Shopify online store development in Montreal
We build online stores on Shopify, an e-commerce platform that takes care of hosting, payment and security. A new store or an existing one: it stays fast, and you manage it yourself.
When every feature becomes an app
The problem
On Shopify, every small need has its app: reviews, filters, banners, cross-sells, popups. You install one per feature, and the monthly subscriptions add up. The apps overlap, conflict after an update and each load their own scripts.
Our approach
A Shopify developer in Montreal sorts it out. What is about display gets built into the theme: banners, featured products, simple cross-sells. A specific rule, like a gift based on the cart, becomes a custom function, with no subscription. The apps that do better than custom development stay, and you know why.
A fast Shopify store that you manage yourself
We adapt or develop your theme in Liquid, the language of Shopify themes, so the store does what you need without piling up apps.
A fast store on mobile
Fewer apps and scripts, images in the right format, a lighter theme: product pages load quickly, on the phone where a good share of purchases happen.
You manage your store
Products, collections, banners, text and section order are edited in the Shopify admin, without emailing us. Training is included, with a video you keep.
Sections designed for your catalogue
Product pages, collections, featured products: each section is developed for your store and set up in the theme editor, with no risk of breaking the layout.
Custom functions
A free gift based on the cart, a discount rule, shipping logic: when an app doesn’t do exactly what you need, or costs too much every month, we develop the function for your store.
What is included
In every Shopify project, at no extra cost.
One point of contact
You talk to the person who develops your store. No relayed requests, no lost details: answers come faster.
SEO and tracking
Titles, metadata, product structured data and redirects. Search Console, GA4, Merchant Center and advertising pixels connected to fit your needs, with the official apps.
Accessibility
The sections we develop aim for WCAG 2.2 level AA, so a customer who navigates with a keyboard or a screen reader can find their product and buy it.
Privacy and consent
Shopify’s consent banner is configured: pixels and cookies wait for the customer’s agreement. The store is set up for Quebec’s Law 25 and, depending on your markets, for the GDPR.
Independence
The store, the domain name and the app accounts are in your name. You remain free to change providers whenever you want.
Apps that earn their place
Every app we keep has a reason to be there and a known monthly cost. The rest is built into the theme.
Comparison
Shopify or WooCommerce?
We develop on both. The right choice depends on your catalogue, your team, and what you prefer to pay up front or every month.
| Shopify | WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting started | Yes Hosting, payment and security already in place | Longer Server, payment and plugins to install |
| Upfront cost | 1 out of 3 The platform provides the essentials | 2 out of 3 More to set up |
| Monthly fees | 3 out of 3 Subscription, apps and other fees add up quickly | 2 out of 3 Hosting and maintenance, with no platform subscription |
| Payment | Shopify Payments Extra fees with another gateway | Your choice Stripe, Square, Moneris… |
| Added features | Apps Often billed monthly | Custom Developed in the theme, or a plugin when that makes more sense |
| Updates and security | Yes Handled by Shopify | To plan for Your responsibility, or included in a maintenance plan |
| Customization | Limited Free theme, checkout editable only with Shopify Plus | Yes Everything can be changed, checkout included |
| Content and URLs | Limited Simple pages and blog, fixed URLs (/products/, /collections/) | Yes Rich editorial content, URLs of your choice |
| Your data | With Shopify Hosted by Shopify, exportable | Yes On the server of your choice, in Canada for example |
-
Getting started
- Shopify
- Yes Hosting, payment and security already in place
- WooCommerce
- Longer Server, payment and plugins to install
-
Upfront cost
- Shopify
- 1 out of 3 The platform provides the essentials
- WooCommerce
- 2 out of 3 More to set up
-
Monthly fees
- Shopify
- 3 out of 3 Subscription, apps and other fees add up quickly
- WooCommerce
- 2 out of 3 Hosting and maintenance, with no platform subscription
-
Payment
- Shopify
- Shopify Payments Extra fees with another gateway
- WooCommerce
- Your choice Stripe, Square, Moneris…
-
Added features
- Shopify
- Apps Often billed monthly
- WooCommerce
- Custom Developed in the theme, or a plugin when that makes more sense
-
Updates and security
- Shopify
- Yes Handled by Shopify
- WooCommerce
- To plan for Your responsibility, or included in a maintenance plan
-
Customization
- Shopify
- Limited Free theme, checkout editable only with Shopify Plus
- WooCommerce
- Yes Everything can be changed, checkout included
-
Content and URLs
- Shopify
- Limited Simple pages and blog, fixed URLs (/products/, /collections/)
- WooCommerce
- Yes Rich editorial content, URLs of your choice
-
Your data
- Shopify
- With Shopify Hosted by Shopify, exportable
- WooCommerce
- Yes On the server of your choice, in Canada for example
Exact fees depend on the Shopify plan, the host and the apps or plugins you choose.
A Shopify store ready to sell here and abroad
Several languages, customers in several provinces or countries, taxes that change with the shipping address: these settings matter as much as the theme.
Languages
French, English or other languages for each product, collection and page. Each version has its own URL, on a separate domain or in a subfolder such as /fr-ca or /en-us, and Google indexes it separately. Translations are done in Shopify’s translation app or by file.
Markets
Shopify Markets groups the countries where you sell. Each market has its own currency, prices, languages and shipping methods: a customer in Toronto and a customer in Boston don’t see the same store.
Locations
Warehouse, physical store or logistics partner: each location has its own stock. Shipping rules choose where an order ships from, and in-store pickup is set up location by location.
Taxes
GST, QST, HST or PST in Canada, US state sales tax, VAT in Europe: the tax collected depends on the shipping address and the registrations declared in Shopify. We configure those registrations and the tax-exempt products; which taxes to collect is up to your accountant.
Shopify stores in production
Indyeva
Bilingual Shopify store, selling in Canada and the United States. New features added to the store, the cart and the orders, plus visual and technical changes to the theme.
- Shopify
- Liquid
Le Cartel
Bilingual Shopify store for a Montreal clothing brand. New features added to the store, the cart and the orders, plus visual and technical changes to the theme.
- Shopify
- Liquid
How a Shopify project works
An analysis of your project comes before the quote: features, chosen apps, markets and sales settings are described in it. You know what will be delivered before work begins.
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Scoping
Products, customers, sales countries and features: we describe what the store will do. For an existing store, we also start from the theme and apps in place.
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Configuration
Markets, languages, currencies, taxes, shipping, payments and locations are set up in Shopify before the products are added.
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Theme and products
A theme adapted or developed for your brand, editable sections, products imported by file or synced with your tools.
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Launch
Test orders, checks of the purchase flows and redirects, then training on the admin, with a video you keep.
Questions about Shopify
Yes, in both directions. Products are exported then imported on the new platform, pages are carried over and every old URL is redirected. The comparison above helps you choose the platform.
Yes. Products, collections, pages and sections are edited in the Shopify admin and theme editor, without code. Training is included, with a video you keep.
Often, yes. An audit finds the apps and scripts that weigh the most, and what can be replaced.
Yes, when the project calls for it: a headless storefront on the Storefront API, private apps on the Admin API, Shopify Functions, checkout extensions and webhooks to your tools (ERP, CRM, logistics). We only propose it when the theme is not enough. The Integrations and APIs page details this type of project.
We work at $125 an hour. A change to an existing store is a short project, billed by the hour. A new store or a complete redesign gets a fixed-price quote. The Shopify subscription and apps are extra, in your name.
