Shopify development agency for stores built to sell, from checkout to back office
DataLab is a Shopify development agency building Shopify, WooCommerce and custom ecommerce stores from Colombia, with a workday that overlaps US time zones. Hire Shopify developers as a project team or a dedicated squad, with checkout, integrations and analytics done right.
What does a Shopify development agency like DataLab do?
A Shopify development agency like DataLab designs, builds and launches your online store: it picks the right platform (Shopify, WooCommerce or custom), designs a mobile-first checkout, integrates payments, inventory and shipping, sets up GA4 ecommerce tracking and connects the store to paid media. DataLab does this work nearshore, from Colombia.
The problem
Problems we solve
✕ 01
Carts that never check out
Shoppers reach payment and leave: too many steps, long forms or a gateway that fails on mobile.
✕ 02
A store that buckles at peak
The site slows down or crashes during your biggest sale, right when campaigns send the most traffic.
✕ 03
Manual work behind every order
Inventory, invoices and shipping labels live in spreadsheets. Every sale costs your team time.
✕ 04
No idea what's actually selling
Without proper ecommerce events, you can't tell which campaign, product or channel drives revenue.
What's included
What you get with ecommerce development
Store strategy and architecture
Catalog structure, collections, filters and buying journeys based on search data and on how your operation really works.
Checkout-focused UX/UI
Product pages, cart and checkout designed mobile-first, with fewer steps and clear messages at every stage.
Shopify theme and app development
Custom Shopify themes, app setup and custom apps, plus WooCommerce or fully custom builds when your model needs them.
Headless Shopify
Headless storefronts when speed or a custom experience justifies it, with Shopify still running catalog, checkout and orders.
Payments and back-office integrations
Payment gateways, ERP, inventory, invoicing, shipping carriers and CRM connected so orders flow without re-keying.
Store migration to Shopify
From WooCommerce or a custom platform: products, customers and orders moved, ranking URLs kept or 301-redirected, structured data validated and the switch scheduled for a low-traffic window.
Ecommerce SEO and structured data
Product, Offer and BreadcrumbList markup on every product page, descriptive URLs and collection copy so Google and AI engines can show price and availability.
Sales analytics
GA4 ecommerce events, Google Tag Manager, ad pixels and a dashboard showing revenue by channel, campaign and product.
How we work
How we work: ecommerce development, step by step
Week 1
Commercial discovery
We review your catalog, margins, logistics, payment methods and competitors, then set the platform and success metrics: conversion rate, average order value and cart abandonment.
Weeks 2–4
Buying-journey design
Prototypes for home, collection, product, cart and checkout, tested on mobile before development starts.
Sprint by sprint
Build and integrations
Store build, catalog load and payment, inventory and shipping integrations, with a demo at the end of every sprint.
Before launch
Real test orders
Test purchases with every payment method, transactional email checks, speed tests, structured data validation and analytics QA.
From launch
Launch and optimization
Go-live, paid media connected and a weekly funnel review to cut abandonment and lift conversion.
Stage timings are estimates: your project's schedule is set in the proposal.
Measurable results
Client case studies with real numbers
-60%in park entry timeMundo AventuraDataLab redesigned the online ticket purchase for Mundo Aventura, Colombia's most-visited amusement park, and connected it to QR-code park entry. The UX redesign grew online sales 80% in under a month and cut abandoned checkouts 80% from month one (figures published in 2021), and QR access reduced park entry time by 60%.20,000+orders in a single day (e-commerce, 2021)Rubbermaid Commercial ProductsDataLab has been Rubbermaid Commercial Products' strategic marketing partner in Latin America for nearly 10 uninterrupted years. For 5 of those years, DataLab managed its paid media across Latin America on Google Ads, Meta and Amazon Ads, with ROI consistently above 15%. On e-commerce, figures published in 2021 show 80+ online stores launched in two months and 20,000+ orders in a single day.
DataLab builds on Shopify from Bogotá, where clocks stay on UTC−5 all year: New York time in winter, an hour behind it in summer and two to three hours ahead of the West Coast. Your developers are online during the US business day.
Ecommerce builds proven at scale
For Rubbermaid we launched 80+ online stores in two months, and its ecommerce topped 20,000 orders in a single day (case published in 2021). Mundo Aventura cut park entry times by 60% with QR tickets.
Store and traffic under one roof
The team that builds your store also runs paid media on Google and Meta, and drives shoppers with campaigns measured by sales, not clicks. We ran Rubbermaid's Latin American paid media for five years with ROI consistently above 15%.
Flexible ways to hire Shopify developers
Start with a fixed-scope build, add monthly optimization or hire dedicated Shopify developers who join your roadmap.
Platforms and tools
Shopify
WooCommerce
WordPress
Magento
React
Node.js
Amazon Web Services
Cloudflare
GA4
Google Tag Manager
Meta Pixel
Engagement models
Ways to engage and how pricing works
Store build
Design and development with a fixed scope, ready to sell at the end of the project.
Build + growth
We launch the store, then keep going with paid media, SEO and conversion optimization month after month.
Dedicated Shopify developers
Hire dedicated Shopify developers from our nearshore team, for brands with multiple stores, markets or frequent launches.
What drives the cost?
Every proposal is built around your goals, scope and timeline. We send you a detailed quote at no cost.
