How long does it take to build a Shopify store in Australia?

There is no single answer, because "build a Shopify store" covers a weekend project and a six month replatform. The honest way to estimate is to pick the route first, then check how ready your content is. The ranges below are our own planning figures. The two packages we sell have fixed timelines on our pricing page, and the others are what we tell people when they ask us for a second opinion on a plan.

If you are still weighing up the budget side, use the Shopify cost calculator and read our Shopify website cost guide. Time and cost move together, so it helps to settle both at once.

Shopify itself is quick to set up. You can pick a theme, add products and take a test order in a few days. What stretches a DIY project is everything around the platform: writing product descriptions, shooting consistent photos, setting up GST and shipping, and getting a payment provider to approve you.

• Products with photos and descriptions ready before you start save the most time. A store with 20 finished products is live far sooner than one with 200 half finished.
• Payment setup runs in parallel. Start identity verification for Shopify Payments early, because card payments need it done before you can take real orders. Our Shopify Payments guide covers what you will be asked for.
• GST and shipping take an afternoon each if you know your rates. Read the GST setup guide and the shipping guide first.
• Choosing a theme can eat a week of indecision. Use our guide to choosing a Shopify theme and decide in a day.

DIY works well for a first store with a small catalogue and a founder who has time. It works poorly when the same person is also running the business, answering customers and packing parcels. In that case the project stretches because it only gets the hours left over.

Theme build: 4 to 6 weeks

A theme build starts from a premium Online Store 2.0 theme and styles it to your brand. Our Launch package takes 4 to 6 weeks. The work itself is modest. The time goes on getting your logo files, fonts, photos and product data, then two rounds of feedback and a proper test of checkout, shipping and emails.

Custom build: 8 to 10 weeks

A custom build means a designer draws your store in Figma for desktop and mobile, you approve it, and a developer builds it as your own theme with sections your team can edit. Our Custom package takes 8 to 10 weeks. Design rounds take the first third of the project, the build takes the middle, and testing, redirects and launch take the last part. See custom Shopify themes for what that includes.

Migration: plan for the data, not the design

Moving from WooCommerce, Neto, BigCommerce, Magento, Wix or Squarespace adds data work: exporting products, customers and orders, mapping fields, and building a redirect map so your search rankings survive. The time depends on how tidy the old store is. Our migration checklist lists the steps, and the platform pages cover quirks, for example WooCommerce to Shopify and Neto to Shopify.

Shopify Plus: 12 weeks and up

Plus projects usually include wholesale accounts, several markets, checkout customisation and links to an ERP or 3PL. Each integration has its own testing and its own owner on your side. We quote Plus after a scoping call and plan for 12 weeks and up. Whether you need Plus at all is a separate question, covered in Is Shopify Plus worth it in Australia?.

In our experience the same handful of things push launch dates back. None of them are technical. Most are about people and files.

• Product data in poor shape. Missing weights, inconsistent variant names, no SKUs or duplicate handles all cost days to clean. A tidy spreadsheet at the start saves more time than any developer shortcut.
• Photos arriving late or in mixed styles. A theme looks wrong when half the images have white backgrounds and half do not. Decide the photo standard early.
• Slow feedback. A two day review turning into a two week review is the most common cause of a blown timeline. Name one person who approves, and give them time in their calendar.
• Copy written last. Pages like About, shipping and returns need real words. Placeholder text left to the end becomes a launch week scramble.
• Payments and verification. Identity checks, a business bank account and a payment provider approval can take days. Start them in week one.
• App decisions made late. Reviews, subscriptions, loyalty and bundles each add setup. Settle the app list before the build, not after. Our guide to subscriptions shows why this one needs a plan.
• Scope added mid-build. A new feature is fine, but it moves the date. Park it for a phase two unless it truly blocks launch.
• Launching into a sale period. If your target date sits near a big sale, read our Black Friday checklist and consider launching earlier or after the rush.

This is a typical shape for our Launch package. A 4 week plan assumes your content is ready on day one. A 6 week plan allows for late files and an extra feedback round.

1. Step 1

   Week 1: kickoff and inputs

   We confirm the theme, the page list and the app list. You send logo files, fonts, brand colours, photos and the product spreadsheet. You start payment and identity verification. We set up the Shopify store, tax settings and domain plan.

2. Step 2

   Week 2: theme setup and products

   We install and style the theme to your brand, build the home page, collection and product templates, and load products with variants and images. You review the first working draft on a preview link.

3. Step 3

   Week 3: pages, shipping and payments

   We build the about, contact, FAQ and policy pages, set shipping zones and rates, GST, Afterpay or Zip and PayPal, and the welcome and abandoned cart emails. You send feedback in one consolidated round.

4. Step 4

   Week 4: feedback round and tracking

   We apply your changes, add Google Analytics 4, Search Console and the Meta pixel, and write on-page SEO for every page. You approve page by page.

5. Step 5

   Week 5: testing (extra week if needed)

   We test on phones and desktop, place test orders through each payment method, check emails and shipping rates, and run a speed check. This is also where a late photo or policy page gets caught up.

6. Step 6

   Week 6: launch and training

   We connect the domain, switch the store live, watch the first orders, and run a training session so your team can edit products, pages and discounts without us. A 4 week project reaches launch at the end of week 4.

Our Custom package adds bespoke design, custom theme sections and migration. The extra weeks go on design rounds and on moving data safely.

1. Step 1

   Weeks 1 and 2: discovery and design direction

   We audit the current store (or brief) and agree goals, page list, features and the redirect plan. We draw the home page and key templates in Figma for desktop and mobile. You review and send one round of feedback.

2. Step 2

   Weeks 3 and 4: full design and data prep

   We finish the remaining templates, such as collection, product, cart, account and content pages. In parallel we export your products, customers and orders from the old platform and clean the fields. You sign off the design before build starts.

3. Step 3

   Weeks 5 to 7: theme build and migration

   We build the theme and its editable sections, load the migrated data, configure payments, shipping and GST, and set up bundles, subscriptions, gift cards or a size guide if they are in scope. We share a preview link each week.

4. Step 4

   Week 8: redirects, SEO and email

   We finish the full 301 redirect map, on-page SEO, tracking and email flows. You test the preview as a customer would and send consolidated feedback.

5. Step 5

   Weeks 9 and 10: testing, speed and launch

   We test on real phones, check the speed budget of under 2.5 seconds LCP on mobile for product pages, run a test migration of orders and customers, then launch, check redirects in Search Console and watch the first week of orders. A tight 8 week project folds weeks 9 and 10 into one.

After launch the Custom package includes 30 days of priority fixes. Many brands then move to a monthly plan such as Care or Growth for ongoing changes, which is covered under Shopify support.

• Fix the product spreadsheet first. One row per variant, consistent option names, weights, SKUs and image file names.
• Name one decision maker and block their calendar for review days.
• Send everything in week one rather than in drips. Late files are the main reason a 4 week plan becomes 6.
• Start payments, domain access and identity checks on day one.
• Write policy pages early. Shipping and returns wording takes thought. Our returns policy guide covers Australian Consumer Law.
• Decide what waits for phase two. Launch with the sales-critical pieces, then add the nice-to-have features after.