Stefan SchulzAs one of the top three ecommerce platforms in the world, Shopify is an excellent option to build an online business.
Whether you're looking to build a site from scratch, or continue to develop your existing presence, it's important to hire a developer that is not only familiar with the software, but has a strong understanding of your business.
In this article, we will share our tips on what to look for in a Shopify developer and where to find the best talent.
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Table of Contents
- Understanding the Role of a Shopify Developer
- What is Shopify Used For?
- Benefits of Hiring a Freelance Shopify Developer
- What to Look for When Hiring a Shopify Developer
- Assessing a Developer’s Portfolio and Skills
- How to Write a Shopify Developer Job Description
- Shopify Interview questions
- Freelance Shopify Developer Rates
- Where to Hire a Shopify Developer – Top Websites
- Best Practices for Working with a Freelance Shopify Developer
- Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Developer Hiring Guides
- FAQs
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Understanding the Role of a Shopify Developer
A Shopify developer is a specialized software engineer focused on building eCommerce websites using the Shopify platform. Their primary role is to create custom solutions that enhance the commerce experience for merchants and their customers. This involves designing, developing, and maintaining Shopify themes, apps, and integrations tailored to meet the specific needs of merchants. A proficient Shopify developer must have a deep understanding of the Shopify platform, its APIs, and the tools designed for commerce. Their expertise includes building custom storefronts, backend integrations, and creating seamless checkout experiences, ensuring that the eCommerce site operates smoothly and efficiently.
What is Shopify Used For?
Shopify is a cloud-based SaaS (software as a service) shopping cart solution that allows businesses to set up an online store and sell their products online. Shopify has multiple pricing plans and its feature set fits a wide variety of businesses.
Ecommerce
Shopify provides you with a relatively easy to use framework to run an ecommerce business. As you venture into the digital sales world, you’re expected to open a storefront, showcase products, engage with customers, accept payments, and more. Shopify offers all the tools you need to manage every function of running an ecommerce business. Additionally, Shopify Apps can extend the platform's capabilities to meet specific merchant needs.
Benefits of Hiring a Freelance Shopify Developer
Hiring a freelance Shopify developer can be a cost-effective and efficient way to obtain custom solutions for your eCommerce business. Freelance developers offer flexibility and extensibility without compromise, allowing you to scale your business quickly. By leveraging their expertise and experience in building Shopify themes, apps, and integrations, you can create a best-in-class commerce experience that meets your specific needs and sets you apart from competitors. Additionally, freelance developers can bring a fresh perspective and innovative ideas, helping you stay ahead in the competitive eCommerce market.
What to Look for When Hiring a Shopify Developer
When hiring a Shopify programmer, there are a few things you have to consider including experience, rates, and the type of work arrangement. It also depends on the type of project you have and what skills you need to complete it.
Shopify Developer Required Skills: Theme Customization
Here are some of the basic skills that a Shopify Developer is expected to have:
- Full knowledge of all functions on Shopify and the ability to extend its functionalities
- General familiarity with technology
- An understanding of how web servers operate
- Be creative and have a grasp of art and design principles
- Developing Custom Shopify Themes
- Integration with popular payment systems
- Strong widget development skills
- Shopify Certification is a nice bonus
Shopify Experience: Complete Set of APIs
Shopify developers should have some experience with the following:
- HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, and PHP experience
- Converting Photoshop (PSD) to the XHTML files for a template use
- Creating a Shopify website from scratch
- Updating existing Shopify websites
- Installing security patches and fixing bugs
- Implementing front-end changes
Assessing a Developer’s Portfolio and Skills
When assessing a developer’s portfolio and skills, there are several essential skills to look for. Firstly, they should have experience with Shopify development, including building custom themes, apps, and integrations. A strong understanding of JavaScript, HTML, and CSS is crucial. Additionally, familiarity with the Shopify platform, its APIs, and the tools designed for commerce is essential. Look for experience in theme customization, Shopify admin, and backend integrations. A good developer should have a portfolio that showcases their work and demonstrates their ability to create custom solutions that meet the specific needs of merchants.
How to Write a Shopify Developer Job Description
Writing the perfect Shopify developer job description is essential to ensure that you can attract the top developers. It's also important to ensure that you set the proper expectations up-front to streamline the vetting process, saving everyone time and money.
Shopify Developer Job Description Template
Company Introduction
Use this section to write 2-3 sentences about your company. Make sure to provide information about the company culture and benefits. This would be a good section to link to your company website. The best candidates will do some advanced research.
Job Description
Our company is looking for a talented Shopify developer that will be in charge of maintaining our eCommerce website. Your main tasks will be to develop new modules and apply continuous front-end changes to help us scale our online business.
Responsibilities: Backend Integrations and Create
- Regularly update our Shopify installation
- Install security patches
- Develop new functionality
- Implement front-end changes
- Extend Shopify's functionalities through app development and integrations to enhance scalability and customization
- Add other responsibilities here that are important for the project/job
Skills
- Strong object-oriented programming knowledge
- Very good PHP knowledge
- JavaScript is a must for front-end development
- Extensive HTML & CSS knowledge
- Shopify certification is a bonus
- Ability to extend Shopify's functionalities through app development and integrations
- Specify other frameworks, libraries, or any other technology relevant to your project/job
- Education level or certification requirements.
