Shopify Project

1. which theme/template you would like to use - but don't purchase one yet

2. an inclusive list of all your product categories and subcategories

3. graphics - slideshow images, logo, banners, badges, etc.

4. content for pages - about, contact, policies, etc.

5. domain name purchased - I recommend using GoDaddy

6. your product details organized in a spreadsheet - name, sku, price, description, link to images, variants, categories/tags, inventory, weight

1. staff account login details - for me to access your current ecommerce admin

2. login credentials to your domain provider - so I can edit your DNS settings

3. ftp access credentials (if your site is privately hosted) - to install a migration bridge

4. which theme/template you would like to use - but don't purchase one yet

✔ migrate your products from another platform
✔ migrate your collections from another platform
✔ migrate your orders from another platform
✔ migrate your customers from another platform
✔ migrate your pages from another platform
✔ migrate your blog posts from another platform
✔ adding new products
✔ creating new collections
✔ set up navigation menus
✔ set up theme (site template)
✔ set up any apps you need
✔ set up shipping rates
✔ set up tax rates
✔ set up store legal policies
✔ set up checkout settings & notifications
✔ domain DNS changes (to point your domain to Shopify when ready to launch)
✔ content proof-reading for proper grammar & spelling
✔ fielding any questions you have about the platform after launch

• monthly Shopify fee, including any apps needed (~$50-$150/month)
• purchasing a theme (~ $180-$485, one-time fee)
• any advanced custom coding modifications (I recommend HeyCarson.com, ~$85/task)
• graphics creation (I recommend Fiverr.com, ~$25/image)
• advertising/marketing (ex. Facebook/Google ads)

All sales are final, regardless of if the project is completed or not. If you choose to cancel the project, at any time during the setup process, no refund will be granted. I cannot guarantee that you will make any sales, as that completely depends on your own marketing and advertising efforts. I cannot guarantee that your site will score high on Google's PageSpeed Insights, or that you will rank on the first page of search results.

I promise to do my best to complete your project, to the highest quality possible, within your deadline for completion. If for any unforeseen reasons, the site cannot be completed on time, no refunds will be given.

It's worth noting that I work exclusively via email-only. I do not support Skype, Zoom, Discord, WhatsApp, phone calls, text messages, faxes, in-person meet-ups, or physical letters. I only work via email.

With that said, I pride myself on my response times, and I will always reply within 1 business day, or else sooner.

I normally require payment in full, before starting your project. In some cases (for larger projects) I will allow the project to be split into more than one payment - this is something that would need to be negotiated before you place your order.

If I were to take your money and run away, it's very easy for you to get your money back, by filing a claim with PayPal. However, it's very hard for me to enforce payment, if a client decides to walk away or not pay at the end. For those reasons, I normally require full payment at the start.

Absolutely! As I go through the setup process, I will share with you (via email) what I have done, either via links or screenshots, and then you can let me know if anything needs to be changed or edited. Most of the time, I'm able to get things working to my clients' satisfaction within 1 or 2 edits.

I normally quote ~30 days for completion, though some projects may take less or more time. Since I'm paid per project, and not per hour, there is no benefit to me taking longer than necessary to complete your project. I will do my best to complete things as quickly as possible (without cutting any corners).

I am pretty flexible when it comes to changes and additions throughout the project. If it's something small that you'd like to add, then there's usually no problems in doing a bit extra. It's only if things drastically change that we would have to consider project scopes and fair use of my time. I handle all additional requests on a case-by-case basis, and most of the time I can accomodate additional requests at no extra charge.

It's hard to say how many hours a given project will take, as each project is unique and has different requirements.

I do not charge an hourly rate. It doesn't make sense for me to charge per hour, as I'm very efficient at my work. I would essentially be earning less than I'm worth, as I can get most things done quicker than other Experts.

Since I work exclusively with Shopify, I know the platform very well. Other Experts may support a variety of platforms, so they may not be as well-versed with Shopify, since they spread their time over multiple platforms. The only times that I work with other platforms, is when my clients are leaving them for Shopify. I know just enough about the other platforms to be able to get data off of them, but I focus the bulk of my attention on learning and staying up-to-date with Shopify exclusively.

A 'development' store is essentially a new Shopify store/account which is in a perpetual trial period. It allows us to setup a large portion of the site, at our own speed (no time limitations), and without being charged Shopify's monthly fee. It's worth noting that development stores cannot process sales (or else folks would just use development stores, and wouldn't have to ever pay monthly fees). Any development store can be instantly turned into a regular paid store, by selecting a monthly Shopify plan.

I normally prefer to start on a fresh store, but if you would really like me to work off of an existing store, then I can do that.

After your store is launched, if you have any questions about how things work, where to find specific settings, want recommendations on apps or best practices -- then you can reach out to me (via email) and I'll help you, for the length of your support period, at no additional charge.

You should purchase the setup package that is closest to your store's details. For example, if you meet the requirements for the Basic Package, but you have slightly more than 50 products, then you can still purchase the Basic Package. However, if you meet the conditions for the Basic Package, except you have 200 products, then your product count would be closer to the Pro Package, so you would want to order the Pro Package instead. If you are unsure of which package to purchase, please email me with your details about your project, and I can let you know which package to select.

Yes, I work with clients from around the world.

Yes, building Shopify websites is how I make the bulk of my income. 

I live and work out of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada.

I am regularly available from 12PM to 8PM (Pacific Time), Monday - Friday, minus all Canadian statutory holidays.

Sometimes, I do. It kind of depends on the holiday, or if I have any plans for the weekend. If you'd like to launch your new store on a weekend, then I can accomodate that request (you just need to let me know ahead of time).

