Shopify stores, designed to sell.

Hire a freelancer for small, well-defined tasks like a bug fix or one new section. Hire a studio when you need design, development, apps and launch handled together, with one accountable team. Our take: ask who actually designs and who writes the code, and whether they work in your accounts. A good studio gives you freelancer-level access to the people doing the work, plus a repeatable process.

It depends on scope: a theme setup, a custom-designed store, a migration and a B2B build are very different projects. Hourly rates vary widely by region and experience, so compare fixed-scope quotes, not rates. We don't publish fixed prices; we quote after a short discovery call once we understand your catalog, integrations and design needs. Book a call to get a scoped quote.

Shopify Partners are agencies and freelancers registered with Shopify to build and manage stores. Shopify places service partners in tiers (Select, Plus, Premier and Platinum) based on factors such as experience and track record on the platform. The Silver Arc is an official Shopify Partner at the Select Partner tier. You can compare partners in the Shopify Partner Directory.

Shopify Basic is $29/month billed yearly ($39 monthly), Grow is $79 ($105 monthly) and Advanced is $299 ($399 monthly). Shopify Plus starts at $2,300/month on a 3-year term. Budget separately for a paid theme if you use one, apps, and payment processing. Check current rates on Shopify's pricing page.

With Shopify Payments, online card rates are 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic, 2.7% + 30¢ on Grow and 2.5% + 30¢ on Advanced (US rates). If you use a third-party payment provider instead, Shopify adds a transaction fee of 2%, 1% or 0.6% depending on plan, and 0.2% on Plus. Rates differ by country.

Yes. Shopify currently offers a 3-day free trial with no credit card required, followed by $1/month for the first 3 months on an eligible plan. That's enough time to set up products, try themes and get a designer or developer working as a collaborator before you pay full price. Offers change, so confirm on Shopify's pricing page.

Use a theme if budget and speed matter most and your brand fits its layouts. Choose a custom design when your brand, product storytelling or conversion flow needs something a theme can't do well. Our take: most brands do best with a custom design built on a solid theme foundation, which keeps it editable and fast. Read our full comparison.

A theme-based store can launch in days to a couple of weeks; a custom-designed store typically takes several weeks, depending on pages, products, integrations and how fast feedback comes. In our process the first Figma design arrives in under a week, followed by up to 3 revision rounds and then development. See build timelines.