Shopify Theme Development 2.0
Design, build, and ship a custom Shopify theme with Online Store 2.0: CLI workflow, GitHub version control, dynamic sections, and JavaScript that belongs in a theme.
Shopify runs millions of stores, and every one of them renders through a theme. When a merchant wants a design their template cannot do, they hire a theme developer. That work pays well precisely because it sits behind a skill wall: Liquid, sections, JSON templates, and a CLI workflow that most web developers never touch.
This course takes you over that wall, from empty folder to a working custom theme.
How the course is structured
You start with the difference between Shopify 1.0 and Online Store 2.0, because understanding why sections and JSON templates exist makes everything after easier. There is an optional early section where you prototype your design as static files first, the way an agency would, before any Liquid gets written.
Then the real build begins. You create a Partner account and a development store, install Shopify CLI, connect the theme to GitHub, and build the theme piece by piece: announcement bar, a multi-part header, hero, collection products, collection groups, footer. Each section gets schema settings so a merchant can edit content from the admin without ever seeing your code. That is the part clients actually pay for.
Later sections cover the two types of templates and how to create alternate layouts, a CSS and image workflow that stays manageable as the theme grows, and JavaScript in themes done three ways: vanilla, with libraries, and with a Vue.js powered section that talks to APIs over AJAX.
Who this is for
Front-end developers who want a paid specialty, freelancers who want recurring client work, and store owners tired of paying for theme changes they could make themselves. You need solid HTML and CSS. You do not need prior Shopify experience, and the JavaScript sections explain enough to follow even if JS is not your strong suit yet.
The work this leads to
Shopify theme work comes in several shapes: full custom builds, section development for existing stores, and ongoing retainer work for merchants who ship new campaigns every month. Shopify developer roles in the US typically pay $75,000 to $140,000, and freelance theme work is one of the most accessible ways to get your first paid development clients. I wrote a full breakdown in how to become a Shopify developer, and if you are weighing the field itself, read is Shopify development a good career.
This course is also part of the Shopify Developer career path, which adds portfolio projects and the job-hunt side of the equation.
What you'll learn
- ✓ Set up a Shopify Partner account, development store, and a professional CLI plus GitHub workflow
- ✓ Build a complete Online Store 2.0 theme from scratch, section by section
- ✓ Write Liquid sections with schema settings so merchants can edit everything without touching code
- ✓ Create JSON templates and alternate templates for different page layouts
- ✓ Organize theme CSS and images with a workflow that scales past the demo stage
- ✓ Add JavaScript the Shopify way, from vanilla animations to a Vue.js powered section
- ✓ Understand the differences between Shopify 1.0 and Online Store 2.0, and between Debut and Dawn
Course Curriculum
9 sections
1
First Section
0 lessons
2
Next JS For Static Files
0 lessons
3
Create a Development Store
0 lessons
4
Online Store 2.0 Basics
0 lessons
5
Build A Theme with Shopify Online Store 2.0 - Sections
0 lessons
6
Templates
0 lessons
7
CSS and Images
0 lessons
8
Javascript
0 lessons
9
Conclusion
0 lessons
Before you start
- ✓ Comfortable with HTML and CSS. You will be writing both constantly
- ✓ Some JavaScript familiarity helps for the later sections, but the Liquid work assumes none
