In this guide · 8 sections
- 01What Shopify maintains for you, and what it doesn't
- 02Monthly app audit: cost, access and leftovers
- 03Theme updates without breaking your store
- 04Staff accounts, collaborators and two-step authentication
- 05Checkout, payments and orders: test them
- 06Content, broken links, speed and policies
- 07Do it yourself or get help?
- 08Frequently asked questions
Short answer
Yes, but much less than WordPress. Shopify handles hosting and platform updates. You still need to audit apps and their charges, update your theme, review staff and collaborator access, test checkout and payments, fix broken links and keep policies current. About an hour a month covers most small stores.
What Shopify maintains for you, and what it doesn't
The difference from a self-hosted site is real and saves a lot of work. Our general website maintenance guide covers WordPress-style care; on Shopify the list is shorter.
| Area | Shopify handles it | You handle it |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting, servers, uptime | Yes | No |
| Platform software updates | Yes | No |
| SSL certificate | Yes, for connected domains | Keep the domain renewed |
| Apps | No | Choose, audit, remove and pay for them |
| Theme | Provides updates for Theme Store themes | Decide when to update, test, publish |
| Staff and collaborator access | Provides the tools | Add, review and remove people |
| Products, links, policies | No | Keep them accurate |
| Payments and checkout settings | Runs checkout | Test it and review settings |
Monthly app audit: cost, access and leftovers
Apps are where Shopify stores quietly lose money and speed. Each one can add monthly charges, scripts that slow pages, and access to your customer and order data.
- List every installed app under Settings > Apps, with its monthly cost and what it does. Remove anything nobody can explain.
- Check billing in two places. Shopify's uninstall help page warns that some apps charge outside Shopify, and uninstalling does not cancel those external charges.
- Clean up leftover code. Shopify notes some apps add code to your theme that is not removed automatically on uninstall. Check the app's instructions before removing it.
- Export data first. Some apps store data you cannot recover after uninstalling, such as reviews, loyalty points or subscriptions.
- Review permissions for apps that read customers and orders. Fewer apps with access means fewer ways for data to leak.
Theme updates without breaking your store
Shopify's help on updating themes explains the process: if your theme came from the Shopify Theme Store, updated versions are free and are added to your draft themes, so your live store is not touched until you publish. Customisations made in the theme editor, such as settings, sections and templates, are copied across. Direct code edits are not, which is the main reason updates go wrong.
Check for an update
In Online Store > Themes, a notification replaces the version number when an update is available. Read the release notes.
Add the update to draft themes
Click the notification and choose Add to draft themes. Your live theme stays as it is.
Re-apply any code edits
If a developer edited theme code, those changes must be copied over by hand. Keep a list of them.
Preview and test key pages
Home, a collection, a product with variants, cart and checkout on mobile and desktop. Check app blocks still show.
Publish at a quiet time
Publish the draft and keep the old theme as a fallback for a few weeks.
Not every theme receives updates; older vintage themes not in the Theme Store do not. If yours is heavily customised, our guide to Shopify theme customisation costs helps weigh a refresh against more patches.
Staff accounts, collaborators and two-step authentication
Most Shopify break-ins are account takeovers, not platform hacks. Review access every month:
Monthly access review
Shopify's two-step authentication page notes that staff set it up on their own accounts and the owner cannot activate it for them, so check rather than assume. SMS can no longer be added as a new method. Collaborator accounts expire after 90 days without a login, per Shopify's collaborator accounts page, but an active agency keeps access until you remove it. If something looks wrong, our guide to a hacked Shopify store or staff account has the first steps.
Checkout, payments and orders: test them
A store can look fine and still fail at checkout because of an expired payment app, a changed shipping rate or a discount that stacks wrongly.
- Place a real test order each month with a low-priced item, using a card and PayNow or your other main method, then refund it.
- Check shipping rates and zones still match your courier prices.
- Review active discounts and end any expired promotions.
- Read order notification emails to confirm they arrive and show the right business details.
- Check payouts arrive in the bank account you expect.
Content, broken links, speed and policies
Product changes are the main source of broken links on Shopify. When you delete or rename a product or collection, old links in emails, social posts and Google send people to a 404 page.
- Redirect retired product and collection URLs to the closest replacement in Navigation > URL redirects. Our guide to fixing 404 errors with 301 redirects covers Shopify's rules.
- Check speed of the home page and a product page with PageSpeed Insights after adding apps or large images.
- Update policies for refunds, shipping and privacy whenever your process changes, and check the contact details are current.
- Review out-of-stock products so they don't sit as dead ends without an alternative.
Do it yourself or get help?
If you would rather not do it yourself, our Care plan (S$129 a month) includes monitoring, monthly updates, backups and up to an hour of small changes, and replies within one business day. Starting a new store? Our Shopify Store package (S$1,890) sets it up with a lean app list and proper staff roles from day one.
Frequently asked questions
Not in the same way. Shopify hosts the store and updates the platform itself, so there are no core or server updates for you. You still decide when to update your theme, which apps to keep, and who has access. Those are the parts that need regular attention.
Check for updates monthly and apply them when the release notes include fixes or features you need, testing in draft first. Updates for Theme Store themes are free and go to your draft themes, so your live store is safe until you publish. Heavily code-edited themes need more care.
It cancels future recurring charges billed through Shopify, though you may still pay for the current cycle. Shopify warns that some apps bill you outside Shopify, and uninstalling does not cancel those. Check the app's own billing settings and contact the developer if charges continue.
No. Shopify says staff members set up two-step authentication on their own accounts, and the owner cannot activate it for them. Ask each staff member to turn it on, or use a passkey, and check during your monthly access review. SMS can no longer be added as a new method.
Doing it yourself costs about an hour a month plus any app fees. Paying someone usually means a monthly care plan; ours is S$129 a month including monitoring, updates, backups and up to an hour of changes. The bigger savings often come from removing unused apps found during the audit.