What to Ask Before Hiring a Shopify Developer
Shopify has enough surface area that "I've built Shopify stores before" doesn't tell you much on its own. These questions get at real depth.
"How do you decide between a theme customization and a fully custom build?"
A developer with real experience will walk through the trade-offs (speed to launch, catalog complexity, budget) specific to your situation. A vague "depends on the project" without follow-up detail is a weaker signal.
"Have you worked with Shopify Functions or checkout extensibility?"
This is Plus-tier, relatively newer functionality. Someone who has genuinely worked with it can describe a real use case; someone who hasn't will either admit it honestly or talk around the question.
"How do you approach app selection, and how do you decide what NOT to install?"
The better answer focuses on load-time and maintenance cost, not just feature checklists. A developer who has actually dealt with app-bloat problems will have opinions about what to avoid, not just what to add. See our Shopify Store Audit for the kind of diagnostic this experience should produce.
"What's your approach to mobile performance specifically?"
Shopify traffic is majority mobile. A developer who defaults to "we test on mobile too" without specifics (image optimization strategy, lazy loading, third-party script audit) hasn't internalized how much this actually matters for conversion.
"Can you walk me through a recent migration you handled?"
Store migrations (from another platform, or between Shopify plans) are where real experience shows: SEO preservation, redirect mapping, data integrity. A developer who has done this for real will have specific war stories, not generalities.
"What happens if something breaks after launch?"
Get a concrete answer about support scope and response expectations, not a vague "we're here if you need us." This is where the difference between a one-off contractor and a real long-term technical partner shows up.
Our own Shopify Store Development engagements are scoped around exactly these questions upfront, so there's no ambiguity about approach before work starts.