What decides the cost of a fashion brand's Shopify store

What moves the price of a fashion brand's Shopify store, and how to read a quote. Published by ANCC Studio, a London studio that builds Shopify stores for fashion brands.

The cost of a fashion brand's Shopify store follows its scope: the number of page layouts, how much is custom, the services it plugs into, the markets it sells in, the amount of photography it needs and whether the brand's identity is finished. Agencies price a store from a brief, and ANCC Studio quotes each one in a proposal. This guide gives no figures. It explains what each factor adds and how to compare two quotes on equal terms.

What are the main things that set the cost?

Six factors set most of the price. Page layouts: each distinct page type, such as the home page, collections, products and a lookbook, needs designing and building. Custom work: a feature built for one brand costs more than one that comes ready-made. Integrations: each service the store connects to adds setup and testing. Markets: each added country brings its own currency, language and delivery rules, and each needs content and checks. Photography: the number of products and the days of shooting. Migration: moving products, customers and old addresses from another platform.

Why can an agency not name a price straight away?

A price needs a brief. The launch date, the markets, the size of the range and what already exists all change the work. An agency that quotes before asking about them is guessing, and the guess is corrected later in the form of extras. A first conversation about the brand usually comes before the quote.

Is a theme cheaper than a custom design?

Usually. A theme starts from a ready-made layout. A custom design starts from a blank page and takes longer to design and build. A custom design earns its cost when the range or the identity needs layouts that no theme offers. The proposal should say which approach it assumes and what would move it from one to the other.

How do Shopify's own plans affect the cost?

Shopify sells several plans, and the monthly fee rises with the plan. Shopify Plus is the plan for larger, higher-volume businesses. The right plan follows the store's sales volume and needs. The agency should advise on it early, because the choice changes both the monthly cost and what can be built.

What does the brand pay for after the agency finishes?

Running costs sit outside the agency's quote. Shopify's plan fee is the first. Many apps, such as reviews or subscriptions, charge a monthly subscription. Each sale carries a payment processing fee, a paid theme carries a licence fee, and the domain name renews each year. The agency should list these before the build starts. Support or later development with the agency is a separate cost, often a monthly retainer.

What does a quote usually cover besides design and build?

Project management, testing before launch, a handover session so the brand's team can manage products and orders, and a period of fixes after launch. Each belongs on the quote as a line or as a stated inclusion. A quote that is silent on them leaves the brand to find out later whether they were assumed.

How much does photography add?

Photography follows the number of products and the number of shooting days. Studio hire, a photographer, a model for on-model shots, styling and retouching are each lines in a photography quote. Some agencies include photography in the build, and others leave it to the brand. ANCC Studio also takes e-commerce photography as a separate booking.

Is the brand identity part of the store's cost?

Only when the brand needs one made. A store is designed from a finished identity: name, wordmark, type and colour. When that does not exist yet, identity work is quoted alongside the store or ahead of it.

Fixed fee or day rate?

A fixed fee gives the brand a known total for a defined scope. A day rate gives flexibility and a total that moves with the work. Ask which the agency uses, what the fee covers, and what happens when the work runs over.

How should two quotes be compared?

List the same items against each quote: layouts, custom features, integrations, markets, photography, migration, testing and the period of support after launch. Where a quote is silent on an item, ask whether it is included, excluded or assumed. A quote that leaves something out costs less on paper, and the item reappears later as an extra.

What makes a price change after signing?

A change of scope. An added layout, a new integration, a second market or late product data each add work. Before signing, ask how changes are priced, who approves them and how they are recorded. A brand that supplies content and decisions on time keeps changes to a minimum.

How can a brand keep the cost down?

Cost falls with scope. A brand can postpone a second market, a lookbook layout or a subscription service and add each after launch.

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 the studio quotes a store is set out at ancc.studio/shopify/cost.