Custom Shopify Store Design and Development

A custom Shopify store is one where the design and features are made for your brand, products and customers, instead of a ready-made theme with your logo on it. OkayScale is a Shopify web design agency in Denmark, and our custom builds cover complete Figma designs for desktop and mobile, Shopify development, apps, integrations and the launch itself.

How a custom build runs, in 4 steps

1. Discovery and strategy

We start with the business, not the theme. We work out what the store needs to solve: higher conversion, easier operations, new markets or fewer manual workflows. Only then do we choose apps and integrations.

You'll get the most out of the first meeting if you know your product range, which systems the store has to connect to, and when you want to launch. If you already have a store, bring the numbers: traffic, conversion rate and average order value.

2. Store design in Figma

Use the design phase to look at your selling pages on mobile: homepage, collection page, product page and cart. Make your changes now, because moving a button in a design is far cheaper than moving it in finished code.

3. Shopify development

Once the design is approved, we build it in Shopify and set up the apps and integrations. A good check, whoever builds your store: can you change text, images and banners yourself in Shopify's theme editor once it's finished? If not, you'll need a developer every time a new campaign goes on the homepage.

4. Launch and handover

We test the store and go live with you. One tip: place a few orders with real payment yourself before launch, then refund them. That way you know payments, shipping, order emails and tracking all work.

Apps and integrations

We find and set up the right apps, and if no app can do the job, we build a custom app or feature. Many apps charge a monthly fee, and some add scripts to your store that can slow it down. Fewer, better-chosen apps often give you a faster and cheaper store.

If the store has to connect to an ERP, PIM or warehouse system, decide early which system owns product data, prices and stock levels. Otherwise two systems can easily end up overwriting each other.

Shopify theme or custom design?

The Shopify Theme Store has both free and paid themes, and a good theme can take you a long way. A theme is a sensible starting point if your range is simple and your brand fits within the theme's sections.

A custom design pays off when the theme starts making decisions for the business. Typical signs:

• Your store looks like every other store on the same theme.
• Your products need a presentation the theme doesn't have, such as sets, bundles with their own logic or a product builder.
• The store has to work with an ERP, PIM or warehouse system in ways the theme and standard apps can't handle.
• You're paying for several overlapping apps to make the theme do things it wasn't built for.

There's also a middle way: a focused redesign or customization of the theme you have today. At OkayScale, that typically costs DKK 50,000 to 125,000 excluding VAT. Read more about a Shopify store redesign and when your Shopify store needs custom code.

What does a custom Shopify store cost?

A complete custom Shopify store with UX, Figma design and development often starts around DKK 125,000 excluding VAT (we're a Danish agency, so our prices are in Danish kroner). Shopify's subscription, paid apps and transaction fees come on top. These are guide prices, not a quote. Our pricing page shows what a Shopify store costs at every level.

Who it's for

We mainly work with fashion and lifestyle brands. A custom store is a good fit if you:

• have a brand and a range that have outgrown a standard theme
• need the store connected to an ERP, PIM, warehouse system or physical stores
• want to switch platforms and get a new design at the same time
• sell internationally or wholesale

If you're a new brand that just needs a simple Shopify site with a small range and a tight budget, a good theme with a few tweaks is often the smartest first step. Spend the money on traffic, and go custom once the store has shown it can sell.

Custom Shopify stores we've built

• Vitaviva (lifestyle): Fully custom Shopify design and development, plus integrations.
• Petit Bateau (fashion): Design, development and launch of the Danish online store (Shopify and POS) for the international French clothing chain.
• Peter Solberg (lifestyle): Custom Shopify development based on their own design.

"Working with Okayscale has felt a bit like bringing in a craftsman who doesn't just show up with tools, but actually knows how the house should be finished. We had been talking to several agencies and were left with the feeling that things were either too standard or too complicated [...]. With Okayscale it was different. We can warmly recommend Okayscale."

Victor, petersolberg.com (translated from Danish)

See all our case studies, or read the case study on The Copenhagen Scent, which is about CRO and ongoing Shopify development.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to build a custom Shopify store?

OkayScale's average delivery time for a new Shopify store is 6 to 8 weeks.

Can you build the store from our own design?

Yes. If you already have a design and need a Shopify developer, we'll develop the store from it.

Can we update the store ourselves afterwards?

Yes. If you want, your team gets a walkthrough after launch, so you can handle the day-to-day work yourselves. For help with new sections, design changes and app integrations, you can use Unlimited Shopify Development: a dedicated developer for a fixed monthly price, with no hourly rates and no lock-in.

Can you move our store from another platform?

Yes. We move stores to Shopify from WooCommerce, Magento, DanDomain and other platforms, and redirects and SEO are part of the plan from the start. See how a Shopify migration works.

Want to talk about your store?

OkayScale is a Danish Shopify agency based in Esbjerg. Tell us where you are today and what you want to achieve, and you'll get an honest take on the next step. Book a no-obligation call, email kontakt@okayscale.dk or call +45 53 37 21 17.