You want to sell online. You’ve heard Shopify is the way to go. And then someone throws words like “Liquid,” “headless,” and “custom theme” at you and suddenly it feels like a lot.
It doesn’t have to be. Here’s exactly what each option means, who it’s for, and what it’ll do for your business.
The Core Problem Most Stores Have
Most small business owners either:
- Overpay for features they’ll never use, or
- Underbuild and end up with a store that looks like everyone else’s template
Both cost you sales. The right tier matches where your business is right now — not some future version of it.
Option 1: Shopify Starter (Horizon Theme) — Starting at $2,500
Best for: New stores, smaller product catalogs, fast launches
Think of this like moving into a furnished apartment. The bones are already there — Shopify’s Horizon theme — and we customize it to look and feel like your brand. Your logo, your colors, your photos. It’s professional, fast, and ready to take orders.
The real value: You’re not waiting months for a custom build. You’re live in 1–2 weeks with a store that looks like you hired a professional — because you did.
Who this is for: You’re launching your first online store. You have a manageable product catalog. You want to start selling without betting the farm on a $10K project. This is where most people should start.
What you get:
- Shopify’s Horizon theme, branded to your business
- Payment processing, shipping, and taxes configured
- Up to 10 products set up and ready to sell
- A walkthrough so you can manage the store yourself
- Checkout tested end-to-end before launch
Option 2: Custom Liquid — Starting at $5,000
Best for: Established businesses with specific brand needs
“Liquid” is just the language Shopify uses behind the scenes to power your store. A Custom Liquid build means we’re not starting from a pre-made theme at all — we’re writing the store from scratch to match exactly what your brand needs.
No compromises. No “well, the theme doesn’t do that.” Your store looks like yours, not a version of someone else’s template with your logo dropped in.
The real value: If your business has a strong identity, a template will always feel like a costume. A custom build is the actual suit.
Who this is for: You’ve been in business a while. You know what you want. You’ve seen stores you like and a template won’t get you there. You’re willing to invest because you know a better-looking, better-functioning store converts more customers.
What you get:
- A fully custom theme built to your exact design
- No limitations from a theme’s built-in settings
- The same product setup and configuration as Starter
- Built to grow — easier to expand features over time
Option 3: Shopify Headless — Starting at $10,000
Best for: High-traffic stores, performance-obsessed brands
This is where things get technically interesting — but the value is simple. A “headless” store means the part you see (the website) is completely separate from the part that sells (Shopify’s backend).
We build the front end in Astro or Next.js — two modern web frameworks that are significantly faster than anything a standard Shopify store can produce — and connect it to Shopify’s commerce engine under the hood. You get Shopify’s rock-solid inventory, checkout, and payments, with a storefront that loads in milliseconds and looks like nothing else on the internet.
The real value: Speed is money in e-commerce. Studies consistently show that a 1-second delay in page load time can reduce conversions by 7%. At scale, that adds up. A headless store also gives you complete design freedom — you’re not limited by what Shopify’s theme system can do.
Who this is for: You have a real volume of traffic. Or you’re building a brand that needs to stand out in a crowded market. Or you’ve outgrown what a standard Shopify store can do. Most Shopify developers can’t build this — it’s a genuine technical edge.
What you get:
- A custom Astro or Next.js frontend
- Connected to Shopify’s checkout and commerce backend
- Maximum speed, maximum design control
- Built for scale — no performance ceiling
So Which One Should You Pick?
Here’s the honest answer:
Just starting out? → Starter. Get live, start learning what your customers want, reinvest.
Established brand that needs to look the part? → Custom Liquid. Stop settling for a template that was built for someone else.
Serious volume, serious brand, serious performance? → Headless. This is for stores that need to win, not just participate.
One More Thing
All three options are built by me directly — not a team overseas, not a freelancer marketplace. I’m local to the Central Coast, I know the market, and I’m not going anywhere.
If you’re not sure which tier fits your situation, let’s talk. No pitch, no pressure — just a conversation about what you’re building and what makes sense.
Serving Santa Maria, Lompoc, Pismo Beach, Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo, and the Central Coast.
