Admin apps and blocks
Embedded pages built with App Bridge and Polaris so they look native, plus admin action and block extensions that sit right on the order, product or customer screen.
Admin GraphQL API, scopes kept minimal
Custom apps · Shopify · Los Angeles
Shopify custom app development for the job no App Store app quite does
Your wholesale approvals, your warehouse rules, your Zoho records. One app, installed on your store and nobody else’s.
A Shopify custom app is software built for a single store (or the stores in one Plus organization). It skips the App Store listing and its review queue, and it can add screens to your admin, blocks to your theme, logic to checkout, or run quietly in the background. Our Glendale-led team scopes it, builds it on Shopify’s current APIs, hosts it, keeps it updated, and links it to Zoho CRM, Zoho Books or Zoho Inventory when your back office lives there.
- 1 storeor one Plus organization
- No listinginstalled by private link
- Zoho-awarestore and back office, one team
Shopify PartnerAlso a certified Zoho Advanced Partner
You’ll talk to our senior team, not a call center.300+ projects · serving US clients since 2025
01Build, or install?
When is a Shopify custom app worth building?
When the work is specific to how your company runs and the App Store answer is either missing or three apps taped together. If a well-reviewed app already does the job for a small monthly fee, we’ll tell you to install it and keep your money.
Build one when
- Your process has its own rulesCredit checks before wholesale orders ship, a rush-order queue for one warehouse, or a returns policy that changes by product line.
- Shopify has to talk to your systemsAn ERP, a 3PL, a pricing database or Zoho, where no ready connector maps the fields the way your team works.
- You pay for several apps to do one thingOne focused tool can replace a stack of overlapping subscriptions, with its scripts loading only on the pages that use it.
- A Plus store needs checkout logic of its ownPayment, delivery or discount rules through Shopify Functions, written for your catalog alone.
Skip it when
- A good app already existsReviews, loyalty points and size charts are solved problems with active vendors behind them.
- Shopify Flow can handle itTagging, alerts and simple routing usually need a workflow, which we cover on our Shopify Flow page.
- You plan to sell it to other merchantsThat’s a public app with App Store review and billing, a different project with different rules.
02Custom app services
What our Shopify app developers build for US stores
Most custom apps are a mix of two or three surfaces: a screen in the admin, a block on the storefront, a server that listens for webhooks. These are the pieces we design, write and look after.
Theme app extensions
App blocks your marketer drags into any section, and app embeds for site-wide widgets. Nothing pasted into theme files, so a theme update doesn’t wipe your feature.
Works with Online Store 2.0 themes
Checkout extensions and Functions
Extra fields, delivery and payment rules, discount logic and cart validation. Post-purchase extensions (Thank you, Order status) work from Basic up; the checkout steps themselves need Plus.
Plan limits checked before scoping
Back-end apps and webhooks
No screen at all: a service that hears “order paid” or “inventory changed” and passes it to Zoho, a 3PL or your database, retrying on failure and logging each event in plain words.
Hosted on AWS or Zoho Catalyst
Rebuild old admin-made apps
Shopify no longer lets anyone create custom apps from the store admin. Existing ones keep running, but new work belongs in the Dev Dashboard or Shopify CLI, so we move the logic there with proper OAuth.
Old tokens retired after cutover
Upkeep after launch
Shopify ships a new API version every quarter. We move your app forward before its version expires, watch error rates and webhook failures, and handle the small changes your team asks for.
Version bumps tested on a dev store
03One app, start to finish
How does a Shopify custom app go from a brief to your store?
Here’s the project board for a sample wholesale approval app, the one in the hero. Eight sticky notes, four columns. Nothing goes up on the App Store at any point: the app is created in Shopify’s Dev Dashboard with custom distribution, and the finished build reaches your store through an install link tied to your store’s domain.
1Brief
The job in one sentence
“Wholesale orders on terms wait for a credit check before they’re fulfilled.” If it takes a paragraph, it’s two apps.
