SHOPIFY APP DEVELOPMENT

Qatar Shopify app development builds what the global Shopify app ecosystem does not — QPay integration, Arabic order notifications, and COD workflow automation

Ignited Nepal builds custom Shopify apps for brands selling in Qatar and the GCC. Custom payment provider integrations for QPay and QNB, COD order verification and dispatch workflow automation, Arabic-language order notification apps, and multi-country inventory management across Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. When the globally focused Shopify App Store has no app built for GCC-specific requirements, a custom app is the correct answer.

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This is for you if

Who This Is For (QA)

Qatar-based DTC brands that need QPay or QNB payment integrated into their Shopify checkout. GCC brands with a high COD order rate who need a structured COD confirmation and dispatch workflow. Brands serving Arabic-speaking customers who need Arabic-language order lifecycle notifications. Brands operating across Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia who need multi-location inventory routing from a single Shopify admin.

What's broken

Problems We Solve (QA)

QPay and QNB payment gateway not available natively

Qatari local payment methods — QPay (Qatar's national digital payment platform), Qatar National Bank (QNB) payment gateway, and Commercial Bank of Qatar — are not available as native Shopify payment apps. Shopify Payments does not operate in Qatar. International payment processors (Stripe, PayPal) are available but have low preference among Qatari buyers who prefer to pay through local banking relationships. Integrating QPay or QNB into a Shopify store requires a custom payment provider app built against Shopify's Payment App API and the QPay or QNB payment gateway API, handling payment session creation, redirect to the bank's payment page, and webhook-based payment confirmation back to Shopify.

COD order management workflow not automated

Cash on delivery (COD) remains a significant order method in Qatar and the GCC. COD orders on Shopify are created as orders but require a manual confirmation step before dispatch — a phone call or WhatsApp message to verify the buyer's address and confirm they will be available to receive and pay. No standard Shopify app automates this GCC-specific COD confirmation workflow. A custom Shopify Flow automation or admin app handles: tagging new COD orders for review, triggering a WhatsApp message to the buyer via WhatsApp Business API, recording the buyer's confirmation response, and releasing the order to the fulfilment queue only after confirmation is logged. This removes the manual step from the operations team's workflow.

Arabic order confirmation and shipping notification emails

Shopify's Translate and Adapt app handles product content translation for Arabic-speaking customers but does not translate transactional order notification emails. Arabic-speaking customers in Qatar who checkout in Arabic receive order confirmation, shipping notification, and delivery confirmation emails in English — the language Shopify's notification templates default to. A custom notification app built on Shopify's order lifecycle webhooks generates Arabic-language order notifications with correct right-to-left text formatting, Arabic date notation, QAR currency symbol, and the buyer's name written in the correct Arabic salutation format.

GCC multi-country inventory visibility across Qatar, UAE, and KSA

Brands operating across Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia from a single Shopify store need inventory that is visible and bookable across all three markets, with fulfilment routing logic that ships from the correct warehouse based on the buyer's country. Shopify's multi-location inventory supports this at a basic level, but routing orders to the correct GCC warehouse — and preventing overselling when inventory is shared across markets — requires custom Admin API development. A custom app monitors inventory levels across locations, routes incoming orders to the correct fulfilment location based on the buyer's country, and alerts the operations team when stock in any GCC location falls below a defined threshold.

What we engineer

How We Work (QA)

We begin with an app development brief covering the specific Qatar or GCC requirement — the payment gateway (QPay or QNB), the COD confirmation workflow, Arabic notification requirements, or the GCC inventory locations and routing logic. We scope the correct Shopify API surface and build a custom app or Shopify Flow automation to address the requirement. All integrations are tested with the relevant payment sandbox environments and Shopify development stores configured for Qatar (QAR currency, Arabic locale) before production deployment.

