Framer vs Shift4shop: Comprehensive comparison guide for 2024

Final verdict

Framer and Shift4shop both offer unique strengths, catering to different user needs and preferences.

• 
  Framer (Overall Grade: 7.1/10)
  
  excels in design functionalities and AI capabilities, making it a great choice for designers and teams looking for advanced customization and prototyping features. Its intuitive interface and extensive component library provide a versatile platform for creating polished, user-centric websites. However, Framer’s lack of native ecommerce features and a steeper learning curve for beginners may limit its appeal for those seeking a comprehensive ecommerce solution.
• 
  Shift4shop (Overall Grade: 6.4/10)
  
  stands out for its robust ecommerce tools and comprehensive customer support, making it ideal for businesses focused on online sales. With a wide array of payment gateways, inventory management, and marketing features, Shift4shop provides a solid foundation for ecommerce operations. However, its less intuitive user experience and occasional technical issues may pose challenges for some users.

	Overall grade: 7.1	Overall grade: 6.4
Design functionalities & templates	8.5	7.5
Ease of use	7.1	7.0
Ecommerce	5.9	7.6
Website Editors	7.6	7.2
Product testing options	6.2	5.0
Price	7.7	6.7
Hosting quality	7.1	7.8
Website speed optimization	7.4	6.3
Plugins/extensions and integrations	7.6	7.3
Marketing features	7.2	8.0
Customer support	5.6	7.9
Website security	8.2	8.9
AI capabilities	7.6	0
User management	7.4	7.9

Best for ecommerce

5.9

7.6

Verdict

: Framer is excellent for design-focused projects with third-party ecommerce integrations, while Shift4shop offers a comprehensive set of native ecommerce tools, making it a more robust choice for online businesses.

• 
  Framer
  
  : Framer excels in design and customization, making it ideal for users who prioritize aesthetics and are comfortable integrating third-party ecommerce tools like Ecwid. However, it lacks native ecommerce functionalities, which might be a limitation for some users. When comparing Framer vs Shift4shop, Framer scores 5.9 for ecommerce.
• 
  Shift4shop
  
  : Shift4shop provides a wide array of professional, customizable, and mobile-friendly templates specifically designed for ecommerce. It supports various business models and offers robust tools for payment processing, inventory management, and marketing. This makes it a more comprehensive solution for online businesses. Shift4shop scores 7.6 for ecommerce.

Best for informational & business websites

7.5

7.2

• 
  Framer
  
  : Framer is a versatile website builder that combines AI-driven design with an intuitive user interface, making it suitable for both novices and experienced designers. It offers extensive customization through a comprehensive component library and AI tools for content generation and localization. While it has a learning curve for beginners and lacks native e-commerce features, its robust design and prototyping features make it an excellent choice for creating polished, user-centric informational websites. Framer scores 7.5 in this category.
• 
  Shift4shop
  
  : Shift4shop is primarily an eCommerce platform but also offers tools for creating professional, customizable, and mobile-friendly websites. It supports various business models and provides a range of templates and customization options. However, its focus on eCommerce means it may not be as intuitive for creating purely informational sites. Shift4shop scores 7.2 in this category.

Detailed comparison

8.5

7.5

🏆

Winner: Framer.

If you’re looking for a platform that offers more advanced design capabilities and a wider range of templates, Framer is the preferred choice.

Framer offers a diverse array of over 1,000 customizable website templates and designs, catering to various industries and project requirements. It stands out for its robust design and prototyping features, including responsive design capabilities, real-time collaboration, and extensive import options from other design tools. The platform facilitates a collaborative design process through features like multiplayer functionalities and real components for interactive design, making it an ideal choice for designers, developers, and teams.

Framer Themes

Shift4Shop provides a selection of over 100 free eCommerce templates, catering to a wide array of design preferences and brand identities. These templates are professionally designed with an emphasis on optimizing sales, employing the latest in technology and design trends. This variety ensures that businesses can find a design that closely aligns with their brand and aesthetic requirements.

Shift4shop Themes

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7.1

7.0

🏆 Winner: Framer

. Scoring 7.1, Framer edges out Shift4shop, which scores 7.0, in terms of ease of use. Framer’s AI-driven design and intuitive interface make it accessible for both novices and experienced designers, although it does have a learning curve for beginners. Shift4shop, while comprehensive and feature-rich, also presents a steeper learning curve, particularly for those new to ecommerce.

Learning Resources

🏆 Winner: Framer

. Framer offers a wide range of detailed courses and practical tutorials through Framer Academy and Framer University, making it easier for users to learn and adapt. Shift4shop also provides extensive learning resources, including articles, videos, and 24/7 customer support, but Framer’s focused educational content gives it a slight edge.

