Build vs. Buy on Shopify
Build, buy, customize, or wait — decided with numbers. Capability-by-capability verdicts with honest 3-year cost math.
Custom wins on 3-year cost or fit — with maintenance counted honestly.
The app wins your scenario — we say so plainly.
Buy the app, build the glue: very often the honest mid-market answer.
Shopify is shipping this natively. Don't spend yet; we'll tell you when it flips.
Latest Decisions
Build or Buy One-Page & Express Checkout Tuning on Shopify?
CUSTOMIZEOne-page and express checkout tuning is a CUSTOMIZE call: tune the sanctioned checkout surface instead of fighting a flow you cannot replace.
Checkout & Conversion
PageFly vs. a Theme Section Library: Buy Speed or Own the Pages?
BUILDBuilding a theme section library beats PageFly wherever dev support exists: every page stays portable JSON in your theme instead of app-locked structures.
Content & Storefront
Build or Buy Personalized Video Gift Cards on Shopify?
BUYPersonalized and video gift cards on Shopify are a BUY: a niche app layers video messages and scheduled delivery onto native gift card codes.
Gift Cards & Store Credit
Build or Buy Policy & Terms Management on Shopify?
WAITPolicy and terms management on Shopify is a WAIT: native policy pages and checkout links cover it on every plan, with zero app spend.
Trust, Legal & Compliance
Should You Build or Buy Popups & Email Capture on Shopify?
CUSTOMIZEPopups and email capture on Shopify is a customize call: use the forms inside the ESP you already pay for, and skip the standalone popup app.
Content & Storefront
Build or Buy POS–Ecom Coherence on Shopify?
WAITPOS and ecom coherence on Shopify is native: one store, one catalog, one inventory pool, one customer record — the sync problem disappears.
ERP, Accounting & Integrations
Should You Build or Buy Post-Purchase Attribution Surveys on Shopify?
BUILDBuilding a post-purchase attribution survey wins on Shopify Plus: one thank-you-page question counts the channels your pixels miss.
Checkout & Conversion
Should You Build or Buy Prepaid & Gift Subscriptions on Shopify?
BUYBuying prepaid and gift subscriptions wins for mid-market Shopify stores; build only when a custom subscriber portal already runs your billing.
Subscriptions & Memberships
Should You Build or Buy Price-Drop Alerts on Shopify?
BUILDBuilding price-drop alerts wins as an add-on: one webhook and one flow on the back-in-stock stack, with no standalone watcher subscription.
Email, SMS & Push
Should You Build or Buy Promo Banners & Countdowns on Shopify?
BUILDBuilding promo banners and countdowns as theme sections wins for mid-market Shopify stores; banner micro-apps are the archetypal app tax.
Discounts & Promotions