Frequently asked questions

Shopify is the world’s leading ecommerce platform with over 2 million merchants using it daily. It handles everything from product catalogues and checkout to payments, shipping and analytics. No coding, no hosting headaches, no security worries — Shopify takes care of all the heavy lifting so you can focus on selling.

No. The backend is super easy to use — you can update products, manage orders and track stock from any device with no technical skills. We handle the initial setup and customisation. After launch, you’ll be able to run your store yourself, and we offer training to get you comfortable with everything.

Yes. Once your final payment is received, we transfer the store ownership to you. You’ll have full admin access — add products, change designs, manage orders, view reports, install apps. Your store, your control.

Shopify charges a monthly subscription instead of traditional hosting. Plans currently range from around $29 to $299 per month depending on features. There’s also a small transaction fee unless you use Shopify Payments. The cost includes hosting, security, updates, 24/7 support — everything you need.

Absolutely — and we recommend it. We build your store on our development account, and once you’re happy with the final version, we transfer ownership and connect your domain (yoursite.co.za) to Shopify. We handle the DNS pointing and SSL setup.

Unlimited. Whether you have 10 products or 50,000, Shopify scales effortlessly. We use CSV imports for large catalogues, and your store stays fast regardless of catalogue size.

Shopify handles all security and platform updates automatically. They’re certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant — the same level as major banks. Zero risk of your store being hacked due to outdated software. One less thing to worry about.

For most new South African stores, the Basic plan ($29/mo) is enough. Upgrade to Shopify ($79/mo) once you need staff accounts, advanced reports or lower transaction fees. Shopify Plus is for businesses doing R10M+ in annual revenue or needing B2B with company-level accounts.

Both are great. Choose WooCommerce if you already run WordPress for your content/blog, need deep code-level customisation, want full ownership of hosting and data, or want zero monthly platform fees. Choose Shopify if you want to focus on selling rather than maintenance, need proven checkout conversion, want SA payment gateways out the box, or don’t want to worry about security and updates. Full comparison here.

Yes — custom WooCommerce builds on WordPress with bespoke design, SA payment gateways, shipping integrations and conversion-focused product pages. Pricing similar to Shopify builds, starting from R20,000 excl VAT for a standard store.

Yes — full migration including products, customers, orders, reviews, blog posts, and most importantly 301 redirects for every URL. Zero ranking loss when done properly. We’ve done 40+ WooCommerce→Shopify migrations with no SEO casualties.

Not if it’s done properly. The key is comprehensive 301 redirects — every old URL points to its new equivalent, Google reindexes within 2–4 weeks, and your rankings transfer over. We’ve done dozens of migrations with zero rankings lost.

Yes — speed fixes, plugin updates, security patches, custom features, theme customisation, payment gateway changes, and ongoing maintenance at R600/hr excl VAT. Free quote upfront.

Almost always yes. Common causes: too many plugins, an unoptimised theme, cheap hosting, no caching, bloated images. Most stores can be sped up dramatically in 4–8 hours. We start with a free audit so you know exactly what’s slowing it down and what each fix will cost.

Yes. We’ve built dozens of wholesale Shopify stores where wholesale customers see different (lower) pricing than the public, on the same store. Pricing is applied via customer tags — your wholesale buyers log in and see their tier, the public sees retail pricing.

Absolutely. One store, two pricing tiers. Public sees retail prices, tagged wholesale customers see their wholesale prices. Saves you the cost of running two separate stores and gives wholesale buyers a smooth experience.

Percentage discounts (e.g. 30% off retail), fixed wholesale prices, tiered pricing (buy 10 = 15% off, buy 50 = 25% off), per-collection rules. We also support net 15/30 payment terms, custom shipping rates for wholesale, and hidden wholesale-only products.

Two options. (1) We bulk-import your existing customers with their tags applied, then invite them. (2) We add a wholesale signup form where prospects apply — you review and approve, they get instant access. See our B2B page for full details.

Yes. Using customer-tag locking, we can hide entire collections, individual products or pages so only approved wholesale customers can see them. Public browses the retail catalogue; wholesale buyers see the full range with their pricing.

