Want your store to be unique and stand out from your competitors?
Read on!
Research has shown that it only takes 0.05 seconds for users to form an opinion about a website, and 94% of these first impressions are design-related. (Source)
Shopify is known for its user-friendly platform and robust commerce designs, but sometimes only purchasing a theme may not be enough to create your desired store.
In order to create a unique store and 100% aligned with your target user journey and brand guidelines, custom development is the way. This approach offers you the flexibility and customization options you need to create the store that you dream about.
If you have less knowledge of Shopify custom development, then we are here for you with a handy guide!
Let's get started.
What is Custom Development?
As the name suggests, custom development is tailoring a store's design uniquely with features and functionality.
If your purchase journey is unique and your product or service demands additional assistance for being sold, then custom development is the approach for your online store development.
For example, if your apparel also involves the addition of their size, body type, fit etc., giving customers a vast array of options to select from makes their shopping experience seamless.
It's worth noting that building a custom development store takes longer than a standard online store, given the unique requirements that you desire. Yet this is where custom development really shines, as it gives you a chance to include specific customization options that make the customer's buying experience easier and guarantee their satisfaction with their purchase.
- Custom development involves integrating your brand guidelines into the design and functionality of your online store. It also incorporates the brand voice and tone into the content, ensuring that the store's messaging aligns with the brand's overall voice and tone.
- Design and Development Teams work on numerous factors to convert the unique visual design into an optimized and functioning online store.
With custom development, you can create a one-of-a-kind online store that sets you apart from the competition and provides an exceptional user experience. You can choose a basic theme (for example, i.e. dawn theme) from the Shopify theme store to select as the base and build the store on it.
When to Opt for Shopify Custom Development?
Custom development for an online store may be the right choice in the following situations:
Niche Industry Requirements:
Custom development may be necessary when operating in a niche or highly specialized industry. In such cases, an off-the-shelf user journey may not meet the specific needs and requirements of the business, as it is designed to serve a broader market—E.g., Buying refurbished mobile phones.
Unique Business Requirements:
Custom development may be necessary if your online store has specific requirements that off-the-shelf ecommerce platforms cannot meet. Custom user journeys can be designed to meet your unique business needs and offer a solution tailored to your online store: E.g., Custom dimensions for apparel.
Scalability:
If you anticipate that your online store will grow and require additional functionality and complex integrations over a very short span of time, custom development can offer a scalable solution that can grow with your business. Custom online stores can be designed to accommodate future changes and upgrades, ensuring that your online store can handle increased traffic and complex user and operational flows.
How is Shopify Custom Development Done?
The process of Custom development follows a series of stages. They are as follows.
Discovery
The discovery stage sets the foundation for the entire project. During this phase, the design and development teams work closely to understand the merchant's requirements, expectations, and vision for their online store. This involves asking questions, gathering information, and analyzing data to create a detailed project scope.
Design
The design stage is where the design team creates the visual representation of the online store. This involves creating the user journey, commerce and non-commerce page layouts, error and success screens and interaction designs for desktop and mobile versions. The design team also considers the latest design trends, user behaviour, and usability to create a modern and user-friendly online store.
Prototyping
Prototyping involves stitching all the designs together to create a full user journey of the online store. Through a prototype model, you can create a realistic and interactive experience of the store for the merchant and development team to review. This prototype allows us to experience how the custom theme development looks and functions.
The development team also uses this prototype to understand what needs to be developed and how. Any changes and improvements can be made at this stage to ensure the final product replicates the prototype.
Development Planning:
Development planning is a stage where the development team reviews the design and gathers all the necessary resources for its execution. Along with the roadmap for development, this plan additionally answers the below questions:
- Which pages/modules will be developed and when?
- How will resources be deployed?
- How many milestones does the project contain?
- How will reviews be conducted?
Development:
The development stage is where the actual tech development starts. The team uses the prototype as a guide to ensure the final product looks and functions as expected. The development team uses the latest coding standards and practices to ensure the online store is robust, scalable, and secure. The development team also integrates third-party tools and APIs to provide the expected functionality to the shopify custom development.
Testing:
The testing stage is crucial in verifying that the online store functions properly and satisfies the merchant's specifications. Before the store goes through testing, the right checklist should be followed. When the developed store is handed over by the tech team, the quality analysis team enters the picture. They thoroughly evaluate the online store and report any problems or faults.
This involves testing the online store on different devices, browsers, and operating systems to ensure it works consistently across all platforms. The quality analysis team can conduct several types of testing to ensure that the online store functions as expected.
Launch:
Once the online store has passed all testing and quality checks, it is launched and made available to the public. The technology team provides ongoing maintenance and support to ensure that the online store continues to function correctly.
The development team may also train the merchant's staff on certain tasks/modules to ensure they can manage the online store effectively. The launch of the online store is a significant milestone in the development process, and it marks the culmination of all the hard work and effort put into the project.
Nutshell
Custom theme development is a demanding and meticulous process that requires a great deal of time and effort due to its intricate nature. The process involves a series of steps starting from understanding the merchant's needs, assessing site constraints, and factoring in various technical and regulatory aspects. Moreover, custom ecommerce development involves a lot of collaboration, coordination, and decision-making among the stakeholders.
One should clearly understand the project's scope and budget, choose the right design and development team and have a realistic timeline, and ensure that all the necessary permits and regulations are followed. Overall, shopify custom development can create a distinctive and tailored structure that satisfies the merchant's needs and boosts the store's potential.
At Marmeto, we aim to ensure the e-commerce store we build supports the objectives of your business. Knowing that the strategy you've chosen for your online store is of the highest caliber and that we'll provide an excellent user experience that leaves a lasting impression with effective conversion rates.
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