There are a lot of Shopify page builders apps on the Shopify marketplace that you can use for creating a high conversion landing page and driving sales.
Shopify page builder not only helps you boost the conversion rate, but also to build a trustworthy brand. To help you select the best options, I have tested nearly all of the page builder Shopify apps.
Let’s begin the battle-testing.
What to consider when selecting a Shopify page builder
In case you’d like to try a Shopify app yourself, here are the important things to consider.
Install on a testing store
Installing multiple Shopify page builder apps could mess up the liquid file of your theme. This is because of the code that comes along with page elements you add using page builder.
If you install and create pages using different Shopify page builders this will not only affect the overall loading time of your store, but also add broken URLs or 404s to your site. Both of these are not good from an SEO perspective. In some cases, the messed up code can create issues later on.
So even if you try out Shopify page builder apps yourself, use an additional Shopify store via free 14 days signup. Alternatively, after each install/uninstall of the app, reach out to the support team for removing the additional code.
Design flexibility
Design is the main reason you are using Shopify page builder app, so you should check the templates that are available on their official site (in most cases). This will give you an idea of what type of page builder offers you the most relevant design based on your needs.
Depending upon your business model – small inventory, big inventory, dropshipping, print on demand, drop servicing or other; you can select the page builder of your choice. Make sure that the Shopify page builder offers design flexibility.
Pricing
If you are just starting up, pricing is something you should consider. For example, if you just need one product page, you don’t need to buy a premium Shopify page builder. LayoutHub offers three free pages.
How I tested
I installed all of the top Shopify apps including PageFly, Shogun, Gempages, LayoutHub, Zippy pages and more. Each of the Shopify page builder apps is tested for design flexibility, performance, customer support and value for money. I used it as a regular customer instead of an app tester so I can create an unbiased review for these apps.
Shopify page builder vs Shopify theme (which one is better)?
Shopify theme – Shopify theme is the design or layout with pre-designed elements and fixed code. You can only change a thing or two (like images, widget locations and so on). Most of the Shopify stores use the same themes, with debut being the most common.
Shopify page builder – Shopify page builder on the other hand gives you a complete freedom to fully customize your online store without having to spend thousands of dollars on custom development. You can create a store from scratch and make your brand sets apart. All this can be done via a simple drag and drop.
Best Shopify Page Builder Apps
1. PageFly
PageFly is an amazing Shopify page builder with a block-like editing interface and robust customer support.
First off, PageFly offers a beginner video in each category directly on your Shopify dashboard. This includes regular pages, homepages, product pages, collection pages and blog posts.
Next, the dashboard offers a great ease of usage. You can easily select the block you want like tabs, accordion and slideshow. Some of the blogs offered by PageFly are missing in other Shopify page builders, and you’d have to use it from the pre-built layouts.
PageFly features that I liked
- PageFly lets you design any type of page using simple drag and drop.
- 5,000+ Shopify reviews with 4900+ 5/5 ratings.
- 80+ highly responsive templates in different niches.
- Easy to save custom blogs as sections for side wide usage.
- Built in page analytics for tracking site performance.
- Optimized for marketing campaigns and speed.
- Fastest customer support, usually responds within minutes even to free users.
- See version histories for reviving pages.
- 30 days money back guarantee and professional Shopify experts team.
Design
When it comes to pre-built templates, I think LayoutHub is slightly better when we talk about uniqueness from layout perspective (like a single product landing page).
All of the 88 template designs are highly unique. They offer pages in different categories and all of the designs are optimized with web design principles.
For instance, landing page headers have Z-principle for better conversions and product page are backed by proper white space. But still there is a slight learning curve (maybe because of the multiple elements) I felt, which is not there in Shogun or Layout.
That being said, PageFly templates can be used for both the trending products as well as high ticket products. You can fully optimize everything, to create a unique conversion funnel for your customers.
They also offer custom template design service for a price.
Customer support
This is my favorite part and the reason I placed them in first spot, so PageFly offers support via email, live chat and knowledge base/video tutorials.
I reached out to the PageFly team from email instead of live chat and got updated within a few minutes. And while using the PageFly app, I asked for multiple fixes as a free customer, and they actually went out of their way to add the customization on the Shopify page.
Price
You can create one page for free and after that have to select a paid plan.You can use the free 14 days plan for trying out their paid features starting at $19 per month.
2. Shogun
My second pick for best Shopify page builder app is Shogun, an app known for unique custom templates.
With over 2400 reviews and 4.7/5 rating on Shopify app marketplace, it is definitely a great option for creating unique, brandable Shopify stores.
The interface of this Shopify page builder is more smooth than others and requires no learning curve. You can create
Shogun features that I liked-
- 18,000 active eCommerce brands including DTC companies
- Multiple advance design elements for conversion and scalability (countdown timer, parallax effect and more)
- Integrated A/B testing and analytics tool for testing page performance
- Save content pages as reusable templates for content marketing
- Easy to add email capture – add forms at any part of the page
- Swiftly integrates with Shopify marketing apps and social media platforms
Design
While the dashboard isn’t the most intuitive, the templates are definitely awesome. They have actually added a wide variety of designs including classic, modern, vintage and more.
The best part is they have blank layouts for those who want to customize everything from scratch and just want a skeleton to work upon.
You can easily jump from one page category to another and select the page you want. They have pages for inventory sites, single product businesses, and high end Shopify stores.
Customer support
Shogun only offers email support in the basic plan and you’d have to opt for live chat support which means selecting the level-3 plan costing $149 per month.That said they do respond fast and also offer knowledge base/resources.
Price
Shogun doesn’t offer a free plan, but you can use the 10 days free trial for trying it yourself.
Shogun offers great designs, but their basic plan is slightly more expensive than other page builders. They charge $39 per month and lets you create upto 25 pages.
3. LayoutHub
LayoutHub is a beginner friendly Shopify page builder app that swiftly integrates with Shopify. It offers the most unique niche-specific templates as well as single page templates.
They have a few elements missing as a single block, so you might have to use it from pre-built templates (accordions, for instance). Currently used by 16,000+ customers and is the second most popular app on Shopify marketplace
Shogun features that I liked-
- The easiest page builder interface for non-technical people.
- You can create great quality pages in both free and premium versions.
- Unique templates for niche specific sites or single-product stores. Plus new layouts every month.
- Easy to import new layout from different templates.
- Compatible with most popular Shopify themes.
- Lazy loading for fast load time in higher tier plans.
- Integrates well with product bundle apps and offers fully responsive design.
- Fast and good customer support for specific addons.
Design
Now in the main part, there are around 55 landing pages with different designs.You will notice multiple designs with one thing in-common – room for adaptability. You can take sections from different templates and they go along (you just need to change the color palettes).
In addition to cross template compatibility, they also offer little tweaks for free (I will share this part in the customer support section below). You can change the pre-built layout to a great extent – even the pagination can be controlled easily from the page editor.
Customer support
Layout Hub offers email support in their free plan and live chat support for premium customers. But their customer support is impressive. I asked their team to add an additional button and change a few segments, and their staff made these changes in just a few minutes. They will customize the page you built to an extent without any additional cost.
Price
Layout lets you design 3 standard pages, but there will be a logo in the footer. You can change the pre-built layout to a great extent – even the pagination can be controlled easily from the page editor. Their paid plan starts at $14.99 per month and lets you create up to 10 pages. For lazy load features, you’d have to go for the higher level plan costing $29.99 per month.
