# A Shopify agency that builds bespoke stores — not reskinned themes. > A UK Shopify development agency building bespoke, high-converting stores — custom themes in code, not a bought theme reskinned. Fast, editable, 90+ Core Web Vitals. Hire Shopify developers who build to convert. URL: https://www.smartastudio.com/services/shopify-development **Shopify Development** Custom Shopify themes in real code, tuned to convert and easy for your team to run — not a marketplace theme with your logo dropped in. Shopify is the fastest route to a serious online store — hosting, payments and checkout handled, so you sell instead of maintaining plumbing. But a bought theme looks like everyone else and rarely converts. We design and build bespoke Shopify stores in code: art-directed front-of-house, a considered product and checkout experience, and Core Web Vitals in the green. Standard Shopify or headless with Hydrogen when the ambition calls for it. _We build stores that look like nobody else and are measured on revenue per visit, not vanity._ - **90+** — Core Web Vitals scores we build to - **Bespoke** — Custom themes in code, not bought - **Nantwich, UK** — Where we design and build ## Three ways we work with Shopify. Whether you are launching a first store, escaping a tired bought theme, or need a partner to grow Shopify properly — this is where we come in. - Build — bespoke Shopify stores, custom themes designed and coded to convert - Replatform — move off Magento, WooCommerce or a bought theme without losing rankings - Optimise & run — conversion, speed and merchandising work on an existing store ## Shopify, built the way it should be. - **The right Shopify, not the one we always sell** — Standard Shopify for most stores; headless Shopify with Hydrogen when the design or scale demands it. We recommend the fit, not the upsell. - **A store that looks like nobody else** — A bespoke theme coded to your brand — not a marketplace theme every third store already uses. Art-directed, distinctive, unmistakably yours. - **Built to convert, not just to work** — Product, cart and checkout designed around how people actually buy — fast pages, clear paths, fewer drop-offs. We measure conversion, not just launch. - **A small, senior team** — You work with the people building it. No account-management layer, no offshoring, no hand-off to juniors — senior hands from first pixel to launch. ## A Shopify build, done properly. Every engagement ships the same standard of work — the tangible things you keep. - **A bespoke Shopify theme** — Hand-coded to your design with Liquid, Tailwind and GSAP — not a bought theme reskinned. Yours to own and extend. - **Checkout and cart tuned to convert** — A considered path from product to payment — Shop Pay, express checkout and clear merchandising, set up to reduce drop-off. - **Core Web Vitals in the green** — We build to 90+ Lighthouse and green field-data. Fast product pages sell; slow ones leak revenue. - **A catalogue that scales** — Collections, variants, metafields and search structured so the store still makes sense at 50 products or 5,000. - **Plugged into your systems** — Payments, shipping, ERP, email and analytics wired in cleanly — Klarna, Stripe, Royal Mail, Klaviyo and the rest. - **A clean handover** — Sensible theme code and a tidy admin your team — and your next developer — will thank us for. ## How we work: Audit, Design, Build, Run. A clear path from goal to launch — and beyond. The same method behind every SmartaStudio build. ### Audit Duration: Week 1 - We start with what the store has to sell, who buys, and where the current experience loses them. - For replatforms: we map products, URLs and redirects so search sees an upgrade, not a reset. You get: A clear scope, sitemap and conversion plan. ### Design Duration: Weeks 2–4 - A bespoke design system and store designs in Figma, specced with motion — signed off before a line of theme code is written. You get: Art-directed designs and a component system. ### Build Duration: Weeks 4–10 - A hand-coded custom theme: Liquid, Tailwind and GSAP (or Hydrogen when headless), wired to your apps and measured against Core Web Vitals. You get: A fast, editable, bespoke Shopify store. ### Run Duration: Ongoing - Launch, then conversion, merchandising and ongoing design & build on retainer — the store keeps earning more, not ageing. You get: A partner who grows the store with you. ## Shopify development at a glance. - **Category:** Shopify development agency (bespoke themes, conversion-led) - **Best for:** Brands that want a distinctive, fast Shopify store built to convert — a first store done right, or an escape from a tired bought theme. - **Typical work:** Custom Shopify themes, headless Shopify with Hydrogen, replatforms from Magento or WooCommerce, conversion and speed work. - **Stack:** Shopify (custom theme, Liquid), Hydrogen for headless, Tailwind CSS, GSAP — plus Shop Pay, Klarna, Stripe and Klaviyo integrations. - **Proof:** We build Shopify to 90+ Core Web Vitals as standard and measure success on revenue per visit, not launch day. - **Engagement:** Fixed-scope projects (typically 10–12 weeks) or ongoing build, conversion & maintenance on retainer. Based in Nantwich, UK; £ GBP. ## Shopify development, answered. ### The basics **Do you use a bought Shopify theme or build custom?** We build custom. A marketplace theme looks like every other store and rarely converts well. We design your store from scratch and hand-code the theme in Liquid, so it is distinctive, fast and yours to own. **Standard Shopify or headless with Hydrogen?** Most stores are best on standard Shopify — it is faster to build and easy to run. We reach for headless Shopify with Hydrogen when the design ambition or scale genuinely needs it. We recommend the right fit, not the bigger invoice. **Can you move us off WooCommerce or Magento?** Yes. We migrate products, customers and content, map every URL with redirects, and keep your rankings intact. We measure speed and conversion before and after so the move pays for itself. ### Working with us **Will our team be able to run the store?** Yes. Shopify admin is friendly, and we set up collections, metafields and content so your team adds products and edits pages confidently — no developer needed for day-to-day trading. **Can you improve an existing Shopify store?** Yes. We audit speed, merchandising and the checkout path, then fix what loses sales — often without a full rebuild. We build to 90+ Core Web Vitals and track conversion, not vanity metrics. **How much does a Shopify project cost?** Bespoke Shopify stores typically start around £6,000–£12,000 +VAT depending on catalogue size and integrations; headless builds run higher. We scope every project properly before quoting. All prices in £ GBP. ## Got a Shopify project in mind? Tell us what you sell and where the current store falls short. We will tell you the right way to build it on Shopify — honestly, and in plain English.