Jonathan Bird Web Development
Shopify Plus Developer Australia
  1. Website Platforms
  2. Shopify & Shopify Plus Development

Shopify & Shopify Plus Developer

I was the Senior Developer who migrated Culture Kings from Magento to Shopify Plus, one of the first and later one of the biggest Shopify Plus stores in the Asia Pacific region. That migration taught me what actually holds up at scale on Shopify Plus and what quietly falls over. Since going freelance I have built and maintained Shopify and Shopify Plus stores for brands like Beginning Boutique, working with clients across Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and the rest of Australia. If you are moving onto Shopify Plus, outgrowing your current build, or stuck with an agency that put juniors on your store, we should talk.

Capabilities

What I build with Shopify

A snapshot of the kinds of Shopify projects I most often take on. If yours sounds like one of these, we should talk.

Shopify Plus Migrations

Moving from Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, or a legacy custom build onto Shopify Plus. I ran the Magento to Shopify Plus migration at Culture Kings, so I have already made most of the decisions your migration will need: what to rebuild versus rehome, how to preserve URLs and SEO equity, how to move customers and order history without breaking reporting, and how to cut over without a dark weekend.

Checkout Extensibility & Shopify Functions

Shopify has retired checkout.liquid, and scripts have to be rebuilt as Shopify Functions and checkout UI extensions. This is where a lot of Plus stores are currently stuck. I build custom discounts, payment and delivery customisations, validation rules, and checkout UI extensions properly, so your checkout logic survives the platform moving underneath it.

B2B & Wholesale on Shopify

Trade portals, company accounts, customer-specific catalogues, contract and tiered pricing, quote workflows, and net payment terms. B2B on Shopify has come a long way, but it still needs real engineering to match how a wholesaler actually trades. See my B2B eCommerce development work.

ERP, Accounting & Marketing Integrations

Your store is only as good as the systems behind it. I connect Shopify to Xero, NetSuite, MYOB, Klaviyo, and the rest of your stack, with retries, idempotency, and monitoring designed in rather than bolted on. Browse all integrations.

Headless Shopify

Build your own storefront on the GraphQL Storefront API or Hydrogen, and let Shopify handle checkout, payments, and compliance. Headless is the right call less often than agencies pretend, so I will tell you honestly whether your store actually needs it before quoting the work.

Scale & Peak Traffic

Shopify Plus is built for high-volume trading, but a store still fails under load if the theme, apps, and integrations are careless. Culture Kings ran drops that would flatten most stores. I build for the sale day, not the quiet Tuesday.

Custom Themes & Storefronts

Custom Liquid themes built for your brand and your merchandising, not a marketplace template with the colours swapped. Fast, accessible, and easy for your team to run day to day without calling a developer for every change.

Advanced Shopify Plus Features

Suited for medium to large businesses, Shopify Plus allows for advanced eCommerce functionality such as Third-party calculated shipping rates, Expansion stores for multiple languages or currencies, Advanced eCommerce Reporting, Advanced Promotions, Customised Checkouts, Tax automation, Bot protection and more.

Dedicated Support

With any medium to large eCommerce business comes the need to be able to rely on your eCommerce provider, Shopify Plus users benefit from priority customer support. This means faster response times and dedicated assistance from the Shopify support team, ensuring that any issues or concerns are addressed promptly.

Security and Compliance

Shopify takes care of security and compliance, including PCI DSS compliance for handling credit card transactions. This allows you to focus on growing your business without worrying about the technical aspects of security.

Shopify Omnichannel eCommerce

Shopify allows for seamless integration with various sales channels, including social media platforms and marketplaces. This enables your eCommerce brand to reach a broader audience and maximise sales opportunities.

Ongoing Support & Maintenance

The same developer who builds your store keeps looking after it. App updates are reviewed against your theme and tested rather than bulk-applied, and Shopify platform changes are handled before they break something. Most of my clients have stayed with me for five to seven years. Optional website maintenance plans are available.

Featured Case Studies that use Shopify

These showcased projects serve as a window into my expertise in the realm of Shopify Plus Developer Australia. Carefully selected to represent a variety of solutions, they demonstrate the diverse capabilities I bring to the table.

Shopify integrations I build

The business systems I most often connect to a Shopify build. Browse every integration.
The Difference

Senior Shopify Plus work. None of the agency layers.

Most Shopify Plus agencies sell a senior name on the proposal and put a team of intermediates on your store. I do it the other way around. I worked at Culture Kings as a Senior Developer through their migration from Magento to Shopify Plus, then went freelance. Same person quotes the project, writes every line of Liquid and JavaScript, makes every architectural call, and stays with you for the years of maintenance that follow.

Your current agency

Senior names on the proposal. Juniors on the code.

  • Junior and intermediate developers write your Liquid, JavaScript, and Shopify Plus customisations, loosely supervised by the senior who is too busy and the sales team who sold the project.

  • Communication is routed through account managers who filter what gets asked and what answer you receive.

  • Architectural decisions about apps, integrations, and checkout flows are made in meetings by people who never open your storefront codebase.

