Should I use a Shopify theme or a custom theme?
Most stores should start from a well-built Shopify theme and add a few custom sections where the brand or catalog truly needs them; a fully custom theme only pays off when you have requirements a theme can't meet.
Good reasons to go custom: a product configurator, unusual merchandising like build-a-bundle flows, or a brand where the design itself is a big part of what you sell. Weak reasons: wanting to look different, or a designer's mockup that ignores how Shopify sections work.
There's a maintenance angle too. A theme from the Shopify Theme Store gets updates from its developer. Fork it heavily and you lose the easy upgrade path, so every future improvement becomes development work.
Here's the test we use. Write down the three things your current or chosen theme can't do. If small custom sections or one well-chosen app cover them, stay on the theme and spend the difference on product photography and ads. If they need deep changes to how product pages or the cart work, custom earns its cost. Either way the same conversion principles apply.
Sources: Themes (Shopify Help Center)
Shopify or WooCommerce: which should I choose?
For most product brands that want to spend their time selling rather than maintaining software, Shopify is the better choice; WooCommerce fits teams already deep in WordPress who want full control and have someone to look after it.
The real difference is who carries the operational load. Shopify handles hosting, security, checkout and platform updates for you. WooCommerce runs on WordPress, so hosting, plugin updates, security, backups and performance are your job or your agency's job. That's not a flaw, it's a trade. You get more control over checkout, data and code in exchange for more maintenance.
So compare total cost, not monthly plan price. Add the hours or the maintenance plan a WooCommerce store needs to stay updated and secure, plus the cost of a broken checkout on a Saturday.
I'd choose WooCommerce when the business is content-led, already lives on a large WordPress site, or needs custom logic Shopify won't allow. Otherwise I'd pick Shopify and put the saved effort into product data and ads.
Will my Shopify products show up in AI shopping answers like ChatGPT and Google's AI Mode?
They can, and whether they do depends far more on your product data than on your theme: AI shopping tools and Google's shopping surfaces read structured details like titles, attributes, identifiers, price and availability.
An AI assistant answering "best waterproof hiking boot for wide feet" can only recommend products whose data says waterproof, says hiking, and lists widths. If those facts live only in a lifestyle paragraph or an image, the product is easy to skip. The same gaps that hurt Google Shopping, such as missing GTINs, vague titles or wrong categories, hurt here too.
That's why we clean data at the source in Shopify, using metafields for attributes like material, size, fit and color, then let it flow to Merchant Center and every other channel. Write product pages that answer the questions shoppers actually ask, in plain sentences, with a clear specs section.
Start with your top 20 products by revenue. Check each against Google's product data specification and fill every attribute that applies. More on this in our AI search optimization and Merchant Center work.
Sources: Product data specification (Google Merchant Center Help)
Should my Shopify store run Performance Max or Standard Shopping?
Run the campaign type you can measure: Performance Max works best once your purchase values are tracked accurately and you have steady conversion volume, while Standard Shopping gives you clearer query data and more control when you're starting out or testing.
The complaints I hear about Performance Max are consistent. Brand searches soak up the credit, you can't see where ads served, and you can't tell if it's adding sales or just claiming them. Each one has a fix. Add brand exclusions so it can't live off people already searching for you. Pull placement reports and exclude junk. Split branded and non-brand campaigns so each is judged separately.
Then test incrementality. Exclude one region or zip code for three to four weeks and compare it against similar areas still running. If sales barely move, the campaign wasn't adding much there.
Many stores end up running both. Read our Performance Max approach, and make sure purchase tracking is verified against Shopify orders first.
Sources: About Performance Max campaigns (Google Ads Help)
How do I improve my Shopify store's conversion rate?
Find the step where shoppers drop off and fix that step first, because more traffic only magnifies a leak.
Shopify's analytics reports show sessions, add-to-carts, checkouts reached and orders. Compare the gaps. If many people view products but few add to cart, the product page is the problem: unclear photos, missing sizing help, no reviews, or price shock with no explanation. If carts are healthy but checkouts stall, look at surprise shipping costs, forced account creation, limited payment options, or a slow mobile checkout caused by apps.
Test on your own phone, on cellular data, as a new customer. Go from an ad to a purchase and time it. Most owners only ever see their store logged in on desktop Wi-Fi.
Then make one change at a time and give it enough traffic to judge. Small, boring fixes usually win: shipping cost shown early, a size guide near the variant picker, reviews above the fold. I looked at patterns across many stores in what separates the winners.
Sources: Analytics and reports (Shopify Help Center)
Do I keep ownership of my Shopify store if I stop working with an agency?
Yes, you should, as long as the store owner account is in your name and the agency works through a collaborator account that you control and can remove.
Shopify built collaborator accounts for exactly this. A partner requests access with a code you provide, you choose the permissions, and you can revoke access from your admin at any time. Shopify also prohibits partners from asking for your password or logging in with your credentials, so an agency asking for your login is a red flag.
Check the rest of the stack too. Your domain should be registered in your name. Apps should be billed to your store, not resold. Your Google Ads, Merchant Center, Meta and analytics accounts should be owned by your business with the agency added as a user. Download a copy of your theme before any big change.
That's how we set things up. Our engagements are month to month with 30-day cancellation, and leaving should mean removing a user, not untangling ownership. If you're unsure who owns what today, bring it up during a free audit and we'll walk through it with you.
Sources: Collaborator accounts (Shopify Help Center), Working on client stores (Shopify Help Center)
