Agencies make up almost the whole list. 383 of the 430 experts based in the US are agencies and 47 are freelancers. If you want one person who answers their own email, seek out the freelancer profiles; most of what you scroll past is firms.
Set-up and development lead. 385 list Store Setup & Management and 326 list Shopify Development, with Marketing & Growth close behind at 294. Strategy, design and content work thin out from there.
Tax specialists are the scarce skill. Only 50 US-based experts list Finance, Taxes & Compliance, fewer than one in eight. If sales tax is part of your launch, ask about it in the first call rather than assuming a generalist covers it.
Languages and cities. English appears on 415 profiles and Spanish on 88, followed by German (31), French (25) and Hindi (8). Profiles name cities including Los Angeles, Austin, Miami, Chicago and Atlanta. Location rarely matters for Shopify work. A shared language with your customers does, once the job includes product copy or support content.
Below the US profiles. US-based experts fill the top of the list. Scroll further and you reach firms and freelancers based abroad that also take North American clients, worth a look if you're open to a team outside the country.
Proof beats size. With 383 agencies to choose from, the useful filter is whether a candidate has already shipped your exact job. Ask each one for two stores they built in your category and a client reference you can actually call.