Choosing an ecommerce web design agency in Japan – a checklist before you sign

Six criteria for comparing ecommerce agencies

An online store lives or dies after launch: payments, shipping, stock, marketing and daily operations. A good portfolio is only part of the picture. Line up your candidates against these six criteria to see who can support you for the long run.

• Platforms: can they work with Shopify, BASE, WooCommerce and others, and recommend what fits your size?
• Store operations: do they understand order handling, shipping rates, stock sync and returns?
• Marketing: do they plan for SEO, Google Shopping and social ads after launch?
• Support: what does maintenance cover, and how fast do they usually reply?
• One contact: are sales, project management and production split between people, so details get lost?
• Ownership: will the domain, store account, ad and analytics accounts be in your name?

Once you have about three candidates, put these six points in a table and fill in each agency's answers in the same format. The reasons behind the price differences become much easier to read.

Different agencies, different platforms

Every agency has platforms it prefers. If they push one that does not fit your product range or team, monthly fees and update work become a burden later. Know roughly which direction suits you before the first meeting.

• BASE: low barrier to start, a good fit for a small range and a first step into online sales in Japan
• Shopify: flexible design and a large app ecosystem, suited to growing catalogs, cross-border sales and serious operations
• WordPress + WooCommerce: a fit when content and blog traffic drive sales, or when you add a store to an existing WordPress site
• Packaged or custom builds: for larger businesses that need integration with core systems or unusual workflows

Ask every agency why they recommend their platform and how the alternative would compare. A clear answer shows they have looked at your business. If you have already settled on Shopify, our guide to choosing a Shopify agency goes deeper.

Questions to ask before you sign

Use these questions as they are in your first call. Where an answer stays vague, ask for it in writing in the quote or the contract.

• What are the project steps, and what do we need to provide or approve at each one?
• How many design reviews are included, and when will we first see the finished look?
• Are payment methods, shipping rates and carrier setup included?
• Who uploads the products, and how many are included in the quote?
• What can we update ourselves after launch, and will you show us how?
• How do we request fixes, and how quickly do you usually respond?
• If we move to another provider later, how are the data and accounts handed over?

The second question matters most. If you only see the design long after signing, a mismatch in direction surfaces late, and fixing it costs time and money.

What to check in the quote and contract

Agencies split their quotes in different ways, so the total alone tells you little. Go through what is included and what costs extra, line by line.

• Monthly costs: platform plan, paid apps or plugins, hosting, maintenance
• Transaction fees: payment and sales fees, which grow with your revenue
• Extra charges: added pages, extra revision rounds, additional product uploads
• Required pages: the Specified Commercial Transactions Act notice (tokushoho), privacy policy, shipping and returns
• Rights and ownership: usage rights for design and photos, who owns the domain and store account

Mail-order businesses in Japan are required to display a tokushoho notice. Check the current requirements in the Consumer Affairs Agency's official guidance, and confirm whether the agency prepares this page. For typical budgets and how they break down, see ecommerce site cost in Japan.

Common mistakes when hiring an ecommerce agency

Most problems with an agency trace back to things nobody checked before signing. The checklist and questions above prevent these:

• Choosing on the lowest setup fee, then paying more than expected every month for plans and apps
• The store account is created in the agency's name and cannot be transferred later
• Nobody shows you how to update, so every new product or price change needs a paid request
• The design is first shown near the end, and changing direction is slow and costly
• The store launches without a marketing plan and gets almost no visitors

If you want the full picture of how an online store gets built, read ecommerce site development first. It gives you the vocabulary to compare proposals with confidence.

How UNANOBO works: see a free demo before you decide

Before you hire us, UNANOBO builds a free demo of your online store, based on your products and brand. You open the home page and product pages on your computer and phone, click through them, and decide whether to go ahead once you are happy with the result and the proposal. It is the most direct way to judge an agency before signing anything.

The process is simple: free demo, feedback, launch, growth. The founder handles every project personally, so you keep one contact from the first demo to marketing after launch. We recommend Shopify, BASE or WooCommerce with clear reasons, and create store, ad and analytics accounts in your name. Everything runs by message, in Japanese or English.