Shopify theme/app with react

Shopify Apps

Topic summary

A developer wants to rebuild their existing Liquid-based Shopify theme using React while preserving full access to Shopify’s admin features (analytics, orders, third-party apps).

Recommended approaches:

  • Shopify Hydrogen (React framework) with Oxygen hosting for custom storefronts, using the Storefront API
  • Node.js + Shopify App with App Bridge for deeper admin integration
  • Hybrid approach: Liquid theme with embedded React components

Key technical considerations:

  • Node.js can handle backend logic and API calls
  • GraphQL API is preferred over REST for better performance and reduced API limits
  • Can query Admin API for orders, products, and analytics data

Open questions:

  • Whether Hydrogen migration maintains visibility of sales, sessions, and third-party app integrations in the admin panel
  • If merchants can still switch between themes after migrating to a React-based implementation

The discussion remains ongoing with these critical admin functionality and theme-switching concerns unresolved.

Summarized with AI on October 31. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

I have a fully functional Shopify theme, but I want to rebuild it using React or potentially Node.js while maintaining full access to Shopify’s Admin features, including analytics, third-party apps, and order management—just as I have with a standard Liquid-based Shopify theme. What is the best approach to achieve this?

2

Also is it possible to use node.js in that environemtn somehow? Or I should go ahead with GraphQL API that Shopify suggests?

3

To rebuild your Shopify theme using React while maintaining full admin functionality, consider using Shopify Hydrogen. It’s Shopify’s recommended React framework for building custom storefronts with full access to Shopify’s backend via the Storefront API.

If you need deeper integration with Shopify’s admin, a Shopify App using Node.js and React might be a better fit. You can use Shopify App Bridge to interact with Shopify’s admin features while handling storefront rendering separately.

For a balance between flexibility and Shopify’s ecosystem, a Hydrogen + Oxygen (Shopify’s hosting solution) setup could be ideal. However, if you want full theme-level access, you may need to work with Liquid + React (using Alpine.js or Vue for interactivity) instead

4

Yes, you can definitely use Node.js in that environment! The best approach depends on your goal:

  1. If you’re building a custom storefront – Shopify Hydrogen (React-based) + Oxygen (Shopify’s hosting) is the way to go. You can use Node.js on the backend to handle API calls, caching, and business logic

  2. If you want to extend Shopify’s admin or backend functionality – You can build a Node.js app using Shopify’s GraphQL Admin API (recommended) or REST API to interact with orders, products, and analytics

  3. If you want to modify a Liquid theme but use React components – You might consider embedding React via Webpack or Alpine.js while still relying on Shopify’s Liquid framework.

GraphQL API is generally the better choice because it allows you to request only the data you need, reducing API call limits and improving performance

5

So with that approach will I see the sales, sessions and third-party app integrations in my shopify’s admin panel? Currently I am using a theme liquid only with couple of pure js files. But I want to have React based version. Will I see the users pruchases, orders and sales statistic in my admin panel even when I migrate from pure liquid implentation to Hydrogen one? I also want merchants in my team to able to switch themes in case of need even when I start building the project with React. Is that possible?