Have you ever tried customising a Shopify store without a developer? If yes, you know it’s not exactly a cake walk
For many small teams, customising the design feels just out of reach—either too technical, expensive, or tedious a task.
Meet Instant, a Shopify store builder app
Here’s where Amsterdam-based startup Instant comes into play.
Founded in 2022, Instant is the Shopify Store Builder app, trusted by over 15,000 ecommerce brands to build custom storefronts.
According to a recent survey by Instant, nearly 68 per cent of U.S. shoppers have left an online store because of poor design.
Even more striking, over half said their trust in a brand is shaped by how the website looks and feels right from the first click.
shopdev: Simplifying development
The Dutch company has recently launched Shopdev, the first AI-powered Shopify developer that generates production-ready Liquid code from a simple prompt.
With shopdev, merchants, designers, and developers can describe what they want to build for their Shopify store in plain English, and the tool generates clean Liquid code that’s ready to publish or export in one click.
Currently, shopdev supports building Shopify sections, with support for full theme generation on the roadmap.
How it works:
It’s similar to ChatGPT, but specifically designed for Shopify. Users describe what they want, and Shopdev generates production-ready Liquid code, previews the section visually, and allows instant publishing or export to Shopify.
Step 1: Describe your vision
Step 2: Get an AI Briefing: shopdev outlines the layout, settings, and features.
Step 3: Preview in real time: Watch your idea come to life visually.
Step 4: Edit and refine: Tweak colors, animations, and functionality with new prompts.
Step 5: Deploy or export: Publish to your theme or download the code in one click.
Step 6: Share and remix: Create shareable Remix Links to duplicate or customise builds.
With the launch of shopdev, Instant is expanding its mission to make custom storefront development faster, easier, and accessible to all.
“Shopify is one of the most powerful eCommerce platforms out there, but the learning curve and cost for custom development can be steep,” says Coen van Hees, CEO of Instant. “With shopdev, we’re making it radically easier to turn ideas into beautiful, functional theme sections in minutes, not weeks.”
