1. Discovery
Before any code, I review the current store, the analytics and the goals. Who edits which pages? What changes weekly and what never does? Where do shoppers drop out? The answers decide what the theme needs to do and, just as importantly, what it can skip.
2. Architecture
I plan the section and block library, the JSON templates, and the metafields and metaobjects that hold structured content. This is where the editing experience gets designed, so your team can build pages from reusable sections instead of requesting developer time for every change. I also plan heading structure and structured data here, because SEO is cheaper to design in than to retrofit.
3. Design to components
Designs are broken into components and responsive behavior is agreed before build starts. A shared list of components keeps the design, the code and the theme editor consistent.
4. Development
I work in a development store with Shopify CLI and Git, so every change is versioned and reviewable. The code is Liquid with as little JavaScript as the experience allows, checked with Shopify's Theme Check, and built with accessibility and performance targets in mind from the first commit.
5. QA
- Real devices and the main browsers, not just a resized desktop window.
- The whole purchase path: collection, product, cart and checkout.
- Awkward data: very long titles, missing images, out-of-stock variants.
- The editor experience, tested as a non-developer would use it.
- Speed measured against the baseline taken in discovery.
6. Launch checklist
- Redirects in place for any changed URLs.
- Analytics, pixels and key integrations firing correctly.
- Structured data validated, plus sitemap and robots files checked.
- The old theme backed up so there is a safe way back.
- Publishing at a quiet time, with monitoring ready.
7. After launch
Launch day is the start of the measuring. I stay close through go-live and the fixes that follow, then use real data to decide the next improvement. The theme is handed over with documentation, so your team can keep building on it.
If you're planning a build, see how I approach Shopify theme development or tell me about your project.