Top Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Shopify Company in Chennai
BYB Traction Team
Shopify GuideHiring & Evaluation
Top Questions to Ask
Before Hiring a Shopify Company in Chennai
March 26, 2026
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15 min read
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Last Updated: March 2026
BYB Traction Team
Certified Shopify Partners · Chennai
15 Questions — 5 Categories
01Certification
02Portfolio
03India Payments
04SEO & Speed
05Pricing Scope
06Timelines
07Post-Launch
08Communication
Quick Answer: What Should You Ask a Shopify Company Before Hiring?
Before hiring any Shopify company in Chennai, ask these five non-negotiables: (1) Can you show your Shopify Partner ID? (2) Can you share 3 live Indian store URLs? (3) How exactly do you integrate Razorpay or PayU? (4) What SEO setup is included — specifically? (5) What are your post-launch support terms in writing? Any company that cannot answer all five with specifics and evidence is not ready to build your store.
15 Questions to Ask a Shopify Company — Grouped by Category
Certification: What is your Shopify Partner ID? Are you a Certified Shopify Partner?
Portfolio: Can you share 3 live Shopify store URLs built for Indian brands?
Portfolio: Have you built stores in my industry or product category?
India Payments: How exactly do you integrate Razorpay or PayU on Shopify?
India Payments: Do you set up COD? How is refund processing handled?
India Payments: Do you configure GST-compliant checkout?
SEO & Speed: What SEO setup is included — give me the specific list?
SEO & Speed: Do you optimise for Core Web Vitals? What score do stores typically achieve?
Pricing & Scope: Can I see the written scope of work before I pay?
Pricing & Scope: What is the payment milestone structure?
Pricing & Scope: What is explicitly NOT included in this quote?
Timelines: What is the realistic timeline and what causes delays?
Post-Launch: What does post-launch support include and for how long?
Communication: Who is my named point of contact throughout?
Communication: How will you communicate progress — and how often?
Why Asking the Right Questions Before Hiring a Shopify Company Matters
Most Chennai businesses that end up with a poor Shopify build did not hire a bad company by accident — they hired without asking the right questions. The right shopify development company in Chennai will welcome every question on this list, answer each one with specifics, and provide written confirmation without hesitation. A company that deflects, gives vague answers, or becomes defensive when asked these questions is showing you exactly how they will behave when problems arise during and after your build.
This guide covers 15 essential questions grouped across five categories — certification, portfolio, Indian payment expertise, SEO and speed, pricing scope, timelines, post-launch support, and communication. For every question, we explain what a strong answer looks like, what a weak answer sounds like, and what the red flag version is. Use this list as your hiring checklist — not just a reference.
💡 How to Use This Guide
Ask every question in this list in your first call or meeting with any Shopify company in Chennai. Do not send them as a written questionnaire — ask them verbally and observe how the company responds in real time. Confidence, specificity, and willingness to put things in writing are the signals of a professional company. Vagueness, deflection, and over-promising are the signals of one that will let you down.
Are you a Certified Shopify Partner? Can you share your Partner ID?
✓ Strong Answer
Yes, here is our Shopify Partner ID: [number]. You can verify us directly at partners.shopify.com. We have been Partners since [year] and our profile shows our store builds and merchant reviews.
✗ Red Flag Answer
"We are Shopify experts" / "We have been working with Shopify for 5 years" — without a verifiable Partner ID. Experience is not the same as official Certified Partner status.
Q2
How many Shopify stores have you built and launched for Indian businesses?
✓ Strong Answer
A specific number with specific examples — "We have built 40+ stores for Indian brands across fashion, electronics, and FMCG. Here are five live examples in your industry." Includes URLs you can visit right now.
✗ Red Flag Answer
"Many stores" / "100+ clients" without specific live URLs. Portfolio screenshots and PDFs are not verification. If they cannot send you live store links immediately, the number is inflated.
Category 2 — Portfolio & Relevant Experience
Q3
Can you share 3 live Shopify store URLs you have built for Indian brands?
✓ Strong Answer
Three or more live URLs shared immediately — not "we will send them later." Visit each one: test mobile checkout, check load speed on Google PageSpeed Insights, and try adding a product to cart. Real builds load fast, look professional on mobile, and process payments correctly.