Yes. Wholesale customers can checkout on account (no payment required upfront) and you invoice them on your normal terms — Net 7, 15, 30 or custom. We also support deposits, custom payment methods per customer, and manual order entry from your side.

Yes — Xero, Sage, SAP, QuickBooks and custom ERPs via API. We sync orders, customers, products and stock levels two-way so your wholesale ordering flows directly into your back-office without manual recapture.

The main four — PayFast, Ozow, Peach Payments and PayGate. We also set up Yoco, Stitch and Shopify Payments where appropriate, plus PayPal for international orders. We handle the gateway application, store integration and test transactions.

Both are great and most stores run both. PayFast is established, supports the most payment methods (card, EFT, Snapscan, MobiCred, Zapper) and is widely trusted. Ozow is excellent for instant EFT specifically — usually cheaper fees and faster settlement on EFT. Run both, let customers choose their preferred method.

Peach Payments tends to have better UX, more modern integrations and stronger card support — often the choice for fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands. PayGate is the older, more established option with deep South African banking relationships — common for B2B and higher-volume stores. Both are PCI compliant.

PayFast and Ozow can be approved within 24–48 hours. Peach and PayGate typically take 3–7 business days as they do more thorough underwriting. We can build your store in parallel and connect the gateway the moment approval comes through.

Yes. All major SA gateways accept international Visa and Mastercard, so customers from anywhere can pay. For full multi-currency display with prices shown in USD/EUR/GBP, we use Shopify Markets or third-party currency converters.

Typical SA gateway fees are 2.5%–3.5% per transaction plus a small per-transaction fee (R2–R5). Shopify also charges a platform fee of 2% on Basic plan, dropping to 0.5% on Advanced — or zero if you use Shopify Payments (not yet available in SA, but coming). Net effect: budget around 3.5% of revenue for payment processing.

The Courier Guy, Aramex, PostNet, RAM, Pargo, Bob Go, uAfrica, Fastway and PUDO. We can set up direct API integrations (live rates and tracking) or simple flat-rate zones depending on your needs and volume. Bob Go is popular because it aggregates multiple couriers behind one integration.

Most SA stores use 2–4 zones. A common setup: R80 to major metros (JHB, CT, DBN, PTA), R120 to other main centres, R180 to outlying areas. Or simpler: R95 nationwide. We set this up to match your courier’s rate card so you don’t lose money on shipping.

Yes — but with a threshold. “Free shipping over R750” is one of the strongest conversion levers in ecommerce. It increases average order value as customers add items to hit the threshold. We typically set the threshold at 1.3–1.5× your average order value.

Yes — via API integrations with The Courier Guy, Bob Go, Aramex and others. Customer enters their address, store calls the courier API in real time, and shows actual rates based on weight and destination. Best for stores with varied product weights or expensive items.

Shopify generates packing slips natively. For waybills, we integrate directly with your courier so you can buy and print labels from the order page in one click. Bob Go’s integration is excellent for this — print labels from multiple couriers from one dashboard.

Yes. If you have a physical store or warehouse, we add a store pickup option at checkout (free, no shipping cost), set up pickup-ready email notifications, and configure pickup hours. Works great alongside delivery for hybrid retail/online businesses.

Practical ones we implement: AI-generated product descriptions at scale, smart product recommendations (“frequently bought together”, “you may like”), AI customer support chatbots, AI search and discovery, AI email content and subject line testing, image enhancement and background removal. Full AI services page.

It won’t replace it — it’ll handle the easy 60–80% so your team focuses on complex issues. Trained on your products, policies and past tickets, AI resolves shipping questions, sizing, returns and basic product info instantly. Real issues escalate to a human. Customers usually prefer instant AI answers over waiting for email.

We typically see 20–40% conversion lift on previously-thin SKU pages after AI rewrites. The gain comes from better copy depth (more on-page SEO), brand voice consistency, and structured benefit/feature framing. Real numbers depend on baseline quality — stores with one-line descriptions see the biggest jump.

