How to Choose a Shopify Agency: 10 Questions to Ask Before You Hire

March 5, 2026 by Victoria Garland · 8 min read

How to Choose a Shopify Agency: 10 Questions to Ask Before You Hire

Hiring a Shopify agency is a big decision. You’re trusting someone with your online business. This is your revenue, your brand, your customer experience. The wrong choice can cost you months of delays, thousands of dollars in rework, and a store that doesn’t actually serve your business.

We’ve been building on Shopify for over 12 years. In that time, we’ve seen what good partnerships look like, and we’ve cleaned up after bad ones. A surprising number of our clients come to us after a poor experience with another developer or agency. The problems are usually preventable but they didn’t know what questions to ask upfront.

Here are the 10 questions that matter most.

1. How Long Have You Been Building on Shopify Specifically?

Not “how long have you been building websites.” Shopify. Specifically.

The Shopify ecosystem is deep. Liquid templating, the admin API, the storefront API, Online Store 2.0 architecture, checkout extensibility, Shopify Functions, theme app extensions. There’s a lot to know, and most of it is Shopify-specific knowledge that doesn’t transfer from WordPress or Squarespace experience.

An agency that’s been doing web design for 15 years but added Shopify last year is not the same as an agency with 10 years of focused Shopify work. Both can build you a store, but the depth of platform knowledge will be dramatically different.

What to listen for: Specific mention of Shopify features, experience with Shopify’s evolution over the years, and examples of how platform knowledge influenced technical decisions for clients.

2. Can I See Stores You’ve Built That Are Live Right Now?

Portfolio screenshots are nice, but live stores tell you what a screenshot can’t:

Is it fast? Load the store on your phone. Does it feel snappy?
Is the checkout smooth? Add something to the cart and go through the checkout flow (you don’t have to buy it).
Is it accessible? Can you navigate it with a keyboard? Does it work with a screen reader?
Is it maintained? Are there broken images, outdated copyright years, or “coming soon” placeholders?

A live store is an agency’s ongoing track record. If all their portfolio links are dead or redirecting, that tells you something.

What to listen for: Willingness to share live URLs, not just screenshots or Behance mockups.

3. Do I Own Everything You Build?

This should be a non-negotiable yes. You should own:

Full access to your Shopify store admin (as the store owner)
All custom theme code
All custom app code (if applicable)
Design files (Figma, Photoshop, etc.)
Any content created as part of the project

We’ve seen clients locked out of their own stores because the agency used their own Shopify Partners account as the store owner, or because custom code was deployed through the agency’s app and could be revoked.

What to listen for: “Yes, you own everything, and here’s how we transfer access at the end of the project.” Be wary of agencies that want to host your theme on their own infrastructure or maintain control over critical components.

4. Who Am I Actually Working With?

This is about communication structure, and it’s one of the biggest sources of frustration we hear about from clients who’ve had bad experiences.

At larger agencies, you often talk to a project manager or account manager who relays your feedback to the development team. This creates a telephone game where nuance gets lost. You say “I want the header to feel lighter,” the PM writes “client wants header changes,” and the developer makes the logo smaller.

At smaller agencies and studios, you’re often talking directly to the person building your store. This means faster feedback loops, fewer miscommunications, and someone who can answer technical questions on the spot.

Neither model is automatically better. Large teams can handle complex projects that a 3-person studio can’t. But you should know what you’re getting into.

What to listen for: Clear explanation of who you’ll communicate with, how often, and through what channels. Ask if you’ll ever speak directly to the developers working on your project.

5. What Happens After Launch?

The store launching is not the end of the relationship. It’s the beginning of the store’s life. You need to know:

What does post-launch support look like? Is there a warranty period for bugs?
Do you offer maintenance plans? Shopify themes need updates, apps need configuration changes, and content needs refreshing.
How do I request changes after launch? Is there an hourly rate? A retainer? A minimum engagement?
What’s your response time? If the checkout breaks on Black Friday, can you get someone on it within hours?

An agency that builds your store and disappears is not a partner. Look for someone who’s invested in the long-term success of your business.

What to listen for: Specific support options, clear pricing for post-launch work, and evidence of long-term client relationships.