✗ Red Flag Answer
"We will send you the portfolio later" / sharing only screenshots or Behance/Dribbble mockups / stores that are password-protected or offline. If the stores are not live and public, they are not verified builds.
Q4
Have you built stores in my industry or for businesses of my size?
✓ Strong Answer
Specific examples in your category — fashion, electronics, FMCG, health, B2B — with commentary on specific challenges they solved. For example: "We built three fashion stores in Tamil Nadu and handled the size-variant complexity and COD return management flow specifically for that category."
✗ Red Flag Answer
"Shopify works for all industries" without specific examples in your space. Industry experience matters because product presentation, variant structure, shipping complexity, and customer behaviour vary significantly across categories.
How exactly do you integrate Razorpay or PayU on Shopify?
✓ Strong Answer
A technically specific answer covering: which app they use (official Razorpay Shopify app vs third-party), how they configure the Razorpay dashboard, how webhooks are set up for order confirmation, how they test the full payment cycle before launch, and how refunds are processed from the Shopify admin.
✗ Red Flag Answer
"We install a plugin" / "It connects automatically" — without specifics about webhook setup, testing methodology, or refund flow. Vague answers about payment gateway integration almost always mean the developer has done it once or twice and does not fully understand the edge cases.
Q6
Do you set up COD (Cash on Delivery)? How is the order management flow handled?
✓ Strong Answer
Yes — COD is configured as standard for all Indian stores. The answer covers: how COD orders are tagged differently from prepaid, how fulfilment staff identify COD vs paid orders, whether OTP verification is set up, and how COD returns are handled in the order management flow.
✗ Red Flag Answer
"COD can be added separately" / "Most customers pay online" — COD accounts for 20-40% of orders for Indian eCommerce stores. Any company dismissing COD setup does not understand the Indian market.
Q7
Do you configure GST-compliant checkout and tax display?
✓ Strong Answer
Yes — this is standard for every Indian store build. Covers configuring IGST, CGST, SGST tax classes in Shopify, setting up tax-inclusive or tax-exclusive pricing depending on the business type, and ensuring GST is correctly displayed on the invoice and order confirmation emails.
✗ Red Flag Answer
"We can do it as an add-on" / blank look at the question. GST compliance is not optional for Indian eCommerce. Any company unfamiliar with Indian tax configuration at checkout does not have genuine Indian market experience.
Category 4 — SEO Setup & Speed Optimisation
Q8
What SEO setup is included in your build — give me the specific list?
✓ Strong Answer
A specific itemised list — not "basic SEO." Should include: meta titles and descriptions for all pages, image ALT text for all products, clean URL configuration, XML sitemap submission to Google Search Console, Google Analytics 4 with eCommerce tracking, canonical tags, and schema markup (Product, BreadcrumbList, Organization).
✗ Red Flag Answer
"We do basic SEO" / "SEO is included" without a specific list. "Basic SEO" means different things to different developers — some mean only meta titles, others mean nothing at all. Demand specifics. If they cannot list exactly what they do, they do not have a structured SEO process.
Q9
Do you optimise for Google Core Web Vitals? What scores do your stores typically achieve?
✓ Strong Answer
Yes — with specific targets: LCP under 2.5 seconds, CLS under 0.1, FID under 100ms on mobile. They can share PageSpeed Insights scores for stores they have built. Specific optimisations mentioned: image WebP conversion, unused CSS/JS removal, lazy loading, and app script minimisation.
✗ Red Flag Answer
"Shopify is already fast" / not knowing what Core Web Vitals are. Shopify provides a fast infrastructure, but theme code quality, unoptimised images, and poorly configured apps can make any Shopify store fail Core Web Vitals. Speed optimisation is an active process, not a default.
Category 5 — Pricing, Scope & Process
Q10
Can I see the written scope of work before I make any payment?
✓ Strong Answer
Yes — absolutely. The scope lists every deliverable, which apps will be installed, how many products will be uploaded, what SEO work is included, what is explicitly excluded, the payment milestone schedule, and the timeline. This is provided before any deposit is requested.
✗ Red Flag Answer
"Pay the deposit first and we will start" / "The quote covers everything" without a written itemised scope. Never pay a deposit without a signed written scope. This is the single most important protection you have as a client.
