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James Kirkby

James Kirkby

Co-Founder & Head of Delivery, Kirkby, White Consulting

James Kirkby is co-founder and Head of Delivery at Kirkby, White Consulting, a Shopify development agency and official Shopify Partner. He has spent more than ten years building Shopify stores, and together with the team he has shipped more than 100 of them.

James leads delivery on every project. The person who scopes the work is the person responsible for shipping it, so he is in the build with the team rather than managing it from a distance.

He works with DTC and B2B brands in the 7- to 9-figure range on new builds and replatforms, speed and conversion work, Shopify B2B, accessibility remediation and AI search optimization. He also writes the Kirkby Consulting blog, sharing hands-on guides for Shopify store operators.

Areas of expertise

  • Shopify and Shopify Plus development
  • Replatforming to Shopify
  • Shopify B2B and wholesale
  • Speed and conversion optimization
  • Web accessibility (WCAG)
  • AI search optimization

James Kirkby on LinkedIn

Articles by James

Replatforming3 min read
Shopify vs Magento vs BigCommerce: which platform should you choose?

We move brands onto Shopify from Magento and BigCommerce, so we see the trade-offs up close. Here is how the three compare for a brand that wants to grow.

Strategy3 min read
Shopify agency vs freelancer: which is right for your store?

Plenty of stores do not need an agency yet. Here is when a freelancer is the right call, when you need an agency, and the questions to ask before you hire either.

Performance4 min read
How to fix a slow Shopify store: the 7 most common causes

A slow Shopify store is almost always caused by something added on top of Shopify. Here are the seven causes we find most often, and how to fix each one.

AI Search2 min read
THIS is how you get your Shopify catalog to show up in Meta’s Muse agent

Amazon just blocked Muse from shopping on Amazon.com. The good news is, this gives your products on Shopify a lot more real estate within Meta’s AI assistant.

Customization2 min read
Here’s how to sell complex products on Shopify without using apps or hitting the variant limit

If you sell personalized, configurable or wholesale products you usually hit the same two problems very quickly. Shopify has a built-in feature that solves both.

Merchandising2 min read
Fashion brands: Level up your merchandising on Shopify (no app needed)

Ever wanted to show all the colors a product comes in on the collection page, without losing the convenience of variants? No app needed.

Themes1 min read
The best Shopify theme in 2026

We always recommend the free Shopify theme Horizon to our clients. Is it the most feature complete? No. Is it the most shiny? Also no.

AI Coding2 min read
How to use AI to code on Shopify as a non-coder

Following these steps helps you avoid the pitfalls of blindly AI developing your site.

Bot Traffic2 min read
How to solve Shopify store bot traffic issues

You can't definitively stop bots from visiting your site. A more helpful framing is this: what problems is the bot traffic actually causing you?

Work with James and the team.

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