Shopify Development Retainer for Growing AU Stores
For founders and marketing leads who need theme work, new sections, bug fixes and integrations shipped every month, without hiring in-house or waiting on a freelancer. Reserved senior capacity, predictable hours, one accountable team.
When ad-hoc dev stops keeping up
A development retainer clears the backlog that piles up between builds, with senior hands who already know your store.
Your backlog never clears
Small theme tweaks, new sections and integration fixes stack up while your team focuses on trading. A retainer works the queue every cycle.
Freelancers go quiet
The developer who built your store is booked out or unreachable the week you need a change live. Reserved capacity means someone senior is always on.
Full projects are too heavy
You don't need a rebuild, you need steady senior hands for ongoing work. A retainer sizes the commitment to what you actually use.
Cheap edits break things
Changes from whoever's cheapest leave console errors and a slower store. One accountable team keeps the codebase clean.
No forward visibility
You can't plan a campaign when you don't know if dev will be free. Booked hours give you a predictable runway each month.
What the hours cover, and what they don't
Where your retainer hours go, what we need from you, and what sits outside scope.
| Included in hours | Your side | Out of scope | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theme & sections | Build, edit and fix | Brief and content | Full rebrand rebuild |
| Integrations | Setup and wiring | App subscriptions and keys | Custom app from scratch |
| Performance | Ongoing tuning | Approve trade-offs | Re-platform to headless |
| Content | Template and section changes | Copy and imagery | Ongoing copywriting |
Is a development retainer right for you?
Built for you if
- You're on Shopify or Shopify Plus and trading actively
- You have a steady stream of theme, section and integration work
- You want one senior team on call, not a new hire
- You need clean code, speed and accessibility protected
- You're doing $1M+ in annual turnover and dev is the bottleneck
Not the right fit if
- You need a full rebuild or migration first, start with a build
- You have one-off work only, a scoped fixed project suits better
- You're not yet on Shopify, we're Shopify-only
- You want the cheapest hourly rate over senior quality
What your retainer covers
Reserved senior hours across the work that keeps a Shopify store shipping.
What's included
- Theme development, new sections, blocks and template changes
- Bug fixes with cross-browser and device QA
- Third-party app setup, configuration and integration
- Speed and Core Web Vitals maintenance
- Accessibility fixes to WCAG 2.1 AA
- Small A/B tests and conversion tweaks
Technical deliverables
- Custom Liquid sections and metafield-driven content
- Theme app extensions and app block work
- Checkout extensibility and Functions on Plus
- Clean, documented, version-controlled code
- Staging preview and sign-off before every publish
Technology & integrations
- Shopify & Shopify Plus, Online Store 2.0
- Klaviyo, Recharge, Yotpo, Gorgias and similar
- ERP, 3PL and inventory feeds
- GA4, GTM and server-side tracking
- Headless / Hydrogen where it's already in place
How the retainer runs
A predictable cycle from onboarding to monthly reporting.
Discovery & audit
Week 1, we review your store, theme, apps and backlog, then agree the right monthly hours.
Onboarding
Week 1–2, access, staging theme, project board and comms set up. You get one point of contact.
Backlog & sprint planning
Ongoing, we prioritise your queue together at the start of each cycle.
Build & QA
Each sprint, work is developed on a preview theme and tested across devices before you see it.
Review & publish
Each sprint, you approve on staging, we publish, then monitor for regressions.
Report & plan next
Monthly, hours used, what shipped and what's queued next, in plain English.
Quality controls on every change
Nothing goes live without passing the same checks as a full build.
- Preview theme review before any publish
- Cross-browser and mobile device testing
- Lighthouse and Core Web Vitals checked, not regressed
- WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility pass
- Version-controlled, documented code
- A rollback plan for every publish
Investment
Retainers are scoped to the hours you actually use, agreed after discovery. Typical monthly bands below, all AUD.
Lite
~15–20 hrs. Steady tweaks, fixes and small sections.
Standard
~25–45 hrs. Regular section builds and integrations.
Scale
50+ hrs. Plus stores with heavy ongoing dev needs.
Development retainer FAQs
Related services
Reserve your monthly Shopify dev capacity
Book a call and we'll scope the right retainer band for your backlog and roadmap, no obligation.
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