Q11
What is your payment milestone structure?
✓ Strong Answer
A milestone-based structure tied to deliverables — typically 40-50% at project start, 30-40% at design approval, final 10-20% at launch sign-off. Each milestone is tied to something you can review and approve before the next payment is triggered.
✗ Red Flag Answer
100% payment upfront / large single payments not tied to milestones. Full upfront payment removes all your leverage if the work quality is poor or the project is abandoned. Never pay the full amount before seeing any work.
Q12
What is explicitly NOT included in this quote?
✓ Strong Answer
A clear list: "This quote does not include products beyond [X], custom app development, Shopify subscription fee, domain registration, and ongoing SEO. If you need [Y], the additional cost is [Z]." Transparency about exclusions prevents scope disputes mid-project.
✗ Red Flag Answer
"Everything is included" without specifying what "everything" means. This is how scope creep and additional charges appear after you have paid the deposit — when the company claims that a feature you assumed was included is "outside the original scope."
What is the realistic timeline for my project and what causes delays?
✓ Strong Answer
A specific timeline based on your project scope — "For a 50-product store with custom theme and payment gateway, 4-5 weeks is realistic." And an honest answer about delays: "The most common cause of delays is late client content delivery — especially product images and descriptions. Our projects stay on schedule when clients deliver content on time."
✗ Red Flag Answer
"We can launch in 3-5 days" for a full-featured store / or "it depends" without any specifics. A full Shopify store built correctly takes 3-8 weeks. Promises of days suggest either corner-cutting or no intention of delivering what was described.
Category 7 — Post-Launch Support
Q14
What does post-launch support include, for how long, and what is the response time?
✓ Strong Answer
A written policy with specifics: "We provide 30 days of post-launch support covering technical bugs, payment gateway issues, and mobile rendering problems. Critical issues are addressed within 24 hours. New feature requests are out of scope but can be quoted separately." This is confirmed in the contract.
✗ Red Flag Answer
"We are always available" / "Just WhatsApp us if there are issues" without a defined scope, timeline, or response SLA. Informal support promises are not enforceable. When problems arise after launch — and they always do — you need a written commitment, not a friendly assurance.
Category 8 — Communication & Project Management
Q15
Who is my named point of contact and how will you communicate project progress?
✓ Strong Answer
A named account manager with their direct contact details. A specific communication cadence — "We use Trello for project tracking. You have full access. We send a weekly update every Friday and schedule milestone review calls at each stage." You meet this person in the first call — not after signing.
✗ Red Flag Answer
"Our team will handle it" / "You can reach us on WhatsApp" without a named person or structured update schedule. Agencies without a dedicated account manager per project are the most common source of communication breakdown, missed deadlines, and disputes about what was agreed.
⚠️ The 3-Strike Rule
If a Shopify company in Chennai gives weak or evasive answers to three or more of the 15 questions above, remove them from your shortlist regardless of price. The behaviour pattern during the sales process — evasiveness, vagueness, inability to show evidence — is the most reliable predictor of what the working relationship will look like once you have paid your deposit.
Every question in this guide is one that BYB Traction answers openly, specifically, and in writing before any engagement begins. Here is a summary of how we answer each category:
Category
BYB Traction Answer
Shopify Partner Status
Certified Shopify Partner — verifiable at partners.shopify.com
Live Portfolio
3+ live Indian store URLs shared immediately on request
Razorpay / PayU Integration
Full setup including webhooks, COD, refunds — tested before launch
GST Checkout
IGST / CGST / SGST configured as standard on every Indian store
SEO Setup
Itemised list: meta tags, ALT text, sitemap, GA4, schema — all pages
Core Web Vitals
Verified on every build — PageSpeed score shared at handover
Written Scope
Full written scope provided before any deposit is requested
Payment Milestones
40% on signing, 40% on design approval, 20% at launch
Exclusions
All exclusions listed explicitly in the written scope
Timeline
3–10 weeks depending on plan — with honest content delivery guidance
Post-Launch Support
15 / 30 / 60 days written SLA depending on plan tier
Named Contact
Dedicated account manager assigned from kickoff call
BYB Traction Shopify Plans — Built to Answer Yes to Every Question
BYB Traction is a Certified Shopify Partner based in Nungambakkam, Chennai. As a full-service digital marketing agency in Chennai, we deliver every answer in the table above as a written commitment — not just a verbal promise — across all three of our Shopify development plans:
BYB Traction welcomes every question in this guide. Book a free 30-minute consultation and ask them all — we will answer every one with specifics, evidence, and written confirmation. Book your free consultation →
Conclusion: The Right Questions Protect Your Investment
The 15 questions in this guide are not obstacles to hiring a Shopify company — they are the filter that separates agencies that will deliver from agencies that will disappoint. Every strong Shopify company in Chennai will welcome this list. Every weak one will struggle with it.
