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 Your Checkout Extensibility Upgrade on Shopify Plus?
BUILDThe checkout extensibility upgrade is a build, run as a program: Scripts already stopped, and the last legacy checkout scripts go away August 26, 2026.
Platform & Architecture
Should You Build or Buy Checkout Tracking & Pixels on Shopify?
CUSTOMIZECustomize wins for checkout tracking on Shopify: an Elevar-class app for destinations plus an owned audit and server-side glue layer.
Checkout & Conversion
Should You Build or Buy Checkout Upsells on Shopify Plus?
BUILDBuilding checkout upsells wins at Plus: app and custom offers now run on the same sanctioned extension surface.
Upsell, Cross-sell & Personalization
B2B Company Accounts on Shopify: Buy an App, Build, or Go Native?
WAITCompany accounts and permissions no longer justify an app for most Shopify merchants: native B2B covers the core on every paid plan since April 2, 2026.
B2B & Wholesale
Custom App vs. Public App: Build or Buy Shopify Internal Tooling?
BUILDA custom app wins for Shopify internal tooling once any dev bench exists.
Platform & Architecture
Should You Build or Buy Email Marketing & Flows on Shopify?
BUYBuying email marketing and flows is the clear call for mid-market Shopify stores at every band.
Email, SMS & Push
Should You Build or Buy Filters & Faceted Navigation on Shopify?
CUSTOMIZEFilters and faceted navigation reward a CUSTOMIZE play: own the metafield schema, rent or use native rendering.
Search & Discovery
Fixed Bundles & Multipacks on Shopify: Build, Buy, or Wait?
WAITFixed bundles and multipacks are a WAIT: native Shopify Bundles covers them free on every plan.
Bundles & Kits
Should You Build or Buy GA4 Correctness on Shopify?
CUSTOMIZEGA4 correctness on Shopify is a customize call: audit once, rebuild the tagging, own the layer.
Analytics & Attribution
Should You Go Headless on Shopify or Stay on Your Theme?
DEPENDSA headless storefront pays off for a small minority of mid-market Shopify merchants; a well-built theme delivers most of the gains without the replatform.
Content & Storefront