As one of the most popular e-commerce platforms available, Shopify brings many advantages to entrepreneurs and business owners of all types. Some of these advantages can be immediate, while others will require a little more in-depth knowledge.
For those planning to launch an e-commerce store, Shopify offers a one-stop option with a high level of flexibility and is simple to manage on a day to day basis. While you can tackle the majority of basic management tasks simply enough, chances are that you will require the help of a Shopify expert at some point.
Finding the right Shopify developer can help improve your e-commerce store in a variety of ways. But your first step will have to be identifying exactly what it is that you need, and evaluating the costs of that professional advice.
Do You Need a Shopify Developer?
Think of Shopify as a customized hosting service where you can create your own website to display, sell, and ship digital or physical goods. For a monthly subscription, you can easily build a fully functional online store that has a shopping cart solution and an easy to learn and operate the admin panel that you can use to manage your products.
Given the fact this popular e-commerce platform makes it pretty easy to start with zero experience building a web-store with beautiful and responsive pre-designed templates, why should anyone need a Shopify web developer?
Technical knowledge is one area where the majority of new Shopify sellers are going to need help, and that goes beyond the simple building of your store. If your store looks unprofessional, or you don’t quite understand what SEO is or how best to use it, then a Shopify developer is going to be essential.
Cost Factors of Hiring a Shopify Developer
What you pay will be dependent on the areas that you need help with, so understanding your own strengths and weaknesses is going to be essential.
Before you commit to paying for help from a professional Shopify developer, you need to do a break-down of your expected costs. This will depend on the Shopify plan that you subscribe to.
Each plan available from Shopify gives you different access to tools, and the one that you choose will depend on your financial resources as well as the essentials that you need to have. You will also have to budget for your domain registrations costs, as well as any of the paid apps that can be used to get your e-commerce store looking as professional as possible.
A Shopify website developer can guide you through this initial process and help you make decisions on what you’re going to need and when.
Consider the following:
- What kind of store do you want to have? – The more that you want your Shopify store to offer, the more technical your knowledge is going to have to be. Getting an estimate from Shopify web developers will be dependant on what you’re going to be using them for.
- What kind of expert do you need? – You obviously want someone who has experience with Shopify, but the level of experience will dictate the prices that they offer. The less experience that a Shopify expert has, the less you should pay.
Cost Basics
While all of the best Shopify developers will have their own price list and areas of expertise, the majority will offer options regarding hourly rate or task rate.
Some experts will cost upwards of $8,000 for the development of a fully optimized e-commerce outlet, although there are other experts with lower starting programs–but ensure that you are dealing with true experts who have been in business and have delivered with with quality, on time, and within budget is considered the lower end of the spectrum.
The more that you need help with, the more that it will cost you. For stores planning to develop a larger, complex store with custom features and or 100s of SKUs and solid web presence, then you can expect to pay anywhere from $20,000 to $80,000 and up.
Make sure that you understand what you are getting for your payment, and ensure that those higher end experts have provable experience with both Shopify and e-commerce in general.
Finding the Right Shopify Developer
It can sometimes be quite tricky to find the right Shopify developer. You want to find the right people for the job, but you don’t want to be overcharged for something relatively simple.
Choosing the right expert can be daunting. Here some things to look for in your search:
- A commitment to increasing sales and an understanding of how to turn visitors into customers on all device types.
- Great customer reviews and a high rating on Google – the only way of ensuring you’re working with a real market leader
- A proven track record for developing bespoke projects.
- Customer testimonials on their website.
- Clear fixed pricing and schedules that work to your requirements.
- Honesty – if you think an agency is only telling you what you want to hear, it’s possible they’re not being upfront about how tricky setting up an ecommerce website can be!
Always interview your top choices for possible Shopify developers. You can do this in person or via a videoconference, but whichever you choose, make sure that you have a list of questions ready to go.
You need to ensure that they know exactly what you want and have the skills and experience required to get you what you’re looking for. Be wary of promises that seem unrealistic, and always make sure that you know what you’re going to be paying in the long run.
In Conclusion
A Shopify developer can help you keep your costs down and your profits up. Being an entrepreneur can mean taking on a lot of different roles, and if you’re struggling with digital marketing, branding, or the technical side of building your e-commerce store, then the right Shopify web developers can help you focus on doing what you’re best at.
Good Commerce has over 6 years of experience in Shopify. Whether you’re interested in a fresh website build, customizing your existing website, or you want a partner to handle ongoing web maintenance, contact us for a free consultation and let’s take your eCommerce to the next level!