5.9

7.6

Framer, while excelling in design and customization, falls short in native ecommerce functionalities. It relies on integrations like Ecwid to add online selling capabilities, which might require some CSS expertise for detailed customizations. Shift4shop, however, offers a robust set of ecommerce tools, making it a more comprehensive solution for online businesses.

Ecommerce themes and templates	7.0	6.5
Product page customization	5.5	7.8
Payment processing and commissions	6.5	8.4
POS capabilities	3.0	7.0
Payment gateways	6.0	9.0
Product numbers	6.0	7.5
Additional ecommerce features	5.5	7.2

Framer ecommerce features:

• Ecwid integration

Shift4shop ecommerce features:

• Payment Gateway integrations
• Inventory management
• Abandoned cart recovery
• Order management

Ecommerce themes & templates

Framer offers 97 website templates specifically designed for ecommerce, providing a wide range of options for various business needs. These templates are highly customizable, allowing for easy adjustments to colors, fonts, layouts, and integration with essential ecommerce tools. Both free and paid options are available, catering to businesses of all sizes looking to enhance their online presence and sales capabilities. Shift4shop, on the other hand, designs all its templates for online stores, ensuring a focused approach to ecommerce.

Product page customization

Framer primarily focuses on expanding design possibilities for ecommerce. However, it lacks inherent ecommerce functionalities and instead heavily depends on integrating with platforms such as Shopify and Ecwid. Additionally, while Framer allows for some customization of product pages, these modifications are generally limited to design and layout alterations. Shift4shop offers a variety of product page customization features to enhance the online shopping experience. These include advanced product options with inventory tracking, customizable product layouts, and the ability to showcase products through images, zoom, and video. Additionally, the Product Designer app facilitates extensive customization for personalized products.

Payment processing

Framer supports Stripe for payment processing, enabling a wide range of payment options including one-time payments, subscriptions, and more, without requiring coding. While specific transaction fees were not mentioned, such fees typically depend on Stripe’s pricing. Shift4shop supports over 200 payment gateways, including major providers such as PayPal, Visa, and Stripe, offering a broad range of options for global markets without charging additional transaction fees from the platform itself. However, merchants may incur standard fees from their chosen payment providers, typically ranging from 2-3% per sale. The platform also facilitates POS capabilities through third-party integrations, enabling both online and physical store sales.

Considering the features, availability, cost, and flexibility, Shift4shop appears to be a more robust and flexible ecommerce solution compared to Framer. However, if you are looking for a platform with strong design capabilities and are willing to integrate third-party ecommerce tools, Framer might still be worth considering.

7.6

7.2

🏆

Winner: Framer

. Framer, with a score of 7.6, blends AI-driven design with an intuitive user interface, catering to both novices and experienced designers. It offers a drag-and-drop interface, extensive customization through a comprehensive component library, and AI tools for content generation and localization. Framer’s editor is designed for high-fidelity prototyping and complex animations, making it a versatile choice for teams aiming to create polished, user-centric websites. However, beginners might find it somewhat challenging to navigate without prior experience.

Shift4shop’s editor, scoring 7.2, focuses on e-commerce, enabling the creation of various types of websites with an array of templates and customization options including a drag-and-drop editor. It integrates advanced features for product management, payment processing, and SEO optimization. While it provides significant resources for store management and marketing, some users experience a learning curve and report challenges with customer support and usability aspects.

Mobile editor/app

4.5

0

🏆

Winner: Framer

. Both Framer and Shift4shop do not offer dedicated mobile editor apps, which can be a significant drawback for users who need to make on-the-go adjustments to their websites. However, Framer does allow for some level of website modification through a mobile browser, although this comes with certain restrictions and is notably inconvenient.

Shift4shop, on the other hand, does not provide any mobile editing capabilities, which can be a major limitation for users who require flexibility and the ability to manage their site from mobile devices.

In summary, while neither platform excels in mobile editing, Framer offers a slight advantage with its limited mobile browser-based editing capabilities, making it the better option in this category.

6.2

5.0

Overall Result

:

Framer leads

. Framer scores 6.2, offering a free version that allows testing some premium features and a money-back guarantee in certain regions. Shift4shop scores 5.0, providing a free plan with essential features for US customers but lacking a money-back guarantee.

Free Plan	Yes	Yes, only for US customers
Trial Duration	No	No
Testing Premium Features	Possible with free version	All features within its free plan
Money-back Guarantee	Only in some regions	No

7.7

6.7

Framer offers a range of plans with significant discounts for annual billing, while Shift4shop provides a free plan with essential features and a paid plan for more flexibility.

