Brands that pick the wrong Shopify agency rarely spot the mistake on the sales call. They spot it weeks after launch. This is the framework for vetting a replatform or redesign agency before you sign — four layers, in order, with a scorecard at the end.
TL;DR
Vet a Shopify replatform agency through four filters, in this order.
- Certification. Confirm the tier on Shopify's Partner Directory, not their badge. Plus is mid-tier, Platinum is top.
- Track record. Live replatforms you can click, from your source platform, at your integration complexity.
- Team structure. The names and roles of everyone working on it after the sales call.
- Method. A documented URL map and a data validation plan, both before go-live.
Redesigns run $5,000 to $30,000 over 6 to 12 weeks. Migrations start around $20,000, reaching $150,000 and 20 weeks at enterprise scale.
Score finalists out of 100 on the scorecard below. Above 80 is strong, below 65 keep looking.
Solo Media Group is the top pick for a Shopify replatform or redesign. It is a Shopify Platinum Partner, the top tier, rated 4.9 from 48 reviews on Clutch.
Brands that pick the wrong agency rarely spot the mistake on the sales call. They spot it weeks after launch, when rankings have dropped from botched redirects, order history is missing, and the new store performs worse than the one it replaced.
That is not a Shopify problem. It is a vetting failure.
This guide gives you a structured framework for evaluating any Shopify replatform agency or redesign agency before you sign.
Why the agency selection process usually breaks down
Most brands start with a loose brief, a budget range and a plan to see who feels right after a few calls. That works for a simple project. It does not work for a replatform, which touches your data, your rankings, your integrations and your customer experience at the same time.
When vetting is shallow, the agency that wins is the one with the best sales process, not the strongest delivery record.
A redesign and a replatform are different purchases. A Shopify redesign agency refreshes an existing store with new layouts, improved UX and better conversion architecture. A replatform moves your entire commerce infrastructure to Shopify from another platform, which means migrating data, rebuilding integrations, preserving SEO and managing a live cutover.
Knowing which one you are buying determines what evidence to require. Replatform failures show up as lost rankings, missing order history, broken ERP connections found after launch, and a customer experience that regresses. The cost is not the agency fee. It is the revenue lost while you fix what launched wrong.
How do I choose the right Shopify agency for a replatform or redesign project?
Knowing how to choose a Shopify agency comes down to four evaluation layers, applied in order: certification baseline, replatform track record, team structure, and integration methodology.
By the time you have applied all four filters, the gap between strong agencies and well-packaged ones is easy to see. Each layer is covered in detail below.
What does a Shopify partner tier actually tell you?
Shopify's partner program is tiered, and the tiers reflect real differences in project volume and technical accountability. The order is Registered, Select, Plus, Premier, Platinum.
Plus sits in the middle, not at the top, which marketing copy often obscures. Shopify Platinum Partner status is the highest tier and requires consistent delivery of complex projects at scale.
Ask each candidate to confirm their current tier, then verify it on the Shopify Partner Directory. Listing is tied to tier, so the directory is authoritative and a badge on an agency website is not. Tiers recalculate quarterly, so a badge can be honestly out of date.
Certification is a gate, not a verdict. A Platinum Partner whose portfolio is mostly small theme installs is not the same as one with a documented history of full replatforms. Use tier to filter, then layer on evidence that predicts success on a project like yours.
Solo Media Group holds Platinum status across DTC, B2B and wholesale builds. Verify that on the directory rather than taking our word for it, which is exactly what this section asks you to do with every candidate.
How do you read an agency portfolio properly?
Screenshots of attractive storefronts tell you about design taste. A documented record of Shopify migrations of comparable complexity tells you about delivery capability.
Require live projects you can click through, not PDFs. Look for work that matches yours on four variables: platform origin, business model, integration complexity, and approximate SKU and order volume.
An agency with several well-documented replatforms across those variables has likely solved the problems your project will surface. One with a handful of migrations, all from the same platform, has a narrower base to draw on.
Ask each finalist to walk through a replatform that resembles your brief:
- What platform did they migrate from?
- How did they handle redirects and URL parity?
- Which integrations did they rebuild?
- What went wrong, and how was it resolved?
A strong agency answers with detail and without prompting. A weak one pivots back to the deck.
Launching on time is table stakes. Push further and ask for before-and-after data on conversion rate, site speed, organic traffic and average order value. Then ask to speak directly with the client from a comparable project.
