What is the Shopify Partner Program?


Are you an app developer, marketer, or programmer? If so, then there’s a lot of money you can make through Shopify’s partner program. What is the Shopify partner program?

The Shopify Partner Program Is a free program where marketers and developers can make money providing services for Shopify users. As a Shopify Partner, you can create time-saving apps, work as an affiliate, and create custom themes.  

There’s an entire bustling community of professionals that work as Shopify partners. In fact, some developers and marketers earn their entire income through the program. After all, Shopify has millions of users that can download your apps and themes

Since Shopify is such a popular platform, you can make money as an affiliate as well. For all the digital marketers out there, you can earn some money by referring others to Shopify. If you’re especially savvy with building Shopify sites, you can even qualify as an expert. 

If you want the answer to the question, “What is the Shopify partner program?” Then this is the article for you. Read on to learn more about the program and how you can sign up. 

Becoming a Shopify Partner 

The Shopify Partner Program is totally free to join. As long as you have an account with Shopify, you can become a partner at no cost. 

You’ll even get to try out the platform through unlimited test stores. 

If you don’t have a Shopify account, signing up for one is effortless. Their basic monthly plan is also very affordable at only $29 a month. When you join Shopify, you access one of the most intuitive and powerful website builders available today. 

You’ll also be able to access the Shopify App Store and Theme Marketplace. If you’re an app developer, you’ll work primarily with the App Store. If you build websites and themes from scratch, you’ll focus on the theme marketplace. 

All Shopify partners gain access to:

  • Free training courses
  • In-depth documentation 
  • Resources that will help you learn more about Shopify and how it works 
  • Access to insider information about Shopify and their roadmap
  • Previews of soon-to-be-released features
  • Partner support 24/7

As a Shopify Partner, you have the option to join the Shopify Partner Academy. Let’s take a look at what it entails. 

The Shopify Partner Academy 

This academy is an exclusive certification and online training program. It will help you learn more about how Shopify works and how you can build your business as a partner. If you’re new to being a Shopify partner, we recommend going through this training program. There’s a lot of invaluable information here, and it will help you find success on the platform. You’ll learn how to:

  • Develop your designing skills. The training will fully cover how Shopify’s website builder and app store work. You’ll learn how to improve your design skills to enhance your career as a partner. 
  • Improve your business strategy. Shopify’s experts will teach you the most successful business tactics on the platform. Topics covered include data analytics, marketing tactics, and more. 
  • Offer new services. The academy will teach you about business opportunities that you may not have known existed. That way, you can diversify your service offerings and earn more revenue. 
  • Train new partners. If you’ve got a new employee joining an agency partnered with Shopify, the academy is the picture-perfect place to train them. 

There’s a significant amount of courses and certifications in the Shopify Partner Academy. It’s a perk that every partner should take advantage of in the beginning. 

Now let’s take a look at the different ways you can make money as a Shopify partner. You can either:

  • Develop apps
  • Create themes and online stores
  • Refer others to Shopify as an affiliate

You’ll need to know which avenue to focus on before joining the partner program. 

Making Merchants Lives Easier Through Apps 

Developing apps on Shopify can be incredibly lucrative. That’s due to the fact that many Shopify merchants rely on apps to run their businesses. Capabilities like SEO, dropshipping, and print-on-demand are all handled through apps. 

If you’re a sharp developer, you can earn income by developing apps for merchants. So how do you know what to create? There are lots of ways. 

The best way to create an app is to address an existing merchant pain point and fix it. We recommend checking user forums to see what merchants are griping about the most. Once you find a problem you can fix, you’ve got your idea for an app! To see our full guide on developing Shopify apps check out this article we created.

Creating Themes and Storefronts

Do you love creating beautiful web pages and themes? Are you a wizard with Adobe Creative Suite and programming languages? Then designing themes is the perfect job for you as a Shopify partner. 

Building an attractive Shopify theme is a great way to earn income as a developer. Merchants are always in search of storefronts that are intuitive and beautifully laid out. 

If you incorporate UI and UX into your design, you’ll find even more success. A sleek user interface combined with a solid experience is what every Shopify merchant dreams of having. If you can make this a reality, then you’re bound to find success creating stores. 

You can also migrate stores from other e-commerce platforms into Shopify. If you have some premium storefronts in Magneto or WooCommerce, Shopify would love to have them. If you are interested in building Shopify themes and don’t know where to start check our article for a full guide.

Becoming a Shopify Affiliate

Last but not least, we have the preferred task for digital marketers. With your unique voice and promotion, you can inspire others to join Shopify. In doing so, you’ll earn revenue through your referrals. 

That’s a dream come true for elite-level digital marketers out there. There’s lots of money to be had referring others to Shopify. Not only that, but it’s a fantastic platform to promote. The people you do refer will end up thanking you for referring them to such a tremendous platform. 

What is the Shopify Partner Program? ( quick video )

In Conclusion 

If you dream of making income from home online, being a Shopify partner can make your dream come true. Now we’ve answered the question, “What is the Shopify Partner program?” We hope you use this guide to succeed in developing apps, themes, and marketing for Shopify. To sign up to be a Shopify partner visit this link to go to the Shopify partner website.

Davon Wilson

I'm a certified Shopify expert, you can usually find me on my computer coding, or thinking about business ideas. I'm an avid Ravens fan and an overall nice guy.

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