01
Custom Online Store 2.0 themes
JSON templates, sections everywhere and section groups for the header and footer, so every page type can be built in the editor.
FIG 01 · Shopify Theme Development
Shopify theme development, custom-built on theme blocks
Custom Online Store 2.0 themes your team can edit without a developer: sections and theme blocks instead of page builders, tested against Shopify’s own Lighthouse bar, and clear of the checkout scripts that stopped working between 2024 and 2026.
See how it works
FIG 02 · Quick answer
What is Shopify theme development?
Shopify theme development is building or customizing the Liquid theme that controls how a Shopify store looks and behaves. Elgrith builds custom Online Store 2.0 themes with sections and theme blocks your team can edit, starting from Horizon, Skeleton or a blank build, and tests them against Shopify’s Theme Store Lighthouse bar for speed and accessibility.
- Shopify’s Lighthouse performance / accessibility bar we test to
- 60 / 90
- Projects delivered since 2015
- 1,000+
- Clients across the USA, UK and India
- 250+
- Your theme code, store and accounts
- 100%
FIG 03 · Why it matters
Shopify themes changed. Most theme pages didn’t.
From Shopify’s developer docs and Help Center, checked on 23 Oct 2026.
01
25 / 50
Sections per page, blocks per section
Shopify’s JSON templates render up to 25 sections, and each section can hold up to 50 blocks. That is room for your team to build real pages in the theme editor, if the theme is built for it.
Source: Shopify Dev Docs, JSON templates (read 23 Oct 2026)(opens in a new tab)02
60
Minimum average Lighthouse performance score
Theme Store themes need an average Lighthouse performance score of at least 60, and 90 for accessibility, across the home, collection and product pages on desktop and mobile. We use the same bar as the acceptance test for custom themes.
Source: Shopify Dev Docs, Theme Store requirements (read 23 Oct 2026)(opens in a new tab)03
26 Aug 2026
The non-Plus Thank you and Order status deadline
Shopify says August 26, 2026 was the deadline for non-Plus stores to upgrade their Thank you and Order status pages, and additional scripts have been view-only since 28 Aug 2025. Tracking that lived there has to be rebuilt.
Source: Shopify Help Center, Thank you and Order status upgrade (read 23 Oct 2026)(opens in a new tab)
FIG 04 · Decide
Custom Shopify theme development, three ways
Not every store needs a theme written from nothing. Here is how the three routes compare; we recommend one after discovery, based on your design, catalog and how often your team changes pages.
| Customize Horizon or a Dawn-era theme | Build on Skeleton | Fully bespoke theme | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Shopify’s free Horizon theme (10 presets, Summer ’25 Edition) or an existing Online Store 2.0 theme | Skeleton, the minimal theme that shopify theme init now clones | A blank repository built to your design system |
| Best for | A new or small store that needs a strong brand quickly | A custom design on a clean, current codebase | Unusual layouts, large catalogs or a brand that must not look like a template |
| Your team edits | Sections and blocks the theme already ships | Sections and theme blocks we design for your content | Everything we expose in the theme editor, documented |
| Trade-off | Upstream updates must be merged with care | More build work than customizing | The most build and test work |
Horizon details are from Shopify’s Summer ’25 Edition (21 May 2025); Skeleton from Shopify’s theme docs, read 23 Oct 2026. Plan prices are not shown: check Shopify’s pricing page for your region.
Choosing a plan? Read Shopify vs Shopify Plus in 2026FIG 05 · What you get
What our Shopify theme developers build
A theme is the storefront your customers see and the editor your team works in every day. We build for both.
02
Theme blocks
Reusable blocks your team can nest, reorder and restyle across sections, instead of one-off sections that only fit one page.
03
Horizon customization
Shopify’s Horizon theme extended with your brand, custom blocks and the integrations your store needs, without forking it into a mess.
04
Figma to theme
Your Figma designs built into Liquid, CSS and JavaScript, with the design tokens carried into theme settings your team can change.
05
Metafields and metaobjects
Size guides, ingredients, specs and lookbooks stored as structured content and rendered by the theme, not pasted into descriptions.
06
App blocks and integrations
Review, subscription, search and loyalty apps placed through app blocks, so removing an app does not leave code behind in the theme.
