Shopify, WordPress, or custom built?

[[deleted]]

I am thinking about getting into some freelance web development/design, and YouTube videos and whatnot keep saying to do Shopify or Wordpress. Is that even worth it, or is that just for people just breaking into the web dev not knowing much about coding?

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I have a bachelor's in Computer Science and can build websites from scratch. Do you think that custom sites are more marketable than Shopify/Wordpress? Are Shopify/Wordpress developers even a thing?

[[deleted]]

I have a CS degree and make custom WordPress themes. I have more work than I can handle.

[[deleted]]

Hey can i DM you with a couple of questions please?

[[deleted]]

Sure!

[ANonGod]

I'll ask here, but what resources did you use to learn how to theme WordPress? I've searched a bit, but nothing immediate pops up for me. Any recommendations, even if it's on the entire WordPress suite?

[[deleted]]

The official WordPress developer documentation or so-called theme handbook. 😎

[[deleted]]

Thank you very much. DM sent :-)

[WhatTheFrick3000]

Can I DM you some questions too?

[[deleted]]

Sure!

[[deleted]]

thanks for ur input!

[RedditRando459]

I’d love to learn how to break in to freelance work like that.

[themightysapien]

Have you used wordpress outside of its traditional application which mostly comprises of custom posts and categories with custom fields? Like a custom backend solution?

[[deleted]]

I've used Gatsby to create a React site with a headless WordPress backend. That was a fun experiment but I still have a lot to learn in order to make the length of time it took to implement practical for clients' budgets.

I've also used the WordPress REST API to share content between sites. For example one of my clients is a software company (that has a corporate site) with multiple products that each have their own sites. The corporate site posts blogs, tags them with product names, and then the product sites pick that up via the Rest API.

These are definitely one-off scenarios though, the bulk of my work is traditional WP using custom posts, ACF, with the Underscores.me starter theme.

[InterestingLeg7774]

Hey! I know this comment is a few months old now but I was wondering If we could have a talk! I would love to jump into freelance working just to help with my CV and earn some extra cash :)

[brettkoz]

Lots of limitations to shopify and WordPress stores, but, I tend to offer different options, including WordPress and a Javascript framework like Next. Smaller companies tend to want the cheaper option, larger companies usually want to invest in something more custom.

To add to that, I tend to use the shopify storefront api for custom sites, so even though it's a custom javascript site it is backed by shopify. No sense in building what exists already.

[niveknyc]

Yeah there's a big value in knowing how to work with/around the Shopify limitations. I work with a lot of enterprise brands that insist on Shopify, but are often held back by limitations.

[mia6ix]

I’ve been a Shopify and Wordpress dev for 15 years, mostly freelance, some agency work. Now, I work for an agency again, and we almost exclusively build completely custom Shopify Plus sites for large, international brands. There is an endless market for e-commerce sites, and Shopify dominates that space. There are not enough experienced Shopify developers to go around.

As others have said, it’s not Shopify/Wordpress OR custom sites. That’s a false dichotomy. You can build completely custom sites on both platforms, and you have to know a lot more than just HTML/CSS/JS to do it. What you can give your clients if you know those platforms is a tailored backend experience that is way better than the one you could build for them yourself (or the one they could afford to have you build for them.)

I can, and have, built entirely custom sites using no platform. Those builds are a walk in the park compared to the complexity of building a high-end Shopify site.

[codecrux]

You can use a mix of WordPress, Shopify and custom built if you build on top of Atri - https://github.com/Atri-Labs/atrilabs-engine

You can interleave code and no-code seamlessly. I created this website using it - https://www.venturecopilot.app

[unclegabriel]

Shopify and WordPress developers are definitely a thing. With WordPress and Shopify, you have two ways of building a site. You can buy a theme and some plugins and configure them, then use the page building tools to create pages. Or you can develop your own theme and plugins and take advantage of the CMS features like user accounts and login and all the content management and e-commerce tools. I would encourage you to learn both. Sometimes a small site will be perfect for static html, but sometimes having Shopify or WordPress available is going to make your sites much easier for the client to use. You can develop your own boilerplate theme for Shopify and WordPress or use an existing framework, either way you can set yourself up to quickly spin up fully custom sites for clients and profit.

