Shopify Expert Agency Vs Freelancers : Who Should You Hire & Why?

SaaS-inspired eCommerce platform Shopify is a place where merchants not only enjoy the freedom to take their business online. But they can also take help from industry experts. Whether you are building your store from scratch or adding custom functionality, getting help from Shopify experts has no limit. But here comes an important question. Should you hire a Shopify expert agency or a freelancer to do the job for you? 

This blog answers the question most subtly. However, its intention is not to defame the spirit of Shopify freelancers. Instead, this blog suggests merchants when they should hire a Shopify expert agency and when they should go with a Shopify freelancer. 

Freelancers Vs. Shopify Experts Agency – Who Should You Hire?

When you search for a store expert at Shopify’s expert marketplace, it will show a blend of freelancers and dedicated Shopify experts agencies who are ready to do the job on your behalf. Since you are hiring a professional for your store, it becomes your duty to assess the list and pick the right talents to work with you.

Cost –

Suppose you compare the cost of hiring a Shopify expert agency and a freelancer. In that case, you are most likely to find that the cost of hiring a Shopify freelancer is inexpensive as compared to the cost of hiring a dedicated agency. Here’s why – 

1. Freelancers mostly charge on an hourly basis.
2. A novice freelancer is always ready to get paid below industry standards to get their first clients. 
3. A freelancer has limited resources and mainly relies on free tools. As a result, they charge less than a Shopify expert agency.

If you are looking for any assistance for your Shopify store, you need to hire a reliable resource to get the job done. You might have to share crucial information with them. And hiring inexpensive resources doesn’t always mean reliability and authenticity! 

In this case, hiring a dedicated Shopify expert agency might feel like a bit of an expense (compared to freelancers). But this cost is nothing compared to the work delivered by the agency without disturbing the element of trust and timelines. 

Skills –

Skillset is one primary reason you should prefer Shopify experts agency over freelancers. Let’s say you have hired a freelancer who will create web pages in your store and add products to collection pages. 

But what if you also want to add custom functionality and graphics? You’ll have to hire another freelancer to do this for you. 

But this is not the case with the agency of Shopify experts. They know it all. From developing a store to sprinkling elements and graphics, they have dedicated resources for every big and small assignment. 

If you are looking for a broad range of skills, then hiring an agency of Shopify experts will be helpful. All you need to do is request a particular service, and the agency people will allocate a resource with relevant skills and expertise. 

Availability of Resources –

Freelancers have access to limited resources, and someone who has just started their career in freelancing usually depends on freebies. If you hire a Shopify freelancer, they will expect you to access various tools. 

But this is not the case when you hire a Shopify expert agency. They not only have talented resources, but they also have subscriptions to top-notch tools. Tools that make work fun, easy and data-driven! 

At CedCommerce, our team of Shopify experts will dissect your store with SEMRush to present valuable suggestions to work upon. 

Management –

Even if you hire a Shopify freelancer, you’ll have to look after them. You’ll have to see if they work according to your expectations. In short, you’ll still have to do the job of a project manager and manage them. 

But with an agency, you can forget the tedious task of following up with your resources. Before the day ends, our Shopify expert agency will get back to you (over skype or emails) and give a quick update about what’s done and what is due for the upcoming days. 

CedCommerce – a dedicated Shopify experts agency is equipped with dedicated process managers who track the time and progress of every project so that whenever you ask for an update, you have great things to analyze and observe. 

Communication –

There is no point in hiring people if you cannot communicate with them. And resources are not experts if they reach out to you time and again. As a merchant, you should communicate with suppliers and customers instead of the experts you have hired to take care of your store. 

When you hire a Shopify freelancer, it becomes your task to communicate with them. To stay updated about what’s happening with your store. Also, freelancers communicate with you as per their availability. Thus, you need to hire freelancers who belong to your time zone. 

But this is not the case with Shopify expert agency. Our agency ensures that they are at your service 24/7. As a result, any sudden change or crucial piece of information will reach the experts if you have hired the right Shopify expert agency for your store. 

Dependability –

Last but not least, when you hire experts for your Shopify store, then be very sure that they are a dependable set of people. A dedicated agency or freelancer, whoever you pick, should be trustworthy. 

There will be situations where you might have to delegate authority and share crucial information about your store with them. Unreliable resources might take advantage of this situation. 

At CedCommerce, we take pride in being as transparent as possible with our fellow clients. No matter how big or small the job is, we build Shopify stores with utmost confidentiality and trust. This is why we have merchants who keep coming back to us whenever they seek a professional Shopify store consultant.

Summing Up –

As a merchant, you have made a wise choice to go ahead with Shopify as your eCommerce store. Shopify is one of the few platforms that provides immense opportunities for store customizations, theme setup, API integration, and functionalities that promote a personalized look and feel. 

To build a great Shopify store backed up with state-of-technology, you need to make another wise choice. Hire the right Shopify experts agency. You might as well consult freelancers. But if you are a merchant with a long-term and recurring business, you should shake hands with a reliable Shopify experts agency.