Shogun Reviews: Features, Pricing and Recommendations

 

Shogun is a well-known page builder with a drag-and-drop editor that makes designing pages on Shopify simple. This all-in-one app is great for launching an online store, even if you don't have any coding or design skills.

For online sellers, Shogun offers a way to create a shoppable webpage that works well, loads quickly, is easy to manage, and can grow with your business. But is it the best choice for your business?

To decide, you'll need to take a closer look at Shogun reviews, considering both its pros and cons. Then, compare those points with your business's specific needs to see if Shogun is the right fit.

Shogun Overview

Shogun is a widely used page builder app made especially for Shopify. Since its launch in 2015, it has become a go-to choice for online retailers due to its vast array of advanced and powerful tools. Shogun enables users to create and customize web pages for their Shopify store without needing extensive coding knowledge.

• Features: Ideal for businesses that need strong features, especially those working with developers or larger teams.
• Pricing: No free plan is available, and the pricing is on the higher side, following a tiered model. The paid plans come with conversion tools and features that might be more suitable for stores with bigger budgets.

Take a quick look at the table of Shogun key features and Pricing Plan:

Categories	Shogun
Pricing Plan Overview
No Free plan No Blog Package	Paid plan 1	Paid plan 2	Paid plan 3
	$39/mo  25 Published Pages with tools & elements	$249/mo  Unlimited published pages and features for optimizing conversion	$499/mo Unlimited pages and advanced functionality
Main Features
Page types supported	Homepages Landing pages Product pages Starter layouts Sales and promos About and info pages
A/B Testing	✅
Personalization	✅
Section Builder	✅
Multi-store Management	✅
Product Quick View	❌
Global blocks	✅
Built-in extensions	Color Swatches
3rd-party integrations	13+
Page templates	70+
Section templates	50+
Elements	35+
Others
Analytics	✅
Support	Live chat only available from paid plan $149
Reviews/ Ratings	4.7/5 ⭐ 3,288

The table of critical features should be considered before choosing a page builder app. Now, let's delve into the key features, advantages and disadvantages Shogun brings to online store owners.

Shogun’s Outstanding Features

1. Easy-of-use editor

A user-friendly editor makes it simple to create your website, no matter your design experience. Shogun lets you easily add, rearrange, and edit elements on your page. You can also change your website's design and layout without needing any coding or technical skills.

Shogun focuses on easy workflows with a clean, user-friendly interface. Pre-designed templates help you get started quickly, and the customization tools are simple to use. Compared to standard Shopify themes, Shogun's variety of page elements offers more creative freedom for designing your online store.

The editor also includes a real-time preview feature, so you can see your changes instantly and adjust them as needed, saving time by reducing the need to constantly switch between editing and previewing.

2. Mobile responsiveness

Optimizing responsive design and user experience for mobile devices is essential for e-commerce websites today. With more people using smartphones and tablets, a large amount of e-commerce traffic now comes from mobile devices. Shogun recognizes this need and focuses on making sure every web page created is mobile-friendly, displaying correctly on different devices and screen sizes.

The app uses responsive design principles, so web pages automatically adjust to fit various screen sizes. This will make sure that visitors can simply navigate and engage with your page, no matter what device they're using.

Shogun also allows you to make specific edits for mobile devices. You can preview and tweak how your page looks on mobile screens, helping businesses meet the demands of the increasing amount of mobile users.

3. Pre-made page templates

Shogun offers a set of visually appealing and well-organized pre-made templates that let you quickly create unlimited pages. These templates are designed with a modern and stylish look, allowing you to easily build your desired website. You can customize various aspects of the templates, such as colors, fonts, images, and layout structures.

However, compared to other top competitors, Shogun provides fewer pre-made templates. With only 70 templates available, mainly focused on some conversion-driven sectors like fashion, electronics, health, and beauty, this might limit your options if you're working in other industries.

Moreover, Shogun only unlocks advanced drag-and-drop features and custom builder elements with their more expensive plans. There are no pre-made templates for pages like Search, Cart, or Blog, making it challenging to design these pages from scratch.

4. Various Tools for Improving Conversions

Shogun Page Builder provides several tools for boosting conversions:

• Optimize ROI with A/B testing: create, measure and manage multivariate A/B tests, easy to set up GA4 integration
• AI-powered content creation: prompt styles content blocks, auto generated SEO meta titles and descriptions.
• Shogun Insights: real-time page recommendations, scan and optimize speed, SEO and accessibility.

These tools can improve user experience, increase conversions, and provide valuable insights into your webpage’s performance, leading to more successful online businesses. However, these features do come with a cost.

5. Personalization your Page Design

Shogun allows you to create personalized experiences for your customers by tailoring content based on factors like their location and referral source. This personalization can increase user engagement and improve conversion rates.