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What changes

What changes after custom app development

Before

After

Before Qatari local payment methods — QPay (Qatar's national digital payment platform), Qatar National Bank (QNB) payment gateway, and Commercial Bank of Qatar — are not available as native Shopify payment apps. Shopify Payments does not operate in Qatar. International payment processors (Stripe, PayPal) are available but have low preference among Qatari buyers who prefer to pay through local banking relationships. Integrating QPay or QNB into a Shopify store requires a custom payment provider app built against Shopify's Payment App API and the QPay or QNB payment gateway API, handling payment session creation, redirect to the bank's payment page, and webhook-based payment confirmation back to Shopify.

After Integrating QPay or QNB into a Shopify store requires a custom payment provider app built against Shopify's Payment App API and the QPay or QNB payment gateway API, handling payment session creation, redirect to the bank's payment page, and webhook-based payment confirmation back to Shopify.

Before Cash on delivery (COD) remains a significant order method in Qatar and the GCC. COD orders on Shopify are created as orders but require a manual confirmation step before dispatch — a phone call or WhatsApp message to verify the buyer's address and confirm they will be available to receive and pay. No standard Shopify app automates this GCC-specific COD confirmation workflow. A custom Shopify Flow automation or admin app handles: tagging new COD orders for review, triggering a WhatsApp message to the buyer via WhatsApp Business API, recording the buyer's confirmation response, and releasing the order to the fulfilment queue only after confirmation is logged. This removes the manual step from the operations team's workflow.

After A custom Shopify Flow automation or admin app handles: tagging new COD orders for review, triggering a WhatsApp message to the buyer via WhatsApp Business API, recording the buyer's confirmation response, and releasing the order to the fulfilment queue only after confirmation is logged.

Before Shopify's Translate and Adapt app handles product content translation for Arabic-speaking customers but does not translate transactional order notification emails. Arabic-speaking customers in Qatar who checkout in Arabic receive order confirmation, shipping notification, and delivery confirmation emails in English — the language Shopify's notification templates default to. A custom notification app built on Shopify's order lifecycle webhooks generates Arabic-language order notifications with correct right-to-left text formatting, Arabic date notation, QAR currency symbol, and the buyer's name written in the correct Arabic salutation format.

After A custom notification app built on Shopify's order lifecycle webhooks generates Arabic-language order notifications with correct right-to-left text formatting, Arabic date notation, QAR currency symbol, and the buyer's name written in the correct Arabic salutation format.

Before Brands operating across Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia from a single Shopify store need inventory that is visible and bookable across all three markets, with fulfilment routing logic that ships from the correct warehouse based on the buyer's country. Shopify's multi-location inventory supports this at a basic level, but routing orders to the correct GCC warehouse — and preventing overselling when inventory is shared across markets — requires custom Admin API development. A custom app monitors inventory levels across locations, routes incoming orders to the correct fulfilment location based on the buyer's country, and alerts the operations team when stock in any GCC location falls below a defined threshold.

After A custom app monitors inventory levels across locations, routes incoming orders to the correct fulfilment location based on the buyer's country, and alerts the operations team when stock in any GCC location falls below a defined threshold.

How it works

How we build custom Shopify apps

01

Technical Scoping
Week 1

We document the specific functional requirement, identify the Shopify API or extension point the app will use (Payment Provider API, Carrier Service API, Storefront API, Admin API, Shopify Functions, or App Bridge), and produce a technical specification that covers data flows, webhook handling requirements, and third-party API dependencies such as eSewa, Khalti, Nepal Post, or DHL.
02

Architecture and Environment Setup
Week 1-2

We set up the development environment using Shopify CLI, configure the app in the Partner Dashboard, establish the authentication and API scopes required, and prepare staging environments on both the Shopify development store and the third-party API sandbox where available.
03

Core Build
Weeks 2-5, depending on scope

We build the app functionality in incremental stages, with the Shopify Partner Dashboard providing access to development store testing throughout. For payment provider apps, this stage includes building the backend payment webhook handler and testing against eSewa or Khalti's sandbox environment. For carrier service apps, this includes testing rate calculation accuracy against real weight and destination inputs.
04

Integration Testing
Week 5-6

We test the full order flow end to end: payment initiation, webhook processing, order status update, and any downstream Shopify Flow triggers. For wholesale portals, we test across multiple customer account types and pricing tiers. We test error handling for API failures and edge cases specific to Nepali payment and shipping providers.
05

Deployment and Handover
Week 6-7

We deploy to production, configure the app in the merchant's Shopify admin, and document the operational procedures for your team. We provide a handover session covering how the app works, what to monitor, and how to request changes or additions. Post-launch support is included for 30 days.

