Shopify is best-in-class for real e-commerce. But plenty of businesses use it mostly as a brochure with a rarely-clicked “Buy” button. If that's you, DesignSnipe's team can design and build a marketing site that does that job properly.
Custom builds from $1,000Optional Website Care, $500/moDIY templates from $50
Eight rows. Honest both ways — Shopify wins outright on commerce and apps.
| Feature | DesignSnipe studio | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | Stronger here: Our team: design, copy, build | You: theme setup + customization |
| Pricing model | One-time build from $1,000 | $29–$399 / month + apps |
| Best for | Marketing, lead-gen and service sites | Online stores selling physical/digital products |
| Transaction fees | Stronger here: None from us | 0.5–2% on top of payment processor (unless using Shopify Payments) |
| Custom design | Stronger here: Designed for your brand by our team | Theme purchase + manual customization |
| Copywriting + SEO | Stronger here: Written and structured for you | DIY |
| E-commerce / inventory | Custom commerce on Flagship tier | Stronger here: Full storefront, inventory, shipping, taxes |
| Apps ecosystem | Integrations scoped per project | Stronger here: 8,000+ apps for every commerce need |
marks the stronger option for that row. Unmarked rows are a draw or depend on what you need.
Shopify starts around $29 a month and you set up and customize the theme yourself. A DesignSnipe build is a one-time investment for a site designed and written by a team. If you only need a simple marketing site and want to DIY, a template from our shop is the cheapest option.
One-time build prices. Hosting, SEO and updates are optional, bundled in one Website Care plan at $500/mo, or host it yourself. Rather do it yourself? Templates are $50–$100 one-time.
Maybe. If Shopify is mostly acting as a brochure site, you may be paying for commerce features you don't use. A DesignSnipe marketing site — designed and written by our team — can do that job better. If you still sell a few products, you can keep Shopify for checkout and link to it.
Our Flagship tier covers e-commerce builds. But honestly: if you're selling physical products at volume with inventory, shipping and tax needs, Shopify is best-in-class and you should probably stay. We're a better fit for service businesses and brands whose site's job is to generate leads.
When you're doing real e-commerce: many SKUs, inventory tracking, shipping calculations, sales tax across states, subscriptions. Shopify handles all of that well.
Yes. Templates from our shop are $50–$100 one-time — you customize and host them yourself.
You can run the site yourself, or we can manage it on Website Care ($500/mo): hosting, backups, security, updates, content edits, and weekly SEO, all in one plan.
Tell us about your business and we'll scope a custom site designed, written and built by our team.