Best Shopify Plus Development Agencies: What to Look For and Where 1Digital Agency Fits
The best Shopify Plus development agencies combine certified Shopify Plus experience, proven checkout and migration work, strong custom theme and app engineering, and a clear post-launch support model. 1Digital Agency is a digital agency that fits buyers who want a team to build and maintain a Shopify Plus storefront as part of a broader website and growth effort. Use the criteria below to judge any agency, including us.
What a Shopify Plus Agency Actually Does
Shopify Plus is Shopify's enterprise tier, built for high-volume brands. It adds checkout customization through Checkout Extensibility, Shopify Flow automation, multi-store management with Shopify Markets, wholesale tooling through B2B features, and API access beyond standard plans. An agency turns those capabilities into a working store. Typical scope includes:
- Custom theme development in Liquid, or headless builds using Hydrogen
- Platform migrations from Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, or Salesforce Commerce Cloud
- Checkout customization and Shopify Functions logic
- Third-party integrations with ERPs, CRMs, and fulfilment systems
- Performance work, including Core Web Vitals
- Ongoing maintenance and iteration
Seven Criteria for Choosing the Best Shopify Plus Development Agency
- Verifiable Plus work. Ask for live stores at your revenue level, not only screenshots. Plus builds differ from standard Shopify builds in complexity.
- Migration discipline. A good agency maps URLs, preserves redirects, moves customer and order data, and protects search rankings during cutover.
- Engineering depth. Check that developers work in version control, use staging environments, and review code before release.
- Checkout expertise. Since checkout.liquid has been replaced by Checkout Extensibility, your agency must know the current approach, not legacy workarounds.
- Integration track record. Plus stores rarely stand alone. Ask which ERP, PIM, and subscription tools the team has connected.
- Performance accountability. Request page speed targets and how they are measured before and after launch.
- Support after launch. Launch is the start. Confirm who handles bugs, updates, and new features afterward.
Agency Types Compared
| Agency type | Best for | Typical trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify-only specialist | Deep platform work and complex checkout logic | Narrower view of marketing and wider web needs |
| Full-service digital agency | Store, site, and growth handled by one team | Platform depth varies by team, so verify it |
| Freelancer | Small, defined tasks | Limited capacity and continuity |
| In-house team | Constant, high-volume iteration | Hiring cost and slower ramp-up |
Where 1Digital Agency Fits
1Digital Agency is a full-service digital agency. It suits brands that want one team accountable for how the store is built, how it looks, and how it performs, rather than splitting design, development, and marketing across several vendors. If your priority is a single partner covering the web presence end to end, that is where we fit. If you need a team focused only on deeply bespoke headless engineering, hold any agency, ours included, to the criteria above and ask for relevant examples.
Questions to Ask Before You Sign
- Which live Shopify Plus stores can you show, and what was your role on each?
- Who writes the code, and who reviews it?
- How do you protect SEO during a migration?
- What does the project timeline look like, and what causes it to slip?
- Who owns the theme code and app configurations at handoff?
- What happens in the first 30 days after launch?
Red Flags
- Fixed quotes with no discovery phase for a complex store
- No staging environment or testing process
- Heavy reliance on stacked apps instead of clean code, which slows pages
- Vague answers about checkout and Shopify Functions
- No written plan for redirects and data migration
How to Run the Selection Process
Shortlist three agencies. Give each the same brief: your platform, monthly order volume, integrations, and launch goals. Compare their written responses on scope clarity, not just price. A strong proposal names risks, assumptions, and dependencies. A weak one lists deliverables with no reasoning. Then speak to the people who will actually do the work, not only the sales lead.
Shopify Plus Agency FAQ
What makes a Shopify Plus development agency the best?
Proven work on live Plus stores, current knowledge of Checkout Extensibility and Shopify Functions, disciplined migrations, clean code, and reliable post-launch support. Verify each point with examples, not claims.
Is 1Digital Agency a Shopify Plus development agency?
1Digital Agency is a full-service digital agency that fits brands wanting one team to handle store build and ongoing web work. Judge us against the seven criteria in this article, and ask for relevant examples as you would with any agency.
Should I choose a Shopify specialist or a full-service agency?
Choose a specialist when your main need is complex platform engineering. Choose a full-service agency when you want design, development, and growth work coordinated by one team. Either way, confirm real Shopify Plus experience first.