  • Work is scoped by people who won't be writing the code, and the actual build gets handed down to juniors still learning Shopify Plus on your store.

  • After launch, you are handed to a maintenance team you have never spoken to and have to re-explain the store.

  • “Maintenance” means automated bulk app updates pushed without reviewing changelogs or testing compatibility with your theme.

Working with me

The senior on the proposal is the one writing the code.

  • I am the senior. I write every line of your Shopify code personally, from theme through to checkout extensions and Shopify Functions.

  • You talk to me directly. No account manager filtering questions on the way in or answers on the way back.

  • Architecture and trade-offs are decided by the person implementing them. The thinking and the typing happen in the same head.

  • I scope it, design the architecture, and write the code myself. I have already shipped on Shopify Plus at scale at Culture Kings, so the decisions are made by someone who has made them before.

  • The same developer who built it stays with you. Most of my clients have been around for five to seven years.

  • Each update is reviewed against your store, tested in a preview environment, and logged. No silent breakage two weeks after the invoice.

“ We have used Jonathan for a number of years to develop and maintain our rather complicated Online Portal and website. Jonathan is always extremely responsive to requests and proactive in ensuring our online presence is safe, presents well and is functional to our customers needs. We would definitely recommend Jonathan for your custom web development needs. ”

Nathan Smith
Marketing Manager, East Coast Bullbars

“ Digital Bird is my first pick for delivering web projects on time, on budget and to the brief — every time.

Beyond being a delight to work with, Jonathan Bird is that rare breed of developer who is both masterful on the tools (an absolute Laravel whizz!) while also being adept at engaging the client in UX-thinking, to which he applies expert insights, gained through years of experience, to help further improve the end design for the target user’s experience.

This powerful combination of skills means that 4 years on and a variety of projects later (from search directories to corporate website developments), Digital Bird firmly remains my first pick for developer. ”

Emma Keller Brisbane South PHN
Communications Manager, Brisbane South PHN

“ We’ve been working with Jonathan Bird for our website maintenance, and he has been nothing short of exceptional. Jonathan consistently goes above and beyond, responding quickly whenever we need help and resolving issues with impressive turnaround time. His communication is clear and thorough — he always explains what the problem was, how he fixed it, and provides helpful recommendations for long-term solutions. It’s rare to find someone this reliable and proactive. Highly recommend! ”

Nichola Ross
Marketing Manager, Rapidline (FurnX Commercial Furniture)

“ Digital Bird has had a huge influence on our business providing many solutions besides just a fantastic reliable website. Jonathan is great to work with and has a solution to every challenge. Jonathan also has the ability to “dumb it down” and provide timely advice and assistance if something goes astray. With Jonathan we have in excess of 99% uptime on all three websites. ”

Jeff Ross Impact Office Supplies Logo
Director, Impact Office Supplies

“ Velg Training has had an excellent experience working with Digital Bird. Jonathan has supported us with a complex Laravel/PHP website and has brought a rare mix of deep technical knowledge, practical problem solving, and clear communication.

He has assisted with major infrastructure and platform work across AWS, Laravel Forge, Cloudflare, Redis, S3, Sentry, PayWay, Mailchimp/Mandrill and related integrations. His work has included setting up and migrating infrastructure, improving performance, resolving production issues, monitoring errors, modernising legacy code, and strengthening the reliability of key business workflows such as checkout, invoicing, membership exports, PDF generation, transactional emails and background queues.

What stands out most is that Jonathan does not just “fix the ticket”. He investigates properly, explains the cause in plain language, and looks for the right long-term solution rather than quick patches. He has helped us move away from fragile legacy processes, improve automated testing, reduce errors, improve email reliability, address performance bottlenecks, and make the platform easier to maintain into the future.

He is responsive, thorough and highly professional, with an obvious understanding of business-critical websites and custom web applications. We would happily recommend Jonathan to any organisation needing a skilled, reliable and commercially minded Laravel/PHP web developer. ”

Leonie Davis
Director, Content and Strategy, Velg Training

“ Was an absolute pleasure to work with Jonathan. Could not be happier with our new website! Professional, responsive, brilliant communication from the beginning to go live. If you are fortunate enough to be in a conversation with Jonathan for a new site - just do it! ”

Alex Brennan
Director, Blue Ink Office Supplies

“ I’ve worked with Jonathan from Digital Bird for several years and found him to be a highly competent developer who often exceeds expectations.

Together, we’ve collaborated on a number of medium-sized platforms serving hundreds of thousands of users, including learning management systems, a widely-used school well-being platform, trade promotion competition sites, and more.

