15 questions to ask before you hire a Shopify agency.
Most bad agency experiences were predictable from the first call. These questions surface the problems before you sign — and they work just as well for a WordPress or Webflow designer.
Updated October 2026 · by the Good Work team, Bentonville, AR
The short answer.
Before hiring a Shopify agency, ask: is the price fixed, and what changes it; who will actually do the work; do I own the code, theme, accounts, and domain; how will you protect my search rankings during a migration; what's included (copy, SEO, analytics, training); how many reviews and revisions; what's the timeline and my time commitment; what happens after launch; and can I talk to two recent clients. Good agencies answer each in a sentence and put it in writing.
Get a free quote- Questions
- 15, in five groups
- Most important
- Fixed price · ownership
- Red flag
- Vague scope, hourly only
- Ask for
- Two recent references
- Get in writing
- Price · scope · launch date
- Also for
- WordPress & Webflow
Price and scope
1. Is the price fixed, and what would change it? A good answer: one number, in writing, that only moves if you change the scope — and any change is quoted before work starts. Hourly-only billing on a defined project shifts all the risk to you.
2. What exactly is included? Copywriting, product data entry, migration, SEO setup, analytics, app configuration, training. Cheap quotes usually leave out the last four, and you discover it at launch.
3. What does it cost to run afterward? Shopify plan, apps, and any care plan. You should leave the first call knowing your monthly number.
People and process
4. Who will actually do the work? Ask for names and roles. Many agencies sell with senior people and deliver with juniors or offshore contractors.
5. How much of my time will this take? Expect a kickoff, two or three reviews, and a handoff. If the answer is “it depends,” the process isn't defined.
6. How many reviews and revisions do I get? Look for a clear number of review rounds and revisions until it's right within the agreed scope.
7. What's the timeline, and what happens if you miss it? A launch date in writing, with the dependencies on your side spelled out.
Ownership
8. Who owns the theme, the code, and the design files? You should. Watch for agencies that license a proprietary theme or keep the Figma files.
9. Whose name are the accounts in? Shopify, domain, hosting, Google Analytics, Search Console, Google Business Profile, and app subscriptions should all be in your name, with the agency invited as a collaborator.
10. Can I leave whenever I want? A good agency makes leaving easy: everything documented, nothing locked.
Search, speed, and migration
11. How will you protect my rankings? The answer should include a crawl of the current site, a URL-by-URL redirect map, and Search Console monitoring after launch. See our redesign checklist.
12. What mobile speed will the site hit? A specific number — a 90+ Lighthouse mobile score is achievable on Shopify with a disciplined theme and app stack. See Core Web Vitals.
13. Will the site be ready for AI search? Ask about schema markup, answer-first content, and how they handle AEO and GEO.
Proof and support
14. Can I talk to two recent clients? Not logos on a slide — people you can call, ideally with a project like yours.
15. What happens after launch? Look for a monitoring period, a clear support option, and a price for changes. Our answers to all fifteen are on the how we work and pricing pages.
Red flags
| Red flag | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| No written price until after a “discovery phase” you pay for | Discovery is real work, but you should know the range up front. |
| The agency keeps the theme, code, or accounts | You can't leave without starting over. |
| No redirect plan for a migration | This is how stores lose most of their search traffic overnight. |
| “We'll install a few apps for that” | Every app adds monthly cost and page weight; ask which ones and why. |
| Only portfolio screenshots, no references | Anyone can show a pretty homepage; ask how the project actually went. |
Questions people ask.
Short answers, no hedging.
Should I hire a local Shopify agency?
Local helps for kickoffs, workshops, and launch days, and a local agency understands your market. But fixed pricing, ownership, and senior people matter more than distance.
Agency, freelancer, or do it myself?
It depends on budget, complexity, and how much risk you can carry. We compare all three honestly in agency vs freelancer vs DIY.
How does Good Work answer these questions?
Fixed price in writing within one business day, senior people only, you own everything, a redirect map on every migration, 90+ mobile speed, under three hours of your time, and references on request.
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