Shopify studio for France
Shopify agency for brands in France
We work remotely with brands in Paris, Lyon and across France, building Shopify stores that handle French law, French payments and French shoppers properly.
What makes selling online in France different?
France has some of the most specific ecommerce rules in Europe: mandatory French-language product information, detailed mentions légales, a prescribed order button and a default 30-day delivery deadline. Get these right in the theme and checkout, and the rest is good design.
French shoppers are also used to strong marketplaces, from Amazon.fr and Cdiscount to Fnac and Vinted, and to collecting parcels at pickup points rather than waiting at home. A brand store has to feel at least as safe and as convenient as those.
Does a French Shopify store have to be in French?
For consumer-facing information, yes. The 1994 Toubon law makes French mandatory for the description, offer and presentation of goods, instructions for use, warranty terms, and invoices and receipts, and the Ministry of Culture confirms this covers online sales sites.
That rules out machine-translated product pages left unchecked. Shopify gives each published language its own URLs (for example /fr/) and its Translate & Adapt app can draft translations, but we recommend a native French editor reviews product copy, size guides and legal pages before launch. We work in English with French brands and build the multilingual structure; the French copy comes from your team or a translator you trust.
Which payments do French shoppers use?
Cards first, and in France that means Cartes Bancaires (CB), the domestic scheme printed on most French bank cards alongside Visa or Mastercard. Shopify Payments in France accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Cartes Bancaires, with Apple Pay and Shop Pay activated automatically and PayPal connected as a wallet.
- Pay later: Klarna (customers in France paying in EUR) and Scalapay (early access) are available as Shopify Payments local methods.
- Google Pay: Shopify's French help page states it is not available to merchants located in France, so do not promise it in your design if your business is French-registered.
- Our take: show the CB logo in the footer and near the buy button. French shoppers look for it.
What legal information must a French online store display?
French law spells out the minimum, and the fines for missing it are real: up to €375,000 for a company that omits the mandatory website mentions.
| Requirement | What it means on Shopify |
|---|---|
| Mentions légales | Company name, legal form, share capital, registered office, email and phone, RCS/RNE number, VAT number and the host's name, address and phone. Shopify is your host, so its details go here. |
| Conditions générales de vente (CGV) | Total price incl. VAT, delivery terms, withdrawal right, legal guarantees and how to reach a consumer mediator. Missing CGV can cost a company €15,000. |
| Order steps and button | A summary, a chance to edit, then final confirmation with a button reading "Commande avec obligation de paiement" or equivalent. |
| Delivery deadline | State a precise date or window. Without one, delivery is due within 30 days. |
| 14-day withdrawal | Plus the online withdrawal function required across the EU since June 19, 2026, with an acknowledgment of receipt. |
| Legal guarantees | Inform buyers of the garantie légale de conformité and the guarantee against hidden defects. |
Accessibility is now on the list too: the European Accessibility Act has applied since June 28, 2025. Our EAA guide explains what it means for a Shopify theme. None of this is legal advice; we build the pages and flows, and your lawyer signs off the wording.
VAT for French and international brands
France's standard VAT rate is 20%, and French consumers expect prices shown TTC (tax included). If you sell into France from another EU country, French VAT applies once your total cross-border B2C sales in the EU pass €10,000 a year, declared through the One Stop Shop. Brands shipping from outside the EU should also plan for the EU's temporary €3 per-item duty on low-value parcels sold through IOSS, which started on July 1, 2026.
Shipping and returns in France
A typical French setup offers home delivery with La Poste Colissimo or Chronopost and a cheaper pickup-point option through Mondial Relay or Relais Colis. In Shopify we usually build this as clear delivery choices at checkout with prices and dates, then mirror the same promise on product pages, because the 30-day default only applies when you have not stated your own date.
How we work with French brands
We work remotely with brands in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice. We work asynchronously by email and Basecamp and schedule calls within your working hours.
The process: a discovery call, a written proposal, a design questionnaire, a first design in under a week, up to three revision rounds, then development and launch. Your store, theme, domain and apps live in your own accounts.
Our Shopify services for brands in France
- Shopify store design with room for longer French copy and CB-friendly checkout cues.
- Shopify development, including multilingual setup and legal page templates.
- Shopify migration from PrestaShop, WooCommerce, Wix or Magento.
- Shopify B2B and wholesale for French wholesalers selling to retailers.