	Offerings	Offerings
Free	Free (Free/month): Allows 3 websites built on a framer.website subdomain with Framer branding in the footer. Limited to 1,000 traffic visitors and 1,000 CMS items.	Free Plan ($0/month): Requires minimum $500/month processed payments with their Shift4shop payment with 2.90% + 30 Cents transaction fees. Unlimited Products, SEO & Marketing Tools, Unlimited Staff Users, Integrated Blog, Unlimited Bandwidth, 24/7 Customer Support, No Revenue Caps, API Access, Secure Online Payments. This plan allows to manage only 1 website and there is no limitation of number of pages offered.
$0-$10	Mini ($10/month): Removes Framer branding, allows using a custom domain, includes collaboration with an additional cost for extra editors, custom code embedding, e-commerce support, and limited CMS items. Offers a monthly visitor limit of 2,000 and 1GB bandwidth. Value for Price: 6.5	No offering at this amount
$10-$20	Basic ($20/month): Offers all Mini features plus increased limits for CMS items (1,000) and traffic (10,000 visitors per month), along with 10GB bandwidth. Value for Price: 7.5	No offering at this amount
$20+	Pro ($30/month): Enhances Basic plan features with a significant increase in CMS items (10,000), traffic (100,000 visitors per month), and bandwidth (100GB), among other advanced features. Value for Price: 8.5	Paid Plan ($29/month): All features of the free plan with support for other payment processors such as PayPal. This plan allows to manage only 1 website and there is no limitation of number of pages offered. Value for Price: 8.5

7.1

7.8

🏆

Winner: Shift4shop

Shift4shop offers managed cloud hosting with unlimited bandwidth and storage, daily backups, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee, making it a robust choice for eCommerce. Framer, while providing cloud hosting with a 99.9% uptime and a higher guarantee for enterprise plans, has more limited storage and version history. Shift4shop’s comprehensive hosting features and reliability give it an edge.

Do they offer hosting?	Yes, included in all their plans, with 100MB to 100GB SSD storage depending on the plan, and from 3 to 90 day version history.	Yes, with unlimited bandwidth and storage, daily backups.
Data Centers:	4 data centers globally: 2 in US, 1 in Ireland, 1 in Singapore	Shift4shop does not disclose the locations of its data centers
Type of hosting:	Cloud Hosting	Managed Cloud Hosting
Uptime:	99.9%	99.9%
Uptime Guarantee:	Only for enterprise plan, 99.99%	99.9%

7.4

6.3

🏆 Winner: Framer

Both Framer and Shift4shop have implemented various strategies to optimize website speed, but Framer has a slight edge due to its comprehensive approach and emphasis on Core Web Vitals improvements.

Focus	Code Minification, Pre-Rendering, Caching, Image optimization	CDN, Code Minification, Image optimization, Caching
Performance Tools	Google Lighthouse, PageSpeed Insights	Google PageSpeed Insights Integration
Key Strategies	Code Minification, Pre-Rendering, Caching, Image optimization	CDN, Code Minification, Image optimization, Caching
Load Times	Varies depending on optimization and website complexity	Varies depending on optimization
Page Speed Scores Range	Varies depending on optimization and website complexity	Varies depending on optimization
Core Web Vitals Improvement	Emphasis on LCP, FID, CLS improvements	No information provided

Framer employs a comprehensive approach to website speed optimization, focusing on code minification, pre-rendering, caching, and image optimization. These strategies help ensure that websites built with Framer load quickly and efficiently. Framer also places a strong emphasis on improving Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS), which are critical metrics for user experience and SEO. Although specific load times and PageSpeed scores can vary depending on the complexity and optimization of the website, Framer’s robust optimization strategies generally result in better performance.

Shift4shop also implements several strategies for speed optimization, including the use of a CDN, code minification, image optimization, and caching. However, the platform does not provide specific information on Core Web Vitals improvements, which are essential for modern web performance standards. While Shift4shop’s load times and PageSpeed scores can vary based on optimization efforts, the lack of detailed focus on Core Web Vitals places it slightly behind Framer in terms of overall speed optimization effectiveness.

In conclusion, while both platforms offer solid speed optimization features, Framer’s comprehensive approach and emphasis on Core Web Vitals give it an edge over Shift4shop.

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7.6

7.3

🏆 Winner: Framer.

Framer scores 7.6, offering a diverse range of plugins that cater to various needs such as forms, video & animation, social media integration, and more. These plugins are designed to enhance the functionality of websites created with Framer, making it a versatile choice for designers looking to add dynamic features.

Shift4shop, with a score of 7.3, also provides a robust selection of plugins and extensions aimed at enhancing ecommerce functionalities. While it offers significant benefits, including advanced analytics and specialized marketing capabilities, Framer’s broader range of integrations and ease of use give it a slight edge in this comparison.

Shift4shop Applications

7.2

8.0

🏆

Overall Winner: Shift4shop

. Shift4shop excels with its comprehensive marketing tools, including built-in ads and promotions, making it a robust choice for ecommerce businesses. Framer, while strong in design and customization, lacks some native marketing features.