Use these questions in every conversation, demand written answers for the critical ones, and walk away from any company that cannot pass the 3-strike rule. Your Shopify store is your primary eCommerce revenue asset — the hiring decision that produces it deserves this level of scrutiny.
What is the most important question to ask a Shopify company before hiring?
The single most important question is: Can you show me your Shopify Partner ID and 3 live store URLs you have built for Indian brands? These two requests cut through all marketing claims and show you verifiable evidence of certification and real build quality. If a company cannot provide both immediately, no other answer they give should be trusted.
Should I ask for a written scope of work before paying a deposit?
Yes — this is non-negotiable. A written scope of work listing every deliverable, payment milestones, timeline, and explicit exclusions is the single most important document in any Shopify development engagement. Never pay a deposit without a signed written scope. It is your primary legal protection if the project goes wrong, and it is the clearest signal of a professional company versus an informal operator.
What should a Shopify company in Chennai know about Indian payment gateways?
A Shopify company with genuine Indian market experience should be able to explain: which Razorpay or PayU app they use on Shopify, how webhook configuration works for order confirmation, how they test the full payment cycle including UPI and net banking, how COD orders are managed differently from prepaid orders, how refunds are processed from the Shopify admin, and how GST tax is configured at checkout. Vague answers to any of these indicate limited real-world experience with Indian payment integration.
How do I verify if a Shopify company in Chennai is genuinely certified?
Go to partners.shopify.com and search for the company by name. Certified Shopify Partners have a verified profile listing their partnership tier, capabilities, and client reviews. Ask the company for their specific Partner ID before verifying. Do not accept claims of being a Shopify Partner without this independent verification — the term is widely misused by companies that have simply created a Shopify account.
What payment structure should I expect from a professional Shopify company?
A professional Shopify company uses milestone-based payments tied to deliverables: typically 40-50 percent at project start, 30-40 percent at design approval, and the final 10-20 percent at launch sign-off. Each milestone payment should be triggered by something you can review and approve. Agencies asking for 100 percent upfront payment, or a single large payment not tied to deliverables, should be treated with caution.
What does post-launch support mean for a Shopify store?
Post-launch support is a defined period after your store goes live during which the company fixes technical issues at no additional charge. These issues include payment gateway edge cases, mobile rendering problems, app conflicts, and checkout errors that only appear with real customer traffic. A professional company defines the support duration (minimum 15 to 30 days), what is covered versus what costs extra, and the response time SLA for critical issues. BYB Traction includes 15, 30, or 60 days of post-launch support depending on the plan.
Is it a red flag if a Shopify company cannot answer questions about SEO?
Yes. SEO setup is a core part of any professional Shopify build. If a company cannot give you a specific itemised list of what SEO work they include, or if their answer is simply we do basic SEO without specifics, this signals they do not have a structured SEO process. Stores launched without proper SEO setup require expensive remediation later. Ask for the specific list and demand it in writing as part of the scope of work.
How quickly should a professional Shopify company respond to my enquiry?
A professional company should respond to an initial enquiry within 24 hours on business days, and within the same day if you submit during working hours. Response time during the sales process is one of the best predictors of communication quality during the project. A company that takes 3 to 5 days to respond to a new enquiry will take just as long to respond to urgent issues after launch.
BYB Traction TeamCertified Shopify Partners · Digital Marketing Company, Chennai
BYB Traction is a Chennai-based Certified Shopify Partner with 15+ years of eCommerce experience. Our Shopify development plans start at ₹34,999 with full written scope, transparent milestones, and post-launch support as standard. Contact: contact@bybtraction.com · +91-9600448666
