Shopify Plus development – What does that mean? Shopify Plus is Shopify for larger, more complex stores. If you are running multiple storefronts, processing high volumes of transactions, or need more in-depth customization than what is offered with regular themes and apps, then you may have come across the term “Shopify Plus” and be wondering what it means.
In this guide we cover the basics of Shopify Plus development and what it entails for growing brands and their respective stages of growth and development.
What Is Shopify Plus Development?
Shopify Plus development refers to online store development for Shopify Plus. Shopify Plus is the enterprise-grade platform for Shopify, which is very different from the regular Shopify plans such as Basic Shopify, Shopify and Advanced Shopify. These plans are meant for online stores that are growing rapidly and have a large volume of transactions. Shopify Plus allows for much greater flexibility and more powerful checkout system, as well as the ability to manage multiple stores and have much greater access to the Shopify API.
The work of Shopify Plus development encompasses the development of custom themes as well as the customization of checkouts, the setup of multi-currency stores, the creation of B2B stores as well as integrations with enterprise systems like ERPs and CRMs. In contrast to typical Shopify theme development, Shopify Plus development is a more complex and technical field, since Shopify Plus offers a lot of capabilities that are not available on lower tier plans, such as the Shopify Script Editor (legacy), Checkout Extensibility, and Flow automation.
Shopify Plus vs. Standard Shopify: Why It Matters
For small and mid-sized online stores, standard Shopify is sufficient. However, for online stores of larger size, there are significant limitations in standard Shopify. These limitations include restricted checkout customization, single online store per account and app-dependent workflows for any complex tasks and workflows.
- Supports increased checkout throughput during high volume periods such as during Flash Sales.
- Multiple stores (Shopify Plus Organization) managed from one account
- Native B2B functionality alongside your direct-to-consumer store
- Deeper checkout customization through Checkout Extensibility
- Priority support and a dedicated account structure
Why Brands Scaling Past $10-$20 Million in Annual Revenue Start Exploring Shopify Plus Development as Their Next Infrastructure Investment.
Why Growing Brands Need Shopify Plus Development
As a brand scales, the same theme and app stack that worked at $500K in revenue often starts breaking down at $5M or $50M. Checkout bottlenecks appear during peak sales. Marketing wants personalization that off-the-shelf apps can’t deliver. Operations teams need the storefront to talk directly to inventory, fulfillment, and ERP systems in real time.
This is the point where Shopify Plus development services become essential rather than optional. A capable development team can build custom checkout experiences, automate backend workflows with Shopify Flow, and architect a storefront that scales with demand instead of buckling under it.
Core Areas of Shopify Plus Development Services
Shopify Plus development work can involve a number of different disciplines, all contributing to a shop’s growth.
Shopify Plus Website Development
On top of building a Storefront for your Shopify Plus Website using Liquid, as well as creating Custom Sections such as Hero Sections etc., building a fast converting online store for your Business on Shopify Plus also includes implementing a Headless/Composable Architecture, amongst other functionalities, in order to supply maximum flexibility on the Frontend of the website whilst the Backend of the website, Commerce and Shop functionality etc, are run by Shopify.
Shopify Plus Store Development
There’s a lot more to setting up a Shopify Plus store than just building a Shopify Plus website. While developing your Shopify Plus store online, we will make sure that your Shopify Plus store will be ready for trading on various markets, be it online or offline, and for various customer groups, including business customers, or so called B2B customers.
Shopify Plus Customization
To extract value from Shopify Plus customization refers to custom checkout, customer account experiences and automation using Shopify Flow. What you wouldn’t be able to set up with apps alone will really show up in value.
Shopify Plus Migration
Migration to Shopify Plus from platforms like Magento, BigCommerce, WooCommerce or even standard Shopify instances requires particular attention to ensure all necessary data (i.e. products, customers, orders) are successfully moved while at the same time maintaining live sales capability and all related search engine optimization (SEO).
Shopify Plus Solutions for Enterprise Needs
Beyond just building a storefront for a large organization, as a Shopify Plus solutions provider, you will be working to integrate a Shopify Plus store with an organization’s ERP system and/or their OMS. In addition, you may be building custom subscription models or custom loyalty models. And on top of that, you may be working to set up a multi-brand store architecture or a multi-region store architecture, all within a single Shopify Plus Organization.
