Devvista is a software development and growth agency that finds, places and manages dedicated ecommerce developers and store engineers, serving clients in the US, UK, Australia, Canada and the UAE. Engagement is hourly, as a team, or for a fixed-price build.
An online store lives or dies on its catalogue, checkout and the systems behind them: stock, shipping, payments and accounting. Below: the kinds of store work, which platform suits which shop, the cost, how to check a candidate and how hiring works from your country.
What our ecommerce developers build
New stores on Shopify or WooCommerce
A store built to your catalogue and brand, with product pages, collections, checkout and tracking set up so you can sell from launch day. Our hire Shopify developers page covers Shopify in depth.
Checkout, shipping and payment work
Changes where shoppers drop out: delivery options, payment methods, tax rules and a checkout that works on a phone.
Product feeds and catalogue tools
Bulk uploads, variants, bundles and feeds to shopping channels, with checks so a bad import does not break live products.
Integrations with stock, shipping and accounting
Connections that stop retyping orders between systems. Our Shopify ERP integration guide shows the pattern.
Speed, search and conversion fixes
Finding the heavy images, slow apps and confusing steps that cost sales, and fixing them in order of impact. Our ecommerce development service covers whole-store projects.
Which store platform fits: Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento or custom?
The platform shapes who you hire and what you pay for years. The table sets out the usual fit, with our view in the last row.
| Platform | Best for | Hosting and upkeep | Developer to hire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify | Stores that want to launch fast and keep upkeep low | Hosted by the platform | Shopify developer |
| WooCommerce | Content-led stores already on WordPress | You host and maintain it | WordPress and WooCommerce developer |
| Magento | Large catalogues with complex rules | You host and maintain it, with heavier upkeep | Magento specialist |
| Custom build | Unusual products, pricing or workflows | Built and hosted to your design | Full-stack or backend team |
| Our view | Choose the lowest-upkeep platform that fits the catalogue | Count the yearly cost of upkeep | Hire for the platform you pick |
Our Shopify vs WooCommerce comparison walks through the choice in detail, and our WordPress page covers the content side.
Where online stores lose sales, and what a developer fixes
Most store work begins with a leak. The table pairs common ones with the likely cause and the first check, so you can brief a hire on the result you want.
| Leak | Likely cause | First check | Typical fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoppers leave at checkout | Surprise shipping cost or too many fields | Where in checkout people exit | Show costs earlier and cut fields |
| Product pages load slowly | Heavy images and unused apps | Page weight and the apps loading | Compress images and remove apps |
| Wrong stock shown | Stock updated by hand or not synced | How stock reaches the store | Sync stock from the source system |
| Orders retyped into accounts | No link between store and accounting | How orders reach finance | Connect them with reconciliation |
| Mobile sales trail desktop | Layout or payment steps built for desktop | The store on a real phone | Rebuild the steps for small screens |
A good developer proposes the cheapest fix first and measures whether it moved the number you care about.
What it costs and how you can hire
You can buy ecommerce developers by the hour, from $10 to $100 depending on level, or as a fixed-price project from $500 to $100,000. All prices are in US dollars, and the estimate comes before the work.
| Model | Best for | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated ecommerce developer by the hour | Improving a live store through the year, fix by fix | By developer level |
| Small ecommerce team | A launch or replatform needing store, integration and testing skills together | Hourly, per person |
| Fixed-price build | A store build, a migration or an integration with a written scope | By complexity |
| Scoping first | You are choosing a platform or replatforming and need a plan before building | A short engagement that ends in a written spec |
Illustration (an estimate, not a quote): a new store of about 200 products on a hosted platform, with a custom theme, checkout setup, shipping rules and one accounting integration, at an assumed $40 an hour:
| Work | Hours |
|---|---|
| Catalogue structure and written spec | 20 |
| Theme build and product templates | 56 |
| Checkout, shipping and tax setup | 28 |
| Product import and checks | 16 |
| Accounting integration | 30 |
| Speed and mobile pass | 18 |
| Testing with real orders | 16 |
| Launch and handover | 12 |
| Total | 196 hours, about $7,840 at $40 an hour |
A smaller catalogue with no integration falls well below that, and a migration from another platform adds hours. Send your catalogue size and we will price your own.
Which ecommerce developer profile you need
Stores need a platform specialist first and an integrator second, so name the platform before you shortlist.
| Profile | What they do | Ask to see |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify developer | Builds themes, checkout changes and apps on Shopify | A store they built and its speed score |
| WooCommerce developer | Builds and extends stores on WordPress | A shop and the plugins it relies on |
| Store integration engineer | Connects the store to stock, shipping and accounts | An integration with a failure list |
| Conversion and speed specialist | Finds and fixes the leaks that cost sales | A before-and-after on a live store |
Common situations and what to hire
Ecommerce projects start from a handful of positions.
| Your situation | What to hire | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A new store to launch | A platform specialist on a fixed-price build | Checkout and shipping are tested before launch |
| A store on an old platform | A migration project, then monthly improvement hours | Redirects and product data are checked before the switch |
| A store that sells but loses shoppers midway | A conversion specialist by the hour | Fixes start with the biggest exit point |
What the first month of a ecommerce hire looks like
- Week one: access to the store, analytics and accounts, plus a written list of the main problems or goals.
- Week two: the first fixes or the theme foundation, with checkout steps mapped.
- Week three: shipping, tax and payment setup, plus the first integration.
- Week four: test orders through each payment method, a speed pass on phones and a launch or release plan.
How to check any ecommerce developer before you hire
A short interview can tell you more than a portfolio. These questions are a good place to start.
- Which platform would you choose for this catalogue, and what does it cost to maintain each year?
- How do you test checkout with real orders before launch?
- How do you keep stock correct between the store and our other systems?
- How do you handle a bad product import so live listings are not broken?
- What do you measure to show a change helped sales?
- Who owns the store, the domain and the app accounts at handover?
- Ask for a small paid trial task before you commit: a short audit of one live store page or checkout step, with three fixes ranked by likely impact.
Be wary of a promised outcome. Delivery depends on scope, access and decisions on your side as well.
Mistakes to avoid when hiring ecommerce developers
Store projects go wrong in the same few places.
- Choosing a platform by habit instead of by upkeep and catalogue.
- Adding apps until pages slow to a crawl.
- Launching without a real test order through every payment method.
- Leaving the domain or store account in the developer's name.
Hiring from the US, UK, Australia, Canada and the UAE
This page serves buyers of ecommerce developers in the US, UK, Australia, Canada and the UAE. Calls, written specs and a shared project board replace site visits.
Who this is for, and who it is not
| A good fit | Not a fit |
|---|---|
| A business selling online that wants a store built, fixed or connected to its other systems | A request for a store with no products or plan yet |
| A team adding a store developer by the hour | A project needing developers on site |
| Owners who approve a written scope and test orders before launch | A plan that expects sales without ongoing improvement |