If you are looking for a Shopify Agency, you are either looking to start a new business, migrate to Shopify from another platform or looking for some assistance with your current store. Either way, you need to be sure you are making the right choice. We thought it might be a good idea to help you, and share our thoughts on the matter. If you get your choice wrong it could cost you a lot in the long run.
What is a Shopify Agency?
There are a variety of Shopify Agencies in the market and you need to know the difference. To start with you need to consider your goals, budget and turnover. This will help you to choose the right agency.
Shopify has a variety of usage options depending on the size of your business, in much the same way as the are Shopify Agencies that fit the size of your business. A lot of this is guided by turnover size of the business.
One size does not fit all...
Like most things in life there is no one size fits all model, unless you take Amazon who just gobble up everything of course.
Shopify Agencies come in different sizes and you want to find the one that fits you best. The bigger the agency the more expensive, the bigger your company the more expensive the quote and budget.
A good starting point is to find out which Shopify plan your business will be on. If you are a start up with very few sales expected you will probably go for the basic. In an established business where more reporting is required, more staff accounts and international sales would result in Advanced.
If you are even larger and more of an enterprise-size business you will be looking at Shopify Plus.
Now you know the plan you are on you can start to thin down your choice of Shopify Agencies. A good example is Shopify Plus. If you are a small business with a turnover below £2,000,000 then you should ignore Agencies that are Shopify Plus partners. They will be looking at a large budget and have teams of staff waiting to help you out. Alongside the agency costs, you are looking at £2,000 a month direct to Shopify.
If you are that enterprise-sized business then you want to speak to some of the well established Shopify Plus Agencies like:
Founded by Retailers for Retailers, this is one of the best Shopify Plus agencies in the world. If you want to grow fast and be guided by experienced hands then they are the Agency for you.
Shopify Advanced Agency
Shopify Advanced is the next step up from the Basic package and allows stores to sell internationally at scale. If you have been on basic for a while then you may want to think about this as the opportunity to take things to the next level.
It is important when choosing your Shopify Agency that they have an understanding of Advanced Shopify. There are a lot more features that come with advanced and you want to take advantage of them if you are paying the extra £1000s per annum.
If you sell in multiple currencies but want to keep the currency exchange out of the pricing equation then Advanced is for you. You also get 15 users who can access the backend. This is essential if you have a large number of staff or multiple locations.
Charle
A UK-based Shopify Plus and Basic Agency that has helped the likes of Candy Kittens grow their business at an extraordinary rate.
Shopify Basic Agency
Shopify basic is the most popular plan for the obvious reason that most companies start there. This includes start ups and businesses that have been established for a long time. A lot of Digital Marketing Agencies will have the Shopify logo on their website and say they are Shopify experts. This is where you want to be careful Shopify is quite easy to use so a lot of agencies will think they can build quickly in Shopify.
It is not as simple as all that. You want to know that they have built lots of websites and be able to see their success and feedback. Shopify Agencies are tena penny if you search on Google. What you need to look for is the Partner Logo and if it exists the Shopify Expert Logo. This means they have been verified by Shopify.
As Shopify Partners, it means they can get easy access to the back end of your store and will be able to show you other stores they have worked on.
Moresoda is a creative web development agency. We make beautiful, effective ecommerce stores and websites that focus on the goals of your business and the needs of your users.
Shopify Developers
When you choose a Shopify Agency, you will also come across other terms, like Shopify Developers. You may be looking to build an app or create your own bespoke theme This is where a good developer comes in handy.
Other agencies might not consider themselves as developers and be more familiar with using the built-in themes provided by Shopify and their partners. This is where you have to be very careful. If you get a bespoke theme built, will you be able to make the changes you want as the business grows?
Using a Shopify theme gives you a ready-made platform that you can essentially fill in. As Shopify grows you can edit more and more. You can also learn a bit of code to make particular changes. Or your agency can do it for you.
Things to Look out for
When you choose a Shopify Agency you should also be looking out for the following:
- Reviews – Have they got reviews from similar companies to yours.
- Portfolio of work – Is there a list of urls you can visit to see the type of work they have done.
- Return on Investment – Have the agency’s designs led to an increase in turnover? Can you see any figures?
- Support – Shopify comes with in-built support but we think you should ask the agency what their policy is on handover. Will they support you for free for a number of months after going live or will they charge you immediately?
Choosing a Shopify Agency - Support
If you want independent help choosing a Shopify Agency for your business, we can help. Why not ask us to come with you to help choose the right fit for you? We know what questions to ask and how to aks them. We promise not to push our own services and will give you honest feedback.
