Shopify stores that load fast and don't depend on a pile of apps.
We build Shopify stores from the ground up: the theme lives in a repo, features replace paid apps, product data and translations stay clean. When the frontend is part of the brand, we build it separately on Next.js. Two examples are under References: LOULEX and whyraw.
Focus areas
The theme lives in code
Your live theme goes into a repository, and every customization is marked in the code. That keeps the next theme update plannable, while your team still edits content in the Shopify editor.
Fewer apps, faster pages
Every app costs money each month, adds scripts to your pages and takes a piece of control. We check what the theme can do itself, build the rest into your code and leave only the apps that earn their place.
Headless when it's worth it
A frontend of your own on Next.js pays off when the shop should feel like the product. Cart, discounts and checkout stay with Shopify; the frontend belongs to you and can do things no theme offers.
When a theme is enough, and when headless makes sense.
For most stores, a well-built theme is the cheaper answer: it stays close to Shopify, your team keeps editing content, and updates remain plannable. It gets expensive when a dozen apps pile up on top of each other. Then every page load carries scripts nobody asked for, and the monthly bill grows with the catalog. A frontend of your own is worth it when the shop is part of the brand experience and a theme can no longer express it. In both cases we start the same way: we look at the store, the apps and the data, and say which route is the cheaper one. If that question is open, a PoC sprint answers it; if the whole stack is unclear, an audit does.
Related projects
Delivered, E-Commerce, 2026
LOULEX: six apps out, seven languages in our own hands
Translation used to run through an external service in front of the shop, with its own monthly invoice. Today a bot of our own translates hourly, directly in Shopify, with a glossary, quality checks, a log and a rollback. Plus six apps fewer in the store: fewer scripts on every page, faster loading, better technical scores.
6 apps
out, plus the translation subscription. The monthly licence cost is gone
Delivered, E-Commerce, 2026
whyraw: a camera shop that feels like the camera
A storefront of our own on Next.js instead of a Liquid theme. Shopify stays catalog, cart and checkout, the frontend belongs to the brand: a cam booth in the browser, an out-of-cam gallery and a release countdown on the product page. No third-party app scripts, 100 out of 100 in the Ahrefs site audit. Live five days after the first storefront commit, photography by Nico Soica.
5 days
from the first storefront commit to live
Matching offers
PoC Sprint
Days to two weeks
You have an idea and want to know whether it holds up before you invest.
Running prototype, demo, architecture note, build plan
Product Build
Weeks, not quarters
An idea or a prototype needs to become something that runs day to day.
Running system, design, cloud setup, documentation, handover
Audit
Two weeks
Something has to change, but it's not yet clear where the lever is.
Action roadmap, architecture sketch, next step
Frequently asked
What happens to our existing apps?
We go through them one by one: what does the app do, how often is it used, what does it cost? Whatever the theme can do itself, we build in. The rest stays. You decide what gets cancelled.
Does the store stay online during the rebuild?
We work on a copy of the theme and only switch over once you have seen and approved the new version. The live store keeps running until then.
Can we still edit content ourselves?
Yes. Product pages, legal pages, FAQ and contact are built so your team can change them in the theme editor, without us.
How do you handle several languages?
As native Shopify translations, maintained from one source text, so the shop serves translated content instead of swapping it in after load. At LOULEX, a translation bot of our own took the place of the external service.
How long does it take?
An audit of the store takes two weeks. A theme rebuild or a headless storefront is a product build, so weeks rather than quarters. If a single question is open, a PoC sprint answers it in days.
Let's talk.
A free 30-minute intro call with no strings attached. We listen and tell you straight whether and how we can help.
On working days we usually reply within 24 hours.