6. How Do You Handle Timelines and Scope?

Every project has a scope, and scope changes are inevitable. The question is how the agency manages them.

Healthy signs:

They define scope in writing before starting
They have a clear process for change requests (what’s in scope vs. what’s extra)
They provide timeline estimates with stated assumptions
They communicate early when timelines are at risk

Red flags:

No written scope or contract
“We’ll figure it out as we go”
Promising delivery dates without understanding your requirements
No change request process (either they’ll say yes to everything and blow the timeline, or they’ll nickel-and-dime every small request)

What to listen for: A defined discovery or scoping phase before quoting the full project.

7. What’s Your Technical Approach?

You don’t need to understand the technical details, but you should ask about them. The answers reveal whether the agency builds with best practices or takes shortcuts.

Good questions to ask:

“Do you build with Online Store 2.0?” (If not, they’re using an outdated architecture.)
“How do you handle page speed and performance?” (They should mention image optimization, minimal JavaScript, and core web vitals.)
“Do you write custom code or rely on apps for everything?” (Too many apps slow down the store and create maintenance headaches.)
“How do you handle version control?” (Professional teams use Git. If they’re editing theme code directly in the Shopify admin… that’s a problem.)

What to listen for: Confident, specific answers. If they can’t explain their technical approach in plain language, that’s a concern.

8. Do You Build Apps?

This one isn’t always relevant, but it’s a meaningful differentiator. An agency that builds Shopify apps (not just installs them) has a deeper understanding of the platform than one that only does theme work.

App development requires working with the Shopify APIs, understanding webhooks and data flows, building admin interfaces, and navigating the app review process. This knowledge translates directly into better theme work, better integrations, and the ability to solve problems that theme-only agencies can’t.

It also means that if you need custom functionality, they can build it as a proper Shopify app rather than hacking it together with theme code and third-party scripts.

What to listen for: Published apps in the Shopify App Store, or experience building custom (private) apps for clients.

Any reputable agency should be able to connect you with at least 2-3 past clients who can speak to their experience. When you talk to references, ask:

Was the project delivered on time and on budget?
How was communication during the project?
Were there any surprises (positive or negative)?
Would you hire them again?
What happened after launch?

If an agency can’t or won’t provide references, that’s a red flag.

What to listen for: Eagerness to share references, not reluctance.

10. What Do You Charge, and How?

Pricing models vary, and none is universally “best.” But you should understand what you’re signing up for:

Fixed project price: You pay a set amount for a defined scope. Best for projects with clear requirements. Risk: scope creep leads to change orders.
Hourly billing: You pay for time spent. Best for ongoing work or loosely defined projects. Risk: no cost ceiling without an estimate.
Retainer: A monthly fee for a set number of hours or deliverables. Best for ongoing partnerships. Risk: paying for hours you don’t use.
Value-based pricing: Price is based on the expected business impact, not hours. Less common, usually for high-end agencies.

Whatever the model, you should get a written estimate before work starts. “It depends” is a fine initial answer, but after a discovery conversation, the agency should be able to give you a range.

What to listen for: Transparent pricing, willingness to explain how they arrived at a number, and a clear scope document before you commit.

The Meta-Question: Do They Ask Good Questions?

Beyond these 10 questions, pay attention to the questions the agency asks you. A good agency will want to understand:

What does your business do and who are your customers?
What are your goals for this project (not just “build a store” but business goals)?
What’s working and what isn’t about your current setup?
What’s your timeline, and what’s driving it?
What does success look like to you?

If an agency is ready to quote you without understanding your business, they’re guessing. And you’ll pay for that guess in rework, missed requirements, and a store that doesn’t quite fit.

One More Thing

The cheapest option is rarely the most cost-effective. We regularly work with clients who went cheap the first time and ended up paying more to fix or rebuild what they got. A poorly built store doesn’t just cost money to fix. It costs you revenue every day it’s live.

That doesn’t mean you need to spend $50,000 on your first store. It means you should invest appropriately for where your business is and where it’s going.

If you’re evaluating agencies right now and want an honest conversation about what your store needs, we’re here to help. We’ll tell you straight whether we’re the right fit, and if we’re not, we’ll point you in the right direction.