Most requirements already have an app
Before commissioning anything, check whether an app does it. Paying twenty pounds a month for something that works beats paying six thousand for something you then maintain.
We say this to clients regularly, and it is why the custom work we do end up doing tends to be work that genuinely needed doing.
Four signals that custom is right
- Unusual business logic — pricing, bundling or configuration that no app models
- App stacking — four apps combining to approximate one requirement, expensively
- An integration nobody sells — your ERP, your warehouse, your trade pricing
- A workflow that is your advantage, which a generic app necessarily flattens
The second signal is the most common. Stores frequently pay two hundred a month for four apps that half-solve one problem, when a focused piece of custom work would solve it entirely.
Where custom work sits on Shopify
- Theme code — presentation and front-end behaviour
- Shopify Functions — discount, shipping and payment logic
- Private apps — integrations and back-office automation
- Checkout extensions — additions within Shopify's checkout, on the appropriate plan
Knowing which layer a requirement belongs in is most of the scoping work, and it determines both cost and durability.
What to keep out of the theme
Business logic in theme code disappears when you change theme, which every store eventually does. Integrations, calculations and anything that must survive a redesign belong in an app.
That single distinction is the difference between custom work that lasts and custom work you pay for twice.
Costs
| Work | Typical |
|---|---|
| Theme customisation | £500–£3,000 |
| Custom discount or shipping logic | £2,000–£6,000 |
| Private app for an integration | £4,000–£12,000 |
| Complex bundling or configuration | £6,000–£20,000 |
Against that, count what the app stack currently costs annually. The comparison frequently favours building, and sometimes clearly does not.