Shopify Development for Services, Marketplaces and Stores
Shopify development and consultancy
Build your business on Shopify, whatever it sells
Shopify is not just for shops. I build service businesses, booking sites, marketplaces, directories and online stores on Shopify that go live already optimised for search and AI, using the same methods behind the course marketplace and supplier marketplace I run on it every day.
Talk about your buildSee the projects6,000+
courses on my Shopify marketplace
20+ years
building and running online businesses
16 years
working in SEO
Most people think of Shopify as a way to sell physical products. It is really a business platform: hosting, checkout, customer accounts, payments, content and an API to automate all of it, with no server to look after. That makes it a strong base for almost any online business, not just a shop.
I know because none of my own Shopify sites sell boxes. One sells training course places, one sells supplier listings and enquiries, and one sells digital tools and courses. I build the same kind of thing for you, or teach you to build it yourself.
What you can build on Shopify
Marketplaces
Many providers, one catalogue and one checkout. envicourse.com lists more than 6,000 courses from over 170 training providers on Shopify.
Directories and lead generation
Supplier profiles, quote requests and paid listings. Raybee routes enquiries to UK site services suppliers and bills their plans through Stripe.
Services, bookings and subscriptions
Dates, places and appointments sold as bookable options, and recurring plans or memberships billed through Stripe, with no stock to run out and confirmation emails that carry the details your customers need.
Digital products and content
Downloads, tools, courses and the articles that sell them. This site runs on Shopify, including The Operator's Library.
Online shops
The classic Shopify store, set up properly from the start: product conventions, collections and SEO decided before the catalogue grows, not retrofitted after.
Services and pricing
Shopify builds
From £10,000 per project
New Shopify sites and rebuilds for any business model. SEO and AI search are built in throughout, with every page's content researched as it is written, so your site goes live already optimised rather than waiting for an SEO phase after launch.
- ✓Site structure, theme and custom templates
- ✓Researched, optimised content from launch day
- ✓Bulk product, price and date management
- ✓Marketplace, directory and booking set-ups
SEO and AI search for existing Shopify sites
Fixed price per project
Already on Shopify? The same SEO and AI search work that goes into every build I do, applied to your current site: collection and location pages, headings, meta data, structured data and FAQs, with every factual claim checked before it goes live.
- ✓SEO audits and fix lists for Shopify
- ✓Collection, location and guide pages at scale
- ✓Publishing to Shopify's AI shopping channels
Integrations and automation
Fixed price per project
Shopify connected to the rest of your business. Stripe for payments and subscriptions, as on Raybee, and any other app with a connector, joined up through Make so enquiries, sign-ups, billing and reports run themselves without a monthly app for each job.
- ✓Stripe payments, subscriptions and recurring billing
- ✓Any app with a connector: CRM, email, accounting and more
- ✓Enquiry and quote routing
- ✓Onboarding, reports and connecting AI assistants to your store
Shopify consultancy
£1,000 per day
A working session on whether and how your business fits Shopify, before you commit to a build, or a second opinion on a site that is not doing what it should. I have also run WordPress since 2003 and built a WooCommerce store, so I can compare the platforms from experience.
- ✓Is Shopify right for your business model?
- ✓Shopify compared with WordPress and WooCommerce
- ✓Marketplace and pricing structures
- ✓Apps you need, and the ones you do not
Learn to build Shopify sites with AI
Quoted per session or programme
One-to-one training for business owners who want to build and run their own Shopify sites the way I do: Claude connected to Shopify, Make for automation, and the checks that keep a live store safe. You learn on your own store, from a browser, with no development environment to set up.
- ✓Connecting Claude to Shopify, Make and SEO tools
- ✓Bulk catalogue work and theme edits, done safely
- ✓Building Make automations around your store
- ✓Prefer self-paced? See my short courses
Development work is priced per project, not by the hour, and quoted as a fixed price after a short brief, so you know the full cost before any work begins.
Why work with me rather than an agency
Built by an operator
Most agencies build sites for other people. I run live businesses on Shopify, so every recommendation has been tested against my own bookings and enquiries.
Over 20 years online
Building and running online businesses remotely since the early days of Google, through mobile, marketplaces and now AI search, on WordPress and WooCommerce as well as Shopify.
Live and optimised from day one
Sixteen years of SEO go into the build itself. Content is researched as each page is built, so the site goes live already optimised for search engines and AI.
AI speed, fixed prices
Work is built with AI connected directly to Shopify and checked at every step, then priced per project rather than padded with agency hours.
