Shopify

Prerequisites

• Node.jsfree

  Required for running Next.js and frontend build tools locally.

• GitHubfree

  Source control and integration bridge for hosting deployments.

AI coding tools

• Claude Code

  Executes complex multi-file architectural scaffolding and iterative debugging sessions directly from your terminal.

• Cursor

  Ideal for fine-tuning storefront UI components and reviewing database schema diffs.

Build guide

1. 01Database Schema and Authentication Scaffolding

   Initialize the Supabase PostgreSQL database tables and configure authentication roles for merchants and customers.

   Set up a complete Supabase database schema for a multi-tenant e-commerce platform using Next.js and TypeScript. Create tables for users (merchants and customers), stores, products (with variant options, prices, and inventory counts), inventory_locations, orders, order_items, and customers. Include foreign key constraints, indexes on store_id and product_id, and row-level security (RLS) policies ensuring merchants can only access their own store data. Implement Supabase Auth helpers to manage merchant onboarding and session handling.

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2. 02Merchant Admin Dashboard - Product & Inventory Manager

   Build the core merchant admin interface for managing products, variants, pricing, and multi-location inventory counts.

   Build a responsive merchant admin dashboard in Next.js using Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui components. Implement a product management CRUD interface where merchants can create products with titles, descriptions, pricing, SKU codes, and stock levels across multiple inventory locations. Add server actions for creating and updating products with Zod validation. Ensure proper error handling, toast notifications, and optimistic UI updates for smooth inventory adjustments.

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3. 03Storefront Theme & Dynamic Product Catalog

   Develop a public-facing buyer storefront template that dynamically renders active products for a given store.

   Create a public buyer storefront template in Next.js that renders dynamic product catalogs based on store subdomains or slugs. Build a product listing page with filtering and search, plus a detailed product view page displaying variant selectors (size, color) and real-time inventory availability. Ensure SSR/ISR is utilized for high performance. Integrate a shopping cart state manager (using Zustand or React Context) that persists cart contents across sessions.

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4. 04Checkout Flow & Stripe Payment Integration

   Implement a streamlined customer checkout process integrated with Stripe payment intents and order placement logic.

   Implement a secure checkout flow in Next.js that collects shipping addresses, calculates simulated shipping rates, and processes payments using Stripe Elements and Stripe API server actions. Upon successful payment verification via Stripe webhooks, create an order record in the database, decrement the inventory levels for each purchased variant across the specified location, and clear the customer shopping cart. Handle edge cases like payment failures and inventory race conditions.

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5. 05Order Fulfillment & Merchant Dashboard Analytics

   Build order management views for merchants to review incoming purchases, update fulfillment statuses, and view sales metrics.

   Build an order management section within the merchant admin dashboard. Display a table of incoming customer orders with status tags (Unfulfilled, Fulfilled, Cancelled). Allow merchants to click into an order, view customer details and ordered items, and click a button to mark the order as fulfilled. Create a high-level analytics overview page displaying total sales revenue, total order count, and top-performing products using simple chart components.

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Cost vs paying for Shopify