Choosing the Right Shopify Plus Partner
The team behind Shopify Plus development projects spans a wide range of disciplines. Their expertise spans everything from designing beautiful frontends for your Shopify Plus store, to architecting and implementing large-scale systems integration work behind the scenes. Because of this, finding the right Shopify Plus development partner for your enterprise brand requires some criteria to evaluate.
Shopify Plus Experts and Developers
You need experts and developers who have launched big stores and have migrated from other platforms, have done custom checkouts, and have launched big traffic stores on Shopify Plus. So ask for case studies on those types of projects.
Shopify Plus Agency vs. Freelancers
As with many development tasks, work such as Shopfiy Plus store development can be provided by agencies as well as by individual freelancers. The choice between using a freelance developer or an agency will largely depend on the scope of work needed. A large amount of work for a long period of time would benefit from the structure of an agency’s process and the team of designers, developers, QA testers and project managers, whereas smaller amount of work of a narrow scope would likely be completed by a single freelance developer.
Shopify Plus Development Company Credentials
When choosing a Shopify Plus development company to partner with to support your project, you should make sure that they are an official Shopify Plus Partner and have their own team of expert Shopify developers. Make sure that the company has direct access to Shopify’s Plus support and has a long list of happy, return customers. This is more important than just their ability to provide a low price for development.
Shopify Plus Consulting Before You Build
Even before you begin to build your new online shop, it is very important to do some consulting work in order to first analyze your current shop setup (e.g. data, applications, processes, etc.) and to then figure out if and what you can solve with Shopify Plus at all. During this process you can also outline a budget for the subsequent implementation and draw up a rough time plan for it. In the end, this consulting work can help you to avoid several months of costly mistakes while you are setting up your online shop.
How Much Does Shopify Plus Development Cost?
The costs of building an online store can vary depending on the scope of the project. A basic online store (Shopify Plus migration and simple theme build) can cost in the tens of thousands of dollars, while a full custom build with integration with an ERP system, B2B functionality and headless architecture can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Most agencies scope out their online store projects in phases (e.g. discovery, design, development, QA, launch) so that the online store project can be budgeted for in increments rather than as one big up-front expense.
Final Thoughts
While Shopify Plus development can sometimes feel like you’re just adding more features to “Shopify,” it is actually a completely different way of building out a commerce platform – one that is tailored to the needs of larger, more established brands who have long since outgrown the capabilities of a standard plan. We help to support a full Shopify Plus migration, ongoing custom development, and serve as a trusted Shopify Plus development partner to support brands through periods of rapid growth over the long haul. Getting a handle on the right approach to development now will pay huge dividends as your order volume and corresponding complexity continues to increase.
FAQs
1. What is Shopify Plus development?
Shopify Plus development is the process of building, customizing, and maintaining stores on Shopify’s enterprise platform, including custom checkout work, integrations, and multi-store or B2B setups.
2. How is Shopify Plus different from regular Shopify?
Shopify Plus offers higher checkout capacity, multi-store management, native B2B tools, deeper checkout customization, and priority support that aren’t available on standard Shopify plans.
3. Who should hire Shopify Plus development services?
Brands with high transaction volume, multiple storefronts, complex B2B needs, or plans to integrate with ERP and CRM systems typically benefit most from Shopify Plus development services.
4. How long does a Shopify Plus migration take?
Most Shopify Plus migration projects take four to twelve weeks, depending on catalog size, integration complexity, and how much custom functionality needs to be rebuilt.
5. What does Shopify Plus customization actually include?
Shopify Plus customization typically includes checkout branding and logic, custom automation through Shopify Flow, tailored account experiences, and bespoke app-like functionality built directly into the store.
6. Do I need a Shopify Plus agency or can I hire a freelancer?
A Shopify Plus agency is usually a better fit for larger, multi-disciplinary projects, while freelancers can work well for smaller, well-defined tasks within an existing build.
7. What should I look for in a Shopify Plus partner?
Look for official Shopify Plus Partner status, relevant case studies, experience with migrations and integrations, and a clear, phased project process.
8. Is Shopify Plus consulting necessary before building?
It’s not mandatory, but Shopify Plus consulting helps identify the right scope and architecture before development starts, which often prevents costly rework later.
9. Can Shopify Plus development company teams handle B2B and DTC together?
Yes. One of the core strengths of Shopify Plus is running B2B and direct-to-consumer storefronts from a single backend, which experienced development teams set up and maintain together.
10. How much do Shopify Plus developers typically cost?
Rates vary by region and experience, but Shopify Plus developers and agencies generally price projects based on scope and complexity rather than a flat hourly rate, with most engagements structured in phases.
