Themes
Horizon and Stretch have already solved performance, accessibility, the theme editor and checkout. Starting there means your budget goes into what makes the store yours, not into rebuilding a foundation.
01 Why theme-first
Performance, accessibility, the theme editor and checkout are handled before I write a line of Liquid.
Hours go into custom sections, product pages and merchandising: the details shoppers notice.
Everything stays editable in the theme editor, and my code sits apart from the theme’s, so updates still install.
02 Horizon vs Stretch
Same studio, same process
by Shopify
Shopify’s flagship theme, built on theme blocks that can be nested, reordered and reused across templates in the editor. Fast, flexible and first to get Shopify’s new features, it’s the right default for most brands.
by Maestrooo
A premium editorial theme by Maestrooo. Full-bleed imagery, confident type and a magazine pace make it a natural fit for brands that sell with photography.
03 Concept stores
Two fictional brands, built the way I’d build yours. Live demo links are on the way.
Built on Horizon
Subscription coffee with a custom bundle builder.
Built on Stretch
Editorial apparel with lookbook sections.
04 Already on Horizon or Stretch?
Plenty of stores use a fraction of what their theme can do. A Store Refresh or a single Custom Section is often all it takes, and I’ll show you the highest-impact changes first.
Book a discovery call$250
20-minute video
A recorded 20-minute video review of your store’s design, speed and conversion, with a written fix list. Credited toward any project.
From $2,000
1 to 3 weeks
Upgrade the store you already have, on its current theme or moved onto Horizon or Stretch.
$500 to $900
One section
One new section built for your theme, ready to use in the theme editor.
05 Questions
Horizon for most catalogs, for brands that want to edit freely, and for stores that want Shopify’s newest features first. Stretch for fashion, lifestyle and image-led brands that sell with photography. Not sure? I’ll recommend one on the discovery call, based on your products and content.
Yes. Horizon is Shopify’s own theme and free in the Theme Store. Stretch is a premium theme by Maestrooo, bought once per store. Either way, the license is yours, not mine.
Products, collections, pages and customers live in Shopify, not in the theme, so they carry over. What doesn’t carry over is theme-specific: section settings, the homepage layout and some app placements. I rebuild those on an unpublished copy of the new theme before anything goes live.
Not the way I build. Custom code lives in its own files and settings, not in edits to the theme’s core files, so updates install cleanly. Where a core file has to change, the change is marked so it can be carried forward.
Shopify’s theme architecture since 2021: JSON templates, sections on every page and app blocks, all editable in the theme editor. Every modern theme is built on it. Horizon goes further, with theme blocks that nest inside each other.