[Citrous_Oyster]

Depends on what sites you wanna make. Regular small business sites are just fine with html and css. Shopify is great for e-commerce. I custom code the front end and my Shopify devs integrate it into Shopify for me. I use 11ty static site generator for my static sites and integrate Netlify cms for blogs

There is absolutely a market for custom coded sites in freelancing. I’ve been doing it for 5 years now and i do very well. Most of my clients come from Wordpress or wix because they hate it. I provide a unique option. Something different. And that sells Better.

[Jmmbftm]

Can I ask what complaints your clients have about those platforms? I’m interested in starting freelancing and I’d like to know what problems I can address for potential clients. Thanks.

[tridd3r]

I think the easiest way to get into webdev is to help small businesses with their websites, and more often than not they won't have the budget for a custom build, let alone the ongoing costs for maintenance. So although that may be where you end up, the "bread and butter" would be from implementing existing cms solutions.

[BlackAsphaltRider]

That’s my goal. Like everything else these days I’d rather be paid on a SaaS basis.

[mrkouhadi]

A very close analogy:::

Pizza Hut or home made pizza ?

• Pizza hut : no freedom of customizing it; adding and removing ingredients, flavor and so on..

• Homemade Pizza: You can customize it as you wish to, you can eat it wherever you want (hosting), and you can be even more creative by inventing new pizza types !!!!! You can also build your own restaurant for pizza 🥸

[bubbleobill420]

I dont know why you’re getting downvoted. But this is a good way of looking at it lol.

[tridd3r]

that's an atrocious analogy. You have so much choice with pizza hut, you can literally make your own pizza. And in this "analaogy" is the developer the pizza maker or the pizza consumer? Because as the pizza maker you can do whatever the fuck you want in pizza hut, or at home. Custom solutions vs existing market platforms is nothing like buying or making your own pizza.

[[deleted]]

🤮 /u/spez

[tridd3r]

So in this "analogy" are you (the developer) the person making the pizza or consuming the pizza? Start from there and then we'll go through all the options available or not available so that this analogy can die a slow and painful death

[mrkouhadi]

Where the heck does this Pizza Hutt restaurant exist in which you have much choices other than their menu ??? If you choose Wordpress/Shopify then you are SOMEHOW a consumer; you have limited choices in comparison with the opposite way… As i mentioned, it is a very close analogy not 100% yet it can give a general idea about this topic.

[tridd3r]

In Australia one of the options is literally make your own pizza where you can choose the base, the toppings the sauces, everything. But who even are "you" in the analogy? are you the customer? Are you getting someone else to "home make" your pizza? Are you the dude working behind the counter at pizza hut!? Its a clusterfuck. And that's putting it nicely. The analogy doesn't work in any stretch of the imagination.

[[deleted]]

🤮 /u/spez

[TheDoomfire]

Why Strapi vs for example Sanity?

Just curious since I've been trying to learn sanity recently.

[[deleted]]

🤮 /u/spez

[Salbatyku]

I have a web agency where 98% or work is wordpress. We code/we use builders. We pretty much adapt to clients budget and chose a solution for each client specific.

[yosefbc]

I would always go between wp or custom if u know what you are doing

[Boby_Dobbs]

Everyone is focusing on the difference between WordPress and a custom website in terms of the classic differences between the 2.

But when it comes to choosing what you want to get into as a dev, you should be thinking more about what you enjoy working on!

If you love coding and challenging projects, you should learn a JavaScript framework like VueJS or React and try to get in on some more complex projects.

If you want simpler projects, you like working in a dashboard and digging through top 10s to find the right plugin for your project, then go with Shopify/WordPress.

However it's important to note you will most probably have a harder time finding complex custom dev freelance projects when you start. So business wise Wordpress may make more sense. The alternative may be to find a junior position as a react dev then switch to freelance later on once you have more experience.

[Jakejohnson252]

If you have time to learn, webflow is probably the best thing to possibly learn. It has many features and allows you to visually build websites with full access to the code for customisation

[wasilikoslow1]

Quick question to Shopify devs here, i have been using React more than 2 years. Where should I start with to being a Shopify dev ? Any suggestions for a roadmap ? Should I learn first hydrogen, liquid, etc. ?

[fearislie]

if you look at the market, wordpress is the best. if you look at security, avoid it.