What it may touch
Access scopes listed up front: read orders, write order tags, read customers. Nothing it doesn’t need.
read_orders · write_orders · read_customers
2Build
Scaffold in Shopify CLI
App, extensions and config live in your Git repository from day one, versioned like any other code.
Two surfaces, one back end
An admin block on the order page for approvers, and a webhook listener that checks open invoices in Zoho Books.
3Test
A dev store full of fake orders
Sample wholesale accounts, edge cases like a split shipment or a refund mid-approval, and a sandbox Zoho org.
Your approvers click through it
The people who’ll use it every morning try it on the dev store and tell us what’s awkward. We fix that before launch.
4Live
Install link for your domain
Custom distribution means one store (or your Plus organization), no review queue, and no listing anyone can find.
Watched, not forgotten
Error alerts, a webhook log, and the next API version upgrade already on the calendar.
Sample project. Your board will have different notes, and the dates for each column go into the signed BRD.
04App type chooser
Which kind of Shopify custom app do you need?
Pick where the app should show up, then set your Shopify plan. You’ll see what it’s built with, whether your plan allows it, and a sample of what stores like yours ask for.
Where should it live?
Your Shopify plan
- Shows up
- Built with
- Sample ask
- Watch for
Loading…
Sample guidance, not a quote. Plan limits reflect Shopify’s published rules for custom apps as we read them in October 2026, and we recheck them for your store during scoping.
05Custom apps + Zoho
Where a custom app earns its keep between Shopify and Zoho
Zoho Inventory and Zoho Books already ship their own Shopify connectors, and we use them first. A custom app comes in when your team needs Zoho data on a Shopify screen, or a rule the stock connector can’t express.
Admin block
Zoho CRM account on the order page
Open deals, the account owner and notes from Zoho CRM shown next to a Shopify order, so support doesn’t switch tabs to answer “who handles this customer?”
Order page 
CRM API
Webhook service
Credit limits from Zoho Books
Before a wholesale order is released, the app reads unpaid invoices in Zoho Books and holds the order if the account is over its limit.
orders/create 
Books check
Theme block
Warranty claims straight to Zoho Desk
A product-page form that checks the order number against Shopify, then files the claim as a Zoho Desk ticket carrying the photos and serial number.
Storefront 
Desk ticket
Simple two-app hand-offs rarely need code; Zoho Flow covers many of them. When an app does need a server, its back end can run on Zoho Catalyst beside your Zoho data, or on AWS Lambda if the rest of your stack is there. Orders, stock and invoices moving as a whole are covered under Shopify to Zoho integration.
06What a custom app costs
How much does a Shopify custom app cost to run?
Shopify doesn’t publish a price for custom apps because there isn’t an app fee in the usual sense. The running cost comes from three other places, and our build fee is the fourth.
No app subscription on your Shopify bill
Apps with custom distribution can’t charge merchants through Shopify’s app billing system, so nothing recurring shows up on your Shopify invoice for the app itself.
Your plan decides what’s allowed
Admin, theme and back-end apps work on every plan. Checkout step extensions and custom apps that contain Shopify Functions need Shopify Plus. Plan prices are on our Shopify page.
Hosting for the back end
Extensions run on Shopify, but the app’s server, database and queue sit with a host such as AWS or Zoho Catalyst and are billed by that provider, usually a small monthly amount for one store.
Our build, priced once
Each screen, extension, webhook and Zoho call gets a line in the BRD, and the signed total for all of them doesn’t move. Upkeep after launch is written in or quoted on its own, your choice.
Extension limits per plan shift as Shopify adds new targets, which is why your plan gets checked against the current list during the scoping week.
07Custom app questions
Shopify custom app questions from US merchants
Private apps, Plus limits, checkout, hosting and Zoho. Got an idea that might be an app? Bring it to a call in two lines; whether it deserves code is usually clear inside thirty minutes.
What is a Shopify custom app?
A Shopify custom app is an app built for one store, or for the stores in one Shopify Plus organization, instead of being listed on the Shopify App Store. It uses the same APIs and extensions as public apps, so it can add admin screens, theme blocks, checkout logic or background integrations, but it skips App Store review and is installed through a private link.
