Custom Shopify Theme Development
We design and build Shopify themes around how your store sells, usually in 4 to 6 weeks and from $3,500. If Horizon or a premium theme would do the job, we'll tell you before you spend the money.
Where projects go wrong
Shopify's Horizon themes cover what used to need a paid theme or a developer, and Sidekick can now generate blocks in the theme editor. So the case for custom has narrowed. It holds when the product needs a page no theme has, when the brand has to look like nothing else, or when years of edits and apps have left a theme that breaks each time someone touches it.
01 / FeelGoodFella
A custom design and build for a Dorset coffee roaster. One site carries subscriptions, merch, room bookings, co-working, a 108-spot membership and a journal, all in an illustrated identity built from scratch.
02 / See Spot Run
A CBD powder brand for dogs. We built the whole store as a custom Shopify theme from the Figma designs. AeroMixer, a hydroponics equipment brand, came to us the same way.
03 / Symmetry Pilates
A boutique reformer Pilates studio in Southern Utah. We turned the Adobe XD designs into a custom theme and built the full site for its reformer, mat and barre classes.
04 / Amberjack
Amberjack makes dress shoes meant to feel like sneakers. It is our largest Shopify Plus client to date, and we carry out ongoing development on their custom theme.
From a client
Robin went above and beyond to help our business launch; highest recommendation and will utilize his services again with our next venture.
What is included
A review of your current store, apps and top pages before anything is designed
Design in Figma, or a build from the Figma or Adobe XD files you already have
A theme built on Online Store 2.0 sections and blocks, so your team can edit pages
Product, collection, cart and landing templates built around how you sell
Metafields and custom features where your catalog needs them
Mobile, speed and accessibility checks on a duplicate theme before launch
Tracking and SEO checks, then a launch with a developer watching the first orders
How the engagement moves
We look at the store, the apps and what you've tried. If Horizon, a premium theme or a smaller fix gets you there, we say so and quote for that. If custom is right, you get a written scope and a fixed quote.
Designers and developers work in the same workflow. We build on a development theme with your real products, so you review real pages on your phone.
We test on a duplicate theme, publish when your traffic is quiet and watch orders and Search Console afterwards. You can keep us on for new features as fractional support.
Specialist Shopify services
Already have the designs? We build them as a working theme.
View service →A senior developer in your team for a set number of hours a month.
View service →Private apps for the jobs no App Store app does.
View service →Published price ranges, and what moves a quote up or down.
View service →Our theme builds start at $3,500. That floor fits a tightly scoped build, and the price rises with the number of templates, custom features and whether design is included. You get a fixed quote before work starts. Other agencies publish ranges from about $5,000 to $60,000, so ask what each quote includes.
Most of our theme builds run 4 to 6 weeks. Custom functionality, a migration or design work starting from nothing can take longer. You get a timeline with milestones before we start.
Many stores don't need a custom theme. Shopify's free Horizon themes and a good premium theme cover a lot now. Custom starts to pay off when your product needs a page no theme offers or your brand can't look like a template. It also helps once so many edits and apps sit on a theme that each change breaks something.
A custom theme is built for your store from the start. Theme customization takes an existing theme such as Horizon or a premium theme and shapes it to you. Customization is cheaper and faster. We recommend one or the other after scoping your goals.
Yes. See Spot Run and AeroMixer were built from Figma, and Symmetry Pilates from Adobe XD. If you don't have designs, our designers and developers work in the same workflow, so the build matches the design.
Yes. We build with Shopify's sections and blocks, so your team can change pages, content and layouts in the theme editor without a developer.
It shouldn't if URLs, metadata and redirects are handled. On a Shopify to Shopify rebuild most URLs stay the same. We check titles, structured data and internal links on a duplicate theme before it goes live, and keep watching Search Console after launch.
A custom theme doesn't get Theme Store updates, so nobody pushes changes into your code without your say-so. The trade-off is that new Shopify features need adding by a developer. You can keep us on for that as fractional support, and we agree who holds the code in the proposal.
Bring the problem: a leaking checkout, a feature your last developer said was impossible, a store that needs rebuilding. You leave with a straight answer and, if it fits, a fixed-price proposal within 48 hours.
Book a free 15-minute call© 2026 Thought Bulb Studio
No sales call. No deck. Just a direct conversation about your store, what it's costing you, and whether we're the right fit to solve it.
A straight answer on the call, not a follow-up email
Fixed-price, scoped proposal in 48 hours
No retainer, no commitment — just an honest conversation
