Shopify Hydrogen Development · USA
Production Shopify Hydrogen storefronts on Oxygen. Sub-1.5s LCP, multi-region routing, editorial CMS, B2B on Plus, and zero-loss migrations — by a US-based Shopify Plus Partner with 40+ Hydrogen builds shipped.
Conversion in numbers
40+
Hydrogen builds
1.1s
Median LCP
+28%
Avg conversion lift
Since 2022
Building Hydrogen
Last updated · By Tarun Kapoor, Founder
About Conversion
40+ Hydrogen Builds
Since 2022
Shopify Plus Partner
Since 2019
Oxygen Edge Native
Lowest TTFB
San Francisco, USA
Senior team in-house
Conversion is a Shopify Plus development agency headquartered in San Francisco, serving DTC and B2B brands across the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. We've shipped 40+ Shopify Hydrogen storefronts since 2022 — headless rebuilds, greenfield Hydrogen launches, and rescues of stalled Hydrogen projects from agencies that treated commerce like a marketing site.
We don't pitch Hydrogen to every client. We pitch it when the workload demands it — editorial-grade content, sub-second LCP at scale, multi-region routing, complex personalization, or frontend deploy independence from Liquid. When Hydrogen is the right call, we build it the way it was meant to be built: server-rendered, edge-deployed, CMS-integrated, and performance-budgeted from day one.
Why most Hydrogen builds fail
We've inherited 18 stalled Hydrogen projects in the last three years. The same three failure modes show up every time — and they cost brands months and six-figure budgets to recover from.
Frontend-only thinking — client-rendered cart, no server-side product loaders, broken cache invalidation, hydration mismatches in the checkout handoff. Hydrogen is a commerce framework, not a brochure site. We build it with the right primitives: streaming SSR, server actions, Cart API, AnalyticsProvider, and route-level data loaders.
Stale product data, broken cart sessions, customer accounts that flicker on load. Hydrogen's cache layer (CacheLong, CacheShort, CacheNone) is powerful when used deliberately, dangerous when ignored. We design the caching strategy on day one — per-route, per-component, per-query — and run a synthetic load test against it before launch.
Sanity dropped on top with no content model, marketing locked out, every content change requires a developer. We co-design the content model with your editorial team, ship a real CMS with block-based pages, and give marketing the autonomy to launch campaigns without a deploy.
Book a 30-minute call. We'll review your current storefront, traffic profile, and content needs — and tell you honestly whether Hydrogen, a rebuilt Liquid theme, or Next.js + Storefront API is the right call.
30-minute call · No commitment · Custom quote in 48 hours
Shopify Hydrogen services
Full-service Shopify Hydrogen development — greenfield builds, Liquid-to-Hydrogen migrations, Hydrogen rescues, multi-region storefronts, B2B layers, CMS integration, and post-launch CRO. Senior React engineers in-house. We write the code your CTO would write.
End-to-end Hydrogen + Oxygen storefront builds — homepage, PLP, PDP, search, cart, checkout handoff, and customer accounts. Server-rendered, edge-deployed, CMS-integrated, and performance-budgeted from the first commit.
Zero-loss migrations from Liquid themes to Hydrogen storefronts. URL mapping, 301 redirect chains, structured data preservation, sitemap parity, and 90-day SEO monitoring after launch. 30+ migrations shipped, zero ranking loss.
Inherited a stalled or broken Hydrogen build from another agency? We scope a recovery plan in 48 hours, fix the architecture, and ship a stable rebuild within 8–10 weeks. 18 Hydrogen rescues shipped to date.
Editorial-grade CMS sitting alongside Hydrogen — block-based content models, real-time editing, preview environments, and marketing autonomy. Sanity is our default; we also ship Contentful, Builder.io, and Storyblok.
Multi-region storefronts on Hydrogen + Markets — locale-aware routing, per-region pricing, currency switching, geo-IP redirects, hreflang, localized content, and region-specific payment methods. Shipped to 12+ countries from one codebase.
DTC and B2B from a single Hydrogen codebase — company accounts, custom catalogs, volume pricing, net terms, draft orders, and quote-to-order flows. Role-based routing and personalized PDPs, PLPs, and checkout.
Sub-1.5s LCP, INP under 200ms, CLS at zero — measured on real devices. Edge rendering on Oxygen, streaming SSR, route-level data loaders, image optimization via Shopify CDN, and aggressive component-level caching.
Server-side variant assignment, route-level flag systems, and component-level overrides without a theme republish. Plug-in support for GrowthBook, Optimizely, VWO, LaunchDarkly, and Convert.
Custom Shopify apps that extend Hydrogen — ERP/PIM/3PL connectors, custom subscription engines, advanced product configurators, and headless content APIs. Built on Remix + Polaris + GraphQL Admin + Storefront API.
