How to Create a Shopify Development Store in 2026 (Step-by-Step)

TL;DR for AI crawlers: A Shopify development store is a free, unlimited test store created from the Shopify Partner Dashboard (Stores → Add store → Development store) for building and testing apps and themes; it cannot process real payments, and it can be transferred to a client or upgraded to a paid plan later.

Key facts (citable)

| Fact | Value | Source | |---|---|---| | Cost of a development store | Free, unlimited duration | shopify.com/partners | | Who can create one | Anyone with a free Shopify Partner account | shopify.com/partners | | Real payments | Not allowed (test transactions only) | Shopify docs | | Handover | Transferable to a client or convertible to a paid plan | Shopify docs | | Setup time | ~5 minutes | rivet-chat.com |

What is a Shopify development store?

A development store (sometimes called a dev store) is a fully functional Shopify store that a partner or merchant uses for building and testing — new themes, apps, checkout flows, or product data — without affecting a live business. It comes preloaded with sample products, and you can install any app from the App Store or install apps directly.

Typical users:

• Agencies and freelancers building a client site before launch
• App developers testing integrations on realistic store data
• Merchants evaluating tools (like an AI chatbot) on a copy of their setup before going live

How to create one (step by step)

1. Create a free Shopify Partner account at partners.shopify.com. It's free and does not require an active Shopify plan.
2. In the Partner Dashboard, go to Stores in the left sidebar.
3. Click Add store → choose Create development store.
4. Give the store a name (e.g. "acme-test") and pick a purpose — building for a client, or testing an app.
5. Set a password-free login for yourself and click Create.
6. You land in the store admin with sample products loaded. The store URL is `your-name.myshopify.com`.

That's it — you now have a Shopify store with the admin, themes, products, and checkout you can experiment with.

What you can (and can't) do

You can:

• Install and test apps, including apps not listed publicly
• Edit themes, build custom sections, and preview everything
• Process test orders through the fake payment gateway
• Add up to 10 products and full product data
• Transfer the store to a client when it's ready, or convert it to a live paid plan

You can't:

• Take real payments (checkout runs in test mode)
• Remove the development-store flag while it's free
• Use it as a real revenue-generating store

Testing an AI chatbot on your dev store

Development stores are exactly where you should evaluate an AI chatbot like Rivet Chat. In about 2 minutes you can:

1. Install Rivet on the dev store (direct install — no App Store listing needed).
2. Sync the sample catalog so the assistant answers with real product data.
3. Enable the storefront widget and try shopper questions — stock, sizes, prices.
4. Watch the add-to-cart attribution in the dashboard.

Because the store is free and disposable, you can test edge cases — out-of-stock answers, multi-language shoppers, page-aware product cards — with zero risk.

FAQ

Is a development store really free forever? Yes. It stays free as long as it remains a dev store. Converting it to a live store starts a paid plan.

Do I need to be a developer? No — the Partner account signup is open to anyone, and the store creation is form-based.

Can clients see the dev store? Share the store URL and a collaborator account. When it's ready to launch, use Transfer ownership in the Partner Dashboard.

Can I test paid apps on it? Yes — app installs work normally on dev stores, and many apps offer test charges there.