Backend Development · Shopify Native

Backends that scale with your commerce stack

APIs, services, databases and infrastructure built for Shopify brands: reliable, observable and ready for growth. We design backend systems that power headless storefronts, custom apps, integrations and internal tools — without the fragility of one-off scripts or undocumented services.

Get a free backend audit See our work
backend systems shipped
150+
uptime target
99.9%
typical p95 API latency
<100ms

48-hour audit

Get a free backend audit

Send your store URL and current system landscape. We reply with a recorded walkthrough: bottlenecks, single points of failure, missing observability and five high-impact backend actions ranked by reliability and product impact. No pitch, no obligation.

  • A recorded walkthrough, sent to your inbox
  • Priorities ranked by impact
  • No pitch, no obligation
Get a free backend audit

Your details stay with us. We never share or sell them.

Get a free backend audit

Trusted by 250+ brands across the US, UK, UAE & Europe

01 / CAPABILITIES

Sixteen ways we build production backends for Shopify brands.

From APIs and job queues to databases, observability and infrastructure. Reliable systems that product and engineering teams can own.

01

API design & services

REST and GraphQL APIs with clear contracts, versioning, auth and error models for headless, apps and tools.

02

Shopify API clients

Rate-limit-aware Admin and Storefront integrations, bulk ops and webhooks that hold under real volume.

03

Job queues & workers

Background jobs, retries, dead-letter queues and idempotent processing for imports and syncs.

04

Databases & modelling

Schema design, indexing, migrations and query patterns that scale without silent cliffs.

05

Event-driven systems

Webhooks, message buses and event pipelines so systems stay decoupled and recoverable.

06

Auth & security

OAuth, least-privilege scopes, secret managers and secure multi-tenant patterns.

07

Infrastructure & CI/CD

Containers, serverless, pipelines and environments so releases are repeatable and rollback is real.

08

Observability & SLOs

Metrics, logs, traces and error budgets so backends stay healthy and ownership is clear.

09

BFF & middleware

Backend-for-frontend layers that aggregate APIs, enforce auth and keep clients thin.

10

Data pipelines

Clean event and entity feeds into warehouses so finance and growth can trust the numbers.

11

Caching & performance

Redis, CDN and query strategies so critical paths stay under latency targets at peak.

12

Shopify Functions & apps

Backend logic for checkout transforms and custom app services on modern stacks.

13

Legacy refactor

Move off brittle scripts onto versioned backends without downtime or data loss.

14

Contracts & testing

OpenAPI/GraphQL schemas, contract tests and CI so consumers stay compatible.

15

Multi-tenant backends

Correct isolation of data and config across multiple Shopify stores and markets.

16

Ownership retainers

SLO ownership, incident response and continuous improvement after launch.

02 / PROCESS

How a backend development engagement runs.

Every engagement follows the same four stages. You always know what is happening next and how success is measured at each milestone.

  1. Stage 1

    Discovery & architecture

    We map consumers, data domains, volume and failure modes, then lock contracts, auth model, SLOs and infrastructure choices before implementation starts.

  2. Stage 2

    Design & data model

    Schemas, API contracts, job design, observability plan and deployment strategy are defined so the system is operable from day one.

  3. Stage 3

    Build, test & ship

    Implementation with contract tests, staging validation, gradual rollout and rollback plans. Documentation and ownership maps ship with the code.

  4. Stage 4

    Observe, iterate & support

    SLOs, alerts and dashboards stay live. We refine based on real usage and offer retainers for ongoing ownership and evolution.

03 / OUR WORK

Recent work from our portfolio.

Live stores, apps and platforms we have built and run. Case studies open on this site; other projects open the live build in a new tab.

View all work

150+

Backend systems shipped

APIs, workers, data pipelines and Shopify-connected services

99.9%

Uptime target

with monitoring, retries and clear ownership of failures

<100ms

Typical p95 API latency

for critical read paths under production traffic

100%

Documented handovers

schemas, credentials, runbooks and ownership on every project

Phoenix40: Radiation Safety Training Platform

Custom web app

Phoenix40: Radiation Safety Training Platform

Phoenix40 is a specialized e-learning and compliance management platform delivering state-approved, 40-hour radiation safety certification for industrial radiographers. The web...

