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Shopify Partner Program: How It Works and How to Hire One

Updated , first published · 4 min read

The Shopify Partner Program is Shopify’s program for the developers, designers, agencies and freelancers who build apps, themes and stores for Shopify merchants. Partners work from a Partner Dashboard, create development stores to build and test in, and earn from apps, themes, store builds and referrals. For a merchant, “Shopify Partner” means a person or agency in that program, whom you can find, compare and contact in Shopify’s Partner Directory.

We are a Shopify Partner ourselves: MITS publishes apps on the Shopify App Store from a Partner account. The merchant-side facts below come from the Shopify Help Center page on hiring help and app installation, and the partner-side description from shopify.com/partners, read on October 23, 2026.

What the Shopify Partner Program is

Shopify describes three paths for partners: building apps, building stores, and building businesses that deliver services to merchants. The people in it include:

  • App developers, who publish apps on the Shopify App Store or build custom apps for one store.
  • Theme designers, who sell themes on the Shopify Theme Store.
  • Agencies and freelancers, who build or migrate stores, design themes, run marketing or provide ongoing support.
  • Affiliates and educators, who refer new merchants to Shopify.

From our side of the program, the Partner Dashboard is where you manage app listings and development stores and see what you earn. A development store is a full Shopify store for building and testing, without the merchant’s live data, which is where apps and themes are built before a merchant ever sees them.

How Shopify Partners earn

Shopify’s partner page sums it up as “Earn on apps, themes, store builds, referrals and more”. In practice that means:

  • Apps: subscription and usage charges that merchants approve in their Shopify admin and see on their Shopify bill.
  • Themes: one-time sales on the Theme Store.
  • Store builds and services: the partner’s own fees, billed directly to the merchant.
  • Referrals: commissions for merchants who join Shopify through the partner.

Shopify’s revenue-share terms for apps and themes are set in the program agreement and change over time; read the current terms in the Partner Dashboard rather than in an old blog post.

Join as a partner: first steps

  1. Create a Partner account at shopify.com/partners. We did not pay a fee to join.
  2. Create a development store to build and test in.
  3. Build what you sell: an app, a theme, or a store for a client.
  4. Publish: submit an app to the App Store or a theme to the Theme Store (both are reviewed), or start working with merchants as a service partner.
  5. If you offer services, set up a profile in the Partner Directory so merchants can find you.

Hire a Shopify Partner as a merchant

Merchants find service partners in Shopify’s Partner Directory, filter them by services, price range, location, industry and languages, and contact them through their profiles without any commitment. Partners bill you directly, outside your Shopify bill. The full process, from the brief to the review you leave afterwards, is in our guide to hire a Shopify expert. For routine store work rather than development, compare a Shopify virtual assistant.

Before you give a partner access

  • Use collaborator access, not your login. A partner requests collaborator access to your store, and you choose what they can reach. Never share your owner password.
  • Give only what the job needs. To install a custom app for you, a collaborator needs the full Manage and install apps and channels permission and the Approve app charges permission; for a theme job, that is not necessary.
  • Remove the account when the work is done. If you forget, collaborator access expires automatically when the collaborator has not logged in for 90 days.
  • Custom app install links expire after seven days and work only on the store they were made for. Ask for a new one if it lapses.

A “Shopify Partner” label on an agency website shows membership in the program only. Ratings and reviews from merchants in the Partner Directory, and work you can see, tell you more. If your project is a move to Shopify, our guide to Shopify replatforming helps you write the brief. More in the running a store hub.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Shopify Partner Program free? Shopify’s partner page lists no fee for joining, and creating a Partner account did not cost us anything when we joined. Partners earn from apps, themes, services and referrals, and Shopify’s share of app and theme revenue is set in the program terms.

What does a Shopify Partner do? A Shopify Partner builds for Shopify merchants: apps, themes, custom stores and migrations, or ongoing services such as design, development and marketing. Merchants find service partners in Shopify’s Partner Directory.

How do I find a Shopify Partner near me? Use the location filter in Shopify’s Partner Directory, and combine it with languages spoken, services offered and price range. You can then sort the results by rating or price and contact partners through their profiles.