Shopify development for Irish merchants

Set up Shopify for an Irish store

Shopify's defaults are a US starting point. For a store in the Republic, a handful of settings decide whether customers see the right price and whether your accountant can use the export.

We test each combination with sample orders going to Dublin, Cork, Belfast and a EU address before launch, and give your accountant a sample export to check.

Shipping from Ireland

Most Irish stores use An Post or a courier such as DPD, with a free-delivery threshold and a click-and-collect option for local pick-up. We set rates by weight or price, keep Eircode as a required field with a format check, and add a delivery-estimate line on the product page. A short, honest estimate reduces support email more than a pretty banner.

Parcels to Northern Ireland and Britain involve customs and VAT paperwork after Brexit. Ask your carrier what they collect at checkout and what they bill the customer later, then reflect it in your shipping text.

Offer a clear returns route. A shop in Ireland that asks the customer to post goods back at their own cost should say so before payment, and a prepaid label can reduce disputes. We write the returns page with you so the process on the page matches what your team really does.

EU consumer rules the store must cover

A store selling to consumers in Ireland and the EU is under the EU distance-selling rules. Check the points below with your solicitor, and we will build them into the store.

• A 14-day right to withdraw from most online purchases, with a withdrawal form or clear instructions and a refund policy that says so.
• Full price including VAT and delivery shown before payment, and a clear button label that confirms the customer is placing an order with an obligation to pay.
• Company name, address and contact details visible, plus a privacy notice and consent banner under GDPR and the ePrivacy rules enforced by the Data Protection Commission.
• Accessibility: the European Accessibility Act has applied since 28 June 2025 to many online shops, with an exemption for very small businesses. We build to WCAG 2.2 AA.

If you sell to other EU countries and cross the EU-wide distance-sales threshold, VAT may be due in the customer's country. The One Stop Shop return can handle that, so ask your accountant early.

Theme work, apps and handover

We prefer a lean theme with a few custom sections over a stack of apps. Every app adds script weight, and some load trackers before consent. For each app we ask what it replaces, whether it loads before the banner, and who owns the data.

1. PlanCatalogue, collections, shipping, payments and legal pages agreed on one call.
2. BuildTheme, product templates, cart and checkout settings, and the Irish settings above.
3. TestSample orders, mobile checks, consent banner and tax export.
4. Hand overRecorded training, admin access in your name, and a one-page maintenance note.

See our Shopify development service and the Shopify launch checklist for the full list.

After launch, the first month matters. We watch checkout errors, abandoned carts at the shipping step and any payment declines, and fix what the data shows. Irish customers commonly pay by card and wallet, so we test Apple Pay and Google Pay on real phones, not only in a desktop browser.

Timing, hours and price

Our projects start at $1,500, with extra work at $30 an hour. A simple store with a purchased theme and 30 products sits near the start, and custom sections, subscriptions or a large migration move it up. The Shopify store cost guide shows the main drivers.

Ireland is 5.5 hours behind India in winter and 4.5 hours in summer. Weekly demos are held in your morning, and written notes are waiting when your day starts.