Why I Chose Shopify as the Platform for My Freelance Journey:
My Journey and Tips
Hello, I'm Mohit Arora, a passionate web developer with expertise in React and Next.js. For as long as I can remember, I've been drawn to the idea of freelancing. The freedom to work on projects that excite me, particularly in the e-commerce space, has always been appealing. However, like many aspiring freelancers, I struggled with where and how to start.
My journey into Shopify customization began quite unexpectedly. A friend of a friend needed help improving his Shopify website. Although his business had a strong physical presence, his online store was lacking—it was poorly designed and completely disorganized. He wanted to enhance the user experience but wasn't sure how. I saw this as an opportunity to dive into something new and potentially start my freelancing career.
Getting Started with Shopify Customization
Shopify's native language, Liquid, is a template language that's surprisingly easy to grasp, especially for developers with a background in JavaScript. It's well-documented, which made my learning process smoother. I started by immersing myself in Liquid through books and Shopify's extensivedocumentation. Once I felt confident in my understanding, I reached out to the business owner to see if he was still interested in revamping his website. As it turned out, his site hadn't changed since we last spoke, and he was eager for an upgrade. That's how I landed my first freelance project.
Shopify is an excellent platform for developers, especially those looking to work as freelancers. The platform offers two main ways to customize themes: using Shopify's native language, Liquid, or going headless.
Choosing Between Liquid and Headless
If you're proficient in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, starting with Liquid is a smart choice. Liquid allows you to get familiar with how Shopify's sections and templates work. Plus, most clients have stores built with Liquid, so having this knowledge makes customization easier and more efficient.
On the other hand, if you're skilled in React, the headless approach might be appealing. Shopify has been promoting this method due to its enhanced user experience. Additionally, Shopify came up with its own framework called Hydrogen, built over Remix, so learning Hydrogen will also be beneficial for you in the future. However, it's worth noting that the headless approach can be more expensive, both for individual merchants and for developers just starting out.
Expanding Your Skills: Building Shopify Apps
Another way to work with Shopify is by building Shopify apps. For this, you need to be a full-stack developer, and I recommend adding Node.js for the backend. So, the ideal progression would be to start with Liquid, then move on to headless development, and finally, advance to building apps.
Final Thoughts
Based on my experience, starting with Liquid is the best way to get familiar with Shopify's structure and to handle most client projects effectively. Shopify has proven to be an incredible platform for customization, and my preferred stack for these projects includes TailwindCSS and Alpine.js, which work seamlessly together. If you're a developer interested in learning Shopify, this blog series is tailored for you. I'll be sharing step-by-step guides on creating a store, integrating Tailwind, handling product variants, and more. I also plan to release video tutorials on YouTube to complement these posts.
I hope you enjoy reading this and that it inspires you to start customizing Shopify websites for others. There's a lot of potential in this space, and with the right tools and knowledge, you can make a significant impact.