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Planning and budget
Define business goals, product and system scope, then compare themes, apps, custom work and the evidence needed for an upgrade decision.
For · Business and project owners planning a build, redesign or upgrade
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Scope
Start with buyers and their tasks.
InputBusiness goals, products and marketsOutcomeA buying journey and scope
What comes before a list of pages?
Define the buyer, product, target market and journey from discovery to support. Use that journey to assign page responsibilities and system boundaries before drawing the site structure.
- Identify the main buyer, product differences and transaction route.
- For each step, record the information, action and owner.
A reference site’s page count does not define this project’s scope.
Articles & checklists for this step
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Solution
Compare ways to close a verified gap.
InputAgreed scope and constraintsOutcomeA delivery approach
How should you choose between a theme, an app and custom work?
Check what the theme already supports, then assess an app’s capability, data access and maintenance cost. Define custom work around a verified gap, including how upgrades, replacement and removal will be handled.
- Test with real products and buying tasks, and record the gap.
- Check compatibility, permissions and removal effects before choosing an app.
A solution can combine settings, apps and code. Base the decision on the actual requirement and the team maintaining it.
When is it worth evaluating Plus or Headless?
Start with a real business constraint. Record what the current setup cannot solve, the evidence for each alternative and the extra operating responsibilities, then compare delivery and maintenance over the same period.
- Describe the constraint using a specific workflow or dataset.
- Record alternatives, owners, validation and exit conditions.
Confirm current store capabilities and eligibility. An article title alone cannot establish that an upgrade is necessary.
Articles & checklists for this step
Theme, app or custom development?
| Approach | Prefer it for | Verify before choosing |
|---|---|---|
| Theme and editor | Layout, brand styling and product presentation that existing sections can support. | Replay real products on mobile and in the editor; check empty data, translation and theme upgrades. |
| Established app | A separate capability such as reviews, subscriptions or marketing with a suitable extension. | Verify plan eligibility, permissions, fees, uninstall effects and the pages actually supported. |
| Custom development or integration | Documented business rules and system connections that settings or apps cannot meet. | Define data ownership, failure recovery, maintenance, performance budgets and reversible acceptance checks. |
For hosted checkout, payments or backend permissions, verify supported extension points and plan eligibility first; theme styling cannot supply those capabilities.
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Budget & delivery
Turn the approach into scope and acceptance.
InputApproach, dependencies and ownershipOutcomeComparable costs and acceptance
How do you turn a store brief into a comparable budget?
Define products, buying journeys, markets, content and system interfaces first. Separate initial delivery from ongoing maintenance, and compare proposals against the same scope, deliverables and acceptance conditions.
- Write down the pages and capabilities needed for one main buying journey.
- Assign owners and exclusions for integrations, content migration and handover.
Keep illustrative budgets separate from quotations. Verify current platform and third-party costs against the applicable terms.
How should a plan be handed to design and development?
Turn the agreed buying journey into page, content, capability and interface requirements. Specify inputs, acceptance and maintenance owners, then use the same scope for pricing and scheduling.
- Separate required delivery from later additions.
- Assign responsibility for assets, product data and third-party access.
Documentation describes capabilities; agreed project scope defines the work to deliver.
Articles & checklists for this step
Budget a Shopify headless storefront
Compare a theme rebuild and a headless storefront for the same market, scope and time horizon. Use this checklist to collect quotes and operating costs.
Liquid theme or separate frontend
Test the theme and apps for the same market, product range and purchase journey. Turn any unmet editing, interaction or integration requirements into prototype checks before committing to a separate frontend.
Four one-off workstreams
Price architecture and content modelling, UI design, frontend and Shopify API work, and integration and launch testing separately. Specify the templates, markets, accounts and checkout scope. Include redirects, data moves, analytics and rollback for a rebuild.
First-year running costs
Separate shared Shopify subscription and transaction costs. Check Oxygen or self-hosting costs against the chosen plan and runtime. Include CMS, search, app adaptations, monitoring and engineering support.
Compare totals over the same period
Add the build, fixed and usage charges, and internal editing and maintenance time. Use the same currency and tax basis for a 12- or 36-month comparison. Test products, accounts, checkout, crawlable content and editor workflows on the prototype.
Maintained by WESWOO · 2026-11-12
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