How to Brief a Developer for a Custom Shopify App

A good brief does not need to be a specification. It needs to describe the job clearly enough that a developer can tell you how they would approach it, what Shopify allows for your store, and what they need from you. Shopify’s own advice on hiring a Partner starts in the same place: learn the key terms, gather examples from similar businesses, and define your budget, timeline and expected outcomes. Contacting a Partner does not commit you to hiring them.

What to put in the brief

A few lines on each point is enough. Skip anything you do not know yet.

1. Today. Who does the job, step by step, and in which tools.
2. The pain. Where the time goes and where mistakes happen.
3. Done. What someone sees when it works.
4. Systems and data. What it needs to read or change: orders, products, stock, customers, or something outside Shopify.
5. Rules. Which actions must never happen without a person’s approval, and who approves them.
6. Stores and plans. Which stores are involved and which Shopify plan each is on.

Your Shopify plan changes what is possible

Several customizations depend on the plan, so put it in the brief:

• Only stores on Shopify Plus can use custom apps that contain Shopify Function APIs, the logic behind custom discounts, payment and delivery options. Public apps with functions work on any plan.
• Checkout UI extensions on the Information, Shipping and Payment steps are Plus-only; extensions on the Thank you and Order status pages work from Basic up.
• Shopify Flow’s Send HTTP request action needs the Grow, Advanced or Plus plan.
• Shopify’s custom apps page notes that custom apps needing Level 2 customer data require the Grow plan or higher.

Give access without handing over the keys

Any outside developer needs some access to your store. Shopify’s answer is the collaborator account: a Partner gets access to your store without becoming staff, and you choose which sections they can open. Shopify’s hiring guide notes that partners may need temporary access this way, so agree on it up front. Give only what the job needs, and remove access when the work is done.

Six questions to ask any developer

1. Which API version will it use, and who updates it? Shopify supports each stable API version for at least 12 months.
2. What happens if a webhook is missed or arrives twice? Shopify’s webhook best practices recommend ignoring duplicates and running periodic reconciliation.
3. What happens to my data when I uninstall? Shopify’s API terms require developers to delete merchant data within 30 days.
4. Which actions will need a person’s approval?
5. Where does it run, and who owns the code and the data?
6. What access do you need? The answer should be a collaborator account with limited sections.

For agencies: one custom app per merchant

Agencies often get the request first: a client wants something no app does. Shopify’s rules shape the answer. The API terms say a custom app may not be made available to more than one merchant, and the distribution guide defines custom distribution as a single store, or several stores in the same Plus organization, without App Store review and without Shopify’s app billing. A tool meant for many merchants is a public app, with App Store review, and the distribution method cannot be changed once chosen.

So decide early whether the work is for one client, one Plus organization or many merchants. It changes how the app is built.

Agent-based tools: prepare, then approve

Teams increasingly ask whether an AI tool could take over a routine. The safe pattern separates preparing from deciding. Sort tasks by two questions: can it be undone, and does it move money?

• Reports, checks and drafts can be handed off; the worst case is a wrong summary that a person reads first.
• Changes that can be undone can be handed off with a record of every change.
• Refunds, cancellations and anything irreversible should always wait for a person. Cancelling an order, for example, voids the payment authorization at once.

Data rules still apply: Shopify’s API terms do not allow merchant data to be used to train AI or machine-learning systems without consent. If you want background on how AI tools connect to a store, read connecting AI tools to Shopify with MCP. Note that Shopify’s Dev MCP server is for building: it connects an AI tool to Shopify’s developer docs and API schemas, runs locally and does not touch your live store.

Agents and MCP tools built for a team’s own process are the newest kind of work on our custom solutions page, marked as early. They run on the same platform as Storefleet Store Ops, with a person approving risky actions such as refunds. Describe the process you have in mind and we will tell you plainly whether it fits.

Have a brief, or just a few lines? Talk to us and we will reply with how we would approach it.