What to prepare before hiring a Shopify developer

Hiring a Shopify developer goes far more smoothly when you do a little preparation first. You get a more accurate quote, the work starts sooner, and there is less back and forth along the way. Most of it costs nothing but an hour or two of your time.

You do not need to write a technical brief, and you do not need to know how the work will be done. That is the developer's job. I have worked on 100+ store projects, and the projects that run best are the ones where the owner has thought through the points below. Here is what to prepare.

Before hiring a Shopify developer, start with your goals

Begin with what you want to change for your business, not with a list of tasks. "Add a slider to the homepage" tells a developer what to build. "Customers cannot find our best sellers" tells them what you are trying to fix, and there may be a better answer than a slider.

Try to answer these questions in a sentence or two each:

• What is not working today, or what do you want to be able to do that you cannot?
• What would a good result look like for you?
• Who are your customers, and where do they buy from?
• Is there a date that matters, such as a product launch or a seasonal sale?

Be honest about which things are essential and which would simply be nice to have. If the budget gets tight, that list tells you both what to protect.

Know what kind of job you have

It also helps to describe the size of the work. Roughly speaking, most jobs fall into one of these groups:

• A new store, set up from the start.
• A redesign of a store you already run.
• Focused changes, such as a new section, a page template or a change to your product pages.
• A fix, such as something that is broken or slow.
• A move from another platform to Shopify.

You do not have to get this exactly right. Your best guess helps a developer understand what you are asking for.

Collect examples of what you like

Words like "clean" and "modern" mean different things to different people. Examples remove that guesswork, and they are often the most useful thing you can send.

• Find two or three stores you like, and note what you like about each. "The way this store lays out its product page" is more useful than a link on its own.
• Find one or two you dislike, and say why. This can be just as helpful.
• Look at your competitors, and note what you would do differently.
• If you have brand guidelines, include them. If not, your logo, colors and fonts are enough to start.

If you are not sure where to begin, a theme is a good place to look. Shopify's theme store shows real layouts you can try, and choosing a theme to build on is often a sensible first step. That is how my work on the Grew By Me Shopify store started: selecting a theme, then customizing it for the brand.

Get your content ready

Unfinished content delays more projects than code does. A design also looks different with your real words and photos in it, so the sooner they are available, the better the result.

Depending on the job, gather what you can of the following:

• Your logo, in a good quality file.
• Product details: names, descriptions, prices, sizes and variants. A spreadsheet is fine.
• Photos at the best quality you have.
• Page text for your about, contact, shipping and returns pages.
• Policies, such as privacy and refunds. Your own advisers should check anything with legal weight.

If some of it is not ready, say so at the start. A developer can plan around missing content, but only if they know about it. If you want someone to write your content, ask early, because not every developer offers that.

Sort out access, safely

Never send your Shopify password to anyone. You do not need to. Shopify has a proper way to do this called a collaborator account.

It works like this. The developer sends a request from their Shopify Partner account, you approve it in your admin, and you can choose which areas they get access to. You can remove that access at any time. To control who can send you requests, you can also set a collaborator request code in your settings and share it only with people you have chosen.

Before work starts, make sure you also know:

• Who owns your domain, and how to log in to wherever it is registered.
• Which apps you use, and which of them matter to you.
• Who has access to your analytics and ad accounts, if the work could affect tracking.

For changes to a live store, ask for the work to be done on a copy of your theme. Shopify lets you duplicate a theme and preview it without customers seeing it, so you can review everything before it goes live. It also means you have the previous version to go back to.

Think about budget in terms of value

You do not need an exact figure, but it helps to know your range and what the work is worth to you. A rough budget lets a developer suggest what is realistic, and that saves everyone time.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Compare scope, not just price. Two quotes can look very different because they include different work. Check what each one covers.
• Count the running costs. Your Shopify plan, paid apps and a premium theme are separate from a developer's fee.
• Phase the work if you need to. Launching with the essentials and adding the rest later is often better than waiting.
• Ask about changes. Find out what happens if you want something extra halfway through. Vague answers here lead to surprise bills.

Be wary of choosing on price alone. Work that has to be redone is usually the most expensive option in the end.

Questions to ask a Shopify developer

A good developer will be happy to answer these, and the answers will tell you a lot:

1. Can I see Shopify stores you have worked on? Look at the live sites on your own phone as well as the screenshots. You can see stores I have worked on here.
2. Will you do the work yourself? Find out who you will actually be dealing with.
3. Is the price fixed, and is it in writing? Ask what is included and what is not.
4. How do you handle changes to the scope? You want them agreed before they are done.
5. How will we communicate, and how quickly do you reply? Slow replies can hold up a whole project.
6. Will I be able to edit things myself afterwards? You should not have to pay someone every time you change a banner.
7. What happens after launch? Ask what support is available if something goes wrong.

For theme work, also ask how they will keep your store fast and how they make changes so that your theme stays easy to maintain. If your project is mainly about how your store looks and works, my Shopify theme development service explains what that kind of work covers. For a sense of a redesign, see my work on the Freak Vault Shopify redesign.

How I work

So you know what to expect from me, here is how a project runs:

• One fixed price, in writing. We agree it before I start. If you want to change the scope, we agree the change and its price before I do the work.
• Direct contact. You deal with me. The person you talk to is the person doing the work.
• A reply within 24 hours. You will not be left wondering where your project stands.

Common questions

Do I need all of this ready before I get in touch?

No. A short message about your store and what you want to achieve is enough to start. The rest makes the quote more accurate and the project faster, and we can fill in any gaps together.

Should I give my developer my Shopify password?

No. Use a collaborator account instead. It gives the developer the access they need, under their own login, and you can remove it at any time.

How much detail should my brief include?

Enough to explain your goal, the work you have in mind, and a few examples you like. One page in plain language is plenty. A clear problem helps more than a long list of technical requirements.

What if I do not know what I need?

Say so. Describe what is not working and what you would like to happen instead. Working out the right approach is part of a developer's job.

When you are ready, send me what you have and get a fixed quote. Tell me about your store and what you would like to achieve. I'll reply within 24 hours with any questions and, once I understand the scope, one fixed price agreed in writing before any work starts.