As a Shopify Partner, you can create an unlimited number of development stores. A development store is a free Shopify account that comes with a few limitations. You can use a development store to test any themes or apps that you create or to set up a Shopify account for a client.
One can’t test the functionalities of other Shopify apps (paid applications) present on the Shopify app store.
Other perks:
- Create unlimited order using bogus gateway
- Process up to 50 orders through an active payment gateway
- Unlimited Products
- Create up to 10 private apps
- Assign a custom domain
Shopify is a preferred platform for sellers looking for quality, efficiency, simplicity, and rich features in their e-commerce stores. Shopify developers leverage the platform’s ecosystem to assist merchants with their online store design and development needs. A Shopify development store is the first step to getting a client signed up for Shopify and provide demos, test themes, or apps. A Shopify Partner can create an unlimited number of development stores for different clients.
The development store is a free Shopify account accessible from the Partner Dashboard, has no time limits, allows you to process an unlimited amount of transactions, and offers functionality similar to the Advanced Shopify plan. But, until you switch to a paid account, you can’t:
- Install paid apps (except for a few Partner-friendly apps).
- Create more than ten private apps: The Shopify developer must build a development store for the client to ensure that he receives a recurring revenue share. For more information on budget sharing and how much you can earn by subscribing to the Shopify Partner program, see the Shopify official website.
As a Shopify Partner, you can create an unlimited number of development stores. A development store is a free Shopify account that comes with a few limitations. You can use a development store to test any themes or apps that you create or to set up a Shopify account for a client. Setting up a development store and transferring it to a client gives you a recurring commission.
If you created your Shopify Partner account after April 28, 2023, then a quickstart development store is automatically created for you.
Partners use development stores for two main purposes:
- to test an app or a theme that’s still in development
- to build a Shopify store on behalf of a client
In both cases, the process of creating a development store is the same. However, certain development store features, such as developer preview and generated data, prevent you from transferring the store to a client.
Development stores include most of the features that are available on the Advanced Shopify plan.
- You can do the following while building and testing a development store:
- process an unlimited number of test orders
- create an unlimited number of unique products
- create up to 10 custom apps
A development store has the following limitations:
- You can only install free apps and partner-friendly apps.
- You can only test orders using the Bogus Test gateway or by enabling test mode for your payment provider. You can’t test orders using real transactions through active payment providers. Learn more about testing orders in development stores.
- You can’t remove the password page.
- Your development store is no longer eligible for promotions or free trials after you transfer the store to a live plan.
- You can’t add a custom domain to a development store.