The Shopify store improvement sprint
A written list of the highest-value fixes for your store, built on a duplicate theme, tested on real phones, released when you say, and measured four weeks later. One price agreed up front.
A sprint in one sentence
A fixed block of roughly 25 to 30 hours of development, testing and measurement aimed at the three to six changes most likely to turn more of your existing visitors into orders, or to remove the most manual work from your team.
Larger scopes are split into consecutive sprints so you get a release and a measurement every few weeks instead of one big launch.
Typical improvements, grouped by where shoppers struggle
A sprint picks from this list based on your review findings. Nothing here is mandatory; everything here is something I have scoped and built on Shopify themes.
Product discovery
- Search that understands synonyms, plurals and typos (“cups” finds mugs)
- Filters by the attributes shoppers actually use: size, colour, price, in stock
- Collection structure and sort order that surfaces what sells and hides what is sold out
- Product page clarity: variants, size guidance, stock level, cross-sells that make sense
Delivery information
- Shipping cost and arrival window on the product page, before add to cart
- Postcode-based delivery estimates and free-shipping thresholds that are visible, not buried
- Clear pickup, dispatch cut-off and “ships from” information
- Returns policy summarised where the decision is made, not only in the footer
Cart and checkout clarity
- Cart that shows shipping, total and stock status before checkout
- Express payment options placed where mobile shoppers expect them
- Checkout settings tidy-up: fields, shipping rules, discount logic, tax display
- Upsell and bundle logic that does not fight the theme
Trust and operations
- Trust signals that match the question in the shopper's head at that moment
- Speed: removing dead apps, deferring scripts, right-sizing images, measured with lab tests and real-user Core Web Vitals reported separately
- Promotion tooling your team can run without a developer
- Order and stock flows that reduce re-keying, with integration fixes staying in the same engagement
Every sprint, every time
- Scope document listing each change, the reason for it and how success will be judged
- Baseline figures captured from your Shopify analytics before any change
- Development on a duplicate theme so the live store keeps trading
- Testing on current iOS and Android phones and on desktop browsers
- Release at an agreed time, with rollback explained and available
- Handover notes: what changed, where it lives, how to operate it
- Four-week follow-up comparing results with the baseline, reported plainly
Quoted separately if you want them
- New theme purchase or a full visual redesign
- Copywriting, translation, product photography and video
- Paid app subscriptions, Shopify plan changes and ad spend
- Platform migrations and multi-system integrations beyond what fits the sprint hours (see migration and integrations)
- Work during a change freeze you have declared, or outside Sydney business hours
From A$3,000. GST treatment confirmed on quote. Stores over 5,000 SKUs, multiple themes or markets are quoted individually.
What a first sprint could look like for a 600-SKU homewares store
Illustrative scope only, using the fictional store from the demo. Not a client engagement.
| Change | Why | Measured by |
|---|---|---|
| Search synonyms, plural handling and a “no results” page with filters | Top ten searches include “cups”, “pillow” and “blanket”; none match product titles | Search exits, search-to-product click rate |
| Postcode delivery estimate and free-shipping threshold on product pages | “How much is shipping?” is the most common pre-sale email | Add-to-cart rate, shipping questions per week |
| Cart shows shipping and total; sold-out items flagged before checkout | Checkout starts fall sharply at the address step on mobile | Checkout completion rate, address-step drop-off |
| Remove three unused apps and defer two scripts | Mobile Largest Contentful Paint over four seconds in lab tests | Lab test and real-user Core Web Vitals, reported separately |
That is a typical A$3,000 to A$4,500 sprint. The second sprint would normally move to the admin side: promotion tooling, order flow and whichever integration causes the most manual work.
Questions buyers ask
How long does a sprint take?
Most A$3,000 sprints run two to three weeks from kick-off to release, depending on how quickly content and approvals come back. Larger scopes are split into consecutive sprints rather than one long project, so you see a release and a measurement every few weeks.
Can we skip the review and go straight to a sprint?
If you already have a clear, specific list of problems, yes; I will confirm the scope in writing and we start. If the list is vague, the review is cheaper than a sprint aimed at the wrong thing, and its fee is credited against a sprint booked within 30 days.
What if the four-week measurement shows no change?
I report it as it is. Some fixes remove friction without moving the conversion rate on their own, especially when traffic is low or seasonal. We look at the secondary measures (search exits, cart adds, checkout starts, support tickets) and decide together whether the next sprint is justified.
Who owns the code?
You do, on payment. The changes live in your theme and your Shopify account; there is no proprietary layer and no lock-in. Handover notes explain where everything is so another developer could take over.
Not sure a sprint is the right size?
Start with the free mobile scorecard. If the three findings point to a sprint, the paid review builds the scope and its fee is credited. If they point somewhere else, I will say so.
Reply within one business day, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Sydney.