- Shopify Plus for high-volume and multi-store brands.
- Shopify SEO and CRO for google.fr, including hreflang for /fr/ and /en/.
- web design for simple brand sites outside Shopify.
Ready to compare notes? Contact us to book a call.
Frequently asked questions
Does Shopify Payments accept Cartes Bancaires?
Yes. Shopify's help page for France lists Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Cartes Bancaires as accepted card brands with Shopify Payments. Card payments activate automatically once Shopify Payments is set up.
What must the mentions légales include on a Shopify store?
For a company: name, legal form, share capital, registered office, email and phone, RCS or RNE number, VAT number, and the host's name, address and phone. Missing mentions can lead to fines of up to €375,000 for a company.
Can my French store be in English only?
Not for French consumers. The Toubon law requires French for product descriptions, offers, instructions, warranty terms and invoices, including on websites. You can add English as a second language with its own URLs.
What happens if I do not state a delivery date?
French law then requires delivery within 30 days of the order, and a customer whose order is late can cancel and must be refunded within 14 days. Showing a precise window on product pages and at checkout avoids the question.
Do you have an office in France?
No. We're a remote studio, so there's no local office; we work with French brands remotely by email and Basecamp and schedule calls within your working hours.
Sources
- Shopify Help Center: Accepting payments with Shopify Payments in France
- Shopify Help Center: Klarna with Shopify Payments
- Shopify Help Center: Scalapay with Shopify Payments
- Ministère de la Culture: Garantir l'emploi du français (loi Toubon)
- Service Public Entreprendre: Mentions obligatoires sur le site internet d'une entreprise
- Service Public Entreprendre: Faire du commerce en ligne, règles à respecter
- Shopify Help Center: EU right of withdrawal
- Tax Foundation: VAT rates in Europe, 2026
- Your Europe: VAT rules for cross-border sales (EUR 10,000 threshold, OSS)
- Crowe: EU agrees fixed customs duty on small parcels
- Shopify Help Center: Language requirements and considerations
- Travers Smith: The European Accessibility Act now applies
Services
What we do for brands in France.
Shopify Store Design
Custom store design in Figma: homepage, collections, product pages and everything in between, built around how your customers buy.
Shopify Development
Clean Shopify theme development: Online Store 2.0 sections, metafields, app integrations, speed work and bug fixes.
Shopify Migration
Move from WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, Magento or BigCommerce to Shopify with your products, customers, orders and SEO intact.
Shopify B2B & Wholesale
Native Shopify B2B: company accounts, wholesale catalogs, volume pricing, payment terms and a buyer portal, on one store with your DTC site.
Shopify Plus Development
Shopify Plus builds and upgrades: checkout extensibility, Shopify Functions, Flow automations, expansion stores and advanced B2B.
Shopify SEO & CRO
Shopify SEO as a one-time setup, an ongoing monthly plan, or a roadmap your team carries out, plus AI-search readiness and conversion fixes.
Shopify Maintenance & Support
A monthly Shopify support plan: a developer on hand for fixes, updates, new sections, app changes and speed checks, without hiring in-house.
Shopify Redesign
A full redesign of your existing Shopify store, designed in Figma and built on a duplicate theme, keeping your products, URLs and rankings intact.
Branding & Logo Design
Logo design, visual identity and brand books for new and growing brands, ready to use on your website, Shopify store, packaging and social.
Website Design (non-Shopify)
Brand, portfolio and marketing websites designed in Figma and built on Framer, for businesses that don't need a store.
Useful guides
All articlesShopify Markets: How to Sell Internationally From One Store
How to set up Shopify Markets for currencies, languages, subfolders, duties and local payment methods, plus the EU VAT, UK and US tax rules international sellers keep asking about.
The European Accessibility Act and Shopify: What Store Owners Need to Do
The EAA has applied to ecommerce since June 28, 2025. Here's who's covered, what standard to aim for, the fixes that matter most on a Shopify store and why overlay widgets won't get you there.
Shopify Migration SEO Checklist: Pre-Launch, Launch and Post-Launch
The step-by-step SEO checklist we use when moving stores to Shopify: what to capture before launch, what to do on launch day, and what to monitor for the weeks after.
Let's talk
Building a Shopify store for France?
Book a call. We'll talk through your market, payments and launch plan, then send a written proposal.