivering successful solutions to previous clients.
Depending on the current makeup of your organization and development team, you may also want to consider hiring a Shopify developer with SEO expertise. These candidates can implement best practices to improve your e-commerce website’s visibility on search engines and increase the amount of organic traffic directed to your site. By leveraging both e-commerce development skills and SEO know-how, experienced Shopify developers can yield significant results for your business, including a better return on investment for marketing efforts, higher conversion rates, and increased brand awareness and recognition.
How Can You Identify the Ideal Shopify Developer for You?
To hire a dedicated Shopify developer suitable for your business needs, it is important to determine whether your candidate will work primarily on building the storefront, themes, or as a general app developer. Shopify storefronts are where visitors browse and buy products, and there are two ways to create them: using themes or building custom storefronts. Different skills are required for each scenario.
Most merchants start with a ready-made theme from Shopify’s theme store. In this case, theme developers can create custom themes or redesign existing ones.
But some merchants want complete control over online shops to meet special business requirements (e.g., performance metrics) or to connect to external systems. For a completely customized Shopify store experience, you should hire Shopify developers familiar with themes and app infrastructure to employ Shopify’s Storefront API.
Finally, though they still contribute significantly to UX/UI, app developers focus on business logic, such as extending an online store’s functionality, checkout, or administration, or implementing security features and third-party API integrations. They can publish public apps available for every online store or create custom apps for one specific use case.
Let’s break down the required skills for each developer type in greater detail:
Theme Developer Skills
When you need custom theme development services or want to modify an existing theme, search for specialists who focus on responsive Shopify design for mobile and desktop apps. They should be experts in creating user interfaces using the latest technologies and be skilled in HTML and CSS, JavaScript, Liquid, and Git (for version control).
Custom Storefront Developer Skills
Custom storefront developers work with themes and, like theme developers, they should be front-end developers who have several years of experience with HTML and CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, and Git. They also need added proficiency in GraphQL to access Shopify’s data (products, orders, discounts, etc.). However, storefront experts can use React components without dealing directly with GraphQL API calls if they opt to use Hydrogen.
Hydrogen is a collection of React components that make it even easier to implement custom storefronts. It is one of the best, high-performance headless e-commerce solutions since its storefronts can be deployed to Oxygen (Shopify’s highly scalable hosting platform). Hydrogen and React experts are strong candidates for Shopify storefront web development projects.
App Developer Skills
Whether you publish custom or public apps, the requirements for Shopify app developers are similar. However, public apps are installed on many online stores. As a result, public apps have stricter requirements that call for a more experienced engineer, as apps must be submitted to Shopify for review. Still, all app developers should understand the difference between embedded and non-embedded apps, and be familiar with Shopify App Bridge and theme app extensions.
Like storefront developers, app developers should be able to work with JavaScript, Node.js, TypeScript, GraphQL, and React.js. However, they must also possess proficiencies in Shopify Polaris, Shopify’s React-based design system, and database technologies (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB). Finally, DevOps expertise (e.g., deployments, hosting solutions, CI/CD, testing) and security skills (e.g., using OAuth and common crypto/security libraries, securing Shopify webhooks) are a must for app developers.
How Shopify Developers Compare to Other E-commerce Platform Engineers
If you are looking for a web engineer for your online store, you may wonder whether a Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, or Magento developer could fulfill your needs. Because the Shopify platform is mature and has specific functionalities, we recommend finding a dedicated Shopify developer for hire. Still, we briefly examine how other developer skills might compare:
Shopify versus Wix developers – Wix has excellent ready-made e-commerce store solutions for specific use cases that experts can implement quickly. But Shopify engineers work with drastically different APIs, frameworks, development environments, and patterns, so a Wix developer may have a steeper learning curve when getting started on Shopify.
Shopify versus Squarespace developers – Squarespace is an excellent website builder. But if e-commerce is the primary reason for your online presence, Shopify is a more mature solution with better e-commerce functionality, and Shopify experts will best serve your development needs.
Shopify versus WordPress developers – WordPress is open-source software with e-commerce features via third-party plugins (e.g., WooCommerce). WordPress developers work with complex APIs that are incompatible with Shopify and typically code in PHP, which is not commonly used in Shopify development. Therefore, hiring a WordPress developer would result in higher training costs compared to hiring an experienced Shopify developer.
Shopify versus Magento developers – Magento (now Adobe Commerce) started as an open-source software product and was acquired by Adobe in 2018. Magento developers can use this tool to provide enterprise-grade support for large-scale products, but Shopify engineers can employ Shopify Plus to implement similar functionalities.
Overall, many web developers who are skilled in one of these platforms are often proficient in many. While you should prioritize Shopify skills first, there is some overlap between these developer types and, in some instances, you can make do with a web expert who’s proficient in another platform.
How to Write a Job Description for Your Shopify Project
Your job description for Shopify developers will attract desirable candidates to your job posting and project, so it is important to get the details right and enumerate the job’s perks. Provide information about the business goals, technology stack, responsibilities, and development team working style.
You must also tailor your description to your desired developer type. For example, you may seek a Shopify expert to work on the storefront or one to focus on app development. Be precise about the required skills and project scope to find your ideal fit. You may find this web developer job posting template helpful as a starting point to modify for your specific development needs.
What Are the Most Important Shopify Developer Interview Questions?
Asking thoughtful Shopify interview questions will help you identify the best Shopify programmers. You may start with standard web development or JavaScript interview questions to verify a candidate’s web expertise and technical foundation. From there, your questions should differ based on whether you seek to hire a theme developer, app developer, or custom storefront developer.
