You have received three agency quotes for your ecommerce project. One is £8,000. One is £18,000. One is £32,000. They all claim to be quoting on the same brief. How is it possible that the prices vary by 400%?

The answer is that they are not quoting on the same thing. They are each interpreting your brief differently, including and excluding different items, and presenting their pricing in ways that make direct comparison almost impossible. This is not always deliberate — different agencies genuinely approach projects differently. But the effect is the same: you cannot make a good decision without understanding what you are actually being quoted for.

After 20 years on both sides of agency quotes — writing them and receiving them — here is everything I wish someone had told me the first time I had to evaluate one.

Why agency quotes are confusing by design

Let us start with an uncomfortable truth: many agency quotes are intentionally vague. Not because the agencies are dishonest, but because vagueness protects them. A line item that says "Custom design — £5,000" gives the agency far more flexibility than "3 unique page layouts with 2 rounds of revisions and mobile responsive design — £5,000".

The first version lets the agency deliver almost anything and call it "custom design". The second version creates a clear, measurable commitment. Guess which one most agencies prefer.

This is not cynicism — it is the reality of how agency economics work. Every hour an agency spends on revisions or scope changes is an hour they cannot bill to another client. Vague scoping protects margins. Your job as a buyer is to push for specificity without being adversarial about it.

The three types of quotes

Agency quotes generally fall into three categories:

Fixed price. A single number for the entire project. Simple and predictable, but the price includes a risk premium because the agency is absorbing all the uncertainty. If the project is straightforward, you may overpay. If it is complex, the agency may cut corners to stay profitable.

Time and materials. An hourly or daily rate with an estimated number of hours. More transparent, but requires trust and active management. Without a cap, costs can escalate quickly. This model works best with an agency you have an established relationship with.

Hybrid. Fixed price for defined phases (design, development) with time and materials for variable elements (content, revisions). This is often the most fair arrangement for both sides, but requires clear definitions of where fixed ends and variable begins.

Anatomy of an agency quote

A typical ecommerce agency quote for a Shopify development project will include some or all of these line items. Understanding what each one actually means is the first step to reading the quote properly.

Discovery and strategy

This phase covers the upfront research and planning: understanding your business, analysing your current site, reviewing competitors, and defining the project requirements in detail. Typical cost: £1,000-£3,000.

What to look for: is the discovery phase included in the quote, or is it a separate paid engagement? Some agencies do discovery for free as part of the sales process (which means it is either superficial or the cost is baked into the build price). Others charge for it separately (which usually means it is more thorough and the build quote will be more accurate).

UX and wireframing

Wireframes define the layout and functionality of each page before visual design begins. This phase ensures everyone agrees on what is being built before pixel-perfect design work starts. Typical cost: £1,500-£4,000.

What to look for: how many pages are wireframed? Is it just the homepage and one product page template, or does it include collection pages, cart, checkout, about, and content pages? The number of wireframed pages directly impacts the quality and consistency of the final site.

Visual design

This is where the wireframes become visual mockups with your brand colours, typography, imagery, and styling. Typical cost: £2,000-£6,000.

What to look for: how many unique page designs are included? How many rounds of revisions? What constitutes a "revision" versus a "change"? These definitions matter enormously. Some agencies define a revision as feedback on an entire design round. Others define it as any individual piece of feedback. The difference can be the difference between 3 revisions and 30.

Development

The technical build — turning approved designs into a functioning website or Shopify theme. This is typically the largest single line item. Typical cost: £4,000-£15,000.

What to look for: does the development include responsive design (the site working on all screen sizes), or is mobile treated as a separate deliverable? Does it include browser testing? What browsers and devices are included in the testing scope? Does it include accessibility compliance?

Line-by-line: what each item really means

Let us decode the most common line items you will see in ecommerce agency quotes.

"Content migration"

This sounds straightforward but is one of the most variable items in any quote. It can mean anything from a simple copy-paste of your existing content into the new site, to a full restructuring, reformatting, and optimisation of every page.

Questions to ask: how many products will be migrated? Are product descriptions included or just titles and prices? Are images resized and optimised? Is SEO metadata preserved (URL structure, meta titles, meta descriptions, redirects)?

The difference between basic content migration and comprehensive content migration can easily be £2,000-£5,000 for a store with 200+ products.

"Custom functionality"

This is the vaguest line item in most quotes and the one most likely to cause disputes. Custom functionality can mean anything from a custom product filter to a full-blown product configurator.

Questions to ask: can you provide a detailed specification of what "custom" means? How many hours are allocated to custom development? What happens if the custom functionality takes longer than estimated?

