Shopify Plus
A UK Shopify Plus agency that will tell you if you need Plus
Shopify Plus opens up the parts of the platform the standard plans keep closed: the checkout, B2B and multi-store operations. We do the Shopify Plus development that makes those features pay for themselves, and say so when they would not.
What Plus adds
The features that are actually different on Plus
The storefront, admin and theme system are the same as on any Shopify plan. These are the things you are paying for.
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Checkout extensibility
Checkout UI extensions add your own fields, messages, offers and content to the checkout steps, in a way that keeps working when Shopify updates the checkout.
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Custom Shopify Functions
On Plus you can run Functions from your own custom apps, so discount, delivery, payment and validation rules are written for your business, not picked from an app.
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B2B on Shopify
Company accounts with several buyers and locations, catalogues with customer-specific price lists, payment terms and a trade storefront beside or within the retail one.
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Expansion stores
Extra stores for other regions, languages or wholesale under the same organisation, with users and settings managed centrally.
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Launchpad
Schedules sale events, product releases, discounts and theme changes to start and end on their own, so nobody is publishing at midnight.
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Higher API limits
More API capacity for integrations that move a lot of orders, stock and prices, which matters once volumes are high.
Is it worth it?
When to upgrade to Plus, and when to hold off
Plus costs substantially more than the standard plans. Shopify Flow, Markets and most theme features are available without it, so they are not reasons to upgrade on their own.
Plus is usually worth it when
- You need fields, logic or content in checkout that the standard checkout cannot provide
- Wholesale customers need their own prices, terms and company accounts
- You run, or are about to run, several stores for different regions or brands
- Integrations are hitting API limits at your order volume
- Sale events need scheduling and rehearsing in advance
Hold off when
- The only driver is a feeling that a serious brand should be on Plus
- What you need is available from an App Store app on your current plan
- The problem is really theme speed, app bloat or tracking
- Nobody can name the checkout change that would pay for the fee
Checkout migration
From checkout.liquid to Checkout Extensibility
Older Plus stores customised checkout by editing a theme file, checkout.liquid, adding extra scripts to the order status page and writing Shopify Scripts for discounts and shipping. Shopify has deprecated that approach in favour of Checkout Extensibility, and stores still relying on it need to move.
The replacement is a set of separate, supported parts. Appearance is set in the checkout editor. Added interface is built as Checkout UI extensions. Logic that Scripts used to handle becomes Shopify Functions. Tracking moves to web pixels, which run in a sandbox and respect customer consent.
The migration is rarely a like-for-like copy. Some old customisations map directly, some are now standard features, and a few cannot be reproduced and need a different design. We audit what your checkout does today, including the things nobody remembers adding, and agree which are still worth having.
B2B, international, integration
Shopify Plus development beyond the checkout
Most Plus projects are about operations as much as the storefront: selling to trade customers, selling abroad, and keeping Shopify in step with the systems that run the business.
Each has a native Shopify answer and a point where that answer runs out. Knowing where the line is before you build is most of the work.
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B2B
We set up companies, locations, catalogues and price lists, import your trade accounts, and build the quick-order and reorder tools trade buyers expect.
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International with Markets
Shopify Markets handles currencies, languages, local domains and market-specific pricing from one store. Expansion stores are for regions that need separate catalogues, stock or teams.
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ERP integration
Orders, stock, prices and customers kept in step with your ERP through webhooks and the Admin API, with queues, retries and logging. See apps and integrations.
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Automation
Shopify Flow for the routine decisions: tagging, fraud review, low-stock alerts and order routing, without custom code where a workflow will do.
Questions
Shopify Plus questions
What is Shopify Plus?
Shopify Plus is Shopify’s enterprise plan. It runs on the same platform as the standard plans and adds checkout customisation through Checkout UI extensions, Shopify Functions in custom apps, the full native B2B feature set, expansion stores, Launchpad for scheduled campaigns and higher API limits. It is priced well above the standard plans.
Is Shopify Plus worth it?
Shopify Plus is worth it when you will use what it adds: a customised checkout, native B2B with company accounts and price lists, several stores, or higher API limits. If your needs are met by a standard plan and App Store apps, the extra fee buys very little. Decide on specific features, not on turnover alone.
What is Checkout Extensibility?
Checkout Extensibility is Shopify’s current way of customising checkout. It replaces editing the checkout.liquid file with supported building blocks: the checkout editor for branding, Checkout UI extensions for added fields and content, Shopify Functions for logic, and web pixels for tracking. Customisations built this way keep working when Shopify updates the checkout.
Do we have to migrate from checkout.liquid?
Yes. Shopify has deprecated checkout.liquid, along with additional scripts on the order status page and Shopify Scripts, in favour of Checkout Extensibility. Stores that still depend on them need to rebuild those customisations as extensions, Functions and pixels. Check the current deadlines in your Shopify admin, where upgrade notices are shown.
Can Shopify Plus handle B2B and wholesale?
Yes. B2B on Shopify provides company accounts with multiple buyers and locations, catalogues with customer-specific price lists, quantity rules and payment terms. It can run in the same store as retail or in a dedicated expansion store. Very complex quoting or contract pricing may still need custom work or a different platform.
What does a Shopify Plus agency do that a Shopify agency does not?
A Shopify Plus agency works on the features only Plus exposes: checkout extensions, custom Shopify Functions, B2B setup, multi-store organisations and high-volume integrations. That work is closer to software engineering than theme building, so it needs developers comfortable with APIs, testing and deployment as well as Liquid.