What is the difference between a custom app and a public app on Shopify?
A public app can be installed by any merchant, needs Shopify’s approval to be listed, and can charge through Shopify’s app billing. A custom app uses custom distribution: it installs on a single store, on stores in the same Plus organization, or on development stores, needs no App Store approval, and cannot bill merchants through Shopify’s billing system.
Are Shopify private apps still available?
No. Shopify deprecated private apps in January 2022 and automatically converted the remaining ones to custom apps on January 20, 2023. Shopify has since stopped letting stores create new custom apps from the admin as well; existing ones keep working, and new apps are created in the Dev Dashboard or with Shopify CLI. What people still call a private app today is a custom app with custom distribution.
Do I need Shopify Plus to use a custom app?
Not for most apps. Admin apps, theme app extensions, back-end integrations and Thank you or Order status page extensions work on Basic and higher plans. Shopify Plus is needed for checkout UI extensions inside the steps before payment, and for custom apps that contain Shopify Functions such as delivery, payment or discount rules.
How much does it cost to build a Shopify custom app?
Price follows the number of surfaces, the outside systems involved and the depth of testing your process calls for. We list every screen, extension and integration in a BRD and agree one fixed price before building. Shopify itself does not bill an app subscription for a custom-distribution app; hosting for the app’s back end is billed by your host.
Can a custom app change the Shopify checkout?
Yes, within Shopify’s extension points. On Shopify Plus a custom app can add fields and content to the checkout steps and use Shopify Functions for discounts, delivery and payment options and cart validation. On other plans, a custom app can extend the Thank you page and the Order status page. Editing checkout.liquid is no longer supported for the checkout steps.
Can a Shopify custom app connect to Zoho?
Yes. A custom app can listen to Shopify webhooks and call the Zoho CRM, Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory or Zoho Desk APIs, and an admin block can show Zoho data next to a Shopify order or customer. Where the stock Zoho connector or a Zoho Flow covers the need, we start there, and code covers only the gap.
Where is a Shopify custom app hosted?
Extensions such as theme blocks, checkout extensions and Functions are deployed to and run on Shopify. The app’s server, database and webhook handlers need their own host. We usually run them on AWS or Zoho Catalyst in an account you control, and the hosting provider bills you directly.
Will Shopify API updates break my custom app?
They can if nobody maintains it. Shopify releases a new API version every quarter and each version is supported for at least twelve months. We pin the app to a stable version, test the next one on a development store, and upgrade before the old version is retired.
Will a custom app slow down my Shopify store?
Admin and back-end apps add nothing to your storefront. An app block’s files can be set to load only when the block is on the page, app embeds can be limited to the pages that need them, and we keep both small. That is often lighter than several App Store apps each loading code on every page.
08How an app project starts
What happens before any app code gets written
One admin block is usually sized while we’re still talking. An app reaching into checkout, a 3PL and Zoho together sometimes earns a paid discovery sprint, priced in writing before day one.
We build apps over video calls with merchants across the US, Canada and Latin America; Southern California teams can join a working session at our Glendale office.
- Discovery callThe job, who does it today and how often, and what goes wrong
- Surface mapWhich parts live in the admin, theme, checkout or back end, and what your plan allows
- Data & scopesEvery Shopify and Zoho field it reads or writes, plus the access it asks for
- BRD sign-off Fixed priceScreens, extensions, tests and a release date, agreed in writing
From kick-off to install, the build follows our usual new-project path. See how we work →
09Let’s talk
Tell us what you’re building. We’ll map the fix.
Book a free consultation with Elite Tech Global. We review your Zoho, AWS, Shopify or WordPress setup, show where AI / SI agents can save time, and agree the next step. If we work together, every requirement and a fixed price go into a signed BRD before the build starts.
Real people, one team. Led by co-founders Ikramul Karim and Khris Kakosimidi, and a 40+ member team across Zoho, AWS and AI.
- Book a callPick a time that suits you
- Email ussales@elitetech-global.com
- LinkedInFollow our work
- Glendale, CALos Angeles area · serving the US, Canada & LatAm
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