Author: Bogdan Rancea

Quick answer: Yes — Shopify themes are a one-time purchase for one store only. You pay once (usually between $180 and $400), and the theme is yours to use for the life of that store — no subscriptions, no renewals. But you can’t reuse the same theme on multiple stores without buying another license.

When I first started building Shopify stores, I assumed buying a theme was like paying for a monthly app or subscription.†

But the truth is, Shopify’s theme pricing is pretty straightforward — and once you understand how the licensing works, it’s easy to plan your budget, scale your store, and avoid any surprises.

Quick Answer: Shopify is the best all-around ecommerce platform for most businesses. It has more powerful features, smoother usability, and better design options than Shift4Shop.

But if you’re looking for a free plan and are okay with a few limitations, Shift4Shop can get you online fast at zero cost—if you use their payment system.

I’ve tested both platforms hands-on, comparing everything from pricing to payment gateways and user experience.

Let’s break down how Shopify and Shift4Shop stack up.

After years of building ecommerce sites for clients and running stores myself, I’ve used just about every platform out there.

When it comes to BigCommerce vs Ecwid, these two tools take very different approaches to selling online — and choosing the right one depends on what stage your business is at, what features you need, and how you want to scale.

Quick Answer:

Ecwid is better for beginners and small sellers looking for a free, plug-and-play solution.

BigCommerce is the stronger option for growing stores that need advanced features, flexibility, and multi-channel sales.

In this review, I’ll break down my real experience with both platforms — pricing, templates, apps, selling tools, marketing, and support — so you can decide what works best for your store.

Quick answer:

The best Bubble alternatives for ecommerce are Webflow, Shopify (especially with Hydrogen), and Builder.io. These platforms let you launch fast, scale easily, and design with far fewer limitations.

I’ve built ecommerce sites on everything from Shopify to custom headless stacks.

And while Bubble’s a beast in flexibility, it’s not always the right fit—especially for ecommerce. It’s powerful, but with power comes complexity. You want a store, not a software dev project.

So if you’ve been burned by Bubble’s slow performance, clunky checkout flows, or the constant need to plug in workarounds, here are the top platforms worth your time (and money).

Quick answer:
If you’re looking to move on from Volusion, the best alternatives are Shopify for all-round ease, BigCommerce for scaling, WooCommerce if you want control, and Wix or Squarespace if design is your priority.

Volusion just doesn’t cut it anymore — whether you’re dealing with outdated UX, weak SEO tools, or lack of flexibility, there are better options now.

I’ve run stores on almost every major platform, and I’ve helped migrate dozens of clients off Volusion.

This list comes from experience, not theory.

Let’s get into what actually works — and which platforms to avoid.