--- title: "Shopify Headless Agency and Theme Development | KL" description: "Custom Shopify development by KL: headless storefronts on Next.js, theme in code, features instead of paid apps, native translations. References: LOULEX, whyraw." canonical_url: "https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/leistungen/shopify-development" --- [Services](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/leistungen) # Shopify stores that load fast and don't depend on a pile of apps. We build Shopify stores in code: features instead of paid apps, clean translations, and headless when the store is the product. The free Shopify-Check shows it in seconds, no sign-up. [Or book an intro call right away](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/kontakt#termin) What a result looks like (a made-up test store) Result for beispiel-shop.de Estimated lever around 30,000–50,000 € per year Projection, not a promise of results The two main findings 1. 1, High impact International Your French pages tell Google that a different page is the original, so abroad Google tends to show that one instead. 2. 2, High impact International Your French pages reach Google in German: the server delivers German, and the translation only happens in the browser. \+ 7 more findings, unlocked by email ## Shown in two projects - 6 apps [removed at LOULEX, around €60 a month less, plus the translation subscription](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/referenzen/loulex-shopify-uebersetzungspipeline) - €299 [a month for the translation service a bot of our own replaced](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/referenzen/loulex-shopify-uebersetzungspipeline) - 5 days [at whyraw from start of build to live](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/referenzen/whyraw-headless-shopify-storefront) - 100/100 [in the Ahrefs site audit for whyraw, with no third-party app scripts](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/referenzen/whyraw-headless-shopify-storefront) Shopify Partner since October 2021. ## Two Shopify projects to scroll through. No mockups: LOULEX on a theme, whyraw headless. Scroll through the pages in the window, as they are online today. loulex.eu ![Screenshot of the LOULEX website](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/images/work/loulex-full.webp) 6 apps out, plus the translation subscription. The monthly licence cost is gone ### [LOULEX: six apps out, seven languages in our own hands](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/referenzen/loulex-shopify-uebersetzungspipeline) whyraw\.de ![Screenshot of the whyraw website](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/images/work/whyraw-full.webp) 5 days from start of build to live ### [whyraw: a headless Shopify storefront that feels like the camera](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/referenzen/whyraw-headless-shopify-storefront) ## Theme or headless? We look at the store, the apps and the data, and tell you up front which route is the cheaper one. For most stores ### Theme in code Usually the cheaper route - Stays close to Shopify, theme updates stay plannable - Your team keeps editing content in the theme editor - Features in code instead of apps paid every month Example: LOULEX, six apps removed When the store is the product ### Headless on Next.js - A frontend of your own that does what no theme offers - Shopify stays catalog, cart and checkout - No third-party app scripts in the frontend Example: whyraw, live five days after the first storefront commit Your store as an app? Enter your store address and see your products as an app in seconds, in your brand's design. [Create app preview](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/leistungen/shopify-app) ## Every app costs twice: money and loading time. Every app costs money each month, adds scripts to your pages and takes a piece of control. We check what the theme can do itself, build the rest into your code and keep only the apps that earn their place. Run the numbers with your own figures. What do your apps cost per year? How many apps run in your store? apps Listed in the Shopify admin under “Apps”. What does an app cost on average? €/month Per month. Free apps count as 0. Translation service per month €/month Such as Weglot or Langify. No service: 0. Per month 299 € Per year 3,588 € Over three years 10,764 € Starting values are examples. Only subscriptions are counted, not load time or effort for theme updates. [Discuss an app inventory](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/kontakt?anliegen=shop#anliegen) ## Translations nobody has to look after anymore. Translation on autopilot: we set up your markets, translate the catalog against your glossary and keep it current from then on. Every hour the bot checks what is new or has changed and writes the translation straight into Shopify. [In use at LOULEX, in seven languages](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/referenzen/loulex-shopify-uebersetzungspipeline) 1. 1 ### Starting point The Shopify-Check counts, per language, what is missing or wrong today. 2. 2 ### Glossary You decide what is never translated and which technical terms apply. We bring the template and go through it with you. 3. 3 ### Markets Shopify Markets, separate URLs per language, hreflang, theme texts and the languages of your apps. 4. 4 ### First run The whole catalog, native in Shopify. Whatever fails the check stays in quarantine instead of the store. 5. 