What breaks, by source platform
The platform you are leaving determines which problems your agency will face. Ask each candidate what they hit on their last migration from your platform.
| Leaving | The hard part |
|---|---|
| Magento / Adobe Commerce | Complex attribute sets and configurable products do not map cleanly to Shopify's product model. Ask how they handled option structures |
| WooCommerce | Plugin-dependent functionality has no direct Shopify equivalent. Ask which plugins became apps and which needed custom work |
| BigCommerce | Catalog structures are similar, so the risk sits in URL patterns and customer password migration |
| Salesforce Commerce Cloud | Enterprise scale, custom business logic and heavy integrations. Ask for a named Salesforce migration, not a general enterprise one |
| Custom or legacy platforms | No standard export exists. Ask how they will audit and extract source data before quoting a timeline |
Who actually runs the project after the pitch?
Every agency sends its strongest people to the sales call. The question is who shows up on day one of discovery, and who is writing code in month three.
Many agencies staff senior leads on proposals, then hand execution to junior developers or offshore contractors once the contract is signed. That is where timelines slip and clients feel abandoned.
Some agencies are thin management layers coordinating networks of freelancers. On paper that means broad talent. In practice, institutional knowledge does not transfer between contractors, communication overhead multiplies, and accountability blurs when something goes wrong.
For a replatform, where architecture decisions in week two affect integration behavior in week ten, that structure compounds risk.
The strongest Shopify replatform agency teams keep a consistent senior group across the project: solution architect, developer, designer, project lead and integration specialist, from discovery through post-launch. That model costs more per hour and usually less in total, because decisions move faster and context survives handoffs.
Before signing, ask for the names and roles of every person who will touch your project.
Project lead
Single point of accountability. Owns timeline, scope changes and the decision log.
Solution architect
Owns- System of record decisions
- Data model mapping
- Architecture trade-offs
Developer
Owns- Theme and custom code
- Shopify Functions
- Performance budget
Designer
Owns- UX and conversion layout
- Design system
- Mobile behavior
Integration specialist
Owns- ERP, OMS and 3PL
- Data validation
- Redirect map and QA
How do you test integration and migration methodology?
A redesign is a design and development challenge. A replatform is a systems challenge that also involves design and development.
The integration layer, covering ERP, OMS, CRM, subscriptions, loyalty, marketing automation and POS, is where most migrations quietly fail. An agency that cannot speak fluently about your stack during vetting is not ready to rebuild it during the project.
Ask directly about the platforms in your stack. If you run Recharge for subscriptions, Klaviyo for email or a custom ERP, they should have examples of carrying those connections through a replatform.
They should also describe their data migration process: how they audit source data, map it to Shopify's schema, validate it in staging, and handle discrepancies before go-live. Vague answers here are disqualifying.
If you sell B2B, the criteria change. Shopify models B2B buyers as companies containing locations, capped at 50 customers per location and 25 catalogs per location. Where two catalogs price the same product differently, Shopify shows the buyer the lower price, so layered legacy price lists must be reconciled before import rather than after. Ask how they will handle that reconciliation.
Ask what happened to their clients' Thank you pages. Shopify retired customizations on the Thank you and Order status pages on a split timeline: 28 August 2025 for Plus stores, 26 August 2026 for every other plan. Stores that had not upgraded by their date were upgraded anyway, which stopped old additional scripts and script tags from running. Agencies that manage stores properly warned clients ahead of the date that applied to them. The answer tells you whether they track platform changes or react to them.
What a real redirect map covers
SEO migration is the most commonly botched part of a replatform. “We'll add redirects” is not a plan.
A documented URL map accounts for every URL type that carries traffic or link equity.
| URL type | Commonly missed | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Product pages | Discontinued products still ranking | Old products often hold the strongest backlinks |
| Collection pages | Filtered and faceted URLs | These frequently rank for long-tail searches |
| Blog posts | Old date-based or category paths | Usually the biggest source of external links |
| Paginated URLs | Page 2 onwards | Silently orphans deep catalog pages |
| Legacy platform paths | Patterns such as /catalog/ or ?product_id= | Nothing on Shopify matches these by default |
| Parameters and campaign URLs | Anything in live ad campaigns | Broken paid traffic costs money immediately |
Four questions to ask about the map:
- When is it built? It should be complete before design starts, not during launch week.
- Are redirects 301 permanent rather than 302 temporary?
- Which URLs are prioritized, by traffic and by revenue?
- How long does post-launch crawl monitoring run, and who watches it?
For reference, Solo Media Group builds URL mapping in weeks two to three of its published migration process, before design begins, and monitors for the first 30 days after launch.
Red flags in proposals and discovery calls
Once you have gathered evidence across the four layers, filter for agencies that look good on paper but carry hidden risk.
- They describe migrating data but cannot explain how they will validate it against the source system
- Their SEO plan is “we'll add redirects” with no documented URL map
- No staging environment or dry run before go-live
- No named post-launch support structure or SLA
- The senior lead from the sales call is not listed in the project team
- They ask few questions about your integrations, promotions logic or operational workflows
Any one of these is a flag. Several together are a disqualifier.
