Stores that convert
and scale.
Most stores are built for screenshots. We build for production — performance budgets set before the first line of code, apps chosen deliberately, mobile-first from the start. The result is a store that loads fast, converts reliably, and doesn't fall apart under traffic.
sigmabeauty.com
momcrew.com
stefsotra.com
Most stores are built for
the agency portfolio.
The pattern is predictable. A design agency or Shopify freelancer builds something that looks great in the handoff video. Then it goes live, and reality starts showing up.
PageSpeed is 38 on mobile. The checkout loads four tracking scripts before it renders. The theme installs twelve apps on day one because nobody made architecture decisions — they just installed whatever solved the immediate problem. The mobile experience, where 70%+ of your traffic lands, breaks on mid-range Android devices.
And the slowness isn't aesthetic — it's financial. A one-second improvement in load time lifts conversions by 7%. A PageSpeed score of 38 means Google deprioritises you in mobile search before a single shopper even reaches your store. Speed is a revenue metric, not a technical one.
We build differently. Architecture decisions happen before the first line of code. Every app earns its place. Every page is performance-tested on mobile before it ships.
Five things we do
exceptionally well.
Shopify is our default for most clients — the checkout is best-in-class, the hosting is reliable, and the ecosystem, when used carefully, is genuinely powerful. We don't use it because it's the easiest. We use it because it's right for most DTC and mid-market brands.
The difference in how we build: architecture comes first. Before anything is designed, we agree on which apps are needed and why, set a performance budget, establish a mobile-first design constraint, and map every third-party integration. That conversation at the start prevents the app sprawl and performance debt that kills stores by month six.
What's included
- Custom Shopify theme — no purchased templates, no drag-and-drop
- Deliberate app selection — every app justified before install
- Mobile-first build tested on real devices, not just browser emulation
- Core Web Vitals passing on launch — LCP, FID, CLS in the green
- Checkout optimised for conversion — minimal friction, tested flows
- Analytics and revenue attribution configured and verified
- CMS setup so your team can manage products, collections, and content
- 30 days post-launch support
Existing stores accumulate debt the way codebases do — one app at a time, one workaround at a time. The theme becomes a graveyard of scripts from apps you uninstalled two years ago. PageSpeed drops. Checkout abandonment climbs. The team starts avoiding the backend because it's too fragile to touch.
We start with a structured audit. We look at the theme code, the installed apps, the third-party scripts, the PageSpeed baseline across mobile and desktop, the checkout flow, and the analytics setup. We deliver a prioritised list of what to fix and what to leave alone — with estimated impact for each item. You decide what to action.
What a rebuild covers
- Theme audit and cleanup — dead code, unused scripts, render-blocking assets
- App audit — cut what isn't earning its weight on page load
- Image and asset optimisation pipeline
- Critical path rendering — LCP fix, layout shift elimination
- Checkout performance — reduce script load, fix bottlenecks
- Mobile layout fixes — the ones that only appear on real devices
- Re-verification of analytics after every change
sigmabeauty.com went from a PageSpeed score of 38 to 91 in four weeks. No full rebuild — a targeted audit, followed by disciplined execution on the highest-impact items.
Expanding to new markets is not adding a currency switcher. It's pricing strategy per country, tax compliance per jurisdiction, fulfilment routing per region, and language done properly — not machine-translated strings bolted on top of an English theme.
We've built and scaled international stores that now operate across 190+ countries. The complexity is in the details: VAT and GST handling, DDP vs DDU shipping logic, currency rounding rules, geo-routing, and market-specific payment methods. We've navigated all of it.
What international expansion includes
- Shopify Markets setup — country-specific pricing, currency, and domain routing
- Multi-language with proper hreflang implementation for SEO
- Tax compliance: VAT, GST, customs thresholds, DDP/DDU shipping logic
- Country-specific payment methods (iDEAL, Klarna, SEPA, Alipay, etc.)
- Cross-border fulfilment integrations: 3PL routing, carrier selection, tracking
- Market-specific landing pages and localised merchandising
- Performance testing per region — CDN and load time verified for key markets
stefsotra.com ships to 190+ countries with zero downtime and full compliance across each jurisdiction. Built on Shopify, properly.
B2B e-commerce has different requirements than DTC — and most platforms and developers treat it as an afterthought. Bulk pricing tiers, account-level terms, net payment options, quote request flows, approval workflows, and complex catalogue structures are not edge cases in B2B. They're the core of the purchasing process.
We build B2B storefronts for industrial and trade suppliers with the engineering seriousness that complexity demands. Wholesale and retail separated cleanly. Account management that works for your sales team, not just your tech team. Catalogues structured for customers who know exactly what they need — and systems that get out of their way.
B2B capabilities we build
- Tiered pricing by account, volume, or customer segment
- Net 30/60/90 payment terms and PO-based checkout
- Quote request flows with approval and negotiation steps
- Wholesale/retail separation — same catalogue, different pricing and access
- Account management portals — order history, reorder, account contacts
- Complex catalogue structures: variants, configurators, spec sheets
- Sales rep assignment and territory management
- ERP integration for inventory and order management
When the off-the-shelf app doesn't exist, or when the existing connector breaks in ways you can't debug, or when your ERP has a custom API that no plugin author has ever heard of — that's where we work best. We're engineers first. Integration complexity isn't a blocker, it's the job.
