DEDICATED OPS TEAM · ROLE
Hire a dedicated Shopify developer, supervised and secured by Ecom Relays
When you hire a dedicated Shopify developer through Ecom Relays, you get one named developer who works full time on your store and nobody else's. They change your theme, build and maintain integrations, replace app bloat with Shopify's own tools, fix bugs and keep the store fast. We recruit, supervise, equip and secure them; you pay their salary at cost plus a $399 monthly management fee.
Salary at cost + $399 a month · Works only on your store · Replacement at no extra fee
Quick answer
A dedicated Shopify developer is a full-time developer who works only on your store: theme changes, apps, Shopify Functions and Flow, integrations with your 3PL and marketplaces, speed and bug fixes. Through Ecom Relays, you approve the developer, pay their salary at cost plus $399 a month and keep every line of code in your store and your repository.
When a full-time developer makes sense
Most stores do not need a full-time developer. A theme set up well and a few apps carry a store a long way. A dedicated developer makes sense when the work never stops: weekly landing pages and promotions, custom product logic, a 3PL or ERP integration that breaks when someone changes a field, a marketplace connector to keep in sync and a backlog of small fixes nobody gets to.
It also makes sense when you are paying for several freelancers who each touched the theme and none of them documented it. One person who owns the code, works to a written process and is supervised daily will usually leave the store in better shape than a rotating cast.
If you need a one-off build, our Store Build service costs less: from $4,999 for custom Shopify and from $14,999 for Shopify Plus or a migration. See Shopify migration and store build.
What a dedicated Shopify developer does every day
The developer works your ticket queue every day, releases reviewed changes every week and audits apps and speed every month. Your backlog sets the order.
| Every business day | Every week | Every month |
|---|---|---|
| Tickets from your team worked in priority order | Changes released from a development theme after your review | App audit: what each app does, what it costs, what can be replaced |
| Bugs and broken integrations fixed or escalated | Landing pages, sections and promotions built for your calendar | Speed and Core Web Vitals checked on key templates |
| Integration logs checked: 3PL, ERP, marketplace connectors | Code committed with notes on what changed and why | Shopify platform changes reviewed for anything that affects your store |
| Questions from support and operations answered | Release notes sent to your named contact | Documentation updated for every custom piece |
The Shopify platform they work on
A good Shopify developer in 2026 works with the platform's current tools, not the workarounds of a few years ago.
- Themes. Online Store 2.0 themes built from sections and blocks, edited in Liquid, with changes made on a duplicate or development theme and released only after review.
- Shopify Functions and Flow. Discount, shipping and payment logic that used to need scripts or apps can often be built with Shopify Functions, and repeat admin tasks with Shopify Flow. Our Shopify automation page and the apps, Flow and Functions module explain where each fits.
- Admin API. Shopify made its REST Admin API a legacy API as of Oct 1, 2024. Since Apr 1, 2025, all new public apps must be built exclusively with the GraphQL Admin API (Shopify developer docs, checked Oct 20, 2026). New custom integrations should be built on GraphQL.
- Checkout. On Shopify Plus, the Thank you and Order status pages had to move from checkout.liquid to Checkout Extensibility by Aug 28, 2025 (Shopify Help Center). Tracking and post-purchase features now use checkout UI extensions and Shopify's pixels.
- Integrations. Your 3PL, ERP, helpdesk, reviews and marketplace connectors for Amazon and Walmart, with their data mapped and monitored.
Tools they work in
- Your Shopify admin, through a collaborator account.
- Shopify CLI and a code editor for theme and app work, with your code in a Git repository you own.
- A development or duplicate theme for testing before anything reaches shoppers.
- Your ticket board or project tool, so you can see every request and its status.
- Browser developer tools and Google's page speed reports for performance work.
How a dedicated Shopify developer is measured
KPIs are agreed before the start date and written into the role scope. These are typical.
| KPI | What it shows | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Tickets closed | Requests completed against the agreed priority order | Agreed with you |
| Cycle time | From ticket to release, by priority | Agreed with you |
| Reopened bugs | Fixes that broke again or caused a new issue | Trend to zero |
| Releases with notes | Changes shipped with written release notes and a rollback plan | Every release |
| Integration incidents | Failed syncs or orders stuck between systems | Logged and fixed; trend down |
| Documentation | Every custom piece documented in your repository | Kept current |
These measure whether the development work is done well. None of them promises a conversion rate or sales figure.
What you provide
- A collaborator access request approved in your Shopify admin, with the permissions the work needs. Collaborators do not count toward your user limit and must use two-step authentication (Shopify Help Center).
- A Git repository in your company's account, or permission for us to create one in your name.
- A named contact who sets priorities and approves releases.
- Payment for apps, paid theme licenses and developer tools, directly to the vendor.
Supervision, cover and replacement
A lead on our side reviews your developer's work, including a code review of changes before release, and checks the backlog is moving. KPIs are reviewed with you on a fixed cadence agreed at kickoff. If your developer leaves or is not the right fit, we recruit a replacement, you approve them and we handle onboarding and access at no extra fee. Because every change is in your repository and documented, a replacement picks up from the code, not from someone's memory. The departing person's access is removed within 24 hours.