07
Speed and accessibility
Lighthouse and Core Web Vitals checks on every template, plus WCAG 2.2 checks on templates, forms and the cart.
08
Thank you and Order status pages
Post-purchase pages rebuilt with checkout UI extensions and tracking moved to pixels, after the checkout.liquid and scripts changes.
Deliverables
11
deliverables, in writing
Included in every build, written into your fixed quote before work starts.
FIG 06 · Theme editor
Every template, editable by your team
We plan each template around what your team changes most, then build the sections and blocks to match. What is locked and what is editable is agreed in your written scope.
- Figma designs
- Metafields and metaobjects
- Apps (app blocks)
Your Shopify theme
- Theme editor
- Storefront
- Post-purchase pages
Home page
- Built with
- Section groups, hero, collection and story sections
- Your team edits
- Campaigns, featured products and banners
Collection pages
- Built with
- Filters, sorting and promo blocks inside the grid
- Your team edits
- Banners, promo tiles and collection copy
Product pages
- Built with
- Theme blocks for media, variants, specs and app blocks
- Your team edits
- Block order, size guides and content from metafields
Landing pages
- Built with
- Reusable theme blocks and alternate templates
- Your team edits
- Whole pages, without a page-builder app
Cart and drawer
- Built with
- Accessible cart drawer, upsell and shipping blocks
- Your team edits
- Messages, thresholds and upsell products
Blog and content
- Built with
- Article templates, metaobject-driven guides
- Your team edits
- Posts, guides and lookbooks
FIG 07 · Architecture
Built on Online Store 2.0 and theme blocks
Online Store 2.0 moved themes from hard-coded templates to sections and blocks merchants arrange in the editor. Theme blocks take that one step further.
06principles
JSON templates
Every page type as a JSON template of up to 25 sections, each with up to 50 blocks, per Shopify’s theme docs.
Section groups
Header, footer and announcement bars your team edits once and reuses across the store.
Theme blocks
Reusable blocks in the theme’s blocks folder, nestable inside each other and rendered in sections with content_for, so one block works on every template.
App blocks
Apps add their blocks through the editor instead of injecting code into theme files.
Metafields and metaobjects
Structured content for specs, ingredients and size charts, connected to blocks with dynamic sources.
Presets and settings
Block and section presets plus theme settings for colors, type and spacing, so new pages start on-brand.
FIG 08 · Quality bar
Speed and accessibility we test to
We accept a theme when it passes a bar you can check yourself: Shopify’s Theme Store Lighthouse requirements, plus Core Web Vitals on your real templates.
04principles
Lighthouse 60 / 90
An average performance score of at least 60 and accessibility of at least 90 across home, collection and product pages, desktop and mobile: the Theme Store minimum, used as our acceptance test.
Core Web Vitals
LCP, INP and CLS checked on your heaviest templates with real products and apps installed.
Website speed optimizationWCAG 2.2 checks
Keyboard, focus, contrast, labels and screen-reader checks on templates, forms and the cart. This is audit and remediation guidance, not a legal guarantee.
Website accessibilityAn app budget
Each app’s cost to page speed measured before launch, so the store stays fast after your team installs more.
FIG 09 · Checkout
Checkout, Thank you and Order status pages after checkout.liquid
Shopify retired theme-level checkout code in stages. Stores that missed a step often lost tracking or post-purchase content without noticing.
05principles
13 Aug 2024
Shopify’s changelog said checkout.liquid customizations would stop working for the Information, Shipping and Payment pages from this date.
28 Aug 2025
The additional scripts box in checkout settings became view-only, per Shopify’s Help Center.
26 Aug 2026
The deadline for non-Plus stores to upgrade their Thank you and Order status pages, per Shopify’s Help Center, checked 23 Oct 2026.
A tracking audit
We list every pixel, tag and script that ran on those pages, rebuild what still matters with customer events and checkout UI extensions, and test conversions end to end.
On Shopify Plus?
Checkout UI extensions in the checkout itself, branding and Shopify Functions are covered by our Plus team.
Shopify Plus development
FIG 10 · Workflow
Hire a Shopify theme developer
Theme work should be reviewable, versioned and reversible. This is how our developers work on your store.
05principles
Shopify CLI
Local development with Shopify CLI (4.9.4 was current on 23 Oct 2026), hot reload against your real store data and preview links for review.
