Shopify 2.0 architecture
JSON templates and sections everywhere, not just the homepage. Sections can be added, reordered and removed on any template.
Custom theme development
A theme your team can actually edit.
Custom Shopify 2.0 themes, hand-written rather than generated. Every section exposed in the theme editor with proper settings, so routine changes don’t need a developer.
The point of custom
Custom isn’t about looking different.
Plenty of stores would be better served by a good premium theme, configured well. Custom development earns its cost when the theme becomes a constraint — when the merchandising you want isn’t possible, when every change needs a developer, or when the workarounds have accumulated to the point that nobody wants to touch the code.
The measure of a good custom theme is not how it looks on launch day. It’s whether, a year later, your team can add a new section, change a layout, or run a campaign without opening a support ticket.
Buy a theme instead if: you’re pre-launch and still finding your positioning, your catalogue is small and standard, or your budget is better spent on product photography and traffic. We’d rather tell you that now than build you something you outgrow in a different direction.
What you get
What’s in a build.
Schema settings on everything
Every section exposes the settings your team actually needs — text, images, colours, layout options — so content changes happen in the editor.
Mobile-first
Designed and tested on real phones first, because that’s where most of your traffic is. Desktop is the adaptation, not the other way round.
Performance as a requirement
Core Web Vitals treated as part of the build spec rather than something to fix afterwards.
Accessibility basics
Semantic markup, keyboard navigation, focus states, and alt text wired to Shopify’s own fields.
Documentation
What each section does and how to use it, written for whoever runs the store rather than for another developer.
Recent builds
Stores built from scratch.
Open them and judge for yourself.
Store from scratch · 2025
Taūsa World
Full storefront built from the ground up.
- Service
- Store from scratch
- Year
- 2025
Development · 2025
Mikks Drinks
Store development plus a custom recipe blog template, so recipe content supports the products rather than sitting apart from them.
- Live
- mikksdrinks.com
Store setup · 2025
GOI Swimwear
Full store setup for a swimwear brand.
- Service
- Store setup
- Year
- 2025
Who does the work
You deal with the person who builds it.
Questions
Answers, including the awkward ones.
How long does a custom theme take?
Typically 3–5 weeks for a full build, driven by template count and how many custom sections are involved. The variable that moves it most is how many design decisions are still open when we start.
Do I need a designer first?
You need a design. If you have one in Figma, XD, Sketch, PSD or Canva, we build from it — see our Figma to Shopify page. If you don’t, that’s a design engagement before this one.
Will I own the theme?
Yes, outright and unencrypted, in your own Shopify account. No licence, no lock-in.
Can we add sections later ourselves?
Adding and rearranging existing sections, yes — that’s the point of the architecture. Building genuinely new section types needs a developer, but far less often than with a rigid theme.
What about theme updates?
A custom theme doesn’t receive vendor updates, which cuts both ways: nothing breaks unexpectedly, but nothing improves automatically either. Shopify’s platform changes are handled at the theme level when they matter.
Can you build on top of Dawn or a premium theme instead?
Yes, and sometimes that’s the better answer — faster and cheaper if the base theme is close to what you want. We’ll be straight about which route fits.
Related services
Other things we do.
Talk through the build.
Tell us what you’re building and what your current theme won’t let you do. We’ll tell you whether custom is warranted.
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