What a dedicated Shopify developer costs
You pay their monthly salary, passed through at cost and shown on every invoice, plus a $399 monthly management fee. Billing is monthly in advance, with a 3-month first term, then month to month on 30 days' notice. Your proposal states the salary before you agree.
For a US reference point, web developers (SOC 15-1254) earned a national median of $44.54 an hour, or $92,650 a year, in May 2025 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, released May 15, 2026). A US employee also costs payroll taxes and benefits on top of salary.
How the comparison works: divide a US salary by 0.70 to get its fully loaded cost, because benefits are about 30% of total compensation (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026), then compare it with the dedicated salary plus twelve months of management fees. On that basis, a dedicated resource can cost up to 70% less than the fully loaded cost of a comparable US hire.
Illustrative · sample figures
| Comparable US hire | Dedicated resource | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | $50,000 a year | $16,800 a year |
| Benefits and payroll taxes (the 30% share: salary ÷ 0.70, less salary) | About $21,400 | Covered by the salary and the management fee |
| Management fee | None | $4,788 a year ($399 x 12) |
| Total | About $71,400 a year | About $21,600 a year |
| Difference | About 70% lower |
We use the same sample figures on every page so they can be checked; real salaries depend on the role and experience, and some roles show a smaller gap. Your proposal shows the real salary for each person, and the full method is on our dedicated ecommerce team cost page.
When a dedicated developer fits, and when something else does
A dedicated Shopify developer fits brands with a steady stream of development work and someone who can set priorities every week.
Something else fits better if:
- You need a new store, a redesign or a migration. Store Build delivers it as a fixed project.
- You need automation across channels, not just inside Shopify. AI orchestration and automation and Relay Modules are built to a written spec for a fixed price.
- You need day-to-day store operations rather than code. See Shopify store management.
Security and access
Your developer works on a company-managed device in our production rooms, through a collaborator account with two-step authentication, never your owner login and never billing or payout permissions. Code lives in your repository. Access is removed within 24 hours of any change. An NDA and a Data Processing Addendum are ready to sign. Read our security and access practices.
Ecomrelays LLC is a Texas company. Part of our team works outside the US, as one managed team with a named US-facing lead. Each resource works an agreed schedule that overlaps US business hours.
Questions
Questions owners ask before they hire a dedicated Shopify developer
How much does it cost to hire a dedicated Shopify developer?
The developer's monthly salary, passed through at cost and shown on every invoice, plus a $399 monthly management fee. Your proposal shows the salary before you agree. Apps, theme licenses and tools are paid by you. Terms: a 3-month first term, then month to month with 30 days' notice.
Do I own the code?
Yes. Code lives in your Shopify store and in a Git repository in your company's account, with documentation for every custom piece. If you end the arrangement, you keep all of it.
Can they work on Shopify Plus?
Yes, if you hire for it. Plus work such as Checkout Extensibility and checkout UI extensions needs specific experience, so write it into the role scope and we recruit for it.
Will a developer need my Shopify login?
No. They use a collaborator account, which you approve with a request code and can limit or remove at any time. Collaborators must use two-step authentication, cannot be given the Administrator role and cannot take ownership of your store.
How do changes reach my live store?
Through a development or duplicate theme first. You or your named contact review the change, the developer releases it with written notes and a way to roll it back, and our lead reviews the code before release.
What if I only need a developer for a few weeks?
A dedicated developer is a full-time arrangement with a 3-month first term. For a fixed project, Store Build or a Relay Module is the better fit and is priced as a project.
Do I choose the developer?
Yes. We recruit and screen candidates, and you meet and approve the developer before they start. If they are not the right fit, we replace them at no extra fee.
Can they connect Shopify to Amazon and Walmart?
Yes. Marketplace connectors, stock sync and order routing are common integration work. The developer sets them up and monitors them, and your operations team decides the rules.
See every role on the Dedicated Ops Team page, or all prices on Pricing and terms.
Sources6 sources
- 01onetonline.orgWeb Developers, SOC 15-1254; BLS OEWS 2025 wages; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary
- 02bls.govBLS OEWS May 2025, released May 15, 2026; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary
- 03bls.govBLS ECEC June 2026; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary
- 04shopify.devREST Admin API legacy as of Oct 1, 2024; new public apps GraphQL only from Apr 1, 2025; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary
- 05help.shopify.comPlus Thank you and Order status pages deadline Aug 28, 2025; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary
- 06help.shopify.comchecked Oct 20, 2026Primary
Next step
Show us your backlog.
A free 30-minute session with an ops lead about whether you need a full-time developer or a fixed project. No pitch deck. A real person replies within one business hour, 9am to 6pm US Central, Monday to Friday.
Shopify is a trademark of its owner; Ecom Relays is not affiliated with Shopify.