GitHub integration
The theme lives in your GitHub repository and syncs to the store through Shopify’s GitHub integration, so every change has a history.
Theme Check
Shopify’s Theme Check linter runs on every change, catching Liquid errors and performance issues before they ship.
Staging themes
Work happens on an unpublished copy of your theme; the live theme changes only when you approve the release.
Built by the team behind our flagship
Kenerate AI, our flagship build, designed and engineered by Elgrith. It is an AI image and video studio, not a Shopify store.
See Kenerate AI
FIG 11 · Redesigns
Redesigns and theme migrations
Most theme projects start from a store that already sells. The job is to change the theme without losing rankings, apps or revenue.
04principles
Vintage to Online Store 2.0
Older themes moved to JSON templates, sections and blocks, with content and settings carried across.
Store redesigns
A new design on a new theme, launched behind a preview and switched over when you approve.
Website redesignPlatform moves
Moving to Shopify from WooCommerce, Magento or a custom store, with products, customers and orders migrated.
Website migrationRedirects and SEO
Every old URL mapped to a redirect, with titles, structured data and internal links checked after launch.
Ecommerce SEO
FIG 12 · Process · 6 steps
Design to theme, tested before launch
Discovery, design, build, test: a fixed written quote after a free call, the theme built on a staging copy, and Lighthouse and accessibility checks before it goes live.
- Step 01
Free call
Tell us what you need to build or fix and what you have already tried. We ask about your store or site, team, systems and deadlines first.
- Step 02
Discovery
We review your current theme, apps, templates, tracking and analytics, agree the starting point (Horizon, Skeleton or bespoke) and write down what your team must be able to edit.
- Step 03
Fixed written quote
A written scope and a fixed quote, with the timeline, access, acceptance tests and hand-over agreed before any work starts.
- Step 04
Sprints with weekly demos
Templates, sections and theme blocks built on a staging theme, each shown working in a weekly demo with your real products and content.
- Step 05
Launch
Lighthouse, Core Web Vitals, accessibility and conversion-tracking checks on staging, then a scheduled publish with redirects and a rollback copy kept.
- Step 06
Support
Fixes, new sections and Shopify platform changes handled after launch, as agreed in your written scope.
FIG 13 · What you get
Everything included
Written into your fixed quote, so you know exactly what you are paying for before work starts.
11items
- Written scope and fixed quote
- Theme audit: templates, apps, scripts and tracking
- Starting-point recommendation (Horizon, Skeleton or bespoke)
- Online Store 2.0 templates, sections and theme blocks
- Metafield and metaobject set-up
- App blocks for your installed apps
- Lighthouse and accessibility report against the 60 / 90 bar
- Thank you and Order status pages and pixels checked
- GitHub repository with Theme Check in the workflow
- Editor guide for your team
- Your theme code, store and accounts stay yours
FIG 14 · Tech & tools
The tools behind the work
Proven, well-supported tools, chosen for your project and set up in accounts your business owns.
- Shopify
- Liquid
- Online Store 2.0
- Theme blocks
- Horizon
- Skeleton
- Shopify CLI
- Theme Check
- GitHub
- Figma
- Metaobjects
- Checkout UI extensions
- Lighthouse
- JavaScript
FIG 15 · Who it’s for
Shopify themes for stores that change every week.
Same method everywhere: build what your team edits, test to a bar you can check, keep your accounts in your name.
4 audiences
DTC brands
Brands that outgrew a template.
When every campaign needs a developer, the theme is the bottleneck. We rebuild it so your team ships landing pages and launches in the editor.
- Reusable theme blocks
- Landing-page templates
- Metafield-driven product content
- Lighthouse-tested
Agencies
Theme development for agencies.
Design agencies hand us Figma files and we deliver a tested theme in your client’s repository, under your process and NDA.
- Figma to theme
- Your client’s GitHub repository
- Editor guide for hand-over
- NDA on request
Plus stores
Themes for Shopify Plus stores.
Plus stores get the theme plus checkout UI extensions, branding and expansion stores built by the same team.
- Theme and checkout together
- Expansion-store themes
- Markets and languages
- Tracking audit
UK
Shopify theme development for UK retailers.
UK work runs through our London client-partnership centre, with delivery from our New Delhi HQ. We build for GBP pricing, UK English and the accessibility your customers expect.
