I’ve been deep in ecommerce for over a decade — working with clients to build, optimise, and grow online stores across dozens of industries.

Through our ecommerce design gallery at ecomm.design, we’ve analysed over 6,000 Shopify stores to curate the best examples of design, UX, and performance.

On top of that, I’ve worked directly with brands to build custom Shopify sites, migrating stores to Shopify, audit underperforming stores, and help ecommerce teams scale more effectively.

So this isn’t a surface-level review or an affiliate-driven top-10 list.

It’s a real look at how Shopify performs in the wild — the good, the bad, and what I’ve consistently seen in the stores that succeed (and the ones that quietly stall out).

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.

Picking the right ecommerce platform isn’t just about shiny templates or low fees — it’s about what actually helps you sell and grow.

I’ve personally tested both Shopify and Big Cartel across multiple projects. If you’re weighing up which one’s right for your business — especially if you’re in the ecommerce or ecommerce design space — this is the no-BS breakdown you need.

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.

Looking for the best platform for your online store? Both Shopify and Square Online have a lot of advantages to offer.

Overall, Shopify is the better all-around ecommerce platform, with more powerful sales features and scalable solutions.

But Square Online could be an appealing choice too – particularly if you’re looking for a way to start selling online easily, with no setup fees.

Plus, let’s not forget that you also get a fantastic point of sale system with Square (although Shopify POS is pretty impressive too).

Still not sure which option to pick?

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.