First, we examine the questions that assess a theme developer’s core competencies to test applicants’ abilities to work with theme customization and user interface elements.
What is the difference between Shopify Online Store versions 1.0 and 2.0?
With Online Store 1.0, Shopify’s theme editor limited sections to the homepage; with Online Store 2.0, Shopify introduced sections on every page. This change also requires developers to render templates using JSON files in version 2.0 (instead of Liquid files). In addition, Shopify enhanced meta fields and introduced theme app extensions and new developer tools.
How would you update and publish a live theme?
Various options exist to update and publish a live theme. Developers can use the online editor in Shopify admin to update the source code directly; changes are live immediately. Alternatively, they can download the theme sources, then edit and re-upload the theme. The best option is to use Shopify’s CLI tools for theme development with GitHub integration for source control management and team collaboration.
What is the difference between layouts, templates, sections, and snippet files?
Layouts are the base of a theme and contain elements shared with all Shopify store pages. Templates are files unique to the online store’s different page types (home, products, cart, etc.). Sections are reusable and customizable blocks of content that can be added to templates. Finally, snippets are even smaller reusable chunks of code.
How would you assess and improve your theme’s page speed?
Shopify automatically creates a speed score based on Google Lighthouse performance metrics. Developers can find this report in the themes section of Shopify admin and use its insights to improve performance.
How would you support multiple languages and currencies in your theme?
All themes from the official Shopify theme store support multiple languages and currencies. Shopify has built-in support for these functionalities in Shopify admin (configured in the Settings > Languages and Settings > Store details menus). Engineers can use the Shopify Translate & Adapt app or one of the many third-party apps available to implement translations.
If you are hiring a Shopify app developer, ask questions to test a candidate’s understanding of app deployment steps and Shopify app technologies.
Can you describe the installation process for public and custom apps?
Developers install public apps directly from the Shopify app store and custom apps from your Shopify Partner account. Custom apps can only be installed for one live online store. Public and custom apps include Shopify’s OAuth flow during installation, and public apps might also include a billing flow.
Why is Shopify CLI useful to the development process?
Shopify CLI is a command-line interface tool that helps engineers build apps throughout the entire development process. For example, it simplifies tasks like generating a new app using templates or making updates in the app section of a Shopify Partner account.
What are Shopify webhooks? What is the difference between HTTPS endpoints and supported cloud endpoints (e.g., from AWS and Google)?
You can subscribe to webhooks to receive data about certain shop events, like an “order created” or “product updated” event, via HTTPS requests. However, the number of events you interact with can quickly multiply and overwhelm standard HTTPS endpoints. To address this concern, Shopify offers ready integrations with Amazon EventBridge and Google Cloud Pub/Sub designed to handle massive volumes of incoming events.
What are Shopify Functions used for?
Shopify Functions provide APIs that make it possible for back-end developers to modify Shopify’s server-side logic: For example, you can change the checkout flow, create new discount types, and customize delivery options. They are typically bundled in an app and can be installed like regular apps.
Finally, hiring managers searching for custom storefront developers may focus on customized storefront content options and related tools.
What does “headless” mean in the context of e-commerce and CMS tools?
Traditional e-commerce and CMS tools bundled their back ends and user interfaces. A headless system completely separates the user interface from the back end, which is instead accessed via APIs. Headless systems empower front-end web developers to focus on designing and implementing user interfaces, while intelligent caching mechanisms deliver fast results when accessing back-end data. Shopify offers various methods and official APIs for headless e-commerce solutions (e.g., Shopify Hydrogen or Shopify Plus).
What is Shopify Hydrogen used for?
Shopify Hydrogen offers a collection of ready-to-use React components. It makes headless e-commerce easy in Shopify by hiding low-level API calls.
What options do I have for hosting my custom storefront app?
These standard web applications can be hosted on a server environment of your choice. One popular option is using Oxygen, Shopify’s hosting offering for Hydrogen storefronts optimized for performance and scalability.
How do you manage an online shop’s content with a custom storefront app?
Because the Shopify theme editor is unavailable for custom storefronts, you have to find your own solution for editing content. Many headless CMS systems can be used for these purposes (e.g., Contentful, Storyblok, Sanity) and easily integrate with a custom Shopify storefront.
Why Do Companies Hire Shopify Developers?
The Shopify e-commerce platform is known for its stability and scalability. It holds up well against stressors, like 2022’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, when it served more than 52 million customers worldwide with peak sales of $3.5 million per minute. Many online shops already trust Shopify, and others continue to migrate from their current systems to Shopify, making skilled Shopify experts necessary for any modern e-commerce business owner.
Shopify suits small sites and large corporations: You can start small and add features incrementally as your business grows. And for enterprise-scale applications, Shopify offers ready-made integrations into industry-leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems like Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle NetSuite, and more.
While it may be easy to get started with Shopify, the platform and its upkeep becomes quite complex as sites grow. And Shopify has become highly comprehensive over the years, with many new features and frameworks. Therefore, hiring a team of Shopify experts to address your use case scenarios is crucial to optimize your workflows and scale your online business.
Determining how to hire Shopify developers who meet your business requirements, whether working across themes, storefronts, apps, or a combination of these surfaces, will help you stay competitive in the fast-moving e-commerce industry. The expert guidance offered here will ease your hiring journey—from selecting essential qualifications and writing a job description to conducting advanced interviews—and help your Shopify store achieve its goals.
