HOW TO HIRE · MARKETING, DESIGN & TECH

How to hire a Shopify expert in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No licence applies to Shopify experts. Here is how to keep the store in your name and make sure the shop follows consumer and data law.

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a Shopify expert in five steps

  1. Open the store account yourselfCreate the shop under your own email and invite the Shopify expert as a staff or collaborator account.
  2. Look at stores they builtLive shops you can browse and buy from, ideally selling products like yours.
  3. List products, apps and integrationsHow many products and variants, which apps, shipping, VAT settings and links to your accounts software.
  4. Get the consumer pages rightDelivery, returns and cancellation, terms and privacy pages written for UK online selling.
  5. Test orders before launchPlace, refund and cancel test orders yourself, on a phone.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or qualification is needed to work as a Shopify expert in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Judge them on live stores, client references and a contract that keeps the store in your hands.

Ask for three live stores and a store owner you can contact.

Online customers' right to cancel

The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give consumers a right to cancel distance contracts, such as online orders, within the cancellation period without giving a reason. A Shopify store's returns and cancellation pages, and the checkout, need to reflect it.

Ask the Shopify expert how the returns, cancellation and terms pages will be set up, and read them before launch. legislation.gov.uk →

Cookies and tracking apps (PECR)

Shopify apps for reviews, analytics and advertising often set cookies. Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations visitors must be told and must consent, except where a cookie is strictly needed, such as remembering the basket.

Refuse cookies on the finished store and check tracking does not fire. ico.org.uk →

Customer data and the ICO fee

Every order in a Shopify store is personal data. Data protection rules require you to keep it secure and tell customers how it is used, and most businesses processing it must pay the ICO data protection fee.

Check the privacy notice, who has staff access to orders, and that your business is registered with the ICO. gov.uk →

VAT

Store build work is standard-rated: a registered Shopify expert charges 20% on the build, migration and training, and app subscriptions are billed by each app developer. Registration becomes compulsory once a Shopify expert has VAT-taxable turnover over £90,000 in any rolling 12 months; from then VAT must be charged and shown as a separate line on the invoice.

Ask the Shopify expert for the VAT number at contract and for the build fee and VAT shown separately. gov.uk →

“Will the Shopify store be created under my own account?”

A good answer: Yes. You own the store and pay the subscription; the Shopify expert works through a staff or collaborator login.

“Which Shopify theme and apps will you use, and what do they cost each month?”

A good answer: A list with monthly fees, so the running cost of the store is clear before you commit.

“How will VAT and shipping be set up in Shopify?”

A good answer: Your VAT status and rates, shipping zones and prices configured and tested, with any selling abroad discussed.

“Will you write or check the returns, cancellation and terms pages?”

A good answer: Either they draft them to reflect UK consumer law for online orders, or they tell you to have them checked.

“How will the Shopify store handle cookies and customer data?”

A good answer: A consent banner that works, a privacy notice, and staff accounts limited to what each person needs.

“If we are migrating to Shopify, how will you keep existing search traffic?”

A good answer: Redirects from old product and page addresses, mapped and tested, so links and rankings are not lost.

“What support does the Shopify expert give after launch?”

A good answer: A fixed snagging period, then an hourly or monthly rate for changes.

Getting the quote right

  • Theme approach: adapted theme or custom design and build
  • Who actually attends to the store: the Shopify expert named, an employee, or a subcontracted theme developer
  • Products, variants and collections to be set up or imported
  • Apps and integrations, with their own monthly fees listed
  • Consumer pages, VAT, shipping and payment settings configured
  • Migration and redirects, if moving from another platform
  • Training, support period
  • The VAT number, with VAT at 20% on the build and migration

Walk away if

  • Builds the store under their own account
  • Dozens of paid apps with no explanation of why
  • No returns or cancellation page planned
  • No test orders before launch
  • A migration with no redirect plan
  • No live stores to show
LOW
£900
TYPICAL
£2,350
HIGH
£9,000

What a Shopify expert costs: £900–£9,000 per project

Shopify experts usually quote a fixed project price from the theme, products and apps; the platform subscription and app fees are paid by you each month. Shopify Expert price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Shopify experts near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. PlanningProducts, pages, apps, shipping and the customer journey agreed.
  2. Theme setupThe theme configured or built to your brand.
  3. Products and settingsProducts imported, payments, VAT and shipping configured, consumer pages added.
  4. TestingTest orders placed, refunded and cancelled; cookies and forms checked.
  5. LaunchThe store goes live on your domain, with redirects if migrating, and a training session.

Theme
The design template the store runs on, free or paid.
App
An add-on that adds features to the store, usually with a monthly fee.
Collaborator account
A login that lets a developer work on a store without owning it.
Variant
A version of a product, such as a size or colour, with its own stock.
301 redirect
A permanent link from an old page address to the new one.
Distance contract
A contract made without meeting face to face, such as an online order.

AFTER

When the job is done

Check you hold the owner roleConfirm in the store settings that your account is the owner and that only named staff have access.
Review the app billGo through each monthly app charge after the first month and remove anything unused.
Read your consumer pages againDelivery, returns, cancellation and privacy: they are promises to customers, so make sure you can keep them.
Leave the reviewRate the Shopify expert on the things that mattered to you: the result, the communication, the price. Anything wrong goes through make-it-right before the review is published.

STEP 1Give the Shopify expert the chance to fix itExplain to the Shopify expert, in writing, which part of the job fell short and what you want done. If the work lacked reasonable care and skill, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 lets you ask for it to be put right at no extra cost, or for money back.
STEP 2Let us chase itBelow four stars, Locufy asks if the Shopify expert should be told first and given a chance. We follow it up; your review goes live once it has run its course.
STEP 3Free consumer adviceWith no regulator for Shopify experts, the Shopify expert can be referred to Trading Standards by the Citizens Advice consumer helpline (0808 223 1133) in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland (0808 800 9060) or Consumerline (0300 123 6262) in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Small claims if it is still unresolvedIf the Shopify expert still will not refund or fix it, the small claims routes need no solicitor: up to £10,000 in England and Wales, £5,000 under simple procedure in Scotland, and £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a Shopify expert: questions people ask

No. UK law sets no licence, register or qualification for it.

You. Create the store account in your business's name and give the Shopify expert collaborator or staff access.

Online orders are distance contracts, and consumers have a right to cancel them under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Your checkout and returns pages should reflect that.

The range is £900–£9,000 per project, and £2,350 is a typical figure. An adapted theme sits at the bottom; a custom design, large catalogue or migration at the top. The Shopify expert price guide covers what changes it; enter your town above to compare local Shopify experts.

If it sets cookies that are not strictly necessary, yes. PECR requires visitors to be told and to agree first.

Theme-based stores usually take two to six weeks; custom builds and migrations take longer.

MORE GUIDES

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Shopify experts near you

Shopify experts in LondonShopify experts in ManchesterShopify experts in BirminghamShopify experts in GlasgowShopify experts in BelfastAll shopify experts on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 29 — right to cancel
  2. ICO — cookies and similar technologies (PECR)
  3. gov.uk — data protection and your business
  4. gov.uk — pay the data protection fee
  5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  6. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue
  7. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  8. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  9. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register