SEO Tools	✓	✓
Email Marketing	Yes, through integration of third-party services such as Mailchimp	✓
Blogging	✓	✓
Social Media Integration	Yes	✓
Analytics and Reporting	Yes, only on higher plans	✓
Ads and Promotions	No	✓

5.6

7.9

🏆 Winner: Shift4shop

. In the comparison of Framer vs Shift4shop, Shift4shop takes the lead with its robust 24/7/365 customer support. Shift4shop offers multiple support channels, including US chat support, US phone support, and European support, ensuring users can get help whenever they need it. The dedicated eCommerce support team is available around the clock, providing immediate assistance for any issues that arise.

Framer, on the other hand, primarily relies on self-help options such as a community forum and a knowledge base. While users can email Framer’s customer support for help, the lack of detailed information about their support hours and availability can be a drawback. Framer does offer dedicated support for enterprise customers, but specifics are not provided, making it less comprehensive compared to Shift4shop’s offerings.

8.2

8.9

🏆

Winner: Shift4shop

. Shift4shop excels in security with a higher score of 8.9, emphasizing PCI compliance, daily backups, and advanced fraud protection. Its use of Cloudflare for DDoS protection and support for ADA compliance further enhance its security profile, making it a robust choice for eCommerce businesses.

Framer, with a security score of 8.2, also offers strong security measures, including hosting on AWS, encryption at rest, and a bug bounty program. While it provides comprehensive data protection and secure development practices, it falls slightly short compared to Shift4shop’s extensive eCommerce-focused security features.

7.6

0

AI Builder	Framer’s AI builder simplifies web content creation	Shift4shop does not have an AI builder
AI Ecommerce Features		Shift4shop does not have AI ecommerce features
AI Content Generation	AI Translation, Text Rewrite, Headline Generator	Shift4shop does not have AI content generation features
Additional AI Features	AI Style, AI Photo Generating and Editing	Shift4shop does not have any AI features

🏆 Winner: Framer

. Framer stands out with its comprehensive AI capabilities, including an AI builder, content generation tools, and additional features like AI Style and AI Photo Generating and Editing. These tools make Framer a powerful choice for users looking to leverage AI in their website creation and management processes.

Shift4shop, with a score of 0, does not offer any AI capabilities. This makes it less suitable for users who are looking for AI-driven features to enhance their website building and management experience.

7.4

7.9

🏆 Winner: Shift4shop

. Both Framer and Shift4shop offer robust user management features, but Shift4shop edges out with its more comprehensive role customization and scalability.

• Framer supports team collaboration with different plans allowing a varying number of editors; the Team Basic plan allows up to 5 editors, while the Team Pro plan supports up to 10 editors. These plans come with additional features like live collaboration, comments, file storage, and extended version history.
• Shift4shop allows for multiple users to manage and edit a website, with the number of staff user slots varying by plan. Additional users can be added as needed through the purchase of extra Staff User seats at $10 per user per month. This system is designed to accommodate business growth by enabling the distribution of website management tasks among staff members with customizable roles and permissions.

Framer User Roles and Access Levels:

Shift4shop User Roles and Access Levels:

Additional Features

SSL Certificate	✓	✓
Custom Domain	✓	✓
Free Custom Domain Included	✓	X
International Domains	✓	✓
Mobile Responsive	✓	✓
Page Speed	✓	✓
Website Builder Mobile App	X	X
Convert a Website To An App	X	X
Website Analytics	✓	✓
Multilingual Sites	✓	✓
Multiple Users	✓	✓

User Feedback

Framer

86 reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars

Shift4shop

34 reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars

Framer receives high marks for its user-friendly, no-code approach to web and prototype design, offering extensive tutorials, templates, and drag-and-drop functionalities that expedite the design process. Users appreciate its integration with tools like Figma, AI-generated responsive designs, and real-time collaboration features. Critiques focus on a steep learning curve for newcomers and limitations in customer support and features without premium access. Despite these drawbacks, Framer is lauded as a powerful design tool that enhances creativity and efficiency in web development.

Shift4Shop reviews present a mixed but generally positive perspective from users. They appreciate the platform’s feature-rich storefront capabilities, ease of use, and versatility in integrating various services, which facilitates online sales and efficient eCommerce management. However, critiques focus on the less intuitive user experience, occasional technical issues such as slow site loading, and the perceived degradation of customer service quality since the Shift4Shop takeover. Additionally, some users find the setup process and system architecture to be overly complex and dated. Despite these criticisms, Shift4Shop is recognized for its cost-effectiveness, support for different customer types, and the ability to solve a variety of eCommerce-related problems, benefiting users by enhancing their online sales capabilities and operational efficiency.

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