Integrations we've built
- ERP connections: NetSuite, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, custom ERPs
- 3PL integrations: ShipBob, Flexport, Deliverr, bespoke warehouse systems
- CRM sync: HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo, custom CRM endpoints
- PIM connections: Akeneo, Contentful, custom product data systems
- Custom checkout logic: multi-vendor splits, subscription layers, complex discount rules
- Marketplace feeds: Google Shopping, Meta Catalogue, Amazon, custom EDI
- Returns and RMA flows: Loop, custom portals, carrier integration
- Data warehouse pipelines: Segment, Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift
Speed isn't a
technical metric.
Every millisecond of load time has a price tag. This isn't an engineering opinion — it's in Google's own performance research, and it's visible in every conversion funnel we've audited.
What we've shipped
and what moved.
Three stores. Three different problems. Numbers that held over time, not just in the first week after launch.
38 → 91
Performance rebuild on an existing Shopify store. Dead scripts removed, app stack audited, critical rendering path fixed, image pipeline rebuilt. Done in four weeks without a full redesign.
+140%
Full Shopify rebuild for a family and lifestyle brand. New architecture, new checkout flow, performance-first mobile design. Revenue grew 140% in the year after launch — without increasing ad spend.
Zero Downtime
International expansion built properly. Multi-currency, multi-language, country-specific pricing, cross-border fulfilment integrations, and full tax compliance across every market. Ships globally, runs without incident.
What we don't build.
This isn't a disclaimer. It's the honest answer to the question of where we're the right fit and where we're not.
We don't do
- Squarespace, Wix, or Weebly builds
- WooCommerce — we don't believe it's the right architecture for stores that need to scale
- Drag-and-drop Shopify page builders (Dawn-based template customisation)
- Template reskins where the work is cosmetic, not architectural
- Ongoing monthly retainers for stores we didn't build or audit
- Builds where the brief is "make it look like [competitor]"
We do
- Custom Shopify theme development — built from scratch, not from a paid template
- Headless Shopify (Hydrogen/Remix) for high-performance storefronts where it's justified
- Custom e-commerce platforms when Shopify constraints are genuinely blocking
- Shopify Plus for enterprise-scale stores and complex B2B requirements
- Full ownership on handoff — code, docs, training, you run it
Fixed scope.
Fixed price.
We don't bill hourly. We don't send surprise invoices. We scope the project before work starts — deliverables, timeline, milestones — and you pay against that scope as we hit it.
If the scope changes materially mid-project, we handle it via a written change order agreed before any extra work happens. That's it. No ambiguity, no back-and-forth at invoice time.
Projects typically start from a scoped engagement — the exact number depends on the complexity of what you need. Tell us what you're building and we'll give you an honest estimate in the first conversation.
What e-commerce founders
always ask.
Shopify is our primary recommendation for most DTC and mid-market brands — the ecosystem, the hosting, and the checkout are hard to beat. For B2B or complex catalogue scenarios where Shopify's constraints become real blockers, we evaluate alternatives honestly. We'll give you a clear recommendation in the first conversation before any scope is agreed.
A well-scoped new store typically takes 6–10 weeks from kickoff to launch. Timeline depends on the number of integrations, the complexity of the design, and how quickly client feedback rounds move. We set a realistic timeline in the scope document — not an optimistic one — and we hold to it.
Yes. We start with a structured audit — theme code, installed apps, PageSpeed baseline, checkout flow, analytics setup. We deliver a prioritised fix list with estimated impact for each item. You decide what to action and in what order. The audit is a fixed-scope, fixed-price deliverable. Remediation work is scoped separately based on what the audit surfaces.
You own everything — the Shopify account, the theme code, any custom app code, and all documentation. We retain the right to reuse generic patterns and our internal tooling, not your business logic or design. Full handoff is standard, not optional.
All projects include a post-launch support window — typically 30 days for a new build, longer for complex international or B2B projects — covering bug fixes and minor adjustments. Ongoing retainers for feature development, seasonal campaigns, and technical maintenance are available but not required. We'd rather build you something self-sufficient than lock you into monthly fees.
We're engineers first — integration work is core to what we do. We've connected Shopify to NetSuite, SAP, custom ERPs, Salesforce, HubSpot, 3PLs, PIM systems, and data warehouses. Before we scope integration work, we do a technical discovery call to confirm feasibility and the right approach. We don't estimate blind.
Yes. We audit the existing setup first — what's already in place for currency, language, and fulfilment — then scope what needs to be built, configured, or restructured. International expansion on an existing store is often cleaner than people expect, provided the architecture decisions at launch weren't locked in a way that prevents it.
We're a development team with 12+ years of production software engineering experience — not theme customisers. The difference shows in how we approach architecture, performance, and integrations. We make decisions about apps, data flow, and rendering strategy that most freelancers don't get to because they're scoped to the theme layer. We also own what we ship: if something doesn't perform as scoped, we fix it.
Ready to build
a store that performs?
Tell us what you're building, fixing, or scaling. We'll give you an honest assessment and a clear scope — no padded estimates, no discovery theatre.
Let's talk →