Your online store, built on Shopify.
We set up your Shopify store with your products uploaded, checkout ready to take payments and shipping configured. Shopify handles hosting and security; you pay its monthly subscription directly to Shopify.
The real decisions behind a Shopify store
Shopify is a subscription service. There is no software to install and no hosting to buy: hosting and an SSL certificate come with every plan. The trade-off is a monthly bill to Shopify for as long as the store is open, plus whatever paid apps you add. For most small sellers that is a fair price for not worrying about servers. For a business selling a handful of items through Instagram messages, it can be a fixed cost that does not pay for itself yet.
Payments are the second decision. Shopify Payments takes cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay out of the box. You can use another processor instead, but Shopify may then add its own transaction fee on top of that processor's fees, and the rate depends on your plan. Unless you have a strong reason to keep an existing processor, that extra fee usually settles the question.
Then there is the app store. It solves almost anything, which is exactly the problem. Every app adds a monthly charge, loads code into your storefront and can conflict with another app. It is common to find stores paying for ten apps and using three.
Shipping looks simple until you set it up. Shopify Shipping lets you buy discounted USPS and UPS labels from your admin. Showing live rates from your own carrier account at checkout, though, depends on your plan: it is included on Advanced and Plus, available on Grow for an extra fee or with annual billing, and not available on Basic. Many stores start with flat or zone-based rates, which work on any plan.
Sales tax is the part owners most often get wrong. Shopify can calculate sales tax at checkout, but it will not decide where you owe it. You register in each state where you have nexus, enter those registrations in Shopify, and either file yourself or turn on Shopify's automated filing. Your accountant should tell you where you need to collect.
What a solid Shopify build includes
A catalog that is easy to browse
We upload your products with photos, prices, variants like size or color, and collections: up to 30 on Essential, 100 on Growth and 300 on Advanced. You provide the product details and images.
Checkout that matches how people pay
Essential sets up card payments. Growth and Advanced add the other methods your plan and payment provider support, such as digital wallets, so buyers can pay the way they already do on their phones.
Shipping that protects your margin
Essential uses one shipping rate. Growth sets rates by zone, so a buyer across the country does not pay the same as one next door. Advanced adds automatic shipping labels, so you stop typing addresses by hand.
Discount codes and cart recovery
From Growth, we set up discount codes plus automatic order and abandoned cart emails, which remind shoppers that the items they left behind are still waiting.
Customers in your CRM, sales you can measure
From Growth, every customer lands in your CRM with tags for follow-up, and the store has sales analytics and the Meta pixel, so you can see which ads bring orders.
Only the apps you actually need
We install what your operation uses and tell you what each app charges. You get recorded training and 15, 30 or 60 days of support depending on the package, so your team can add products and fulfill orders on its own.
A sample store layout
Shopify already provides the cart, checkout and order history. What we plan with you is how shoppers move through your catalog and which questions get answered before they pay.
Home
What you sell, your main collections, shipping promise and return policy, readable on a phone.
Collections
Products grouped the way your customers shop: by category, use, season or price.
Product page
Photos, variants, price, delivery time, plus a size or care guide where it helps.
Cart and checkout
Shopify checkout with cards and, from Growth, the extra methods your plan supports, with discount codes.
Shipping and returns
Costs by zone, delivery times, carriers and how to start a return or exchange.
FAQ
Order tracking, payment questions and what happens if a package is late.
Contact
A short form for questions before buying.
The package we recommend.
Recommended package: Online store Growth
Growth covers what most new stores need in the first year: more payment options, rates by shipping zone, discount codes, abandoned cart emails and customers flowing into your CRM. If your catalog is over 100 products or you ship many orders a day, Advanced adds automatic shipping labels and room for 300 products.
- Build with Essential
Essential
Start selling with card payments and one shipping rate.
- Build with Growth
Growth
More ways to pay, discount codes and abandoned cart recovery.
- Build with Advanced
Advanced
For large catalogs, with automatic shipping labels.
What each package includes and the total are shown in the assistant before you pay. One-time payment: 50% to start and 50% on approval.
What it costs, what it requires and what we don't do
- Shopify's monthly subscription, any paid apps and payment processing fees are paid by you directly to each provider. They are not part of our package, and each company sets and changes its own prices.
- Markelop is not a Shopify Partner agency or a Shopify representative. We build the store inside your account. Approval for Shopify Payments depends on Shopify reviewing your business.
- We set up tax collection the way you and your accountant tell us. We do not decide where you have nexus, register you with any state or file returns.
- Connecting your invoicing or accounting system, your inventory system or ERP, or selling on marketplaces like Amazon are advanced integrations, quoted separately.
- Shopify is not right for everyone. If you sell a few items mostly through messages, or you already run a WordPress site you want to keep, another option may fit better. We will tell you before quoting.