If you are planning to run a Shopify store, one of the things that you need to do is to decide on the look of your shop. After a few days, you may realize that the free theme that you got is not really working for you – you realize that you are lacking some features, or you simply do not think that the overall design of your shop does not represent your brand.

At this point, you realize that you need someone to work on a design. However, there is one thing that is making you hesitate from contacting Shopify website designers – your budget.

Should You Really Spend for Design?

Sure, there are plenty of pre-built themes available on Shopify’s theme store, but there are times wherein you may want to make sure that your store stands out from the rest of the crowd. Once you get a pre-built theme on Shopify, customers are likely to encounter a shop that looks like yours.

Are you willing to use a theme that is used by two other stores? Image source

As of this writing, there are only 10 free themes available, which means that you are almost bound to pay for a design in order to get more. Most pre-built designs sell for $140 to $180, depending on the features that come with them. All pre-built themes will have these features by default:

• Free updates
• Mobile-friendly look
• Icons for social media integration
• Stock photos from Burst, Shopify’s stock photo website
• Drop-down navigation
• Styles and color palettes (built-in to the theme you use)
• Contents sections right in the home page (customizable)
• Search engine optimization

If you want to save time and you do not want to check out all the available themes in order to find out if the features that you want is available in a certain theme or if you want to make sure that you are the only one using a certain design, then it may be a good idea to spend for a custom design instead.

Shopify website designers have the ability to build a store from scratch, which is the best option if you have a set of features or functionalities that you want to include in your store. Hiring these designers will also mean that you can get the job done in the shortest time possible.

Price Range of Shopify Website Designers

Is the price of design that high to the point that it is not affordable? That would depend on the amount of work that you require. Here’s a breakdown of the Shopify website designers that you will encounter, plus the services that they can offer you.

Agencies

Agencies are expensive, but they are the best. Image source

Agencies are known to be the most expensive, but also the most effective when it comes to bringing out the best in your online store. When you hire an agency, you get an entire team of experts – you don’t just get designers, but also account managers, e-commerce consultants, and other experts that will bring in the big guns to make sure that your shop is a hit. This means that your shop will have its own set of photographs, shop setup, a working marketing strategy, Point of Sale (PoS), and shop design. Of course, all these features will be factored into the cost as well.

Estimated cost: $10,000 and up

Freelancers

Freelancers cost less, but don’t have as much resources as agencies. Image source

Freelancers are way less expensive than agencies, which means that they can be your best option when you want to do a professional custom design. Some freelancers are also willing to give you a packaged deal, such as design plus custom photography and text, which can give you more bang for your buck.

However, do expect freelancers to take a longer time if you want your shop to be built from scratch – it is quite rare to find a large freelance team that can work on every design aspect of your shop, which means that you may have to hire another freelancer to continue working on your shop. For example, you may need a freelancer that focuses on graphics and another one on the code. You may need to serve as an intermediary for these two freelancers in order for these elements to work seamlessly together.

If you want a custom theme but you cannot afford to spend a 6-digit figure, hiring freelancers is the way to go. However, do expect that you will need to spend more time managing the project to ensure that you are getting the results that you want.

Estimated cost: $5,000 and up

Markup

Hiring someone to do the coding may save you more money. Image source

If you have some design skills and you want to be the one to take care of your shop’s look, you can hire someone that will do the job of converting any static design that you have created into an actual website. This is ideal when you have zero to basic knowledge of HTML, Liquid, CSS, and Javascript programming knowledge, but you know that you have killer skills in Photoshop.

Estimated cost: $2,500 and up (do factor in your design and the time you spent managing the project)

Some Things You Need to Consider Before Hiring Shopify Website Designers

Custom design can be very tricky, especially if you are envisioning a stunning and flawless shop. This means that when you want numerous features and you have several design considerations, it will be possible that you can throw your deadlines and budget out of the window. Keep in mind that it is almost impossible to launch a shop that uses a custom theme within weeks – custom themes can take a few months of designing, coding, and bug testing, even if you have a great team of Shopify website designers working for you. Also remember that rush projects always cost more, but it doesn’t mean that it will turn out to be the best possible output that any team can make.

Will the Price be Worth It?

Having a great design is a huge factor in selling more to your visitors and attracting new customers. Consider it as a necessary investment that will turn your Shopify site into a mean moneymaker – remember that is always easy to get lost in a platform that has more than 500,000 merchants if you do not have a site that attracts your target customers.

Shopify website designers will be expensive only if you do not have a solid plan on how you want your shop to look like and how customers should be able to navigate through your site. Before you hire a designer, think carefully about your branding, your budget, and your timeline. You will only be spending more than your design’s worth if you do not have a clear direction of how your store should represent you, and end up delaying your launch.