There is no charge for the first conversation, framing your requirements, our read on whether it's feasible, the estimate, or presenting several options.

Work such as setting up an environment to see how something behaves, connecting to an API to find out what data is available, analysing existing code, or building a prototype begins once the engagement is confirmed. On larger projects where the direction is already settled, we sometimes do part of this before the order to make the estimate more accurate.

Yes. You can come to us before anything about what or how to build is decided.

We'll hear what you want to achieve and what's troubling you now, and start by deciding together whether standard features are enough, whether a public app will do, or whether it needs to be custom-built.
See how we decide

Yes. We move product and customer data, and where needed order history, images, blog posts and news as well. Redirects from the old URLs to the new pages are set up as part of the migration.

How much can be moved depends on what your current system can export and whether Shopify can hold it. Rather than moving everything as-is, we first sort out what to move and in what order, against the structure of the new site.

Yes. We design and implement the exchange of data with systems outside Shopify — your core internal systems, inventory and order management, in-store POS, external payment services and so on.

What we settle before starting is which data is authoritative, when it syncs, and what happens when it doesn't go through. Without agreeing that first, when the numbers disagree there is no way to tell which side to fix.

Yes. No spec documents or repository, the previous engineer unreachable, no way to promise in advance that it can be fixed — even so, we never decline because information is missing.

Without touching the live theme, we read the existing code in a duplicated environment. We separate the spec that's actually in use, the implementations that no longer are, and the places where the cause lies — then propose a realistic way forward.
See how takeovers proceed

Yes. Conversations before a deal is won are not unusual.

We verify that the requirements hold up on Shopify, and return a technical architecture with a rough estimate. Some engagements are solely to check pitch decks, or estimates about to go out, for technical overreach.
For agencies

Yes. We can sign one before you share project materials or client information. It is sometimes signed together with the master agreement.

We have our own template, but if you have a required form of your own, we use yours.