Welcome to Fifth Effect

Built to be the team behind your team.

A senior technical team that works like an extension of yours - flexible, fast, and fully embedded.

Chalkboard drawing of a space shuttle launching above a stylized Earth with the text 'WELCOME TO THE SHOPIFY MOTHERSHIP'.

Fifth Effect was founded in 2019 on a simple idea: eCommerce brands deserve a technical partner that actually cares about their success. What started as one person doing the work grew into a team built around the same standard - senior-level execution, honest communication, and real ownership of results.

We've worked with over 100 brands since then, from early-stage stores to established retailers doing eight figures. The model hasn't changed. We stay small on purpose, move fast by design, and treat your store like it's ours.

Every store has room to grow. The brands that win are the ones that keep improving - testing, fixing, building, refining - week after week. We exist to make that easy. 

We handle the design, development, CRO, and technical strategy so you can stay focused on running your business. One team. One point of contact. Clean work, shipped fast, with no gaps between what's promised and what's delivered.

If that sounds like what you've been looking for, you're in the right place.

William Prater

Founder & CEO

100+

Stores Managed

$31.4M

Managed GMV in 2025

11+ Years

Average Experience

Home Base

From Detroit, MI
‍to the world.

Fifth Effect works with Shopify brands across the world, with a team focused on design, development, and growth. We're Detroit-rooted, globally available, and built for momentum at every stage.

Detroit

Fifth Effect Studios

607 Shelby Street
Suite 700-1034
Detroit, Michigan 48164

Map of Michigan state showing detailed city and town names in a dense, black and white layout.

Leadership Team

William Prater

Founder & Strategist

William started Fifth Effect in 2019 and still ensures every client is happy. He sets the technical direction, designs CRO strategies, and makes sure nothing ships that he wouldn't put his name on.

Ali G.

Engineering Team Lead

Ali keeps the codebase clean and the dev team sharp. He owns our Git workflows, enforces code standards, and is usually the first to catch something before it becomes a problem.

Ivan J.

Design Team Lead

Ivan designs every storefront experience before a line of code is written. He lives in Figma, thinks in user flows, and has a habit of sending Loom walkthroughs nobody asked for but everyone appreciates.

Francisco F.

Shopify Technical Lead

Francisco turns designs into production-ready Shopify code. From homepage builds to ADA compliance to theme merges, he's the one making sure what ships actually works - on every device, every time.

Beyond what a company does, it’s important to know who they are. These are the values that guide us.

"Customer obsession is not just listening to customers. Customer obsession is also inventing on their behalf. Because it’s not their job to invent for themselves; and so you need to be an inventor and a pioneer."

Jeff Bezos

CEO, Amazon

Clarity

We explain and clarity, so clients understand each step of our work.

Honesty

We say what we mean and mean what we say, every time.

Efficiency

We save time and money through our experience and expertise.

Quality

We stand behind our work. It’s not the Fifthe Effect until it’s flawless.

Reliability

We believe your word matters, so we never over-promise.

Consistency

We consider each project top priority. There are no exceptions.

At the Heart of it all.

We feel extremely fortunate to be involved with the work we do everyday.

Our team is a tight-knit, laser-focused unit with one goal: helping your store thrive by connecting you with customers and driving meaningful growth.

We listen closely to your needs and take swift, strategic action to deliver solutions that exceed expetations. Beyond just one-off wins, we build long-term partnerships, ensuring our strategies grow with your business as it scales.

Ready to start your partnership for growth?

Learn how Fifth Effect can help your shop improve and grow

Replace fragmented execution with strategic partnership;
clear the bottlenecks and firefighting to get back to growth from day one.

What to expect from us:

Focus on revenue, not vanity metrics

Clear, transparent reporting

No long-term contracts — pause or cancel anytime

"Reliable, communicative, and always follows through. They keep things organized and move fast when it counts."

Smiling woman with long dark curly hair wearing glasses and a purple sweater, seated in a red chair.

Carolina R.

Director of Marketing, Robin

Prefer to email?

You can also email us at [email protected]