Jonathan is very skilled in API and platform integration, payment systems (such as Stripe), AWS, internet security, and more. As a Project Manager/Product Owner, I feel very confident working with Jonathan and recommending his services to our clients. ”

Zachary Bavas Invision Media
Technical Operations, Invision Media

“ Highly recommend Jonathan for anything web development in Brisbane and Australia-wide. Have worked with a lot of developers over the years and Jonathan’s work and communication on projects has been a clear standout. A very talent developer if you’re looking for anything from WordPress, Shopify, Laravel, or anything in-between. ”

Brodie Clark Brodie Clark Consulting Logo
Director, Brodie Clark SEO Consulting

“ Jonathan Bird is one of the best I have worked with in this space. He is responsive, clever and contributes to the brief, and most importantly, he is a great person to work with. It can be hard to find the right people who can take on something and lift it to another dimension. Jonathan does that and more. ”

Mark Gold AMA Group Logo
Director of Corporate Affairs, AMA Group Ltd

“ Jonathan Bird was instrumental in redesigning my business’ website and provided invaluable feedback throughout the entire process. The results far exceeded my expectations. They then went above and beyond and met all deadlines in revamping the site again, when we re branded our business. Jonathan has been managing our website updates and hosting ever since and, with more than 10 years industry experience, is always able to add value, solve problems and exceed expectations. I highly recommend him. ”

Craig Dobbs Apiary Financial Logo
Partner, Apiary Financial

You’re in good company

Culture Kings All4Adventure Creative Conversions ROH Wheels Museum of Brisbane Griffith University Wotif Group Healing Foundation
FurnX Commercial Furniture Impact Office Supplies Blue Ink Velg Training Gippsland PHN East Coast Bullbars Inspiring Brighter Futures Triple P Positive Parenting Program Brisbane South PHN Burger Urge
Process

Website Project Process

My website project process includes a comprehensive approach encompassing phases for website discovery, design, development, quality assurance, training, and post-launch review.
  1. Step 1: Discovery, Strategy, Solution

    • Challenges
    • Data
    • Scope
    • Goals
    • Mapping
    • Content review
    • Sitemap review
  2. Step 2: Website Design

    • UI/UX
    • Responsive design for all devices
    • Revisions
  3. Step 3: Website Development

    • Software integration
    • Optimisation
    • Functionality
  4. Step 4: Website Quality Assurance

    • Testing
    • Performance
    • Accessibility
  5. Step 5: Website Launch & Training

    • Hosting
    • CMS
    • Security
  6. Step 6: Post Launch Review

    • SEO
    • URL redirects
    • Performance
FAQ

Common Shopify Project Questions

Here are some of the most common questions about Shopify & Shopify Plus Development that I get asked.

What's the difference between Shopify and Shopify Plus?

Shopify Plus is Shopify's enterprise tier. The storefront is much the same, but Plus adds the things larger merchants actually need: checkout customisation through Shopify Functions and checkout UI extensions, higher API rate limits, expansion stores for multiple regions or brands, B2B company accounts and catalogues, Shopify Flow automation, and a dedicated support path. If you are only after a nicer theme, you do not need Plus. If you are hitting the ceiling on checkout logic, API limits, wholesale, or multi-store, that ceiling is exactly what Plus removes.

Is Shopify Plus worth it for my business?

Honestly, not always. Plus is worth it when you are constrained by the platform rather than by your team: you need custom checkout logic, you are running wholesale alongside retail, you need expansion stores, or your order volume is pushing API limits. If none of those are true, standard Shopify plus good engineering will usually get you further for less money. I would rather tell you that up front than sell you an upgrade you do not need.

What does a Shopify Plus migration involve?

Roughly: audit what you have, decide what is worth rebuilding versus retiring, then move data (products, customers, order history), rebuild the storefront, rebuild any checkout logic as Shopify Functions, reconnect your ERP, accounting, and marketing integrations, map every old URL to a new one so you keep your search rankings, and cut over. The parts people underestimate are order history, customer-specific pricing, and the redirect map. I ran this migration at Culture Kings from Magento, so I plan for those from day one.

Why hire a freelance Shopify Plus developer instead of an agency?

With an agency you usually meet a senior in the pitch and get a junior on the code. With me, the person who quotes the project is the person who writes every line of it, makes the architectural calls, and is still there in three years when something needs changing. You also skip the account manager sitting between your question and the answer. The trade-off is honest: I am one person, so I take on fewer projects at a time and I am not the right fit if you need a large team mobilised next week.

Can Shopify integrate with Xero, NetSuite, or MYOB?

Yes, and this is a large part of what I do. Off-the-shelf connector apps handle the happy path and then quietly fall apart on partial refunds, multi-currency, surcharges, or customer-specific pricing. I build integrations with retries, idempotency, reconciliation, and monitoring so failures get caught before they become an accounting problem. See the Xero, NetSuite, and MYOB integration pages.

Do I need to rebuild my checkout now that checkout.liquid is gone?

If you were using checkout.liquid or Checkout Scripts, then yes. Shopify has retired both in favour of checkout extensibility, which means custom checkout behaviour now has to be rebuilt as Shopify Functions and checkout UI extensions. In practice that covers custom discounts, payment and delivery method customisation, validation rules, and anything you had scripted at checkout. It is a genuine rebuild rather than a config change, but the result is far more durable because it no longer breaks every time Shopify updates the checkout.

Talk to me about your Shopify project

For over 15 years I've helped Australian enterprise, government, and not-for-profit organisations ship websites that are fast, secure, and accessible. Get in touch to discuss your project today.

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