Platform choice: Shopify plan and apps, WooCommerce or a custom build.
Catalog size, product variants and pricing or discount rules.
Number of payment gateways, currencies and selling countries.
Integrations with ERP, inventory, invoicing and shipping carriers.
Special features: QR ticketing, subscriptions, B2B pricing or marketplaces.
Migrating products, customers and order history from another platform.
Why hire a nearshore Shopify development agency
Shopify makes launching a store easy. Making it sell is harder: a theme that converts on mobile, apps that don't slow the site down, integrations with your back office and tracking you can trust. That's the work of a Shopify development agency, and it never really stops after launch, which is why working hours matter.
DataLab is headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia, on UTC−5, and works with Shopify, WooCommerce and WordPress. Our team overlaps with the US business day, so you can review a sprint demo in the morning and see fixes the same afternoon. We also run paid media on Google and Meta, so the people who build your store also understand how traffic turns into revenue.
Shopify, WooCommerce or custom: choosing your ecommerce platform
Shopify is the fastest path to selling: hosting, security and checkout are handled for you, and a custom theme plus the right apps covers most retail models. It's the best fit for brands that want to focus on selling rather than managing servers. WooCommerce runs on WordPress and gives you more control, which suits brands whose content matters as much as their catalog or that already run WordPress. That's how we built the online store of Bacano Tecnología, a phone-accessories retailer with physical stores in Ibagué, Colombia, selling cases, chargers, screen protectors and headphones: WordPress with WooCommerce and Elementor, a catalog with a cart and promotions. See it in our web development portfolio.
Custom ecommerce development comes in when your model doesn't fit a template: ticketing with QR entry, customer-specific B2B pricing or deep ERP integration, built with our custom software development team. As an ecommerce development company, DataLab includes a written comparison of license costs, time to market and flexibility in every proposal, so the choice is yours and well informed.
Shopify, WooCommerce or custom ecommerce: how the platforms compare
Criteria
Shopify
WooCommerce
Custom build
Time to start selling
Shortest: hosting, security and checkout are handled
Medium: runs on WordPress
Longest: built around your model
Control
High, within what the platform and its apps allow
Very high over code and content
Full
Best for
Brands that want to focus on selling
Stores where content matters as much as the catalog
QR ticketing, B2B pricing or deep ERP integration
Recurring costs
Platform subscription and apps
Hosting, maintenance and plugins
Cloud, support and ongoing development
From abandoned carts to sales: the Mundo Aventura case
Mundo Aventura, Colombia's most visited amusement park, was selling online through a checkout that many visitors abandoned halfway. We redesigned the user experience to make buying faster and more intuitive and, according to the case published in 2021, abandoned purchases dropped 80% from the first month, online sales grew 80% in less than a month and site visits rose 70% in under three months.
We also built an online ticketing store with QR code access: visitors buy on their phone and show it at the gate. Park entry times fell 60%, and the digital channel sold thousands of tickets a month. That's how we approach ecommerce: the store is designed together with the operation behind it, from the cart all the way to the front gate. A good-looking storefront is only half of the job; the other half is making sure every order, payment and entry works on the busiest day of the year.
Frequently asked questions
Ecommerce development: frequently asked questions
01
How much does a Shopify development agency cost?
Cost depends on your platform plan and apps, catalog size, payment gateways, integrations with inventory or invoicing, and any special features. DataLab doesn't sell one-size-fits-all packages: after a discovery call, we send a detailed proposal at no cost, with scope and timeline, so you can compare agencies on equal terms.
02
Should I choose Shopify or WooCommerce?
It depends on your operation. Shopify handles hosting, security and checkout, and it's the fastest way to start selling. WooCommerce gives you more control and makes sense if your strategy leans heavily on content or you already run WordPress. DataLab works with both platforms and lays out the trade-offs of each option in writing.
03
Can I hire dedicated Shopify developers instead of a project team?
Yes. Besides fixed-scope builds, you can hire dedicated Shopify developers from DataLab's nearshore team in Colombia. They join your roadmap, attend your ceremonies and work during hours that overlap the US business day. It's a good fit for brands with multiple stores, frequent launches or a steady backlog of theme and app work.
04
Can you migrate my store without losing sales or rankings?
Yes. We migrate products, customers and orders, keep URLs that already earn traffic or set up 301 redirects, and validate structured data on every product page. The switch is scheduled during a low-traffic window, and we monitor sales and indexing closely during the first weeks so any issue is fixed early.
05
Do you build headless Shopify stores?
Yes, when it pays off. A headless Shopify storefront makes sense if you need maximum speed, a highly custom experience or content and commerce on one front end. For many brands, a well-built Shopify theme is faster to launch and easier to maintain. We recommend headless only when the business case is clear.
06
Can you build ticketing or QR-based access?
Yes. For Mundo Aventura, we built an online ticketing store with QR code entry to the park, which cut entry times by 60%. The same approach works for events, attractions, museums or any business that needs to sell capacity online and validate entry from the buyer's phone.
07
What happens after the store launches?
Optimization starts. DataLab reviews the checkout funnel with real data, fixes drop-off points and, if you need it, connects paid media on Google, Meta and other platforms, measured by sales. You can also add monthly support for updates, security and catalog changes, with one team accountable for the whole store.
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