Custom Shopify themes, built in Sydney

A custom theme is a Shopify theme written for one brand. It uses Liquid, Shopify's templating language, plus CSS and JavaScript, and follows the Online Store 2.0 structure so every template can be composed from sections in the theme editor. It is not a headless build and it is not a heavily modified copy of a marketplace theme with the original author's code buried underneath.

The distinction matters. A modified marketplace theme drags along features you never use, scripts that slow the page, and update conflicts. A custom theme includes only what your store needs. That is why we can hold a speed budget: fewer scripts, properly sized images, and no layout shift from late-loading widgets.

Custom does not mean your team loses control. We build sections for the things you will actually change, such as a promo banner, a feature row, a collection grid or a lookbook, and we name settings in plain language. The aim is that you launch a sale on Friday without opening a ticket.

1. Step 1

   Step 1: Brief and audit

   We review your current store, analytics and customer questions, then write a short brief naming the jobs the new theme must do and the apps it can replace with native features.

2. Step 2

   Step 2: Design in Figma

   Key templates for desktop and mobile, with a component library. You approve designs before any code is written.

3. Step 3

   Step 3: Build sections and templates

   We develop on a development store with version control, building reusable sections first and templates second. You get a preview link each week.

4. Step 4

   Step 4: Performance and accessibility

   We measure Core Web Vitals on mobile, trim scripts, size images and fix anything that fails. Our notes on Shopify speed and Core Web Vitals explain what we target and why.

5. Step 5

   Step 5: Handover

   We publish the theme, hand over the repository and documentation, and train your team. If you move from another platform, we run the redirect map described in Shopify migration.

Australian brands tend to need a handful of features that themes handle poorly. We build them natively where we can, so you are not paying monthly for an app that does one small thing.

• Size guides that change by product type, with measurements in centimetres
• Delivery estimates by postcode, and a free-shipping progress bar
• Age verification for alcohol, with the compliance points in selling alcohol online with Shopify
• Build-a-bundle and gift-set selectors that add several items to cart at once
• Subscription selectors for coffee, pet food or skincare refills
• Engraving or personalisation fields that pass through to the order and the packing slip
• Wholesale sign-up forms feeding into Shopify B2B

You can see several of these in the concept stores we designed, including Seam Jewellery with engraving and Coolabah Cellars with an age gate. They are concept stores, not client work, but they show the standard we build to.

Custom costs more up front and takes longer than a premium theme. You also take on responsibility for the code: if you hire another agency later, they work on your theme rather than relying on a vendor's updates. We document the build and use plain, conventional Liquid to keep that handover easy.

If a premium theme will do the job, we will tell you, and sell you Launch instead. A bespoke theme should earn its cost through conversion, speed or a feature your range truly needs.