5 ### Running Every change logged and reversible, plus a report per language every month. Translation runs on an AI model through your own account. A language review by native speakers and legal texts are not included. ## What you can rely on. - ### Check commitment No translated text goes live if its numbers, links, placeholders or the terms your glossary keeps untranslated differ from the source. If you still find one, we correct it within two working days at no cost and extend the check, provided your glossary is in place and nobody edited the text by hand. - ### Fixed monthly amount You get a fixed monthly amount for the agreed scope up front. We only charge more if you commission additional work. Third-party costs, such as hosting or AI, are listed separately in the offer. For businesses only. The written offer sets out the details, and your statutory rights remain in place. ## Matching offers - ### [10-Day Pilot](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/leistungen/pilot) Ten working days A workflow eats time, or you have an idea, and you want to know whether building it pays off before you invest serious money. Your workflow as software, team test run, documentation, decision paper with savings calculation - ### [Product Build](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/leistungen/umsetzung) Weeks, not quarters An idea or a first version needs to become something that runs day to day. Running system, design, cloud setup, documentation, handover - ### [Audit](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/leistungen/audit) Two weeks Something has to change, but it's not yet clear where the lever is. Baseline in numbers, action roadmap, architecture sketch, next step ## Articles on Shopify [All articles on Shopify](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/blog?topic=shopify) - ### [Translate & Adapt: Shopify's free translation app is the right foundation. What it lacks can be added.](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/blog/shopify-translate-and-adapt-limits) Translate & Adapt is free, comes from Shopify and writes translations where Shopify serves them itself. That makes it the best foundation for a multilingual store. Where it stops is the automatic part: glossary, checks, update frequency and a way back. What the app does, where its limits are and when it's enough on its own. 8 min read - ### [Headless Shopify with Next.js: When It's Worth It and When It Isn't](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/blog/headless-shopify-nextjs-when-worth-it) A frontend of your own in front of Shopify sounds like more work than a theme. For most stores, it is. At whyraw it was the right call: live after five days, without third-party app scripts, with features no theme offers. How to tell which route fits your store. 4 min read - Translate Shopify natively ### [Translate Shopify Without a Translation App: Seven Languages, Native in the Store](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/blog/shopify-native-translation) Shopify can store and serve translations itself. At LOULEX, a bot of our own fills those fields every hour in seven languages, with a glossary, checks, a log and rollback. The 299 € a month translation service is gone. This is how it's built. 6 min read - ### [Replace Shopify Apps: Your Store Pays for Features Your Theme Already Has](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/blog/replace-shopify-apps-theme) Every app costs you twice: on the invoice and in load time. At LOULEX we replaced six apps and a translation service costing 299 € a month. What Shopify apps really cost, how to review yours in 30 minutes and which ones may stay. 6 min read [All articles on Shopify](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/blog?topic=shopify) ## Frequently asked When is headless Shopify worth it? When the shop is part of the brand and a theme can no longer express it. Shopify stays catalog, cart and checkout; the frontend on Next.js talks to the Storefront API and belongs to you. At whyraw that meant a cam booth, an out-of-cam gallery and a release countdown, with no third-party app scripts, live five days after the first storefront commit. The trade-off: the theme editor and theme app extensions no longer apply, so what they did lives in the frontend. If a theme is enough, it is the cheaper route. [Headless Shopify: when it's worth it](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/blog/headless-shopify-nextjs-when-worth-it) What happens to our existing apps? We go through them one by one: what does the app do, how often is it used, what does it cost? Whatever the theme can do itself, we build in. The rest stays. You decide what gets cancelled. [Replace Shopify apps](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/blog/replace-shopify-apps-theme) Does the store stay online during the rebuild? We work on a copy of the theme and only switch over once you have seen and approved the new version. The live store keeps running until then. Can we still edit content ourselves? Yes. Product pages, legal pages, FAQ and contact are built so your team can change them in the theme editor, without us. How do you handle several languages? As native Shopify translations, maintained from one source text, so the shop serves translated content instead of swapping it in after load. At LOULEX, a translation bot of our own took the place of the external service; it now keeps new and changed products translated on its own. [Translate Shopify without an app](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/blog/shopify-native-translation) How long does it take? An audit of the store takes two weeks. A theme rebuild or a headless storefront is a product build, so weeks rather than quarters. If a single question is open, a 10-day pilot answers it. ## Let's talk. Tell us what it's about and Kevin Ludwig gives you a first assessment of whether and how it can be built. > “You can simply rely on him.” Judith Hickel, Gloria Kollektiv e.V. 5.0 from 8 Google reviews As of October 6, 2026. We don't verify whether reviews come from clients. [Book a first call](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/kontakt#termin) [Or write to us, one sentence is enough.](https://preview.kevinludwig.com/en/kontakt#anliegen) On working days we usually reply within 24 hours.