Shopify does have 24/7 live support channels, where you can speak to an actual Shopify employee, if something is going wrong with your store. It's very rare though, that anything can go wrong with a store. Unless you've deleted something vital, or have been hacked, then your store can't really break down on itself.

No, you do not need to show either of these at the bottom of your site. By default, I will add the "Designed by SW" text to the bottom of each site I do. You're welcome to request that either (or both) of these to be removed though.

No, you don't have to leave a review. With that said, reviews are my livelihood. Without reviews, I do not get ranked in the Shopify Experts search results, and thus, don't get any leads for future projects. I need reviews, in order to continue to get leads from Shopify, so I would strongly encourage and ask for you to consider leaving a review at the end of the project.

No, your site does not have to be featured on the homepage of Stephen's World. You can ask to be removed from my homepage at any time.

No, I am technically a freelancer, so I am my own boss. However, Shopify does provide me with leads for projects, based on my past setup and migration history. I rely almost exclusively on the Shopify Experts leads system for finding clients/work.

For stores that I create from scratch, Shopify does pay me a percentage of their monthly fees, for up to 3 years. Aside from that, no, Shopify does not pay me a salary or retainer for being a Shopify Expert.

I do not have an official discount or commission system for referrals. However, I am open to this, especially if you think you can refer more than one person. Please reach out to me via email, to discuss possible commissions and discounts for referrals.

No, I do not make any kind of kickback or commission from any of the apps or themes that I recommend.

You can try Shopify free for 3 days, no credit card required. After your trial expires, choose a plan that suits the size and stage of your business.

All Shopify plans are month to month unless you sign up for a yearly plan.

Yes, if you ever decide that Shopify isn't the best ecommerce platform for your business, simply cancel your account.

Absolutely, you can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time.

You can use Shopify in nearly every country in the world.

Yes, Shopify is certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant. This means all your data and customer information is ultra secure.

There are no transaction fees for stores using Shopify Payments.

If you choose a third-party payment provider, there will be additional fees of 2%, 1% or 0.5% for our Basic Shopify, Shopify, and Advanced Shopify plans, respectively.

A third-party payment provider (also knows as a payment processor or payment gateway) lets you accept online payments. Learn more about supported third-party payment providers.

Shopify charges a small fee to allow you to accept major credit cards, such as Visa and Mastercard, as payment in your store. These fees vary depending on the plan that you choose.

Yes, you can purchase a domain name within Shopify, or use an existing one that you own. Shopify also provides a forever free myshopify.com domain name to all stores when they sign up.

Yes, Shopify includes secure, unlimited ecommerce hosting on all plans except Starter. You can also use the Buy Button to add ecommerce to any existing website.

There are none. All Shopify plans include unlimited bandwidth for free.

Yes, your Shopify online store automatically synchronizes with Shopify POS, and you manage your entire business from one dashboard. Inventory, product, and payment updates that you make in your Shopify admin will instantly take effect in Shopify POS

Yes, all Shopify stores are able to sell in multiple currencies with the "Markets" functionality. Your Shopify store can also be translated into multiple languages, though you may wish to use a Translation app in order to speed up the translation process.

The most common ways to setup your store's shipping rates include price-based rates, weight-based rates, or Carrier Calculated Rates.

Price and weight based rates can be set up in tiers, based on an order's total weight or price (ex. $0-$25 = $10 shipping, $25.01-$50 = $20 shipping, etc.).

Carrier Calculated Rates use automatically generated rates by your shipping provider (ex. Canada Post, UPS, USPS, FedEx, etc.) which are based on the total weight of the order, and then the distance between your store's address and the customer's address.

I always recommend either the Flex theme or Turbo theme by Out of the Sandbox.

If you would prefer to purchase a theme from the Shopify theme store directly, then I would recommend going with the Symmetry theme.

For all custom-coding needs, I recommend going with HeyCarson. They are the best bang-for-your-buck when it comes to custom-coding.

Shopify does not offer professional email addresses, so you will need to use a third party service to manage your professional emails. I highly recommend using GoDaddy's Email Services (which is what I personally use for Stephen's World).

I highly recommend using the ReAmaze Live Chat & Helpdesk CRM app (which is what I use for Stephen's World).

It is technically possible to translate your store manually, but most merchants want to speed up this process by automatically translating their store. For handling automatic translations, I highly recommend the Translation Lab app.

If you need more control and an easy way to manage your store's product page tabs, then I highly recommend using the Easy Tabs app.

If possible, I recommend using Shopify Payments (to avoid being charged any transaction fees). I also recommend using PayPal, in addition to Shopify Payments. If - for some reason - you're unable to use Shopify Payments, then you can use PayPal on its own. Alternatively, Authorize.net or 2Checkout would be good options for a main payment gateway.

For any custom graphics or videos that you need, I would recommend hiring someone highly rated from Fiverr.com.

If you're looking to make all of your images perfectly square (to help with product image alignment on collection pages) then I recommend using the PixC Photo Resize app.

If you've migrated your store to Shopify from another platform, then you'll need to send bulk invites to your customers to reset their account passwords. I highly recommend using the Bulk Account Inviter Sender app.

If you're wanting to lock or restrict pages/products on your site, to only specific (or approved) customers, then you'll want to use the Locksmith app.

There are a lot of different monthly subscription apps available on the Shopify app store. The ones that I have had success with in the past are: Recharge Subscriptions and PayWhirl Subscriptions.

There are a number of Custom Product Options apps available on the Shopify app store. The ones I've had the most success with in the past are Bold Product Options and Hulk Product Options.

I always recommend using the Judge.Me Reviews app, for handling both product reviews and storewide reviews.

If you're looking to offer your customers wholesale pricing, then I recommend using the Wholesale Gorilla app.

If you're looking to print your own designs on clothing and accessories, then I highly recommend using the Printful app.