One of the first questions businesses ask us when considering Shopify is:
How much does a Shopify website cost?
Unfortunately, there's no single useful answer.
A Shopify website could be a relatively straightforward store using a pre-built theme, or it could be a highly customised ecommerce operation with thousands of products, custom functionality, integrations and bespoke development.
We've built websites for more than 15 years, and one of the biggest mistakes we see businesses make is comparing Shopify quotes based purely on price without comparing what's actually included.
Here's what really determines the cost.
Shopify's Monthly Cost
The first expense is the Shopify platform itself.
Shopify offers several subscription levels intended for businesses at different stages of growth.
Your subscription pays for the ecommerce platform rather than the design and development of your individual website.
This gives you the infrastructure required to manage areas including:
- Products
- Orders
- Customers
- Inventory
- Payments
- Discounts
- Analytics
- Checkout
- Website content
Your Shopify subscription therefore shouldn't be confused with the cost of having a professional Shopify website designed.
Free Shopify Theme vs Premium Shopify Theme
Shopify offers free themes as well as premium themes.
Free themes can be perfectly suitable for some businesses.
Premium themes usually provide additional layouts and ecommerce functionality that might otherwise require apps or custom development.
But purchasing a £300-ish premium theme does not mean you've purchased a professionally designed Shopify website.
The theme is the framework.
Professional Shopify web design involves adapting that framework to your brand, products and customers.
What Does a Professional Shopify Website Cost?
Shopify design projects vary enormously.
At one end you have:
Theme setup
This could involve installing an existing theme, adding branding, creating navigation and uploading content.
Then you have:
Professional customisation
This might involve extensively changing the layouts, product cards, collection pages, navigation, typography, mobile experience and overall appearance.
At the more advanced end you have:
Custom Shopify development
This can include bespoke product selectors, calculators, appointment systems, bundles, custom carts, subscription systems, metafields, metaobjects or integrations with other platforms.
Two businesses asking for "a Shopify website" could therefore require completely different amounts of work.
What Determines Shopify Web Design Cost?
Number of products
A small store containing 20 products is different from migrating a catalogue containing 20,000.
Even where products are imported automatically, larger catalogues introduce additional considerations around categories, filters, navigation, data and redirects.
Design complexity
A store based fairly closely on an existing Shopify theme will usually require less development than a highly bespoke design.
Custom functionality
The more unusual your business model, the more likely custom development becomes necessary.
For example:
- Product builders
- Personalisation
- Advanced product options
- Appointment booking
- Trade functionality
- Bespoke filters
- Calculators
- Custom cart behaviour
- Third-party integrations
Migration
Moving from WooCommerce, Magento, Wix, Squarespace or another platform can add additional work.
Products are only part of a migration.
You also need to think about:
- Customers
- Order history
- Collections
- Images
- Blogs
- Pages
- URLs
- Redirects
- SEO
- Tracking
- Integrations
SEO
A new website shouldn't mean starting your Google visibility again from zero.
For established businesses, SEO migration planning can be one of the most important parts of the project.
Content
Will you supply all product descriptions, photography, banners and page copy?
Or does the web designer need to create some of it?
That affects the scope.
Beware Extremely Cheap Shopify Website Packages
A cheap website isn't automatically bad. And an expensive website isn't automatically good. But it's important to understand what you're purchasing.
Some low-cost website packages involve installing a theme, importing a logo and making minor colour changes.
That might be enough for a new business. It isn't comparable to a bespoke Shopify redesign. Ask exactly what is included.
What About Shopify Apps?
Apps can introduce additional monthly costs. This is an area where experienced Shopify development can sometimes save money.
We frequently find functionality being supplied by paid apps that could have been handled by the theme or with relatively simple custom development.
That doesn't mean apps are bad. Some provide extremely sophisticated functionality and represent excellent value.
The question should always be:
Is an app the best solution for this particular requirement?
Not:
Is there an app that can do it?
What Does Shopify Cost After Launch?
Don't only budget for launch.
Depending on the business, ongoing expenditure could include:
- Shopify subscription
- Apps
- Domain
- SEO
- Development
- Maintenance
- Conversion optimisation
- Photography
- Marketing
- Paid advertising
A successful ecommerce website is rarely something you build once and completely ignore.
How Should You Compare Shopify Web Design Quotes?
Don't simply compare the final number.
Compare:
- What theme is being used?
- Is custom development included?
- Are product and collection pages being properly designed?
- Is mobile optimisation included?
- What happens to existing SEO?
- Are redirects included?
- Who uploads products?
- Who installs analytics?
- What happens after launch?
- Are you dealing with the developer directly?
A £2,000 quote and a £6,000 quote might describe two completely different projects.
Our Advice
Before requesting a Shopify quote, create a list containing:
-
What your business sells.
-
Approximately how many products you have.
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What platform you're currently using.
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Three websites you like.
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Any unusual functionality you require.
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Your biggest problems with the current site.
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What you want the new website to achieve.
A good Shopify designer should then ask more questions.
Need a Shopify Web Design Quote?
At Fat Buddha Web Design, we build and redesign Shopify stores for businesses across the UK and internationally.
We're a small team, so you'll work directly with people who understand Shopify design, development and SEO rather than being passed between salespeople and account managers.
Every project is different, which is why we prefer to understand what you actually need before recommending a solution.
Learn more about our web design services and read our complete Shopify Web Design Guide to get more tips and information on creating a high-converting Shopify store.
