Yax Shah CMSExpertDev Start a project
Start a project →
Senior Shopify Developer

Shopify stores built to convert.

Custom Liquid themes, Hydrogen storefronts, performance-tuned PDPs. Six years and seventy stores in — most agencies treat Shopify like a checklist; I built my career around making it actually sell.

Book a Shopify audit See Shopify case studies

What I actually build on Shopify

Three things, primarily: custom Liquid themes for D2C brands that have outgrown templates, Hydrogen storefronts when you need a React-grade front-end against the same admin, and conversion-rate-optimisation engagements for stores that are profitable but stuck.

Not Shopify Plus apps. Not subscription-only stores. Not migrations off Shopify (I’d rather you stayed). The most common engagement: a brand that picked Dawn or a $300 ThemeForest theme, hit the ceiling, and needs a senior to rebuild the theme around their actual buyer journey.

Where Shopify earns the work

  • D2C consumer brands with one to a few hundred SKUs and a marketing-led growth model.
  • Apparel + accessories where size/colour variants and editorial photography are central to the brand.
  • Beauty + wellness with subscription via Recharge, Klaviyo flows, and Shop Pay-led checkout.
  • Stores running on Plus needing custom Scripts, B2B portal, or wholesale tier logic.

Where Shopify doesn’t

Heavy B2B distribution, complex tiered pricing with NET-30 terms, ERP-driven inventory across regions, or content-first sites with a small store attached. Those go on WooCommerce or headless WP + a checkout layer. I’ll tell you that on the call.

The Shopify stack I actually use

Theme: custom Liquid, Sections everywhere, no premium framework. Apps (kept ruthlessly): Klaviyo, Judge.me, Recharge, Shopify Inbox, Searchanise. Build: Shopify CLI 3, GitHub integration, Theme Inspector for performance. Headless when warranted: Hydrogen on Oxygen, Nuxt + Storefront API, Next.js + ISR.

Common questions

How long does a custom Shopify theme take?

Five to nine weeks for a focused D2C rebuild, including discovery, design, build, QA, and migration. Hydrogen builds run eight to fourteen weeks depending on integration complexity.

Will I keep the code?

Yes. Code is yours from commit one. Repo handed over on launch. No retainer required to keep working with the site you paid for.

Do you work with Shopify Plus only?

No. Plus is great when you need it (B2B, multi-store, Scripts) but most brands don’t. Happy to build on standard Shopify and migrate up if and when it earns the upgrade.

Selected work

Different stacks. Same standard.

A spread on purpose — Shopify, WooCommerce, Webflow, headless WP, Framer, Contentful + Astro. Same level of craft, every time.

How the work happens

A short, opinionated process. Built around shipping.

  1. 01

    Discovery

    Week 1

    Goals, audience, content, integrations, budget, timeline. The conversation where we figure out if I'm the right fit before we both spend more time.

  2. 02

    Platform recommendation

    Week 1–2

    Honest CMS pick — the one that fits your team, your scale, your roadmap. Written rationale, no platform sales pitch.

  3. 03

    Design direction

    Week 2–3

    Wireframes, design system tokens, two visual directions. Tight feedback loop in Figma. Sign-off before a single line of code.

  4. 04

    Build

    Week 3–8

    Hand-coded blocks, sections, templates. Live staging URL from day three. Async demo videos every Friday.

  5. 05

    Optimize

    Week 7–8

    Lighthouse, Core Web Vitals, accessibility audit, schema, OG tags, redirect map. Nothing ships at < 95.

  6. 06

    Launch

    Week 8–9

    DNS cutover, monitoring, analytics QA, sitemap submission. I'm on call for the first 48 hours, no exception.

  7. 07

    Ongoing support

    Optional

    Monthly retainer for performance monitoring, content ops, new sections, A/B tests. Not required — most clients self-serve after handover.

From the people who paid for it

What clients across every CMS say.

These guys are awesome. They can build anything you like and fast! Very happy with the quality of their work.
Anthony D’Alessandro Business Owner · Lawn Synergy Multi-platform partner
I've had the pleasure of working with Yax and have consistently been impressed by his responsiveness, professionalism, and willingness to go the extra mile. He approaches every challenge with a problem-solving mindset, communicates clearly, and delivers dependable results. Yax is reliable, thoughtful, and easy to collaborate with, which makes him an asset to any team or project.
Lia Borror Brand Expert · Design & Web Creative · Lia Borror Design & Marketing Multi-platform partner
I worked with Yax and his team for 2.5 years and they were exceptional. Despite our time difference, Yax was always very responsive. I'm not very versed in website development, so Yax did a great job explaining things and providing great recommendations throughout the websites we developed. Not only is Yax very knowledgeable, but he's also a very caring business partner.
Lian Ottinger Senior Associate, Content Operations · Former Boldthink Employee 2.5 years · Multiple builds
My team has worked with Yax for about a year and a half. He's incredible with communication, organization, and making sure that web projects stay on track. He's always checking in with me to see how things are going and if there is anything else he can do to make our client experience better. I highly recommend working with Yax.
Theresa Goodwin, MBA Brand & Pricing Strategist · Boldthink Creative 18 months · Multiple builds
We have been working with Yax and his team for about a year now and are very happy with the work they have produced for us. Yax and team are very well versed in all things to do with websites and are quick to come up with solutions and recommendations. All requests are responded to in a timely manner and the work gets done quickly thereafter.
Michael Hannuksela Freelance Account & Project Manager · Whittier Multi-platform partner
Yax has been wonderful to work with. He keeps projects running smoothly and handles the unexpected with ease. Even with multiple web projects running at once, he keeps his team aligned and on schedule. His background in programming shines as he leads his team and ours through projects. He explains difficult concepts in a way that makes them easy to understand, while giving encouragement along the way.
Erin Mawhorter Art Director · Boldthink Agency partner · Multi-platform
We have worked with Yax on several projects. He's always quick and responsive and has delivered excellent work.
Marcus Blair Founder · More Signal Less Noise Agency partner · Multi-platform
I have been working with Yax for the past 12 months and am very impressed on various levels. His knowledge of the industry and the available tools is excellent — he will listen, digest and understand your needs to provide the best solution. He is flexible: we all know projects can go sideways, and Yax and his team have always been here to help.
Ben LeFebvre Founder & CEO · Aeolus Digital Agency partner · 12+ months
Teaming up with Yax continues to be a wonderful and productive partnership. Thoughtful deliberation on how best to address a web redesign. Check. Flexible enough to address an unplanned, urgent client deliverable. Check. A positive outlook that threads throughout every project. Big check. Yax continues to deliver time after time and has become a trusted partner for my business.
Gary Duffy President · Duffy Interactive Agency partner · Multi-platform

By sending, you agree to be contacted. No newsletter, no resale, ever. Required fields marked with *.

Pick a CMS. Or pick the developer who knows them all.

Start a project