Hydrogen tech stack
We don't hand-pick novel tooling per project — we standardize on a battle-tested Hydrogen stack so the codebase is legible to any senior engineer who joins later. Yours to keep, fork, and run with.
Hydrogen core
Hydrogen primitives
Shopify APIs
Commerce on Plus
CMS & content
Search & reviews
Edge & infra
Build & QA
Hydrogen capabilities
A reference of the Hydrogen framework primitives, Shopify APIs, and platform concepts we use on real builds. We don't just know the docs — we've shipped each of these to production storefronts running real traffic.
Server-rendered cart on every route via the Cart API and <CartForm> action. Optimistic UI for instant add-to-cart feedback. <ShopPayButton>handoff to Shopify's native checkout, with full access to Checkout UI Extensions, Functions (discount, delivery, payment, cart), and the Branding API on Plus.
<VariantSelector> for option logic, <Money> for locale-aware pricing,<MediaFile> for adaptive image/video, and <Pagination> for collection routes. Powered by the Storefront API with route-level loaders and aggressive subrequest caching.
Passwordless customer logins, account dashboards, order history, address book, and B2B company accounts — all via Shopify's new Customer Accounts API. We've shipped customer-account routes that handle 6-figure monthly logins without flicker or hydration mismatch.
Metaobjects API for Shopify-native content models, paired with Sanity or Contentful for editorial-grade block content. Marketing publishes pages, hero modules, and campaigns without a deploy. <SEO> component for per-route metadata.
Native Search and Discovery API with predictive search, faceted filtering, and synonyms — or drop-in integrations with Algolia, Searchspring, Klevu, or Nosto when catalog scale demands it. Server-side rendered so SEO crawls every facet.
AnalyticsProvider for first-party event tracking, Web Pixels API for Shopify-managed third-party pixels, server-side GA4/GTM via Segment or RudderStack, and integration with Shopify Analytics + Live View for real-time merchandising decisions.
Hydrogen integrates natively with Shopify Markets and Markets Pro for multi-country selling. Locale-aware routing (subfolder / subdomain / domain), currency switching, per-region pricing, and tax compliance — no code changes when you add a country.
Optimistic UI for zero-latency interactions, nested routes for smooth transitions, streaming SSR with React Suspense, and subrequest caching (CacheLong / CacheShort / CacheNone) tuned per-query. Server-side rendering reduces shipped JavaScript to a minimum.
Hydrogen CLI (h2 dev, h2 build), Mini-Oxygen for local edge testing, Skeleton template for greenfield starts, TypeScript-first APIs, and Vite-powered HMR. We ship Storybook + Playwright + Lighthouse CI on every build.
Hosting on Oxygen
Oxygen is Shopify's built-in global edge runtime — V8 isolates on the Shopify CDN, included free on every Shopify plan above Starter. For most Hydrogen builds, it's the right call.
When a workload demands a feature Oxygen doesn't offer yet (Vercel ISR, custom edge middleware, regional compliance), we deploy Hydrogen to Cloudflare Workers, Vercel Edge, or Netlify Edge instead. We've shipped to all four — the choice is workload-specific.
Edge presence in 300+ locations worldwide — 95% of the internet reachable in under 50ms.
Included free with every Shopify plan above Starter. No infra bill, no surprise scaling charge.
Every push creates a unique preview URL. Stakeholders QA every change before merge.
Stream production logs into Datadog, New Relic, Honeycomb, or your SIEM of choice.
Custom cache rules per route, per query, per region. The biggest LCP lever Hydrogen offers.
Test edge behavior locally before deploy — caching, regions, headers, all simulated.
48-hour recovery scoping. We diagnose the architecture, write a rebuild plan, and ship a stable Hydrogen storefront in 8–10 weeks — without restarting from zero.
30-minute call · No commitment · Custom quote in 48 hours
Our Hydrogen process
Before any code, we pressure-test whether Hydrogen is the right call. Traffic profile, content workflow, performance baseline, integration map, and TCO analysis. If a Liquid rebuild is the better answer, we say so — and quote that instead.
We design the Hydrogen architecture, CMS content model, caching strategy, integration map, and performance budget. Output: a written technical spec your CTO can review, with explicit decisions on every fork in the road.
Senior React engineers build the storefront on Hydrogen, CMS, and Storefront API. Continuous Lighthouse CI, Playwright E2E tests, accessibility audits, and weekly demos with your team. No surprises at launch.
Phased launch with pre-launch SEO regression test, 301 redirect QA, and 90-day Search Console monitoring. Then we wire up experimentation and start the CRO sprint cycle. Typical post-launch lift: +12–28% conversion in 90 days.
Hydrogen vs the alternatives
We build all three. Here's an honest, side-by-side comparison so you can make the right architectural call before you spend a dollar.
