Does it require access to Shopify admin?
No. ShopGrade reads the public storefront the same way any visitor's browser does. There is no Shopify app to install, no store login and no admin access. It cannot see orders, customers or payment information, and it never writes to the store, changes a theme or submits a form.
Can I grade a store I do not own?
Yes, for any publicly accessible Shopify storefront. This is how agencies audit prospects before a call. You remain responsible for using the report lawfully and for respecting the store's terms and rights.
Which stores and pages can it audit?
Shopify only, and any public page of it. The scan reads whichever page you run it on and scores it against what that page type is supposed to do: homepage, product, collection, cart, blog, article, search and content pages each get their own expectations, so a homepage is never marked down for having no add-to-cart. The AI screenshot review is the one part with a fixed scope: it reads the homepage and one product page. Other platforms are on the roadmap. ShopGrade confirms Shopify from domain, asset and theme markers, so password-protected or blocked pages cannot be audited, and on a site that is not Shopify the extension says so and does nothing else.
How long does a scan take, and can I run it again after changes?
The live score on the toolbar appears as soon as the storefront loads. A full report usually takes a few minutes, depending on the storefront, your connection and whether your plan includes the AI review. You can rescan whenever you like: the report then shows the new score beside the previous one, which findings you resolved and anything new that appeared. A rescan is a fresh report, so it uses one report generation.
Are the recommendations generated by AI?
Partly, and the report labels which is which. The measurements, storefront checks and SEO checks are deterministic. On Pro, Agency and credit-funded reports an AI review reads captured screenshots of the homepage and a product page and writes the conversion findings from what is actually on the page, rather than from generic advice. A Free report is watermarked and thinner: it keeps the score, the verdict, the store health summary, the ten crawl checks and the page-weight breakdown, while the conversion and trust signals, the action roadmap, the rollout plan, the implementation brief, the shopper timeline, the visual review and its screenshots, the Google data, the business context and the technical appendix are locked.
Can I tune how strictly it grades?
Yes. The extension carries an audit recipe: a focus (balanced, speed, SEO or conversion) and a grading strictness, both available on every plan including Free. Pro and Agency add custom benchmarks, a target score and a target LCP, and the report prints whichever profile and targets produced it in its methodology chapter, so a client can see the conditions the grade was measured under.
Can it watch a store between audits?
On Pro and Agency, yes. Add a store to weekly monitoring and ShopGrade re-checks it against Google PageSpeed on a seven-day cycle, keeps the previous score beside the new one, and emails you when it drops by five points or more. It is a lightweight watch on the performance score rather than a full re-audit, so it costs no report generation. Run a full rescan when you want the complete document again.
How are scores calculated?
The 0 to 100 score combines weighted checks across performance, page structure, script load, trust signals and SEO. Every finding shows the evidence behind it, so you can see what moved the score rather than taking the number on trust. Results vary with device, network and page state, so two scans of the same store will not always match exactly.
Who can see a report I share, and can it carry my branding?
A shared report shows the findings, the evidence, the scores and your branding. It does not expose your account, your other reports or anything else about your workspace. On Pro and Agency your logo, brand colour, agency name, a prepared-by line and your own call to action appear on every report and PDF export. Credit-funded reports can be shared but carry a small ShopGrade watermark, and Free reports cannot be shared at all. Reports are private to your account by default; a public link lasts 15 days, each report can be made public twice, and you can make one private again or delete it at any time.
