Web development
What does a Shopify store cost?
The answer depends so much on scope that a price range would not help you. What I can do is tell you exactly what pushes the price up and down, so you can see which end you are in.
- Same-day reply
- Fixed price
- No lock-in
- Concrete quote in 2 days
- Fixed price, not an estimate
- No hidden line items
- No obligation
Service
What does a Shopify store cost?
What costs the most
- Product data. Fifteen products is an afternoon. Four thousand SKUs with variants, dimensions and datasheets is a project in itself.
- Integrations with ERP or inventory. If the system has a proper API it moves fast. If it does not, this becomes the most expensive line.
- Design from scratch versus customising an existing theme. There is often a factor of three between them.
- Shipping rules. Free shipping over a threshold is easy. Volume-based shipping to four countries each with their own parcel shops is not.
- Multiple languages and currencies. Not hard, but it doubles the amount of content to manage.
What costs less than people expect
The store setup itself. Payments, domain, emails and base settings is a day's work, not a week.
Standard features like wishlists, reviews and newsletter signup. Good versions exist and there is rarely a reason to build them yourself.
The running costs
Beyond the build you pay Shopify's subscription, transaction fees through your payment provider, and typically a couple of apps. That is the line most often forgotten in the budget, and it adds up if apps never get cleaned out.
I am happy to go through that list with you, including if you already have a store. There is usually a subscription or two nobody uses anymore.
Deliverables
What you get
Concrete deliverables, not a report of recommendations someone else has to find time for.
- A concrete quote
Within two working days, once I know the product count, which systems need to talk, and whether a design exists.
- A fixed price rather than an estimate
On webshops I prefer working to a fixed price. Then you know where it lands, and I carry the risk of having miscalculated.
- A split into stages
The first stage is something that can go live and make money. The rest follows, if you want it to.
- An overview of running costs
Subscription, transaction fees and apps. That is the line most often forgotten in the budget.
Process
How it works
Four steps. You know what happens when, and you can stop after any of them.
- 01
Get on a call
Twenty minutes where you explain what is going wrong and I ask the questions that decide the scope. I say so immediately if the job is not a fit.
- 02
I read the code
Before quoting I spend half a day to a day reading the project. You get an honest assessment of the state of things, including when it is worse than you hoped.
- 03
Fixed price and scope
You get a written quote with what is included, what is not, and when it is done. Not a three-month range you cannot plan around.
- 04
Delivery in your workflow
I work in your git repository and open pull requests that can be reviewed. Everything I touch is documented, so knowledge does not walk out the door with me.
Who does the work
I am the person you will be working with
My name is Mikkel and I have been building for the web since 2010. There is no project manager in between, and you will not get a junior on the job because the senior was busy. What you agree is what gets built, and I am the one building it.
Day to day I am a partner at Bigum&Co, and I have worked on more than 400 projects across ecommerce, pharma, construction and the public sector. Call or write — I usually reply the same day, and I will say straight away if the job is not a fit.
- Experience
- 16 yrs
- Projects
- 400+
- Rating
- 5.0
- Reply time
- Same day
In depth
What does a Shopify store cost?
Why there is no price range on this page
Because it would not help you. The span between a simple store with thirty products and a customised theme, and a store with four thousand SKUs, ERP integration and four markets, is wide enough that a range becomes meaningless. You could write a number that was technically true and still useless.
What I can tell you instead is what pushes the price up and down, so you can place yourself. That is a better basis than a table of three packages where none of them fits you anyway.
And then I can give a fixed price once I know three things: how many products there are, which systems need to talk to each other, and whether a design exists. It takes two working days and costs nothing to ask.
What costs more than people expect
Product data. It is the line most often underestimated, because it does not feel like development. Fifteen products is an afternoon. Four thousand SKUs with variants, dimensions, datasheets and images of varying quality is a project in itself, and rarely does anyone want to own it.
Integrations with older systems. If the ERP has a proper API it moves fast. If it does not — and many Danish industry-specific systems do not — it becomes the most expensive line in the whole project, and it is worth investigating early rather than late.
Shipping rules beyond the ordinary. Free shipping over a threshold is trivial. Volume-based shipping to four countries each with their own parcel network, with exceptions for bulky items, is not.
And then multiple languages. Not technically hard, but it doubles the amount of content someone has to keep current, and that cost runs on long after the project is delivered.
Reviews
What people say about me
He is simply a pro. Highly competent and precise, brings good input, and is a huge support.
Carsten Johan Thessen(translated from Danish) I have never come across a developer as dedicated and capable as Mikkel.
Jonas Krogslund(translated from Danish) Mikkel is seriously good, helpful, lightning fast to reply — and on top of that he is a nice person.
Trine Handskemager(translated from Danish)
Services
Why me
- 16 years of experience
I have built for the web since 2010 and seen most of the ways a project can come off the rails. It makes the estimates more honest.
- 400+ projects
Across ecommerce, pharma, construction and the public sector. Chances are I have seen something close to your job before.
- You talk to the person coding
No project manager in between, and no junior on the job because the senior was busy. What you agree is what gets built.
Brands I have worked with
A selection. Some freelance, some through agencies, some across several years.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
- Can I get a fixed quote?
- Yes, and that is how I prefer to work on webshops. I need to know how many products there are, which systems need to talk to each other, and whether a design exists. With those three things I can give a fixed price.
- What if we only need part of it?
- Then we do that part only. I am happy to split into stages, where the first stage is something that can go live and make money, and the rest follows.
- How long does a webshop take?
- A manageable store with a customised theme and a couple of integrations typically lands at six to ten weeks. What delays it is usually product photography and copy, not the development.
- Can you quote without us having a design?
- Yes. Then I assume a good Shopify theme adapted to your identity, which goes a long way and is markedly cheaper than a design from scratch. If a design arrives later we adjust.
- What if we only need part of it?
- Then we do that part only. I am happy to split into stages, where the first stage is something that can go live and make money.
- How long does a webshop take?
- A manageable store with a customised theme and a couple of integrations typically lands at six to ten weeks. What delays it is usually product photography and copy, not the development.