"Third-party integrations"

Connecting your site to external services — payment gateways, CRM systems, email marketing platforms, ERP systems, shipping providers. The complexity varies enormously.

Questions to ask: which integrations are included? Are they using existing plugins/apps or building custom integrations? Who is responsible for the third-party subscription costs? What happens if the third-party API changes during or after the build?

"Testing and QA"

Quality assurance testing to ensure the site works correctly across devices, browsers, and user scenarios. This should not be an optional extra — it is a fundamental part of any professional build.

Questions to ask: what browsers and devices are tested? Is there a formal QA process with documented test cases? How are bugs handled after testing — is there a warranty period?

"Training and handover"

Teaching your team how to use and manage the new site. Typical cost: £500-£1,500.

Questions to ask: how many hours of training are included? Is it recorded for future reference? Does it cover all the functionality your team needs to manage day-to-day, or just the basics? Who do you contact if you need help after training is complete?

"Project management"

Some agencies list this as a separate line item (typically 10-20% of total project cost). Others build it into every other line item. Neither approach is wrong, but you should understand which model the agency uses so you can compare quotes accurately.

If project management is a separate line at 15% on an £18,000 project, that is £2,700 for someone to manage timelines, communications, and deliverables. If it is built into every line item on an £18,000 project, the actual development hours are fewer but the management is included.

Where the hidden costs live

These are the costs that most agency quotes either exclude entirely or mention in fine print. They are not hidden in the malicious sense — they are genuinely separate from the build — but if you do not account for them, your actual project cost will be significantly higher than the quote.

Platform and hosting fees

Shopify plans range from £79/month (Basic) to £384/month (Advanced). Shopify Plus starts at approximately £1,750/month. Some agencies quote on a platform they assume you are already paying for. Others include the first year's cost in their quote. Clarify which.

App and plugin subscriptions

A typical Shopify store runs 6-10 apps, each costing £10-£200/month. That is £60-£2,000/month in recurring costs that are never mentioned in the build quote. Ask the agency which apps their build requires and what the monthly cost of each will be.

We wrote about the importance of evaluating app recommendations in our guide to choosing a Shopify agency. An agency that recommends 20 apps either does not know how to build custom solutions or is not considering the long-term cost to your business.

Content creation

Many quotes assume you will provide all copy, photography, and video. If you do not have these ready, you need to budget for them separately. Professional product photography for 50 products costs £1,000-£3,000. Copywriting for a full ecommerce site costs £2,000-£5,000. Video content is £500-£3,000 per video.

Post-launch support

Most agencies include 30-90 days of bug fixes after launch. After that, you are either on a paid support retainer or paying for ad-hoc work at hourly rates. The post-launch period is when you discover 80% of the issues you did not think of during the build. Budget for it.

DNS, SSL, and email

Domain registration, DNS management, SSL certificates (free on Shopify, not always on other platforms), and professional email hosting. These are small costs individually (£10-£50/year each) but they add up, and they need to be managed by someone.

SEO setup

A new site needs proper SEO configuration: meta titles and descriptions, XML sitemaps, robots.txt, redirect mapping from the old site, structured data, and image optimisation. Some agencies include this in the build. Many do not. Without it, you risk losing organic traffic when the new site launches.

How to compare quotes properly

The only way to compare agency quotes fairly is to normalise them. Here is the process we recommend.

Step 1: Create a feature matrix

List every feature and deliverable you need. For each agency quote, mark whether each feature is included, excluded, or quoted separately. This immediately reveals where the £8,000 quote is cheaper — it is excluding things the £18,000 quote includes.

Step 2: Calculate the effective hourly rate

Ask each agency for their estimated hours breakdown. Divide the total project cost by total hours. This gives you the effective hourly rate, which is a much better comparison metric than the total project cost. A £15,000 quote with 120 hours of work (£125/hour) may be better value than a £10,000 quote with 60 hours of work (£167/hour).

Step 3: Calculate 12-month total cost of ownership

Add the build cost to 12 months of platform fees, app subscriptions, and estimated maintenance or retainer costs. This is the number that actually matters. A £10,000 build with £500/month in app costs and a £2,000/month retainer costs £40,000 in year one. A £18,000 build with £200/month in app costs and a £1,000/month retainer costs £32,400 in year one.

The cheapest quote is almost never the cheapest project. Total cost of ownership over 12 months is the only fair comparison — and it regularly inverts the ranking of quotes.

Red flags in agency quotes

After reviewing hundreds of agency quotes over the years — both as a buyer and as someone brands ask to evaluate — these are the warning signs.