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Common questions

FAQs (QA)

How do I integrate QPay or QNB into a Shopify store for Qatar buyers?

QPay and QNB integration uses Shopify's Payment App API. The integration requires building a payment provider app that registers with Shopify as a payment gateway, creates a payment session when a buyer selects QPay or QNB at checkout, redirects the buyer to QPay's or QNB's hosted payment page, and listens for a webhook from the payment provider confirming that the transaction was approved or declined. On confirmation, the app updates the Shopify order status via the Admin API. QPay integration requires a QPay merchant account and API credentials from Qatar Central Bank's payment infrastructure. QNB integration requires a QNB merchant account and access to QNB's payment gateway API. Both integrations must handle the redirect-back URL and session timeout cases correctly.

How do I automate COD order verification and dispatch workflow in Shopify?

COD order automation in Shopify is built using a combination of Shopify Flow and a custom app or webhook integration. When a new COD order is created (identified by the payment method tag), Shopify Flow tags the order as "pending-COD-confirmation" and triggers a webhook to a custom app. The custom app sends a WhatsApp message to the buyer's phone number via the WhatsApp Business API requesting address confirmation. When the buyer responds confirming the order, the app updates the order's custom attribute and removes the "pending-COD-confirmation" tag, triggering a Shopify Flow step that marks the order as ready for fulfilment. Orders that do not receive confirmation within a defined window (typically 24 hours) are automatically tagged for manual review.

How do I send Arabic-language order confirmation emails from Shopify?

Arabic-language order confirmation emails require a custom notification app because Shopify's default notification templates do not support RTL email layouts or Arabic locale-specific formatting. The app is triggered by Shopify's orders/create, orders/fulfilled, and other order lifecycle webhooks. It generates an HTML email with dir="rtl" set on the email body, Arabic text for all notification content, correct QAR currency formatting (amount followed by ر.ق), and the buyer's name in Arabic where available from the order data. The email is sent via a transactional email provider (Postmark or SendGrid) rather than Shopify's native notification system. Shopify's native notification system can still send English fallback emails; the custom app supplements it with Arabic versions.

How do I manage inventory across Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia from one Shopify store?

Multi-country GCC inventory management on a single Shopify store uses Shopify's multi-location inventory system as the foundation, with a custom admin app handling routing logic. Each GCC warehouse — Qatar, UAE, KSA — is set up as a separate Shopify inventory location. When an order is placed, the custom app evaluates the buyer's country (from the shipping address), checks stock availability at the correct regional location, and assigns the order to the appropriate fulfilment location via the Admin API's order assignment endpoint. If the regional location is out of stock, the app applies a fallback routing rule (e.g., ship from UAE warehouse to Qatar if Qatar location is depleted) and notifies the operations team. Inventory low-stock alerts are configured per location with country-specific reorder thresholds.

What Shopify plan is required to build a custom payment gateway integration for Qatar?

Custom payment gateway integrations using Shopify's Payment App API are available on all Shopify plans, including Basic. The Payment App API does not require Shopify Plus. However, QPay and QNB integrations require that Shopify Payments is not the active payment provider — since Shopify Payments is not available in Qatar, this is not a constraint for Qatari stores. The integration does require a Shopify Partner account to create and submit the payment provider app, and the app must go through Shopify's app review process if it is to be installed on more than one store. For a single-store QPay or QNB integration, a custom (private) app with the write_payment_sessions scope installed directly from the Shopify Partners dashboard is sufficient.

Our team

The people behind the work

Not a black box. Real specialists you can call, with their names on the work.

Niraj Raut

Founder — Ecommerce SEO

Keshab Joshi

PPC Expert

Hawrry Bhattarai

Google Ads Expert

Arogya Rijal

SaaS SEO Expert

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