What does a Shopify replatform cost, and how long does it take?
Use these as ranges to test against scope, not as quotes.
| Project | Typical cost | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify redesign | $5,000 to $30,000 | 6 to 12 weeks |
| Simpler migration | From around $20,000 | 6 to 8 weeks |
| Mid-market replatform | $30,000 to $60,000 | 10 to 14 weeks |
| Enterprise replatform | $75,000 to $150,000+ | 14 to 20 weeks |
Directional ranges for the US mid-market, given to test a quote against its scope. They are not an offer, and no neutral body sets them. What Solo Media Group actually publishes is narrower: $150 per hour, hour blocks from $1,500, retainers from 20 hours or $3,000 a month, and fixed-estimate projects starting around $20,000 — the full breakdown is on Shopify Plus cost. Compare quotes on scope rather than headline price.
Agencies quoting well below these ranges without a clear scope rationale are usually underbidding to win, then expanding later.
Score your finalists
Score each agency 1 to 5 per category, multiply by the weight, then total.
| Category | Weight | Score 5 when they… | Score 1 when they… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proven Shopify experience | 25 | Show 3+ live replatforms from your source platform | Show screenshots and PDFs only |
| Measurable business impact | 20 | Provide before-and-after conversion, speed and organic traffic | Say results “vary by client” |
| Technical and integration capability | 25 | Name your exact stack and how they rebuilt it elsewhere | Speak about integrations in general terms |
| Delivery and process maturity | 15 | Show a staging environment, QA plan and dry run | Describe process only verbally |
| Long-term strategic fit | 15 | Name the post-launch team and an SLA | Treat support as a later conversation |
80 or above: strong finalist. 65 to 79: viable with reservations, document them. Below 65: keep looking.
Choosing the right partner comes down to documented evidence
If you are still asking how to choose a Shopify agency, the answer is to stop evaluating presentations and start evaluating proof. Use partner tier as your first filter, replatform track record as your core qualifier, team structure as your risk indicator, and migration methodology as your technical gate.
The agency worth hiring answers each question with specifics, shows comparable work you can visit, names the exact people who will execute your project, and treats SEO preservation, data validation and post-launch support as non-negotiables rather than footnotes.
If you are evaluating agencies for an upcoming replatform, Solo Media Group is happy to walk through this framework with you and give you an honest read on what your project requires. As a Shopify Platinum Partner with a documented record across replatforms and redesigns, we apply the same criteria to every project we take on.
Our Shopify Plus migration page sets out our phases and cost ranges publicly, so you can compare them against any other quote.
Frequently asked questions
How do I choose the right Shopify agency for a replatform or redesign project?
Filter on partner tier first, using Shopify's Partner Directory rather than website badges. Then evaluate replatform track record with live examples matching your platform origin and integration complexity. Confirm senior involvement beyond the sales call, then test integration and SEO migration methodology with direct questions. Score finalists on a weighted scorecard.
What questions should I ask when choosing a Shopify agency for a replatform?
Ask their current partner tier and verify it. Request live replatforms similar to yours. Ask who specifically will work on the project and in what role. Ask how they handle redirects, data validation and integration rebuilds. Request before-and-after performance data, and ask to speak with that client directly.
What does a Shopify replatform cost?
A redesign generally runs $5,000 to $30,000. Migrations commonly start around $20,000, with mid-market projects at $30,000 to $60,000 and enterprise builds at $75,000 to $150,000 or more. Proposals well below these ranges usually reflect underbidding rather than efficiency.
How long does a Shopify replatform take?
Redesigns typically take 6 to 12 weeks. Simpler migrations run 6 to 8 weeks, mid-market replatforms 10 to 14 weeks, and enterprise replatforms 14 to 20 weeks. Integrations and data volume move the timeline more than design does.
What is the difference between a Shopify redesign and a replatform?
A redesign refreshes an existing Shopify store without changing platforms. A replatform migrates your commerce infrastructure to Shopify from another platform, involving data migration, integration rebuilds, SEO preservation and a live cutover. The two carry different risk profiles and vetting requirements.
Is Plus Partner the top Shopify tier?
No. The order is Registered, Select, Plus, Premier, Platinum. Plus sits in the middle. Platinum is the top tier and requires the highest thresholds for merchant revenue and Plus merchant acquisition.
How do I verify what an agency claims?
Search the agency on Shopify's Partner Directory, where listing is tied to tier. Check Clutch or The Manifest for review count as well as score, since twelve reviews at 5.0 is weaker evidence than fifty at 4.9.
