Author: Bogdan Rancea

Does Shopify take a percentage of sales? The simple answer is “yes”, but the amount Shopify takes varies depending on numerous factors.

Shopify is one of the top ecommerce platforms in the world, and in my opinion, offers incredible value for money. However, like many SaaS solutions, it does take a percentage of your sales (or profits) to pay for things like payment processing.

Whenever you process a transaction using a payment gateway, whether it’s PayPal, Square, Stripe, or any other, there’s a fee to pay for processing that transaction.

When people ask me how to design a fashion ecommerce store, what they really want to know is—how do I build something that doesn’t just look good but actually converts browsers into buyers consistently?

And that’s the right question to ask, because there are a million fashion sites out there that look amazing but don’t sell a thing.

Design without strategy is decoration. And in ecommerce, decoration doesn’t pay the bills.

So whether you’re building a clothing website from scratch or redesigning an underperforming store, I’m going to walk you through everything you need—from layout and navigation to mobile UX and conversion psychology—based on over a decade of experience designing online fashion stores for brands that are still in business today.

Whether you’re new to the world of online selling, or you’ve been investing in ecommerce for a while now, you probably know few things have a bigger impact on your success, than your choice of ecommerce platform.

For me, Shopify stands out as one of the best ecommerce platforms around, thanks to its scalability, versatility, and ease of use.

However, Big Cartel is another heavy hitter in the industry with a lot of benefits to offer.

It’s great for “artistic” merchants, photographers, and visual artists. Plus, it’s arguably the more “cost-effective” choice for beginners (with a free plan for smaller merchants).

So, which platform is really best for your business?

If you’re serious about scaling your online store, you need an eCommerce website that converts—not just one that looks good.

I’ve spent over 10 years in eCommerce, working with countless designers across different platforms. Some were great. Others? A total nightmare.

So, I put together this curated list of the best eCommerce website designers for Shopify, Squarespace, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. These are experts who actually deliver results, whether you’re launching a new store or optimizing an existing one.

Personally, I consider Shopify to be potentially the best ecommerce platform in the world.

It’s easy-to-use, scalable, flexible, and packed with tools that can help businesses grow.

But that doesn’t mean it’s the cheapest ecommerce solution out there.

There are definitely “more affordable” alternatives available – and many can offer similar features – but nothing I’ve found so far has been able to match Shopify in terms of overall value for money.

Still, the key to getting the best “return” on your investment is making sure you choose the right plan.

Shopify isn’t just my personal, favorite ecommerce platforms – it’s easily one of the most popular platforms worldwide.

If you’re an ecommerce merchant based in South Africa, Shopify can offer all the tools you need to run a thriving store.

In fact, there are more than 17,000 live Shopify stores based in South Africa right now – showing just how popular the ecosystem is.

However, to make sure you’re getting the best value for your money when investing in Shopify, you first need to decide which plan you’re going to choose.

That can be easier said than done, because when it comes to Shopify Pricing, South African merchants typically have limited information.

If you visit Shopify’s official website, you’ll see the prices outlined in USD, not ZAR – which can make it tougher to make an informed decision.

Fortunately, I’m here to help.

Shopify and Ecwid are easily two of the most popular options available to merchants looking for an easy way to sell products online – but they’re also very different.

Sure, both solutions give you the tools you need to master the world of ecommerce – but Shopify is an all-in-one website building and business management tool, whereas Ecwid simply lets you add ecommerce functionality to an existing website.

So, which option should you choose?