How Melbourne Ecommerce Brands Should Choose a Shopify Agency

How should a Melbourne ecommerce brand choose a Shopify agency?

Melbourne is home to a lot of product brands, from fashion labels to homewares, coffee and skincare, so there are plenty of agencies offering Shopify builds. The difference between them isn't always obvious from their websites. Judge an agency on the stores it has already launched, whether it understands how your store will get traffic and sales, and how clearly it explains the build, the apps and who owns what.

I'm Bailey, and I lead design and web at Leed Agency, a studio in Cronulla, in Sydney's Sutherland Shire. We're a Shopify Partner and we build stores for brands around Australia remotely. We don't have a Melbourne office, so read this as a buyer's checklist, not a pitch.

What does a Shopify agency actually do?

• Choose and customise a theme, or design and build a custom one
• Structure products, variants and collections so customers can find things quickly
• Set up payments, GST, shipping rates and Australia Post or courier integrations
• Select and configure apps for reviews, subscriptions, bundles or loyalty
• Migrate products, customers and order history from WooCommerce or another platform
• Set up redirects so your existing Google rankings carry over
• Connect Google and Meta sales channels and conversion tracking
• Train your team to manage products, discounts and content

If an agency only talks about design, ask about the rest. Most store problems after launch come from the parts you can't see.

What should you look for in a Shopify agency?

Shopify Partner status and live stores

Being a Shopify Partner shows an agency works on the platform regularly. It isn't a quality guarantee on its own, so ask for links to live stores and test them. Add a product to the cart, go through to checkout, try the search and filters, and do it all on your phone. That's how many of your customers will shop.

A plan for traffic, not just a launch

A new store doesn't sell by itself. Ask how the agency approaches Google Shopping, Performance Max, search ads, email and SEO. A good agency builds the store so the product feed, tracking and landing pages are ready for paid traffic from the day it launches.

Restraint with apps

Every app adds a monthly cost and many add code that slows the store down. A good agency tells you which features your theme already handles and which apps are genuinely worth paying for.

Clear ownership

The Shopify store should be created in your name, with the agency added as a collaborator. You should own the domain, the store, your Google Merchant Center and your ad accounts.

Should you choose a theme or a custom Shopify build?

• Best for – Theme-based store: New brands, smaller catalogues, tighter budgets; Custom Shopify build: Established brands with a strong visual identity or unusual product structures
• Design – Theme-based store: A premium theme adapted to your colours, fonts and photography; Custom Shopify build: Layouts designed from scratch around your products and customers
• Typical market cost – Theme-based store: Typically about $3,000 to $10,000 in the Australian market; Custom Shopify build: Typically about $12,000 to $40,000 or more in the Australian market
• Editing – Theme-based store: Simple, using Shopify's theme editor; Custom Shopify build: Simple if built with editable sections; ask to see this
• Main risk – Theme-based store: Can look like other stores if barely customised; Custom Shopify build: Higher cost, and it needs a clear brief

Many brands start on a well-customised theme, prove demand, then invest in custom work once they know what customers respond to.

How do you judge an agency's ecommerce results?

Ask for evidence that the stores an agency builds actually sell. That means real numbers: revenue, ad spend, cost per sale or booking, and the time period. Be wary of percentages with no starting point.

Here is the kind of evidence we share. None of these are Melbourne brands. We'd rather show real work from elsewhere than imply local experience we don't have.

• Spicy Dugong: an ecommerce store for a Byron Bay apparel label.
• Skin Street Clinic: an ecommerce website and Google Ads built and run as one system.
• RatKat: an ecommerce website paired with Google Ads.

On the Google Ads side, best months across accounts we manage include a women's fashion label with $866,787 in revenue in one month, a baby and kids clothing brand with $810,158 in one month, and a skin clinic with 114 bookings in one month at about $9 per booking from $1,034 of ad spend. In total we manage $600K+ in monthly media spend, across accounts generating $6M+ in monthly revenue. Ask any agency you're considering for the same kind of detail.

What questions should you ask a Shopify agency?

1. Can I see three live Shopify stores you've built, ideally in my category?
2. Theme or custom: which do you recommend for my brand, and why?
3. Which apps will I need, and what will they cost each month?
4. How will you migrate my products, customers and existing SEO?
5. Will the store be ready for Google Shopping and conversion tracking at launch?
6. Who owns the store, the domain and the ad accounts?
7. What support do you provide after launch, for example during a big sale period?

Does your Shopify agency need to be in Melbourne?

Usually not. Shopify builds are reviewed on preview links, and product data moves through spreadsheets and shared folders. A local agency helps if you want it to direct a product shoot at your Melbourne studio or warehouse. Otherwise a Melbourne brand can work well with an Australian agency in any city, and Melbourne and Sydney share working hours all year.

Where Leed Agency fits

Leed Agency is a small studio in Cronulla, Sydney, working with brands Australia-wide remotely. We're a Shopify Partner and a Google Partner, which suits brands that want the store and the advertising handled by the same people. I lead design and the build; James runs Google Ads. There's no account manager in between, and nothing is handed to an overseas team.

We've completed 97+ projects for 86+ clients and hold a 5.0 rating on Google Reviews. You can start from our library of 100+ premium templates or go fully custom, and we quote every project after a free consultation. See our website design page, browse success stories, or request a quote.

Frequently asked questions

What should I look for in a Shopify agency in Melbourne?

Look for live stores you can test, Shopify Partner status, a plan for Google Shopping and tracking from launch, restraint with apps, and a store set up in your name.

How much does a Shopify store cost in Australia?

In our experience, theme-based Shopify stores typically cost about $3,000 to $10,000 and custom builds about $12,000 to $40,000 or more in the Australian market. Shopify plan fees and app subscriptions are extra.

Should I use a Shopify theme or a custom build?

A well-customised theme suits most new brands and smaller catalogues. A custom build suits established brands with a strong visual identity or unusual product structures.

Does my Shopify agency need to be in Melbourne?

No, unless you want the agency on site for product shoots. Shopify projects run on preview links and shared folders, and Melbourne and Sydney share working hours.

Is Leed Agency a Shopify Partner?

Yes. Leed Agency, based in Cronulla in Sydney, is a Shopify Partner and a Google Partner and builds ecommerce stores for brands Australia-wide remotely.