How long a fashion brand's Shopify store takes, and what slows it

What sets the length of a Shopify launch for a fashion brand, and what a brand can do to keep it short. Published by ANCC Studio, a London studio that builds Shopify stores for fashion brands.

A fashion brand's Shopify store takes a matter of weeks. ANCC Studio's range for the store is 4 to 8 weeks. Where a brand falls in a range like that depends on the photography, the markets, the integrations, the page layouts and how quickly the brand approves each stage. The questions below take each in turn.

Is a Shopify store quick to build?

Shopify hosts the store itself and there are no servers to set up. A basic store can be running within a day. A fashion brand's launch takes longer because of what goes into the store: designed page layouts, product data, photography and the services that plug into it. The schedule is set by the brand's own materials more than by the platform.

What sets the length of a launch?

Four things carry most of the weight. The first is the number of templates: a home page, collection pages, a product page and any extra layouts, such as a lookbook, each need designing and building. The second is integrations. Subscriptions, reviews, loyalty schemes, returns and shipping services each add setup and testing. The third is markets and languages, since every extra currency, language or delivery zone adds content and checks. The fourth is the number of products to photograph, because images arrive item by item and a bigger range takes longer.

Why does photography hold up so many launches?

Product images are usually the last thing to arrive. A shoot needs product samples that are finished enough to photograph, a studio date, and time afterwards for selection and retouching. Samples that are still prototypes may not show the final product. A brand whose production runs late has a store ready and nothing to put in it.

Once the page layouts are settled, the shoot and the build can run alongside each other, and finished images are added to the pages as they arrive.

What should the brand have ready before the build starts?

Product data comes first: a name, description, sizes, materials and price for each item. Then delivery and returns policies, the legal pages a store needs, such as terms and privacy, access to the domain name, a payment account, and the logo files and typefaces. Each item missing at the start becomes a pause in the middle.

How much does the brand's own speed matter?

A schedule has points where the brand approves a design, a page of copy or a set of images. Each decision that runs late moves the launch by the same amount. A brand that names one person with authority to approve, and agrees turnaround times in advance, keeps decisions from queuing.

What can the brand do while the store is built?

The brand's own work runs in parallel. Product descriptions can be written, size guides and care notes finished, delivery and returns policies agreed, samples booked in for the shoot and the launch email list prepared. A brand that does this during the build arrives at launch week with nothing left to write.

Does moving from another platform take longer?

A move adds data work. Products, collections, customer accounts and content come across from the old store. It also adds a list of redirects from every old address to its new one. That list protects the store's place in search results, and it needs testing before launch. ANCC Studio's range is the same for a store moving platform.

What gets tested before launch?

A store is tested from end to end before it opens. Orders are placed with each payment method, delivery rates are checked country by country, and the emails a customer receives are read. Every page is opened on a phone, and every old address on a migrated store is followed to its new page. Testing is the last block in the schedule and needs its own days.

When should a brand start, if the launch date is fixed?

Work backwards from the launch date. The last days go to final testing and the switch of the domain. Before that come the shoot and the selection of images, then the build and the design, and the identity before the design. A margin for late approvals goes on top. A launch tied to a season or a drop has a fixed end, and the margin belongs at the start.

Can a launch be shortened?

Yes, by launching with less and adding the rest afterwards. A smaller first range, one market in place of several, and standard services in place of custom ones all shorten the schedule. Further collections, markets and extra layouts can follow once the store is trading.

What comes before the store?

A brand without a finished identity begins with that. Store design starts from a finished name, wordmark, typefaces and colours, and identity work therefore adds time before the store. ANCC Studio's range applies to the store only.

About the publisher

ANCC Studio is a London studio that makes brand identity, Shopify stores and launch imagery for fashion brands. It is a Shopify Partner. How long a store takes with the studio is set out at ancc.studio/shopify/timeline.