10 Shopify Interview Questions to Ask Developers [2024]

In the last few years, there have been many dramatic changes around us. The ways people live, entertain, and carry out daily activities such as shopping have been totally changed by the massive wave of digitalization. According to Statista, “Over the last few years, e-commerce has become an indispensable part of the global retail framework.”

This shift in the retail world has forced traditional businesses to go online. 🚀

Shopify is an eCommerce platform that facilitates the creation of amazing storefronts. It is an easy-to-use platform that can be handled even by your old-school uncle. The platform makes it possible for brick-and-mortar merchants can make an easy jump to E-commerce and tap into the plethora of business opportunities. Hiring an expert Shopify developer can help you build a perfect online store that reflects your brand with a clean user interface, faster load time, and offer the best experience to the customers.

In case you are looking to hire a Shopify developer, you may get confused about choosing the right one from a huge pool of candidates. It can be a daunting task, especially when you don’t know how to screen them.

Don’t worry! We have created a list of ten Shopify interview questions that you must ask to check their competency with the platform. 😃

10 Shopify Interview Questions to Ask Developers

You can start the Shopify developer interview with the basic questions to make the candidate feel at home and start with the following Shopify developer interview questions to evaluate their technical expertise.

1. How many years of experience do you have in Shopify development?
2. What is your area of expertise in Shopify development?
3. What are some of the Shopify development projects that you have proudly completed?
4. What project management tools & communication channels do you use?
5. How much will you charge for the project? Do you charge hourly rates or a fixed amount per project?
6. How long will you provide support for the development services?
7. Do you have experience working with Shopify APIs?
8. Can you develop an SEO-friendly and mobile-responsive Shopify website?
9. How proficient are you in third-party integrations with Shopify?
10. What will be your turnaround time for the development tasks and replies?

1. How many years of experience do you have in Shopify development?

This is the most obvious and essential question to ask a Shopify developer during the hiring process. It is essential to hire an experienced Shopify developer that can handle your project and fulfill your requirements.

Imagine hiring a rookie Shopify developer who has just started his/her career to work on your store. It can be daunting to even imagine the consequences of letting a novice developer mess up your Shopify store. Therefore, it is essential to hire a Shopify developer to build a Shopify store who has extensive experience and is succinct enough to rely on. The number of years of experience the Shopify developer should have depends on your requirements. You can also have a look at things to consider before hiring Shopify developer which will make it easy for you to hire an Shopify developer.

Asking about the number of years of experience the Shopify developer has will also help you decide whether to shortlist the candidate for further vetting or not.

2. What is your area of expertise in Shopify development?

The type of Shopify developer you may require depends on your project requirements. Therefore, it is essential to ask about the area of expertise of the Shopify developers during the hiring process.

Knowing the area of expertise of the Shopify developer will help you steer the vetting process in the right direction by allowing you to dig further and check their in-depth knowledge. Suppose you are looking to hire a developer for a custom Shopify app development, then it is clever to hire someone who holds a solid knowledge of the same. The same goes for different types of Shopify development requirements that you may have.

3. What are some of the Shopify development projects that you have proudly completed?

Here comes an important Shopify interview question for experienced developers; ask the candidate to present the best work they’ve ever done in Shopify development. This will also make the candidate relaxed by providing an opportunity to display their best skills. You can also ask for the relevant projects they have completed in Shopify development similar to your requirements. Ask for their role in the particular project they have completed and evaluate their work based on that.

This way, you can drive a conclusion about whether the candidate will be able to meet your project requirements or not.

4. What project management tools & communication channels do you use?

Effective communication throughout the project is necessary to manage the Shopify developers after hiring them. During the project, you may require to allocate the tasks, give feedback, and communicate with the developer. Moreover, you may require to have a project management tool if you are hiring multiple developers to work on a single project.

Therefore it is better to ask what tools they use for project management and communication. If there is a mismatch, then you can simply ask the candidate whether he/she is ready to adapt to the new project management and communication channel or not. It is better to hire a Shopify developer that can adapt to your desired project management tool and can communicate through the desired channel.

