Shopify development, on retainer
Your Shopify developer.Without hiring one.
Monthly Shopify development support for brands that need things done quickly and properly — without the overhead of a full-time hire or the unpredictability of an agency.
7+ years building on Shopify · Shopify Plus experience · Based in Amsterdam
The case for retainers
Hiring is slow. Agencies are expensive. Freelancers disappear.
A retainer gets you senior, dedicated Shopify development without the six-week hiring process, the agency markup, or the risk of a freelancer going quiet mid-project.
| Category | Full-time hire | Agency | Retainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to start | 6–10 weeks | 2–4 weeks | Days |
| Cost | Salary + benefits | High markup, account layers | Fixed monthly, no overhead |
| Who does the work | One person, if you can find them | Junior devs, rotating staff | One senior developer, every time |
| Commitment | Long-term, hard to reverse | Project-based, re-scoped often | Month-to-month, cancel anytime |
| Availability | 9–5, one project at a time | Shared across client roster | Prioritized, async, fast turnaround |
What I do
Shopify development, end to end.
Theme development & customization
Custom Liquid/Online Store 2.0 sections, theme performance, pixel-accurate builds from design.
Shopify Plus architecture
Checkout extensibility, Shopify Functions, Shopify Markets for multi-market expansion, and Shopify B2B for wholesale storefronts.
App & API integrations
Connecting Shopify to ERPs, 3PLs, subscription tools, and custom backends via REST/GraphQL.
Performance & Core Web Vitals
Auditing and fixing slow themes — LCP, CLS, and JS bloat that's costing conversions.
Migrations
Platform-to-Shopify migrations, theme upgrades, and Liquid-to-Hydrogen moves without losing SEO or revenue.
Ongoing technical support
Bug fixes, small feature requests, and "can you just fix this" tasks — handled fast, every month.
How it works
Simple to start. Easy to leave.
Intro call
30 minutes. We talk through what's broken, what's planned, and whether it's a fit.
Scope & retainer
You pick a tier. No long contract — month-to-month, cancel with 30 days' notice.
Work begins
You get a shared Slack channel and a board. Tasks go in, I work through them by priority.
Weekly visibility
A short weekly update on what shipped, what's next, and what needs a decision from you.
Cancel anytime
No exit fees, no lock-in. If the retainer stops making sense, you stop paying for it.
Pricing
Pick a tier. Change your mind later.
All retainers are month-to-month. Use your monthly tasks on a handful of quick fixes, or put them all toward one bigger build — your call.
Essential
For brands that need regular technical support.
- 1–4 tasks a month
- Small or large — pick how you use it
- Response within 2 business days
- Shopify support & development
- Monthly reporting
Growth
For growing brands actively optimizing.
- 1–8 tasks a month
- Small or large — pick how you use it
- Response within 1 business day
- Shopify development
- CRO implementation
- Shopify Flow automations
- Technical advice
Plus
For Shopify Plus stores and larger teams.
- 1–8 tasks a month
- Small or large — pick how you use it
- Priority support
- Same-day response
- Strategic technical consultation
- Complex custom solutions
Need a one-off project instead of a retainer? Get in touch and we'll scope it separately.
Selected work
Recent retainer work.
Client names withheld at their request. Details available on a call.
Shopify Plus migration
Migrated a high-traffic apparel store from a legacy platform to Shopify Plus, rebuilding checkout with Functions and custom shipping logic.
[+18% conversion rate post-migration]
Custom subscription flow + performance overhaul
Built a custom subscribe-and-save flow on top of an existing subscription app, then cut homepage load time by rebuilding the theme's JS.
[LCP improved from 4.1s to 1.6s]
Headless storefront (Hydrogen)
Designed and built a Hydrogen storefront for a wholesale brand needing custom pricing logic and a net-terms checkout flow.
[Cut manual order processing time by 70%]
About
I'm Augustijn Snoep.
I build and maintain Shopify stores for brands that have outgrown a part-time freelancer but don't need — or want — a full-time hire yet. 7+ years in, I've worked across theme development, Shopify Plus architecture, and the unglamorous ongoing maintenance that actually keeps a store running.
I work with a small number of retainer clients at a time, on purpose — so the answer to "can you look at this" is always yes, and always fast.
Based in Amsterdam. Working with brands worldwide.
FAQ
Questions, answered directly.
Get in touch
Let's fix your Shopify setup.
Book a 30-minute call. We'll talk through what's going on and whether a retainer makes sense.