When hiring Shopify help goes wrong, it tends to go wrong in a handful of ways. The price grows after you've agreed to it, you can't see the work until it's too late, or you find out later that the theme or the code belongs to someone else. Each of those shows up before you pay, if you know where to look.
This article gives you seven checks to run on anyone you're about to hire, freelancer or agency, with the red flag for each and how to spot it.
In short
- Write down what you need before you ask for quotes. A scope nobody wrote down is where disputes start.
- Never share your password. Shopify has collaborator accounts for this, with permissions you choose and access you can remove.
- Make sure any paid theme is bought on your store. A theme licence belongs to the store it was bought for.
- Ask to see the work before it goes live, and ask for a list of what was changed when it's done.
- A price that grows after you've agreed to it, or a promise of sales, is a reason to walk away.
How to use this article
Read it before you contact anyone, then keep it open while quotes come in.
Start with your brief. One page: what the store sells, what you want done, what "done" looks like, and your deadline. You'll send the same page to everyone, so the quotes can be compared.
Run the seven checks on every quote. Each section below ends with a red flag. Count how many each candidate raises. The rule further down tells you what the count means.
Seven checks before you hire
Each check has the same four parts: what good looks like, the red flag, how to check, and why it matters.
1. A scope you can both point to
What good looks like. A written list of what will be done, what won't, and how many rounds of changes are included. For a theme job: which pages, how many products set up, which apps connected.
The red flag. A price with no list behind it, or extras that appear after you've said yes. One owner on Shopify Community described a developer who "keeps asking for additional fees" after the work had started. On Reddit, an owner who agreed a $250 job on Upwork, then heard about extra terms for the theme, wrote: "It does seem reminiscent of a bait-and-switch tactic."
How to check. Ask, "What isn't included?" A clear answer is a good sign. "We'll see as we go" isn't.
Why it matters. A scope protects both sides. Without one, every disagreement turns into an argument about what was promised, and the person holding your store has the stronger hand.
2. You can see the work before it goes live
What good looks like. The new design is built as a draft theme on your own store, or on a preview you can open on your phone at any time. You see progress every week and approve it before it's published.
The red flag. Weeks of "it's coming along" with nothing to look at, or a preview you can only see on a call. A store owner on Shopify Community found that the developer they'd paid "cannot send me any links because the trial period has ended", and added: "They did not make me aware of this." Another owner, who paid an agency CAD 3,000, wrote on Reddit: "There was no staging theme linked, no previews provided."
How to check. Ask, "Where will I see the work while it's in progress, and how often?"
Why it matters. A preview is the only way to catch a problem while it's still cheap to fix. Shopify lets anyone build and preview a theme on your store while the live one keeps selling, so there's no technical reason to work blind.
3. Access through a collaborator account, never your password
What good looks like. The developer sends a collaborator request, and you approve it with only the permissions the job needs. Shopify built collaborator accounts for exactly this. They don't count towards your store's user limit, partners must use two-step authentication, and you can remove the access when the job is done.
The red flag. Being asked for your login and password, or for the store owner's email.
How to check. Ask them to send a collaborator request. Shopify gives you a four-digit code to share, so only partners who have it can ask for access. Before you approve, Shopify advises you to "confirm that you recognize the partner and expected the request".
Why it matters. Your login opens everything, including payouts and the right to transfer the store. A collaborator account opens only what you choose, and closing it ends the access.
4. The theme is bought on your store
What good looks like. If the job uses a paid theme, it's bought from the Shopify Theme Store on your store, and the licence shows in your admin. Shopify says a purchased theme is "licensed exclusively to the store where the purchase was made".
The red flag. A developer who uploads a paid theme they bought elsewhere, or "has a copy". One owner on Shopify Community asked exactly this: "Can he upload an already paid theme to my store and still be legit?" The answer from the community was that it will work, but it needs a licence for that store to be legal.
How to check. Ask, "Which theme, and where will it be bought?" Then look at your theme library when it's installed.
Why it matters. Shopify can restrict an unlicensed theme: you "won't be able to customize or publish the theme" until it's resolved, and unlicensed themes don't get support or updates. A licence can only be moved between stores under strict conditions.
5. You own what's built, and you know what was changed
What good looks like. Code changes live in your theme, apps are installed on your store under your account, and at the end you get a short list of everything that was changed and why.
The red flag. A feature that runs on the developer's own server or private app, with no plan for what happens when you stop working together. The owner in check 1 said the same developer "threatens to delete his programme at any time". Replies in that thread pointed out that theme code can't be changed once his access is removed, but an app he controls can still reach parts of the store.
How to check. Ask, "Will anything you build run outside my store or depend on you to keep working?" and "Will I get a list of changes at the end?"
Why it matters. Undocumented changes are the reason owners are afraid to change or update their theme years later. A list written today saves the next developer a lot of guessing.
6. Payment tied to what you can see
What good looks like. A fixed price for a job that can be defined, and you know what each payment buys. For a theme set-up, the deliverables and the preview date are agreed before work starts. For open-ended work like ongoing fixes, an hourly rate with a cap and a weekly log is fair.
The red flag. An hourly rate on a job that could be priced, with no cap. Or a monthly retainer suggested before the first job is even finished.
How to check. Ask, "What exactly do I get for this payment, and when will I see it?"
Why it matters. When the pricing fits the job, neither side gains from dragging it out. A fixed price puts the risk of overruns on the person who knows how long the work takes.
7. Shopify work you can check, and no promises about sales
What good looks like. Live Shopify stores you can open, ideally on the kind of theme and catalogue you have. Shopify's own Partner Directory tells owners to "check reviews, work samples, certifications, and more" before choosing.
