Platform & Architecture — Build vs. Buy
45 capability decisions in Platform & Architecture, each scored across the 12-dimension TCC framework for a mid-market Shopify reference scenario.
Customer Account API vs. a Custom Login System on Headless?
WAITShopify's Customer Account API authenticates buyers on headless. A custom login build costs six figures, and legacy accounts are deprecated since February 2026.
Platform & Architecture
Do Customer Accounts Follow Shoppers Across Plus Stores?
CUSTOMIZEEach Plus store keeps its own customer records, so accounts don't follow shoppers between stores. Multipass rides legacy accounts Shopify deprecated.
Platform & Architecture
Do You Have to Migrate Off Legacy Accounts to Go Headless?
BUILDLegacy customer accounts closed to new stores on February 26, 2026, with the sunset date unannounced. Sequence the migration before the headless storefront work.
Platform & Architecture
Do You Need a New Theme License for Every Expansion Store?
DEPENDSTheme licenses repeat per production store on Plus, and staging stores are exempt. The license is the cheap part; the customization behind it is what repeats.
Platform & Architecture
Do Your Installed Apps Share One Rate-Limit Bucket?
WAITEach app draws on its own Admin API bucket per store, at 40 requests standard and 400 on Plus (verified Sep 2026). More apps add no contention.
Platform & Architecture
Does One App Subscription Cover Every Plus Expansion Store?
DEPENDSApps bill per store, not per organization, so a five-store Plus portfolio pays five times for one app. The crossover math decides when to build instead.
Platform & Architecture
ERP vs. Shopify: Who Owns Pricing Across Your Stores?
DEPENDSShopify documents three ERP integration paths but names no owner for pricing. Channel mix decides it: offline sales point to the ERP, pure storefronts to Shopify.
Platform & Architecture
Function Input Query Limits: Redesign the Data or Buy an App?
CUSTOMIZEShopify caps a Function input query at 3,000 bytes excluding comments and a calculated query cost of 30, and drops metafield values above 10,000 bytes entirely.
Platform & Architecture
If You Build in Hydrogen, Do You Own Checkout Too?
CUSTOMIZEA Hydrogen rebuild does not include checkout: Shopify routes it to a checkout subdomain, and extensions plus branding are the whole customization surface.
Platform & Architecture
Is Oxygen Hosting Really Free, or Are There Hidden Costs?
WAITOxygen costs nothing extra on any paid Shopify plan, Starter through Plus. The hidden costs of headless sit in the build, the apps and the surrounding stack.
Platform & Architecture