- UK English throughout
- GBP and VAT display
- WCAG 2.2 checks
- Fixed written quote in GBP
FIG 16 · Working with us from the USA and UK
Built in New Delhi. Run on your hours.
Every project gets a point of contact in New York or London and an engineering team in New Delhi. Here is how today’s working days line up, live.
New York
North America
--:--ET
New Delhi team Your working day- Shared working time
- ≈ 3 hours today
- New Delhi is
- 10.5 h ahead
- Live calls, your time
- 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET
London
UK & Europe
--:--UK
New Delhi team Your working day- Shared working time
- ≈ 4.5 hours today
- New Delhi is
- 5.5 h ahead
- Live calls, your time
- 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. UK
Three ways to work together
- 01
Fixed-scope project
A written scope, one fixed price and a dated plan. Suits websites, apps and MVPs.
- 02
Dedicated team
Designers and engineers on your roadmap every month, billed monthly.
- 03
White label
For US and UK agencies: our work, your brand, unbranded deliverables.
Every engagement
- Fixed quote in USD, GBP or INR after a free 30-minute call
- NDA before discovery. You own all code, designs and content
- A working demo every sprint, not status slides
- Reply within one business day, calls inside your hours
Book a call
Calls on ET or UK hours
FIG 17 · Rules and dates
Shopify theme and checkout changes: what changed and when (checked 23 Oct 2026)
What changed in Shopify themes and checkout, and when. Each date is from Shopify’s own docs, changelog or news, checked on 23 Oct 2026.
| Date | What changed | What it means for your theme |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Aug 2024 | checkout.liquid stopped working for the Information, Shipping and Payment pages (Shopify changelog, 13 Feb 2023) | In-checkout customizations move to Checkout Extensibility |
| 21 May 2025 | Horizon launched in the Summer ’25 Edition with 10 presets, theme blocks and AI block generation | A new free starting point for custom themes |
| 28 Aug 2025 | Additional scripts in checkout settings became view-only (Shopify Help Center) | Post-purchase tracking has to be rebuilt as pixels |
| 26 Aug 2026 | Deadline for non-Plus stores to upgrade Thank you and Order status pages (Shopify Help Center) | Check that post-purchase content and tracking survived |
| 23 Oct 2026 | Shopify CLI 4.9.4 is current; shopify theme init clones Skeleton, not Dawn | New builds start from Skeleton or Horizon |
We recheck these dates before every scope. The Help Center page we checked gives no date for Plus stores, so we confirm yours in the store admin.
FIG 18 · Compare
Custom theme vs customized premium theme vs page-builder app
| Custom theme on theme blocks | Premium theme, customized | Page-builder app | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design | Built to your brand and content | The theme’s layout with your branding | Drag-and-drop pages on top of a theme |
| Editing | Sections and blocks designed for your team | What the theme ships | Flexible, inside the app |
| Speed | Tested to the 60 / 90 Lighthouse bar | Varies with the theme and edits | Extra scripts on every page it builds |
| Lock-in | None: your code, your repository | Theme updates to merge | Pages live inside the app |
| Best for | Stores whose theme is a growth bottleneck | New stores on a tighter scope | Occasional landing pages |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers about Shopify Theme Development with Elgrith.
It depends on the number of templates, how many custom sections and theme blocks you need, apps and integrations, metafield content, migration and accessibility work. We do not publish prices: after a free call you get a written scope and a fixed quote, so you know the full cost before work starts.
FIG 19 · Related
Keep exploring
E-commerce Development
Shopify, Plus & headless storesShopify Plus Development
Plus builds, checkout & migrationsShopify App Development
Custom & public Shopify appsWebsite Speed Optimization
Core Web Vitals fixes that stickWebsite Accessibility
WCAG audits & ADA remediationWebsite Redesign
Faster, clearer sites without losing SEOE-commerce SEO
Shopify agency, New York
Shopify builds & CRO for NYC brandsShopify agency, London
Shopify builds, migrations & CRO
Free 30-minute call
A theme your team can edit. A store that stays fast.
Tell us about your store, your apps and what slows your team down today. After a free call you get a written scope and a fixed quote, with the Lighthouse bar written in.
Pick a day for your call
OpenPick a day. You'll choose a time in your own time zone on the next step.