The red flag. No live work to show, only mock-ups. Or any promise of a sales increase, a conversion rate or a Google ranking. Nobody who builds a store controls those numbers.
How to check. Open two of their stores on your phone and try to buy something. Then ask what they'd do differently on yours.
Why it matters. A store that's pleasant to buy from on a phone is good evidence of skill, and it takes five minutes to test.
The seven at a glance
| # | The check | Red flag | Ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A written scope | A price with no list, extras after yes | "What isn't included?" |
| 2 | A preview while it's built | Nothing to look at for weeks | "Where will I see the work, and how often?" |
| 3 | Collaborator access | Asked for your password | "Please send a collaborator request" |
| 4 | Theme bought on your store | "I have a copy of the theme" | "Which theme, and where is it bought?" |
| 5 | Ownership and a change list | Features that depend on their server | "Will anything run outside my store?" |
| 6 | Payment tied to deliverables | Open hourly rate, early retainer | "What does this payment buy, and when?" |
| 7 | Checkable work, no sales promises | Mock-ups only, promised results | Open two of their stores and buy something |
How many red flags is too many?
Count the red flags for each candidate.
None. Hire on fit and price.
One. Ask about it directly and get the answer in writing. A good candidate will fix it, usually by adding a line to the quote.
Two or more. Walk away, even if the price is the lowest you've seen. A low price with two red flags tends to stop being low once the work starts.
Password requests and promised sales count as two each. Either one is enough to stop.
What a good quote looks like
A good quote for a theme set-up fits on one page, and you can check every line of it. Something like this:
- Scope. Set up the theme on your store: homepage, collection page, product page, cart, about and contact pages. Up to 20 products entered from your spreadsheet. Your three apps connected and tested.
- Not included. Product photography, copywriting, new apps, changes to checkout.
- Theme. Bought from the Shopify Theme Store on your store, in your account.
- Preview. A draft theme on your store from day three, updated as we go.
- Changes. Two rounds of changes on the preview.
- Delivery. Live by an agreed date, after a test order.
- Payment. A fixed price, what it covers, and when it's due.
- Handover. A list of every change made, and what each app does.
The lines will differ for your job, but the shape shouldn't. If a quote you receive can't be laid out like this, ask for the missing lines before you agree to anything. The gaps are where the extra fees come from.
When careful hiring won't help
If you don't know what you want. No checklist protects a brief that changes every week. Spend the time on the one-page brief first. If you can't fill it in, a short paid consultation is a better first purchase than a build.
If the problem isn't the store. A good developer can make a store faster and easier to buy from. They can't fix a product people don't want, or shipping that costs too much.
If you pick on price alone. All seven checks can come back clean and the cheapest quote can still be the slowest. Ask for the delivery date in writing, as part of the scope.
Seven steps to hire well
- Write the brief. One page, as above. Add three stores you like and why.
- Shortlist three. Shopify's Partner Directory, a referral from another owner, or a freelance marketplace. Each route differs in price and in how much of the checking falls on you.
- Send everyone the same brief. Same questions, same deadline for replies.
- Compare quotes line by line. What's included, what isn't, the preview date, the delivery date, the payment terms. Run the seven checks.
- Agree in writing. Scope, price, dates, rounds of changes, who buys the theme, and the handover list.
- Give collaborator access. Only the permissions the job needs. Note the date so you remember to remove it.
- Review the preview, then go live. Test on your phone, place a test order, publish, and collect the change list. Then remove the collaborator access, or keep it on purpose if you're carrying on together.
Do it yourself, or hand it to us?
What small changes take on your own. The theme editor covers most layout changes without code, once you know it. The hours go on learning it: where each setting lives, what moves when you change it, and checking the result on a phone and a computer. Anything with code, a theme change, or a paid theme that needs customising goes further: Shopify says theme developers "don't provide customizations", so that work falls to you or to whoever you hire.
What we do. The seven checks are how we work: a written scope, a preview of the new store on your own store before it goes live, a fixed price agreed before we start, the theme licence bought on your store, and a list of what we changed. The work takes us days. That's our Store Design & Theme Development work.
Questions store owners ask
Should I give a developer my Shopify password?
No. Send them your four-digit collaborator request code instead and approve their collaborator request with only the permissions the job needs. You can remove the access at any time.
Who owns the theme if a developer buys it for me?
A Theme Store licence belongs to the store where it was bought. Make sure the purchase happens on your store, so the licence is in your account. A copy bought on someone else's store isn't licensed for yours.
Where can I find a Shopify developer?
Shopify's Partner Directory lists partners with reviews, work samples and tiers. Referrals from other owners and freelance marketplaces are the other routes. Whichever you use, run the same checks.
Should I pay a Shopify developer by the hour or a fixed price?
A fixed price when the job can be defined, such as setting up a theme. An hourly rate, with a cap, when it can't, such as ongoing fixes. Either way, you should know what each payment buys.
What should I get when the work is finished?
The store live and tested, the theme licence in your admin, and a written list of what was changed. If code was added, the list should say where it is and what it does.
What if my developer disappears or turns difficult?
Remove their collaborator or staff access from your admin, then review your installed apps and their permissions, because an app can still reach parts of your store after a person's access is gone. Shopify Support can help you check what has access.
Hiring help for your store?
Send us your store URL and what you need done. We reply within one business day with a one-page quote laid out like the one above: scope, what isn't included, the preview date and a fixed price. Or start with a free Store Audit of your store, sent the same day.
