Shopify App Development: Why to Use, How to Build and Hire Shopify Developers

When it comes to eCommerce development services, Shopify is the name of the game in 2024. Everyone is working to shift their businesses to the online platform. And hence, they explore robust solutions where they can get the best Shopify App Development Services while providing better and seamless to customers.

So, if you are considering Shopify Website Development Services for building an eCommerce website or app, then this article is for you. We shall introduce why we use the Shopify app development services and how to get it developed —we mean how to find the right partner.

Shopify from a Market Perspective

Everybody wants to sell their products/services online these days. As per a UNCTAD report, global eCommerce sales jumped from 16% to 19% in 2020. Furthermore, retail eCommerce sales jumped to $4.9 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021 which is expected to reach $7.4 trillion U.S. dollars by 2025.

BigCommerce, Magento, WooCommerce, Shopify, and Kibo are some of the most popular online shopping platforms. Do you know what Shopify’s market share is among all these eCommerce platforms? – a whopping 20%. More than 1.7 billion merchants use Shopify to sell their products and services. Shopify’s total revenue in 2021 was approximately $986 billion. Can you believe that?

The game

Looking at these statistics, you can imagine what Shopify can do for your business. Shopify is popular because it is easy to install and maintain, and sells products with less headache & development costs. However, selling online with Shopify requires a certain level of expertise and knowledge. Let’s look at a few aspects you need to consider while hiring a dedicated Shopify developer.

Reasons to Use Shopify in 2024

There are plenty of reasons technically and from a market trend perspective that you need to look into them.

Ease of use

You don’t need any technical knowledge to use Shopify, just an attractive template and you are ready to go. Additionally, Shopify is completely customizable to suit your business needs.

Great Speed

The Shopify server is fast, and dependable and all the data lies in the cloud. A fast-loading website is ideal for Ecommerce, helping you maximize productivity and revenue.

Social media integration

With Shopify you can integrate Facebook and other social media accounts with every website page, upload products to your catalogs, offer checkout options and even run promotions.

Reliability

You can trust Shopify to perform well at any given time. Say goodbye to site crashes and payment issues while customers enjoy risk-free shopping.

Mobile-friendly

Shopify ensures that your shoppers can view your website easily and clearly on digital devices including smartphones. This increased convenience will generate more revenue and enhance customer experience.

Vast app-store

Shopify’s app-store has approximately 1500 or more apps like analytics, shipping label generation and integration with accounting, billing tools to help you streamline operations and offer value-added services to customers.

Support

Whenever you face a problem, you can reach out to Shopify using their chat option or support ticket interface. Along with speedy problem resolution, you can even find helpful FAQs, contact forms plus and a return/exchange feature.

SEO friendly

You will be surprised to know that Shopify has a bunch of SEO tools to add/remove & optimize keywords, title tags, URLs, meta-descriptions, alt text for products plus for blogs & individual website pages. Shopify is designed to follow robust SEO practices plus its extensive resources, analytical tools can help you fine-tune your marketing strategy.

Abandoned carts

Shopify monitors abandoned carts and notifies customers. With this little push, customers may log in and complete their purchases, resulting in more sales and revenue for your business.

Payment collection

Collect payments on your terms with Shopify’s built-in payment tool or a payment tool of your choice more than shelling out hundreds of dollars as transaction fees/credit card fees. The more you save, the more ends up in your bank account.

How to Develop Shopify Applications

Well, there are a lot of ways to get it developed.

First, you can hire your in-house team to help you build an app for retail businesses.
Second, you can hire dedicated shopify developers offshore or connect with a Shopify app development services provider to help you build the app from scratch.

Hiring In-House Shopify Developers

Many have praised the idea of hiring in-house Shopify developers for better reliability and productivity. In contrast, many others have opted for remote Shopify developers to save a big bang on the banks.

Indeed, hiring Shopify developers as an in-house team will be a costly affair as you not just have to take care of their salaries. Still, there are plenty of other expenses that you may not afford or want to spend unnecessarily. In fact, you may end up paying 70% higher on in-house developers than on remote ones. For example, when you hire in-house developers, you need to provide better infrastructure, health insurance, training, tools, and software. It might not be a good idea if you have a single project to build.

Hiring Remote Shopify Developers

Hiring remote Shopify developers can be a good idea if you know how to hire them. Yes, it can be cost-effective, and you will get a high-permanence app with uncompromised quality. Shopify app development service providers, like World Web Technology, offer cost-effective and reliable services to clients worldwide. Let’s explore the factors that involve hiring the best Shopify engineers.

Factors to Consider While Hiring a Dedicated Shopify Developer

Hiring Shopify developers is not a complex task unless you know how to hire them. You must explore, examine and understand things that you need while hiring developers. So, we have made a list of the top 10 tips to help you hire Shopify developers and how much will it cost you.

Here we go;

1: Find a passionate developer

You will find hundreds of developers in the market. There are average developers, good developers, and outstanding developers. A Shopify developer that does what is expected of him is good. However, you need to ask yourself a question. Does he add any value to your eCommerce portal? This is why you need a developer who is passionate about his job.