Direct from brief to launch
You deal directly with me from the first brief to the finished site, with no hand-offs between sales, account managers and junior developers.
Why build on Shopify
- ✓Hosting, security and uptime are handled for you, so there is no server to maintain
- ✓A checkout and customer accounts you do not have to build
- ✓An API that lets thousands of records be managed in bulk, and connects to the other tools you use
- ✓Room to grow from a first version to a large catalogue on the same platform
Proven on my own sites
Every method here is in use on live Shopify businesses I am responsible for, built from a Chromebook with Claude and Make. More on the platform itself is in my Shopify review.
How it works
1
Send a short brief
What your business sells, how customers buy or enquire, and what a good result looks like. A few lines is enough to start.
2
Get a fixed quote
A clear scope of what is included and a fixed project price for the build. If you are still deciding whether Shopify suits your business, that is worked through in a consultancy session first.
3
Built, researched and optimised
Content is researched and optimised as each page is built, changes are tested before they reach your live site, and links and facts are checked, so the site goes live ready to rank.
Questions
How much does a Shopify build cost?
Shopify builds start from £10,000 per project, with SEO and AI search optimisation included. SEO for existing sites and integration work are also priced per project, and consultancy is £1,000 per day. Every project is quoted as a fixed price after a short brief.
Can you integrate Stripe and other apps with Shopify?
Yes. Stripe can handle payments, subscriptions and recurring billing alongside Shopify, as it does for supplier plans on Raybee. Other tools with a connector, such as CRMs, email platforms and accounting software, can be joined up through Make so data moves between them automatically.
Can you teach me to build my own Shopify site with AI?
Yes. I offer one-to-one training on building and running Shopify sites with Claude and Make, working on your own store from a browser. It covers connecting AI to your tools, bulk catalogue work, safe theme edits and automation. Training is quoted per session or programme, and my short courses are a self-paced alternative.
Is SEO included in a Shopify build?
Yes. SEO and AI search optimisation is built in throughout development. The content for each page is researched as it is built, and structure, headings, meta data, structured data and FAQs are done at the same time, so the site goes live already optimised with no separate SEO phase after launch.
Do you build on WordPress or WooCommerce?
No. I only build on Shopify. I have run WordPress since 2003 and built and ran a WooCommerce store for another business, so in a consultancy session I can compare WordPress, WooCommerce and Shopify for your business, or advise on moving from them to Shopify.
Can I use Shopify if I do not sell physical products?
Yes. Services, bookings, digital products, subscriptions, marketplaces and directories all run on Shopify. The main thing is setting it up for your model from the start, for example turning off stock tracking for anything that is not physical so it never shows as sold out.
Can you build a marketplace on Shopify?
Yes. envicourse.com lists courses from more than 170 providers in one Shopify catalogue, and Raybee runs supplier profiles, quote requests and paid listings. How suppliers are paid, listed and reported to depends on your model, and that is worked out in the brief.
What is the difference between Shopify and Shopify Plus, and do I need Plus?
Shopify Plus is Shopify's enterprise plan. It costs several times more than the standard plans and adds deeper checkout customisation, several storefronts under one contract, custom pricing and discount rules, and lower fees for high-volume sellers. The standard plans run the same themes and apps, and since April 2026 they also include the core B2B features. Most service businesses, marketplaces and directories do not need Plus. My own sites run on standard plans.
A store built on a standard plan can generally be upgraded to Plus later without being rebuilt, keeping its products, customers, orders and theme, so you can start on a standard plan and move up when you outgrow it.
Upgrades to Plus are arranged directly with Shopify and subject to Shopify's own terms, eligibility and pricing at the time. Speak to Shopify first to confirm the current process and what it would mean for your store before planning around an upgrade.
Can you take over or improve an existing Shopify site?
Yes. Much of the work is improving what is already there: fixing structure, cleaning up catalogues, building out pages for search and automating the admin around them.
Who will I be working with?
Me, Drew Mitchell: managing director of Envico Limited since 2003, with over 20 years building and running online businesses and sixteen years in SEO. The Shopify work I have done on my own businesses is on the projects page.
Ready to build on Shopify?
Send a short brief on what your business sells and how customers buy, and I will come back with a fixed quote for the build or the training. If you are not yet sure Shopify is the right platform, book a consultancy day to work it through.
Shopify development, consultancy and training by Drew Mitchell, Managing Director of Envico Limited since 2003. Last reviewed October 2026.