5. How much will you charge for the project? Do you charge hourly rates or a fixed amount per project?

The budget is one of the most important aspects of any development project. Therefore, it is essential to ask for the pricing or rate of the services directly from the developer during the hiring process. Many of the developers work on an hourly basis and charge a specific rate per hour regardless of the project, whereas the others work on a fixed rate for a definite project. Asking the rates will help you evaluate if the developers will be within your budget or not.

Moreover, sometimes you may require the developer to work during non-working hours as well in case of urgency. Therefore, it is better to clarify their rates during non-working hours before hiring them.

6. How long will you provide support for the development services?

There are fair chances that your store may require expert support even after the completion of the project. You may require developer support if you face any problems or find glitches in your store. Many of the Shopify developers provide support and bug-fixing services for a specific period of time, say 30 to 60 days, after the completion of the project. Therefore, it is essential to sign a contract with a Shopify developer that will fix issues and provide support and maintenance services for a specific duration of time after the completion of the project.

Asking for post-project support will ascertain that the developer will perform extensive quality testing before delivering the work to you. This will save both time and money for you in case things go wrong with your Shopify store after the development.

7. Do you have experience working with Shopify APIs?

Another good Shopify interview question for freshers or developers is to test the in-depth knowledge of Shopify developers whether they have knowledge of Shopify APIs or not. Shopify API is essential to access the core of the platform. It is also essential to build custom admin panels, storefronts, and mobile app or integrate it with another system. If you are looking for a custom Shopify app development, then you must hire a developer who is proficient in using the Shopify APIs.

8. Can you develop an SEO-friendly and mobile-responsive Shopify website?

One of the most common Shopify interview questions for experienced professionals is about SEO and mobile-friendly site.

Organic traffic is the most profitable source of revenue, and it is essential to ensure that your Shopify store is ready to rank on the search engines. There are plenty of technical aspects to be considered from the development side to make the store SEO-friendly while building a Shopify store, such as site loading speed and mobile-friendliness. Google and Bing’s algorithms prioritize mobile-friendly sites for rankings.

Therefore, it is essential to ask the developer whether they can develop a store that is mobile-responsive and SEO-friendly or not. If the developer has limited to no SEO skills, you will require to opt for Shopify SEO Services separately. A great Shopify store that takes a few minutes to load and does not work properly on mobile devices is not worth a single penny from the SEO point of view.

9. How proficient are you in third-party integrations with Shopify?

This Shopify question is important because, sometimes, you may require to integrate third-party apps or services with your online store for better management, efficiency, and user experience. The third-party integration can be a payment gateway, shipping partner, analytics tool, CRM, etc. Therefore, it is better to ask the Shopify developer during the interview whether he/she has experience in Shopify integration or not.

Hiring a Shopify developer who is competent in third-party integrations can help you in the long go when you want to add a new payment gateway or connect any other system with your Shopify store.

10. What will be your turnaround time for the development tasks and replies?

Time management and output are some of the important things to consider while hiring a Shopify developer for your store. It is better to hire a developer that assures the completion of the project or the tasks within the stipulated timeframe, not to affect the growth of your store. This becomes more important when you hire a Shopify developer at an hourly rate. An efficient Shopify developer can meet tight deadlines without compromising the quality of the work.

It is better to ask the Shopify developer about the average turnaround time for the completion of the tasks and response time for solving queries and issues related to Shopify. The answers will lead you to evaluate the efficiency of the developer.

Final Take

Hiring a Shopify developer from a wide pool of available candidates can be a real challenge, especially when you do not have enough technical knowledge about Shopify development. You can use the Shopify interview questions provided above to screen the candidates and find the one you are looking for!

If you wish to skip this Shopify interview questions and answers process, you can simply hire an expert Shopify developer from Meetanshi. 😃

We have a team of pre-vetted Shopify developers with extensive experience in store setup & customization, custom app development, Shopify theme development and customization, payment gateway integration, Shopify API development, and more. Hire a Shopify professional as per your need within your budget now!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What can Shopify developers do?
Ans: The main role of a Shopify website developer is to build your online E-commerce store for your Shopify platform. The developers are professionals who are well-versed in web development.

2. What is a Shopify full-stack developer?
Ans: A full-stack Shopify developer has strong knowledge of coding languages like HTML, JavaScript, and more. Also, they can solve complex queries to optimize your store’s performance.