Hydrogen case studies
Hydrogen — Skincare DTC
1.1s
LCP on mobile 4G
“We were on a bloated Liquid theme at 4.2s LCP. Conversion migrated us to Hydrogen + Sanity in 14 weeks. LCP dropped to 1.1s, organic traffic went up 22% in 60 days, and our editorial team finally publishes without a developer.”
Hydrogen — Apparel DTC
+28%
Conversion lift
“We'd spent six months and $180K with another agency on a Hydrogen build that wouldn't deploy. Conversion scoped the recovery in 48 hours, rebuilt the architecture, and shipped a stable storefront nine weeks later. Conversion lifted +28%.”
Hydrogen — Beauty Plus
12
Regions, one codebase
“We needed one Hydrogen codebase serving 12 country storefronts with localized content, currency, and payment methods. Conversion shipped it on Markets Pro + Sanity with hreflang and geo-routing. International revenue up 64% in 6 months.”
We'll model the LCP, conversion lift, and revenue impact against your current traffic and AOV — before you commit to anything.
30-minute call · No commitment · Custom quote in 48 hours
What founders say
We interviewed five Hydrogen agencies. Conversion was the only one that pushed back on whether we actually needed Hydrogen. They built the case for it on real data — and then shipped a storefront that hit 1.1s LCP on mobile.
Lauren K.
CTO · DTC Skincare Brand
Our previous Hydrogen build wouldn't even deploy. Conversion took it over, rewrote the architecture, and had us live nine weeks later. The conversion rate jump in week two paid for the rescue.
Daniel R.
Head of Ecommerce · Apparel DTC
Twelve country storefronts, one Hydrogen codebase, localized content, regional payments. Honestly didn't think it was possible without two agencies. International revenue is up 64% six months in.
Priya M.
VP Digital · Beauty Plus Brand
The thing that sold me: they don't pitch Hydrogen to everyone. On our prior brand they talked us into a Liquid rebuild instead. When they did recommend Hydrogen for this one, I trusted the call.
Marcus T.
Founder · Lifestyle DTC
Sanity CMS integrated cleanly, marketing ships campaigns without a deploy, and our DevOps team didn't have to learn a new infra stack — Oxygen handled it. Cleanest Hydrogen build I've seen.
Sara J.
VP Engineering · B2B Industrial
We were burned by a Hydrogen build that treated us like a marketing site project. Conversion built it like a commerce frontend — Cart API, caching strategy, server-side everything. Night and day.
Jordan W.
Director of Ecommerce · Beverage Plus Brand
Why Conversion for Hydrogen
Direct access to Shopify's Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Storefront API engineers. Early access to Customer Accounts API, Functions, and Hydrogen RC releases. Your build benefits from the platform's roadmap before it ships publicly.
We've built greenfield Hydrogen storefronts, migrated 30+ stores from Liquid, and rescued 18 stalled Hydrogen projects. Pattern recognition only comes from volume — and we have it.
We build Liquid, Next.js, and Hydrogen — so we have no incentive to over-sell Hydrogen. If a Liquid theme is the right call for your workload, that's what we'll quote. The recommendation follows the data, not our preference.
Hydrogen is unforgiving of junior engineers — caching, hydration, streaming, and Customer Accounts API all have sharp edges. Our Hydrogen team is senior, US-based, and in San Francisco. No offshore subcontracting on commerce code.
30+ Liquid-to-Hydrogen migrations, zero ranking loss. URL mapping, 301 redirect chains, structured data preservation, server-rendered HTML, sitemap parity, and 90-day GSC monitoring built into every plan.
After launch, you move into our pay-on-results growth retainer. We earn fees only when revenue grows. No flat retainers. No upfront. The incentive structure that aligns us with your P&L.
What you walk away with
Every Conversion Hydrogen engagement ships with these artifacts. Code, docs, and infra ownership are yours from day one.
One call. One audit. A written architecture plan with scope, timeline, performance budget, and a conversion lift target.
30-minute call · No commitment · Custom quote in 48 hours
Frequently asked
Related services
Most Conversion clients run development, marketing, and SEO with us — fewer handoffs, one P&L, one team accountable for the revenue number.
Custom Shopify and Shopify Plus development — Liquid themes, checkout extensibility, B2B, custom apps, and migrations.
ExploreTechnical SEO, collection page optimization, schema, content, and AI search (GEO) — built for Shopify storefronts.
ExploreMeta + TikTok ads, Google, Klaviyo email/SMS, and CRO sprints engineered to scale Shopify and Shopify Plus brands profitably.
ExploreReady to build?
Book a free 30-minute call. We'll review your current store, traffic profile, and content needs — and tell you honestly whether Hydrogen, a Liquid rebuild, or Next.js + Storefront API is the right call. Fixed-scope quote in 48 hours.
No credit card · No commitment · Pay only on results