Shopify Interview questions
When looking to hire a Shopify developer, consider asking some of the following interview questions:
- What are the major benefits of using Shopify over other ecommerce solutions?
- How many years of experience do you have in eCommerce Development Projects?
- What are the recent eCommerce projects you have worked upon?
- Can you perform data migration and integration?
- What are some of the top features of Shopify?
- Are there any limitations to using Shopify when building my ecommerce business?
- How can you improve the performance of a Shopify website?
- How would you go about developing a custom Shopify theme?
Freelance Shopify Developer Rates
The average annual salary for a Shopify Developer is $93,169 per year in the United States. When hiring a freelance Shopify developer, you can expect to pay $59.11 on average per hour. Shopify freelancer rates can range from $5-120 per hour depending on the developer’s experience, where they are located, their availability, and other programming languages required.
Check out our detailed pricing guide for more freelance web developer rates.
Where to Hire a Shopify Developer – Top Websites
Where to find Shopify developers will ultimately depend on a few factors. Consider product duration, developer experience, cost, and how much time you're willing to put into the hiring process.
Here are our top 2 favorite places to find Shopify developers.
Upstack
Best for the top programming talent
Upstack aims to elevate remote tech teams worldwide through dedicated freelance talent. They look for the best freelance talent by sourcing their developers from all over the world.
They deploy an 8 point hiring process to ensure their site users have access to the best candidates with top-notch developing skills, communication, and personalities. They offer talent in a diverse set of fields including Java, Python, iOS, and PHP.
They’ve worked for big-name brands like Microsoft and Lego. However, Upstack has a diverse talent pool that’s highly scalable depending on the size and scope of your business.
Visit UpstackRead our Upstack Review.
Fiverr
Best for small projects and gigs
As one of the largest freelancing job boards on the web, Fiverr is a proven platform for connecting with prospective freelancers. The site aims to streamline the process of connecting developers with clients in a way that’s efficient for both sides.
You can contact a developer by selecting their profile if you think you’ve found a good fit. Once the terms for a project has been finalized, clients pay the developer upfront. You have about three days to read over the finished product and decide whether to accept a project submission or reject it to get a refund.
Clients look through the site’s list of freelance developers by using its robust filter tools to find the right fit. You can filter developers based on their price range, body of work, and much more.
Fiverr is great for finding developers with a specific niche, as the site has categories for practically any type of development service. For example, if you click on the mobile application development link, it’ll let you sift through candidates based on even more specific guidelines, such as custom app development or web-to-app conversions.
Visit FiverrIf you still want more ideas, here’s a full list of the best freelance developer sites.
Best Practices for Working with a Freelance Shopify Developer
When working with a freelance Shopify developer, there are several best practices to keep in mind. First, clearly communicate your project requirements and goals to ensure the developer understands your needs. Establish a clear timeline and milestones to keep the project on track. Provide regular feedback and updates to ensure the developer is meeting your expectations. Be open to new ideas and suggestions from the developer, as their expertise and experience can benefit your project. Finally, ensure that the developer is using best practices for coding, testing, and deployment to deliver a high-quality final product.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
When working with a freelance Shopify developer, there are several common mistakes to avoid. First, don’t assume that the developer has all the answers – clearly communicate your project requirements and goals to ensure they understand your needs. Second, don’t underestimate the importance of testing and quality assurance – ensure that the developer is using best practices for testing and deployment to ensure a high-quality final product. Third, don’t be afraid to ask questions or seek clarification – a good developer should be able to explain their work and provide regular updates. Finally, don’t neglect to establish a clear timeline and milestones – this will help ensure the project stays on track and meets your expectations.
Developer Hiring Guides
If you are looking for other types of technical talent, we’ve put together hiring guides for these technologies as well.
- Express
- Django
- Ruby on Rails
- Laravel
- CakePHP
- ASP.NET
- Spring Boot
- Flask
- Phoenix
- Unity
- Salesforce
- iOS / Android
FAQs
Where can I find a Shopify developer?
There are many places where you can find and hire a Shopify developer online. If you're looking for a full-time developer, you can try popular job boards like Indeed and LinkedIn. For the best freelancers, consider using a remote hiring platform focused on placing programmers like Upstack or Toptal. You can also find Shopify developers on general freelancing marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr.
How much does it cost to hire a Shopify developer?
The average annual salary for a Shopify Developer is $93,169 per year in the United States. When hiring a freelance Shopify developer, you can expect to pay $59.11 on average per hour. Shopify freelancer rates can range from $5-120 per hour depending on the developer’s experience, where they are located, their availability, and other programming languages required.
What are the most important skills to look for in a Shopify developer?
When looking to hire a Shopify developer, you obviously want to find someone with direct experience using the software and the ability to extend Shopify's functionalities. Beyond that, a developer that has great communication and a demonstrated ability to problem solve is a bonus. Technical programming skills including HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP are also important skills for Shopify developers to possess.
What does a Shopify developer do?
Shopify developers are responsible for designing, developing, maintaining, and continuously building their clients’ eCommerce websites. They performs a number of specific tasks including the setup and configuration of Shopify, building themes and custom functions of ecommerce websites, optimizing site performance, and integrating various technologies and third-party applications.
