How to choose a Shopify agency in Ireland: questions worth asking

The best Shopify agency in Ireland is the one that fits your store's size, budget and goals, not the one at the top of a list. To find it, ask every agency the same questions about who they work with, who does the work, what's included and what happens after launch.

This is an honest buyer's guide. It includes the questions we'd want a client to ask us, the red flags worth knowing, and the cases where Fig and Function isn't the right fit.

What should you know before contacting a Shopify agency?

Before you contact anyone, get clear on what you need, roughly what you can spend and when you need it done. Agencies can only give you a useful answer if you can tell them what problem you're trying to solve.

• The job. A new store, a move from WooCommerce, Squarespace or Wix, a theme upgrade, ongoing improvements, or an audit to find out what's wrong.

• A budget range. Even a rough one saves everyone time and helps an agency suggest the right scope.

• Your timeline. Is there a launch, a season or a sale you're working towards?

• What you already have. Brand assets, product photos, product data, and the apps and tools you rely on.

• Who owns it after launch. Do you want to run the store yourself, or have ongoing support?

What questions should you ask a Shopify agency?

Ask about fit, people, process, cost and what happens after launch. A good agency will answer all of these plainly, and won't mind you asking.

Who do you usually work with?

Look for stores like yours in size, sector and stage. An agency that mostly builds for large brands may not be set up for a growing store, and the reverse is true too.

Can I see Shopify stores you've built or improved?

Ask for live stores, not just screenshots, and look at them on your phone. If you can, ask what changed for the client after the work.

Who will actually work on my store?

Find out whether the people on the sales call are the people doing the work, or whether it's passed to a junior team or outsourced.

Are you a Shopify Partner?

Shopify Partners work with the platform regularly and get access to partner tools. It's a baseline, not a guarantee of quality, but it's worth asking.

What's included in the price, and what isn't?

Ask about content entry, product uploads, app setup, training and fixes after launch. Most budget surprises come from what wasn't written down.

How do you handle payments and changes to scope?

A clear payment schedule and a simple process for extra work protect both sides.

Will I own everything when the project is done?

You should own your Shopify store, theme, domain, content and app accounts. Make sure nothing is set up in the agency's name in a way that locks you in.

Will you train us to run the store ourselves?

A good handover means your team can add products, run sales and make small changes without paying for every update.

What support do you offer after launch?

Ask whether support is ad hoc, a block of hours or a monthly retainer, and how quickly they respond.

Is there anything you'd tell me not to do?

An honest agency will push back on ideas that won't help you, even if it means less work for them.

What are the red flags when choosing a Shopify agency?

The biggest red flags are vague pricing, no live examples, and anything that leaves the agency in control of your store. If an answer feels slippery during the sales process, it rarely gets clearer later.

• No written scope. If it isn't written down, it isn't included.

• A price before they've asked questions. A quote without understanding your store is a guess.

• Accounts set up in their name. Your store, domain and app accounts should belong to you.

• Lots of custom code for simple jobs. It can make the store harder and more expensive to change later.

• Promises of guaranteed sales or rankings. Nobody can promise these honestly.

• No plan for after launch. Launch is the start, not the finish.

When is Fig and Function not the right fit?

Every store is different, and sometimes another option will serve you better than we can. We do our best work with Irish and UK retail brands that are already trading, know their customers and are ready to invest in growing their store.

Another route might suit you better if:

• You're right at the start. If you haven't started selling yet, setting up a simple Shopify theme yourself can be a great way to test the waters, and we'd love to hear from you once you're up and running. If a store has already been built and you're not sure it's ready, a pre-launch audit is a good place to start.

• You need support around the clock. We're a small team, so you work directly with the people doing the work. The trade-off is that we're not a 24/7 operation.

• Your business runs on bookings only. If customers just book appointments and don't buy or pay online, a dedicated booking system may suit you better. If you also sell products or take payments through a checkout, Shopify can work really well, and we're happy to help.

Not sure where you fit? Get in touch anyway. If we're not the right people for the job, we'll happily point you towards someone who is.

Want to put these questions to us?

Fig and Function is a Shopify Partner working with retail brands in Ireland and the UK. We review, build, improve and support Shopify stores, and we'll answer every question on this list plainly, including whether we're the right fit for you.

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