Walkthrough of the Shopify Partner Program

This page was printed on Apr 23, 2024. For the current version, visit https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/getting-started/walkthrough?itcat=partner_blog&itterm=partner_support.

Welcome to the Shopify Partner Program!

This document will provide you with information about the Shopify Partner Program and allow you to work with a world-class product that provides your clients with customized commerce solutions. With over 1,000,000 merchants using the Shopify platform, there are endless opportunities for you to grow your business with Shopify. It contains a checklist of what to do to get started as a Shopify Partner. From learning about Shopify, to accessing the tools and resources available to you, this document contains valuable information that will help you understand the platform and get set up for success.

On this page

Step 1: Learn about the program

The Shopify Partner program is a diverse group of designers, developers, marketers, and affiliates who use the Shopify platform to build ecommerce websites, themes, and apps. As a Shopify Partner, you have access to various resources and support to help you grow your business. Review the benefits of the Shopify Partner program to take full advantage of what is available to you.

It is also important to understand the expectations of you as a Shopify Partner. Our Shopify Partner Program Agreement contains valuable information about what being a Shopify Partner requires.

Step 2: Find out how to earn revenue

There are several different ways that you can earn revenue through Shopify's Partner Program. You can earn by building Shopify stores for merchants, selling apps, and selling themes. You can also earn revenue through Shopify's Affiliate Program. After you’ve applied to the Affiliate Program and are approved, you can earn by referring customers to Shopify using your unique affiliate link. You’ll be paid an affiliate referral commission for every customer who subscribes to a Shopify paid plan through your link.

How you earn revenue depends on what you build, how you refer clients, and what kind of merchant you refer to Shopify. Be sure to review how to earn revenue as a Shopify Partner for a breakdown of the various ways revenue is earned, calculated, and paid out.

Step 3: Join the community

The Shopify Partner Program has an active and supportive community for you to get involved with. This community is a great place to learn from partners at all stages of business growth, get technical advice and help, and discuss the latest trends in ecommerce with peers from around the world. You can learn more about the ways to connect with Shopify and the Partner community through the Partner and Developer Community Hub.

The Shopify Community forum is an online forum where other Shopify Partners are always willing to jump in and lend a hand. It's a great channel to meet more professionals in your industry, learn from your peers, and connect directly with members of the Shopify Partners team.

You can connect to other Shopify Partners through these channels:

Step 4: Add Shopify Partner branding to your website

Now that you are a Shopify Partner, you can let your clients know. Add Shopify branding to your website to show off your affiliation and build credibility and trust with potential clients.

Step 5: Access the benefits of being a Shopify Partner

Being a Shopify Partner gives you access to all kinds of benefits to help your business grow and help you find success. Below is a roundup of just some of the resources you can now use.

Development stores

A development store is a free Shopify account that comes with all the features of our advanced plan and some features of our Shopify Plus plan (complete with unlimited trial periods). You can use a development store as a testing ground for apps or themes you’re working on, or to set up a store for a client.

Visit our docs page to learn more about using development stores.

Collaborator accounts

Collaborator accounts allow you to access the parts of a merchant’s store that you’re working on, without impacting a merchant’s staff limit. Collaborator accounts allow you to tweak only the parts of a store that you need, without having to get access to the whole store.

Learn more about collaborator accounts and accessing your clients’ existing stores.

Get help when you need it

If you ever feel stuck on your journey as a Shopify Partner, then help is never too far away. There are a few different ways to ask questions and get answers:

  • The Shopify Help Center can answer most questions: just type your issue in the search bar and find resources to help you with everything from technical issues to navigating your dashboard. There are documents to help you learn about Shopify, build a theme, or get started with Shopify’s APIs.
  • As a Shopify Partner, you have access to Partner Support. Partner Support can help you to navigate our Partner programs, resolve issues for your clients, and grow your Partner business.
  • You can ask your question in the Shopify Community forums, and get help and direction from other Shopify Partners on the same journey as you.

Step 6: Update your portfolio

Building trust with potential clients also means demonstrating to them the kind of work you can do. As a Shopify Partner, it is really valuable to have an up-to-date, exemplary portfolio to share with clients. Your portfolio should contain your very best work, and should represent the quality of work you will continue providing to clients.

The following resources can help you to create a standout portfolio:

Step 7: Get started today

The best way to get started as a Shopify Partner is to create a development store and explore what it can do. This helps you to get familiar with both how your clients use Shopify, and what you can do as a Shopify Partner.

You can create a development store directly from your Partner Dashboard. To learn how, refer to Creating development stores.