For agencies
Senior Shopify Plus development for agencies
For design agencies, marketing agencies and development shops with more Shopify work than senior capacity, or without Plus depth in-house. One developer, fifteen years on Shopify, who has been part of the front-end team at a Shopify Plus agency on builds for Gymshark and Victoria Beckham, and who now builds for Brew Tea Co, Feel Reformed and Miller Harris.
How it works
Four ways agencies use me.
01
Overflow on a live project
You have the work and the deadline, and not enough senior Shopify capacity to hit it. I pick up defined pieces of the build in your repository, to your standards, without needing the whole project explained first.
02
Fractional senior developer
A set number of days each month, reserved for you. Useful when the pipeline is steady but not enough to justify a Plus-level hire, and when you would rather the same person kept the context between projects.
03
Technical lead on a full build
You own the design, the strategy and the client relationship. I own the build: architecture, the Liquid and JavaScript, the Functions, the integrations, and the technical calls that come up along the way.
04
White-label under your name
Same work, your brand on it. I stay off the client calls unless you want me on them, and anything client-facing goes out as your team. Plenty of the work I do is never attributed, which is fine.
The work
Mostly the parts other people would rather not quote for.
- Custom Liquid and JavaScript builds, from a design or from an existing theme
- Shopify Functions, and Scripts to Functions migrations before the deadline
- Cart Transform for bundles, and the cart logic that used to need workarounds
- Shopify Markets setup and consolidating regional stores into one
- Integrations: ERP, PIM, subscriptions, loyalty, search, and the awkward ones
- Plus feature work: B2B, checkout extensibility, customer accounts
- Performance work, including being straight about which apps are costing you
More detail on each of these on the services pages.
Working together
- In your Slack, not on an email thread with a ticket reference.
- Estimates before the work, and a message when something is going to move.
- Your repository, your branching model, your review process.
- Code your team can pick up, because one day someone will have to.
- No surprises on invoicing, and no line items you have to query.
- If something is a bad idea, you hear it from me before your client does.
In practice
Cult Gaia, with ToyFight
Fashion & luxury · Shopify Plus
How a design agency and a Shopify Plus developer split a build
Cult Gaia's Shopify Plus store was built by two studios: ToyFight on design and front end, Graftstudio on Shopify Plus architecture and implementation. This is how the work was divided, where the handoffs sat, and why the split produced a better store than either would have made alone.
“We have worked exclusively with Graftstudio on a series of Shopify projects over the past twelve months. As a small team ourselves, we relish working with pragmatic partners and collaborators who are not only brilliant, but also sympathetic to last-minute requests and fast-changing scopes! Richard has been nothing but forthcoming; he’s reliable and quick, even at the toughest of times. I would not hesitate to recommend Richard and Graftstudio.”
Amelie Jannoe
E-Commerce Manager, Miller Harris
“Richard was incredibly accommodating throughout the development of our new website. He was consistently solutions-focused, suggesting practical improvements that helped us streamline the site and create a better overall experience. Whenever I had a technical question, he was readily available to explain things clearly and find a way forward. I would highly recommend Richard to anyone looking to refresh their website and work with a knowledgeable, responsive, reliable developer and a genuinely nice person!”
Deborah Bryant
“Richard has been supporting us behind the scenes for years and we find him exceptionally reliable. Designs are brought to life as intended but with the added benefit that Richard will always recommend a better or simpler way of achieving a goal, something we find very valuable. The support is quick, the documentation is great and his approach is flexible to our requirements. He works really well with our team and others working on our site. The ground up build was complex with a lot of interesting features - all delivered exactly as planned. Thanks Richard, we look forward to continuing to grow with Graftstudio.”
Phil Kirby
Founder, Brew Tea Co.
“I'd never go back to working with a large agency after working with Graftstudio.”
Niamh Russell
E-Commerce Marketing Manager, Steamline Luggage
“I have worked with developers across overland of platform, one man bands to large agencies. I can say with my hand on my heart, that I will never have to look again for a developer on any project I ever work on. Richard is honest, fast and top of his game. A friend in life and business, feel very grateful to be working with him.”
Ernest Capbert
TOG Knives
“Richard has become a vital member of the team here at TOG Knives. He is fast to respond to enquiries and fast to complete the work too, both of which make a huge difference when you are managing an e-commerce site. He's also experienced, efficient and pro-active in terms of resolving problems and developing our site, suggesting different ways of doing things. Thoroughly recommended!”
Bert Beagley-Brown
Founder, TOG Knives
“Richard has been an invaluable resource for us as we transitioned from another agency. His communication and responsiveness have kept up with our various complex needs. Highly recommend!”
Ben Twineham
E-Commerce Marketing Manager, Paxton & Whitfield
“We worked with Richard at Graftstudio to build our website from scratch. Aside from delivering what we wanted on-time and looking great, what was great was Richard's proactiveness in suggesting solutions / options to our requirements that we hadn't thought of, or were unaware of.”
Richard Sagar
Founder, The Spirited Club
“We worked with Richard to develop a brand new website, and he really understood our vision from the start. He offered thoughtful suggestions that matched our aesthetic and branding, and was always happy to problem-solve along the way to ensure we achieved exactly what we wanted. Since then, he’s continued to offer support whenever needed, and we’ve also collaborated on smaller projects together. Highly recommend!”
Jenny Aktas
E-com Trading Manager, TUTTI
“I would recommend working with Graftstudio for all of your Shopify development needs. Richard is a clear communicator and always sticks to deadlines. Work is always done to the highest level.”
Sonny Singh
Manager - Scotland Kilt Company, KILT SOCIETY™
“Richard at Graftstudio is a pleasure to work with. Very knowledgeable & quick to respond to any development work we may have with the site. We truly value his support & would recommend Graftstudio to anybody on Shopify.”
Maggie Ibetson
Marketing Manager, Snackfully
“Richard approached this project thoughtfully, and achieved a lot in a short time as a result. We are excited to continue working together!”
Andrew Goble
Jambys
“Graftstudio has excellent web developers with wonderful communication skills and an eye for design.”
Liliya Kay
E-Commerce Manager, Intelligent Change
“Graftstudio was very helpful and easy to work with. Understands someone who doesn't have the best knowledge of how to best visually progress their website. Will be working with them again.”
Ruth Haldon
Founder, Ruth Haldon Jewellery
Questions
Do you work under our name?
Yes. White-label is the default for agency work. Your brand on the deliverable, your team on the client calls, and I stay in the background unless you want me introduced. I am happy to sign your NDA, and to be named as a subcontractor where a client requires that.
Whose accounts does the work live in?
Yours, or your client’s. Code goes in your repository, the Shopify access is granted to me rather than owned by me, and everything is documented as it is built. Nothing depends on me still being around, which is the point.
Can you work in our repository and follow our standards?
That is the normal arrangement. Your branching model, your review process, your linting and your conventions. If you have a house theme structure or a component library, I work in it rather than importing my own way of doing things.
What do you need to scope a piece of work?
Access to the store or the repository, the design if there is one, and a conversation about what the client actually needs rather than what has been written down. Most scoping calls take under an hour and the estimate follows in writing.
Do you speak to our client directly?
Only if you want me to. Some agencies prefer everything routed through their producer, some would rather I join the technical calls so nothing gets lost in translation. Both work. It is worth deciding at the start rather than midway through.
Next step
Send me the scope.
Tell me what the project is and when you need it, and you will get a straight answer on whether I can take it and what it involves. Email hello@graftstudio.com.
