You are probably wanting to learn Shopify development because you either have a Shopify store that you want to improve or you just want to be a Shopify developer. Either way, you will do the same steps to learn Shopify development. Then you can choose whether you want to create a Shopify app or a Shopify theme.
But, the question still remains… How do you actually learn Shopify development as an absolute beginner?
Well, in this article, we will be talking about how to learn Shopify development in 2024 as a beginner.
Watch video
If you prefer watching video tutorials, you can watch the video version of this article below:
Otherwise, you can continue by reading my guide below.
Getting started
In order for you to be able to learn Shopify development, you’ll have to understand or at least know the fundamentals of web development (like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript).
Why? Because Shopify development is, indeed, still part of web development.
You will still use HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or frontend languages to render your Shopify development projects. You will also need to learn backend development. In other words, you will need to pick a programming language for your backend. This could be Node, PHP, Ruby, or Python.
It’s important to note though that there are more programming languages that you can use for Shopify development. The only thing that matters is the programming language should be able to communicate with the Shopify API.
Now, let’s assume you have learned the frontend and the backend. What is the next thing that you need to learn?
Well, the next thing that you should learn is database especially if your end goal is to create Shopify apps. Most of the time, when you do Shopify app development, you will be saving some data of the merchant to your database.
Once you have learned all of that, you’re pretty much ready to go and learn Shopify development.
Learning Shopify development
Good job! You have finally learned web development. The next thing that you will be learning is Shopify development. However, before you learn Shopify development, let’s understand first what is Shopify development.
What is Shopify development?
Shopify development is a way for Shopify developers to create applications or features to improve a Shopify online store.
Now, there are two things that you can create with Shopify development:
Shopify Apps
A Shopify app is a software application or plugin that extends the capabilities of a Shopify store. These apps are developed by third-party developers and are available in the Shopify App Store. Shopify apps allow store owners to add specific features, functionality, and integrations to their online stores without needing to code everything from scratch.
For example, there are apps for displaying product reviews, setting up email marketing campaigns, handling customer support, integrating with social media platforms, and much more. These apps help store owners optimize and customize their Shopify stores to suit their business needs.
Shopify Themes
A Shopify theme, on the other hand, is a collection of templates, sections, snippets and styles that determine the overall appearance and layout of a Shopify store. Themes control the design elements, such as the color scheme, typography, page layout, header, footer, and other visual aspects of the store.
If you’re familiar with WordPress, then WordPress theme is similar to the Shopify theme. The only difference is Shopify theme development uses its own programming language which is called Liquid.
If you want to learn more about Shopify app & theme development, you can enroll to our courses by clicking the buttons below.
So now that you at least have an idea of what is Shopify development, the next thing that you should learn is Shopify especially if you haven’t truly touched a Shopify store.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to purchase a Shopify store to learn Shopify. You can go to the Shopify Developers page and there you can create a partners account so you can create a development store.
So, you might be confused a little, what is a development store?
A development store is a Shopify store meant to be used for testing your Shopify apps and Shopify themes. That’s why it’s called a “development” store.
So, what should you learn in your Shopify store? Well, you should obviously learn how to navigate through a Shopify store. You should know how to create a product, how to go to the customizer page, how to access the locales, etc. In fact, you should really master all of the sections of a Shopify store. Otherwise, you’ll end up confused about where to find these sections.
Doing Shopify development
Okay, so let’s assume that you have done everything I mentioned above. Now what?
Well, obviously, you can start making Shopify development projects but like I mentioned earlier, there are two things that you can create with Shopify development, Shopify app and Shopify theme.
Now, the question is…
Which one should you make? Apps or Themes?
I highly recommend you to start with Shopify theme development because that’s where you will be learning everything about Liquid programming and Liquid programming is very important especially if you’re going to create a Shopify app that customizes a Shopify store.
Conclusion
I know it looked pretty simple but learning Shopify development can take a lot of time. I remember it took me 1 month to learn how to create a Shopify app but obviously, everyone is not the same. So my advice for you is to just take it easy and don’t pressure yourself a lot. Learn Shopify development when you feel like it and sooner or later, you’ll realize that you are now able to develop Shopify themes or apps.
If you’re interested, you can check out my courses here, I have put out a few courses that teach you how to create Shopify apps and Shopify themes.
