How to hire a Salla store designer
The words store design cover very different jobs, from switching on a theme to drawing a storefront from nothing. Before you hire a Salla store designer, it helps to know which job you are getting and how to check it.
What does a Salla designer actually do?
It varies, and that is the first thing to ask. One designer sets up a ready theme, uploads your logo and arranges the home page. Another designs banners and a visual identity around the theme. Another draws the whole storefront first and then builds it as closely as the platform allows. None of these is wrong, but they are different amounts of work, so ask for the scope in plain sentences before you compare anyone.
What should you look at in their past stores?
Live stores, on your phone. Skip the home page and open a product, add it to the cart and walk towards the checkout. Notice whether the photos are consistent, whether the text reads like it was written for that store, and whether anything is left over from the theme demo. A portfolio of screenshots shows how a store looked for one moment. A live link shows how it was built and whether it lasted.
How will they get into your store?
The store should be created by you, on your account, and stay there. Ask the designer how they prefer to be given access, and look in your dashboard for a way to add a team member with limited permissions; if it exists, use it. Avoid handing over your own password, and never let the store be opened on the account of the designer. Remove the access when the project and its support period are over.
Who enters the products?
This is the question most often left unasked, and it changes the size of the job. Some designers build the store with a few products as examples and leave the rest to you. Others enter the full catalogue. Either can be fair, as long as it is said in advance. If you will enter products yourself, ask to be shown how on the first few, so the rest match.
What will you be able to change afterwards?
On a hosted platform most everyday changes are yours by default: products, prices, banners, pages. Ask about the parts that are not obvious. If the design relies on custom styling, who adjusts it when the theme changes? If the banners were designed for you, do you get the source files to make the next ones? A store you cannot keep up without the designer is only half delivered.
What should be written down?
The scope, the number of review rounds, what you supply and by when, what happens after launch and for how long, and what happens if either side wants to stop. This is not legal advice; for a large project, have the agreement looked at by a qualified professional in your country. The point is simpler: anything that matters to you should exist in writing before work starts.
How I handle it
I draw the store in Figma and you approve the design before anything is built. The store stays on your account, and you receive the dashboard to edit text, images, products and prices yourself. Support lasts 180 days from the day the store goes live, and for the first seven days of the project you can stop and have your payment returned in full. You can pay by Vodafone Cash, InstaPay, bank transfer or PayPal. Write to me about your store and I reply within 24 hours.
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