Find out how much experience he has, especially with Shopify. Shopify can bring you various benefits like increased reach, traffic, and a wider customer base if everything goes well. An enthusiastic Shopify developer not only does his job but also gives you expert opinions on how you can get the most out of it.

A developer’s job does not end with creating an online store for you. He should also help you choose the right images, product descriptions, themes plus integrate applications, and develop a great design post store creation.

2: Know the process

You can only hire the right dedicated Shopify developer for your business if you know what needs to be done. Research the eCommerce market, what your competitors are doing, and how your business can stand out. Talk to the developers and understand their thought process and vision for creating a practical, attractive, and functional eStore.

With a thoughtfully designed eCommerce website, your visitors can navigate easily, make purchases and enjoy optimal customer experience. Business owners need to immerse themselves in the entire process, right from conceptualization to execution.

3: Effective communication

Technical skills and knowledge are crucial for sure but what is of utmost importance is communication skills. A dedicated Shopify developer has to interact with the project manager, team leader, and business owner to develop the website and ensure its launch.

All the decision-makers, product managers, departmental heads, and team leaders have to be on the same page. Hence, a developer must be able to communicate effectively with everyone to ensure the best results. Two-way communication will also ensure that the developer understands your requirements and he works in accordance with them. Any changes that need to be implemented should be communicated so that there are no unpleasant surprises later.

4: Excellent Expertise

You may have managers, team leaders, and departmental heads but sometimes you need out-of-the-box thinking to resolve a problem. A dedicated Shopify developer can bring his experience and innovation to the table. Other than developing your eCommerce portal, he can help you with a lot of other things like building a social media base that can immensely help in boosting traffic and attracting potential customers.

Additionally, the developer can guide you with SEO-related activities like keyword research that will help you cut down on marketing expenses, get more clicks than PPC and stay ahead of your competition.

As stated above, creating a store is not that simple. It involves plenty of aspects like design, choosing the right store theme and templates, integrating apps, and getting attractive images for your products. Lastly, an experienced developer can also help you figure out your KPIs, measure your launch performance, marketing & logistics strategies.

5: Transparent and fair agreement

Make the agreement terms clear before you hire a dedicated Shopify developer. The developer should be aware of your expectations and the other way around. The scope of work, workload, the payout must be communicated clearly to avoid unnecessary complications later.

Do not settle for a less experienced or underskilled developer to save money because it will cost you dearly in the long run.

6: Recent projects

While interviewing the developer, always ask him about the recent projects he has worked on because it will help you make the right choice. His answers will reveal if he has the required knowledge to complete the project. Apart from that, you will also know if he is familiar with the latest trends and designs.

Most importantly, look for answers that will tell you if he can create a practical, error-free eCommerce portal that offers easy navigation. Steer clear of generic questions and asks him questions about the industry and his job profile.

7: Data migration & integration

After the developer has created an eCommerce portal for your business, you may have to move all the data from your old site to the new one. Paying a third-party additional money for these services does not make sense. Make sure that the hired developer knows how to perform data integration and migration.

8: Project management and communication tools

When you hire a dedicated Shopify developer or a team of developers, you will have to monitor their activities and check the progress at all stages. You will have to decide how to communicate with the developer/s.

There is no dearth of communication tools like Bitrix 24, Microsoft Teams, Chanty, Fleep, Zulip, and so on. Your developer or specialized development team may have to switch to a different medium of communication or vice versa. During the entire process of developing eCommerce solutions, you and the Shopify developer/team need to coordinate & communicate constantly. The easier and more efficient the communication, the better the results.

9: Mobile-friendly

Last but not least, it brings us to the million-dollar question. Will the developer be able to design a mobile-friendly website? Most customers prefer to place orders online using smartphones and other digital devices. Your online shop has to look great and perform well on these devices. Confirm with the developer if he can make the store mobile-friendly because your business success and profitability will depend on it.

A must-read: Top 5 eCommerce Development Platforms For your Online Store in 2024

Cost to hire Shopify developers

When you embark on a project, you need to know your costs. It depends on the Shopify plan you choose because each plan provides a certain set of tools. Moreover, you also need to decide which paid apps to use as well as manage expenses like domain registration costs.

Understand that your development costs also depend on the dedicated Shopify developer’s experience and the number of features you decide to incorporate. The Shopify App Development cost can vary between $3,000 to $8,000. Although for stores that require a comprehensive website with hundreds of SKUs, features plus a robust web presence, the cost can reach $20000, $80000, or even higher.

Conclusion

Although it is relatively easy to develop an eCommerce solution with Shopify, there are various factors that can determine the fate of your online business. We have mentioned ten factors that you should consider. Do you have the time, money, and resources to execute everything? Why not sit back and relax while you let a professional company handle all the stress for you?

Look no further. We have considerable experience in providing professional Shopify App Development Services. You can enjoy streamlined store operations and steady success with us by your side. Let’s connect and take things further. Call us or schedule a consultation now.