Building a Shopify store
Shopify sells one precise thing: the disappearance of infrastructure. No server, no upgrades, no security patch to apply, no backup to watch. In exchange you rent everything, you pay monthly for each function added, and some product model constraints cannot be worked around — not even with development.
Limits worth knowing before you type in the catalogue
The variant ceiling per product was raised to 2048 in October 2025, on every plan including the entry tier. The limit that still shapes a catalogue sits elsewhere: three options per product, maximum. Colour, size and material already fill the quota; a fourth dimension has no place in the native model.
Second limit, less visible and more treacherous: the product.variants object in the Liquid theme language returns only the first 250 variants. Beyond that, a hand-built picker, a size mapping table or a minimum price calculation written in the theme starts answering wrongly, with no error shown. Pagination is then required, and the theme has to have been written for it.
Third point: deep checkout customisation depends on the plan. On common tiers the payment step stays largely Shopify’s own. That is the price of the reliability you came for, but you need to know it before promising an unusual buying journey.
What is paid monthly, indefinitely
- The platform subscription, on a plan that gates certain functions rather than mere volume.
- Payment processing fees, plus an additional commission if you collect through a third-party provider.
- Apps. This is the line that drifts: reviews, loyalty points, subscriptions, returns, product feeds, translation. Each bills monthly, often by order band.
- The theme, bought once, but where each major version can demand redoing the customisations.
- Private app development when no public app does the job: that is where I come in, and it remains ordinary development against an API.
- Leaving, the day you go: theme work and customisations do not come back the way a site you hosted yourself would.
What I check before endorsing Shopify for a project
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Count the product dimensions
If an item is described by more than three buyer-chosen characteristics, the native model is not enough and everything after that is a workaround. It is the first disqualifying criterion, before any price consideration.
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Add up the app subscriptions
I list the expected functions, note the monthly rate of each matching app, and multiply by thirty-six months. That total, set against the cost of a self-hosted platform, gives a clear decision rather than a hunch.
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Check the business integrations
Management software, till, warehouse, accounting: either an official app exists, or development against the admin API is needed. Both are possible; they differ in price and in lead time.
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Look at languages and currencies
International needs are handled differently from PrestaShop or WooCommerce, and part of it rests on apps. Worth settling at scoping if you sell beyond one country.
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Test the real catalogue, not a sample
Edge behaviour only appears at volume. I load a representative extract of the most complex products before confirming the choice, not the ten simplest ones.
Related pages
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Shopify work
What I do on the platform: theme, private app, API integrations.
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Variant limits per product
The detail of the real ceilings and what they change for a wide catalogue.
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Hidden app costs
How the monthly total drifts, and how to bring it back under control.
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Custom Shopify app
When no public app fits and development becomes necessary.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify cheaper than PrestaShop or WooCommerce?
Can everything be customised on Shopify?
What happens if I want to leave Shopify?
How many products does Shopify accept?
Do you develop on Shopify?
Describe your need in one minute
A few targeted questions so I can reply with an estimate rather than another questionnaire.