Yes — typically 15–25% on stores that didn’t have them before. The mechanism is straightforward: customers were already going to buy something, the rec engine surfaces complementary products at the right moment (product page, cart, post-purchase). Modern AI rec engines learn from real behaviour, not just rules.

Depends on the use case. A chatbot trained on your store is typically R15k–R35k setup + a small monthly platform fee. Bulk AI product descriptions for 1,000+ SKUs is ~R8k–R15k. Smart recommendations via Shopify apps start at $20–$80/month. We scope each project after a free AI audit.

Modern AI customer support tools are trained only on your store’s content (products, policies, past tickets) and refuse to answer outside that scope. They escalate uncertain queries to a human. Properly configured, hallucination is rare — we test extensively before launch.

For ecommerce, 4×–6× ROAS is achievable and sustainable once campaigns are mature. New accounts often start at 2×–3× while data accumulates, then improve. Our 90-day client average is 7.4× blended across Performance Max, Shopping and remarketing. Brand-defence search ads typically run 15×+ ROAS.

Minimum useful spend for an ecommerce store is around R10k/month — below that Google’s machine learning struggles to optimise. The sweet spot for growth is R25k–R75k/month where Performance Max really starts compounding. Above R150k/month you’ll want more granular campaign structure.

Performance Max is Google’s AI-driven campaign type that places ads across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display and Discover automatically. For most ecommerce stores it’s now the highest-ROAS channel. We almost always run it alongside Shopping and Search — they reinforce each other.

Yes. We’ll review your existing account, look at campaign structure, conversion tracking, feed quality and budget waste, then send you a report with prioritised recommendations. No obligation. Most audits identify R5k–R20k/month in wasted spend.

The Merchant Center feed is how your products show up in Google Shopping ads and the Shopping tab. It’s mandatory for any ecommerce Google Ads. Shopify auto-generates the feed; we tune titles, descriptions, attributes and image quality to improve CPC and conversion. Most stores leave 30%+ performance on the table here.

If you’re under R10k/month, DIY is fine — the Google Ads UI is reasonable and YouTube tutorials cover the basics. Above R10k/month, the cost of an experienced manager pays for itself in waste reduction and ROAS gains. Our cheapest package (R6k/month) typically saves clients R8k–R15k/month in waste alone.

Standard Shopify builds start at R20,000 excl VAT. Pro and Advanced stores are custom-quoted based on your products, design and feature needs. Existing-store support is R600/hr excl VAT. Google Ads management starts at R6,000/month. All quotes are fixed and itemised — no scope creep.

Standard Shopify builds take 4–6 weeks from briefing to launch. First design drafts are typically sent within 10 working days of the deposit. Larger or more complex stores (B2B, custom integrations) take 6–10 weeks. We give you a clear timeline in your quote and stick to it.

50% deposit to start, 50% on completion before we transfer the store to you. For monthly services (Google Ads, support retainers), we invoice monthly in advance.

Fill in the quote form or WhatsApp us at +27 67 143 8596. We respond within 24 hours with a clear, itemised quote. No agency fluff, no vague estimates.

We’ve built over 400 ecommerce stores since 2014. We’re a Shopify Certified Partner. We’re ranked #1 in South Africa for “ecommerce development” on Google. Louw personally leads every project — you’re not handed off to a junior.

Yes — live online training via Zoom, Teams or Skype. We cover the dashboard, adding products, managing orders, shipping settings, basic SEO, blog posting, analytics, and general settings. R1,200/hr for 1–2 people, R2,000/hr for 3–5+ people. Training is recorded so you can re-watch.

Yes. Existing store owners can book hourly support at R600/hr excl VAT for product uploads, design tweaks, app installations, speed fixes, SEO updates and more. Free quote upfront, no surprises. We also offer monthly retainers for stores needing regular work.

You get direct access to Louw and our small senior team. WhatsApp, email or phone — no junior account managers, no ticket queues. During projects you get regular updates by email and WhatsApp. After launch, we’re a quick message away.