Live site: Phoenix40: Radiation Safety Training Platform

04 / PRICING

Transparent pricing. Pick the model that fits your backend goals.

Fixed-scope backend projects, ongoing retainers, or full-time dedicated teams. Whatever the engagement, you’ll see the price before you sign: no hourly creep, no surprise change orders.

Project

Fixed-scope backend project

$10K – $65K

Fixed timeline · Milestone-billed

Best for: New APIs, job systems, data pipelines, Shopify-connected services

  • Fixed SOW & written contracts
  • Schemas, tests & observability
  • Full documentation & ownership map
  • Easy off-ramp, no lock-in

Retainer

Monthly backend partnership

$3K – $12K / mo

20–50 hrs/month · Month-to-month

Best for: Ongoing ownership, new endpoints, performance work and incident response

  • Dedicated backend lead
  • SLO ownership & alerts
  • Priority fixes & new surfaces
  • Unused hours roll 50% forward

Dedicated team

Full-time backend pod

$8K – $22K / mo

1–3 specialists · Embedded with your engineering team

Best for: Complex multi-service programmes, continuous platform work, high volume

  • Senior backend specialists full-time
  • Direct Slack & weekly standups
  • Reports to your eng / product lead
  • Signed SLA & continuous ownership

05 / WHY BRANDS STAY

Six reasons brands stay with us for backend development.

Most of our backend work is repeat business or referral. These are the reasons clients give when we ask why.

Production-first design

Contracts, auth, rate limits, retries and observability are designed up front — not bolted on after the first outage.

Shopify-native depth

We work daily with Admin API, Storefront API, webhooks, Functions and app architecture — not generic tutorials.

A dedicated lead on every project

One accountable owner, clear weekly updates, no account-manager telephone game.

Schemas and docs that match reality

OpenAPI/GraphQL schemas, ownership maps and runbooks so the next engineer can extend the system without archaeology.

Transparent, fixed-scope pricing

Written scope and a fixed number before work starts. No surprise line items or hourly creep.

You own the code & credentials

Full repository access, deployment docs and secrets ownership. We stay because the work is good, not because exit is hard.

06 / TECH STACK

What we use for backend development.

Modern TypeScript and Python services, Shopify APIs as the commerce backbone, and observability baked in from the first commit — never undocumented scripts.

Languages & frameworks

  • Node / TypeScript
  • Python
  • Go
  • Remix
  • Nest
  • FastAPI
  • GraphQL Yoga / Apollo

Shopify & data

  • Admin API
  • Storefront API
  • Webhooks
  • Bulk Operations
  • Postgres
  • Redis
  • queues

Infra & delivery

  • Docker
  • serverless
  • GitHub Actions
  • Terraform where needed
  • secret managers

Observability & quality

  • OpenAPI / GraphQL schemas
  • contract tests
  • structured logs
  • metrics
  • tracing
  • SLOs

07 / FAQ

Questions we hear before every backend engagement.

Honest answers, including the ones most agencies dodge.

Get a free backend audit
How long does a typical backend project take?

Focused APIs and job systems often land in 4–10 weeks. Multi-service platforms or complex data pipelines usually run 8–16 weeks. Timeline is fixed in the SOW before work starts.

What stack do you prefer?

We default to TypeScript/Node and Python for most Shopify-connected backends, with Go when performance or concurrency needs it. We choose based on your team and operational constraints.

Do you only build new systems or also fix existing ones?

Both. We design and ship new APIs and services, and we also refactor brittle scripts, improve observability and migrate legacy backends without downtime.

What does a typical engagement cost?

Projects: $10K–$65K. Monthly retainers: $3K–$12K/mo. Dedicated team: $8K–$22K/mo. Every quote is fixed-fee and locked in the SOW.

How do you handle rate limits and high volume?

Rate-limit-aware clients, bulk operations, queues, backoff and caching are designed in from the start. We set realistic SLOs and test under load before go-live.

Do you support backends after launch?

Yes. Retainers include SLO ownership, alerts, priority fixes and new endpoints as product needs evolve. Most clients keep a retainer after the initial project.