How to Become a Shopify Developer
Published: 2020-02-20 12:02:08



![Photo by [Nicole De Khors](https://burst.shopify.com/@ndekhors?utm_campaign=photo_credit&utm_content=Free+Stock+Photo+of+Shopify+Logo+Window+With+Plant+%E2%80%94+HD+Images&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=credit) from [Burst](https://burst.shopify.com/api-work-productivity?utm_campaign=photo_credit&utm_content=Free+Stock+Photo+of+Shopify+Logo+Window+With+Plant+%E2%80%94+HD+Images&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=credit)](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/8920/1*DvJwS42A7ml6TzeWXm7l7g.jpeg)*Photo by [Nicole De Khors](https://burst.shopify.com/@ndekhors?utm_campaign=photo_credit&utm_content=Free+Stock+Photo+of+Shopify+Logo+Window+With+Plant+%E2%80%94+HD+Images&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=credit) from [Burst](https://burst.shopify.com/api-work-productivity?utm_campaign=photo_credit&utm_content=Free+Stock+Photo+of+Shopify+Logo+Window+With+Plant+%E2%80%94+HD+Images&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=credit)*

Shopify has bee growing so fast in the last couple of years. “We made history in 2018: no other SaaS company has crossed the $1 billion-dollar revenue mark at a faster growth rate than Shopify has,” said [Tobi Lütke](https://investors.shopify.com/Investor-News-Details/2019/Shopify-Announces-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-2018-Financial-Results/default.aspx)

I’m a self-taught developer who worked as a freelancer and indie maker in 2019 and I learned Shopify app and theme development and I want to share with you resources that help me to become a Shopify developer

## **Prerequisite to learn Shopify Theme Development :**

Shopify theme is like WordPress themes but Shopify use their markup language (Liquid ) instead of PHP

You need to

* have basic knowledge with HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript

* have basic knowledge with Jquery (Many Shopify libraries use Jquery ) — Optional

* have basic knowledge with Command Line

* Create a [Shopify Partner account](https://accounts.shopify.com/signup) to upload and test your Shopify theme (Free with unlimited Shopify store for development)

## Prerequisite to learn Shopify App Development :

Shopify app is a web app and you can use any programming language like Ruby, Python, PHP or Node JS to build one and in this guide, I’ll focus on Node JS in this guide

You need to :

* have basic knowledge with HTML5, CSS3

* a good understanding of JavaScript and React (Shopify Polaris built With React but you can use any framework or just vanilla JS)

* good understanding of how to build a full-stack web application (Authentication, consume external API, Send Requests from the front end and deal with it in the back end )

* have basic knowledge with GraphQL (Shopify API built with GraphQL)

* Create a [Shopify Partner account](https://accounts.shopify.com/signup) to create, test and publish your Shopify app (Free)

## Ressources to learn Shopify Theme Development

* [Shopify Partner Blog](https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/): Articles and guides about design inspiration, Shopify development tips

* [Shopify Partner Academy](https://www.shopify.com/partners/academy): Free courses from Shopify team to learn how to work with Shopify tools

* [Shopify for web dev](https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Shopify-Essentials-for-Web-Developers-From-Store-Setup-to-Custom-Themes/1070001866/projects)elopers: (Free course) Set up your first Shopify store and create your first custom Shopify theme by a Shopify Expert

* [Advanced Shopify ](https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Advanced-Shopify-Theme-Development/708093439?utm_campaign=video-embed-708093439&utm_source=Video&utm_medium=video-embed)Theme: (Free course) Create advanced Shopify theme (Make Shopify theme a single web app using AJAX ) by a Shopify expert

* [Liquid Cheatsheet](https://www.shopify.co.uk/partners/shopify-cheat-sheet): Cheatsheet to get all Shopify liquid variables, filters, and helpers

* [Liquid Code Examples: ](https://shopify.github.io/liquid-code-examples/)Collection of code snippets to speed up your development process and understand how to write liquid code

* [Shopify YB Playlist:](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXQCP3o-w1Pvras8iuflJKO3tfkBT8c0c) Youtube course to learn Shopify theme development

* [Shopify Theme Kit](https://shopify.github.io/themekit/): a command-line tool to upload your Shopify theme to a Shopify store automatically when changes are made locally

* [Shopify Theme Docs](https://help.shopify.com/en/themes/development): Shopify docs to create your Shopify theme

## Ressources to learn Shopify App Development

* [Shopify Partner Blog](https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/): Articles and guides about design inspiration, Shopify development tips

* [Shopify Partner Academy](https://www.shopify.com/partners/academy): Free courses from Shopify team to learn how to work with Shopify tools

* [Shopify React Node App](https://developers.shopify.com/tutorials/build-a-shopify-app-with-node-and-react/set-up-your-app): Tutorial by Shopify team to create your first React and Node JS Shopify app using Polaris (Shopify React design system) and KOA Js to handle server-side rendering

* [Shopify App CLI:](https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-app-cli) Create your Shopify app like (Create React App), serve your shopify app in Ngrok server (Free) and update your Ngrok server link automatically in your Shopify App dashboard

## Conclusion

Thanks for reading, I wish you the best on your new journey.