  • No hours breakdown. If the agency cannot tell you how many hours each phase will take, they have not planned the project properly. This almost always leads to scope disputes.
  • No exclusions list. A quote that does not explicitly state what is NOT included is a quote that will have surprises. Good agencies are upfront about boundaries.
  • Revision limits buried in terms. If the quote says "unlimited revisions" it is either lying or pricing in the expectation that you will not actually ask for many. If it says "2 rounds of revisions" in the main document but "1 round" in the terms and conditions, that is a red flag.
  • 50%+ deposit. Standard practice is 30-40% deposit. More than 50% upfront suggests cash flow issues or a model designed to collect payment before delivering value.
  • No post-launch warranty. Any agency that does not offer at least 30 days of bug fixes after launch is telling you they do not trust their own work.
  • Vague timeline. "6-8 weeks" is acceptable. "We will start in a few weeks and it should be ready in a couple of months" is not. Look for specific milestones and dates.
  • No mention of performance. If the quote does not reference page speed targets, mobile optimisation, or Core Web Vitals, performance is not a priority. You will end up with a slow site that costs you revenue.

Questions to ask before signing

These questions will reveal more about an agency's professionalism and honesty than any portfolio review.

  1. What happens if the project goes over the estimated hours? The answer reveals whether you bear the overrun risk (time and materials), the agency bears it (fixed price), or it is shared (capped with overrun clause).
  2. Can I see a sample project timeline from a similar project? This shows whether they have actually done similar work and whether their timelines are realistic.
  3. Who specifically will work on my project? Agencies sell with senior people and deliver with junior people. Ask for names and roles.
  4. What is your change request process? Every project has scope changes. The question is how they are handled, priced, and approved.
  5. What does post-launch support cost after the warranty period? This tells you the ongoing cost of the relationship and whether the agency is building a site you can manage independently or one that creates ongoing dependency.
  6. Can you provide references from clients with similar projects? Not just any references — references from projects of similar scope and complexity to yours.
  7. What happens if we are not happy with the design? This reveals how design approval works and what recourse you have if the creative direction is wrong.

Calculating total cost of ownership

Here is a template for calculating the true first-year cost of an ecommerce project.

Cost category One-time Monthly Annual total
Agency build fee £15,000 — £15,000
Platform subscription — £79-£384 £948-£4,608
App subscriptions — £150-£500 £1,800-£6,000
Content creation £2,000-£5,000 — £2,000-£5,000
Support retainer — £1,000-£3,000 £12,000-£36,000
Domain and email — £10-£20 £120-£240
Total year one £31,868-£66,848

The build fee is typically 20-50% of the first-year total cost of ownership. If you are only evaluating the build fee, you are only seeing half the picture.

What a good quote looks like

A well-structured agency quote for an ecommerce project should include all of the following.

Clear scope definition

Every page, feature, and integration should be listed explicitly. Not "a custom Shopify store" but "homepage, 3 collection page templates, product page template, cart and checkout, about page, contact page, blog template, FAQ page — all responsive with mobile-first design".

Hours breakdown by phase

Discovery: 12 hours. Design: 30 hours. Development: 65 hours. QA and testing: 10 hours. Training: 4 hours. Project management: 15 hours. Total: 136 hours at £110/hour = £14,960.

Explicit exclusions

Not included: content creation, product photography, ongoing SEO, email marketing setup, third-party app subscription costs, Shopify platform fees.

Assumptions

Client to provide all product descriptions and imagery in web-ready format by week 3. Design feedback to be provided within 5 working days of delivery. Maximum 2 rounds of design revisions per page.

Payment schedule tied to milestones

35% on signing (£5,236). 30% on design approval (£4,488). 35% on launch (£5,236). Payable within 14 days of invoice.

Post-launch terms

60-day warranty period covering bugs and functional issues. After warranty, support available at £110/hour or via monthly retainer starting at £1,200/month.

If your quote includes all of this information, you are dealing with a professional agency. If it does not, ask for it. A good agency will be happy to provide it. A bad agency will push back — and that resistance is all the information you need.

Reading an agency quote is a skill, and like most skills, it improves with practice. The goal is not to find the cheapest agency — it is to find the best value. That means understanding what you are paying for, what you are not paying for, and what the total cost of ownership will be over the lifetime of the project.

Ask questions. Request specificity. Compare total cost of ownership, not headline prices. And trust your instincts — if a quote feels too good to be true, it is.

If you are evaluating quotes for an ecommerce project and want a second opinion, get in touch. We are happy to review what you have received and help you understand what you are being quoted for — even if you do not end up working with us.