You can segment your audience to provide more relevant content based on various criteria such as:

• Location
• Referrer
• URL
• Returning Customer Status
• Specific Date
• Time of Day
• Day of Week
• Klaviyo Data

This precise targeting helps in delivering more relevant and impactful experiences to different customer segments.

6. Multi-store Management

As your business grows, Shogun offers tools for managing and expanding your brand's presence across multiple websites and regions. And of course, you have to pay a fee, too.

You can use its content management tools and the Brand Styles feature to keep a uniform look. Plus, you can easily manage and scale your product catalog because the app has standard layouts and designs to your product pages.

Shogun also makes teamwork across regions easier due to their allowing of clone site content and custom elements across different stores.

Shogun makes it easy to manage multiple stores and collaborate across regions by allowing you to set up specific roles and permissions for different sites, ensuring secure access to digital assets. You can also efficiently adapt your brand content for new markets with its support of reliable translations with tools like Weglot.

7.  Dev-friendly Control

Shogun is designed to be useful for both technical and non-technical users. Developers can create reusable custom elements using familiar languages like HTML/Liquid, CSS, and JavaScript, giving them detailed control over your store's design.

Additionally, you can seamlessly reference of product or brand information with Shogun's CMS collections that can be integrated into custom elements. You will be ensured with a better user experience and lets non-technical team members easily manage content because of this outstanding feature.

While Shogun has many benefits, it's important to consider any potential drawbacks to see if they fit your specific needs.

Shogun Pricing Plans

Before looking at the drawbacks, let's review Shogun's pricing options to find the one that fits your needs best.

Build Plan - $39 a month:

The Build Plan is Shogun's entry-level option, offering 25 published pages. It's a good choice for stores with a moderate number of pages and is a more budget-friendly way to start with Shogun. However, it may be more expensive compared to some other page builders and doesn’t include features like syncing landing pages across stores or live chat support.

This plan is a good choice if your store has a moderate number of pages, doesn’t need advanced features, and you’re okay with email support. If you need features like page syncing or live chat, you might want to look at higher-tier plans or other page builders.

Grow plan - $249 a month:

Shogun's Grow Plan is designed for businesses with more extensive needs. It provides unlimited pages, making it perfect for large stores. The plan also includes A/B testing features, which help improve conversion rates and are especially useful for teams working together on creative projects.

This plan also allows you to sync landing pages across multiple stores and includes helpful live chat support. Its built-in analytics are strong but might not be as detailed as Google Analytics. It’s a good choice for large businesses or those managing several stores.

Advanced plan - $499 a month:

Shogun's Pro Plan is aimed at large stores with their own development teams. Like the Grow Plan, it offers unlimited published pages, but it stands out with its advanced features. Developers can use custom elements to create more interactive sections with code.

Additionally, the Data Collections feature works like a CMS, allowing you to store and reuse content across different templates. However, this advanced feature can be more expensive compared to other apps that offer similar capabilities with reusable blocks at a lower price.

Factors to Consider before Choosing Shogun

1. No Free Version

Unlike some other page builders, Shogun doesn’t have a free plan, which might be a hurdle for smaller stores or newcomers to Shopify. There is a 10-day free trial, but after that, you'll need to choose a paid plan to keep using Shogun's features.

2. More Expensive Than Other Apps

Shogun has strong features, but its pricing can be much higher than other page builder apps. It’s aimed at large businesses, offering advanced tools and team features that can justify the higher cost for those businesses.

This can be a problem for stores with tight budgets, especially because the cheaper Shogun plans have limitations. If cost is a big issue, it’s a good idea to look at other options before deciding on Shogun.

Here is a comparison table of pricing plans from the top Shopify Page Builders, you can take a quick look to see the differences:

Categories	Shogun	EComposer	Pagefly	GemPages
Pricing Plan Overview
Free plan	No free plan	1 published page	1 published page	1 published page
Paid plan 1	$39/mo  25 Published Pages	$19/mo 15 published templates	From $24/mo  Pay as you go	$29/mo  Unlimited published pages with 300 built-in sections
Paid plan 2	$249/mo  Unlimited published pages and optimizing features	$39/mo 50 published templates	$99/mo Unlimited pages	$59/mo  Unlimited published pages and built-in sections
Paid plan 3	$499/mo Unlimited pages and advanced functionality	$99/mo  Unlimited pages	-	$199/mo Unlimited pages and features
Unlimited Blog Package	Not offer	$39/mo for unlimited blog posts	$49/mo	$49/mo

3. Few of Elements

Using these effective components on your webpage can improve the customer experience, capturing their attention and encouraging them to take action. Shogun provides elements like Sliders, Videos, Images, Icons, Tabs, Countdowns, Accordions, and Product Reviews.

You can seamlessly drag and drop these elements into place and adjust features like colors, fonts, sizes, and spacing to fit your branding and design.

However, Shogun offers only 40 elements, fewer than some competitors. This limited selection might restrict your ability to customize a personalized page fully without needing additional coding.

4. Third-party Integrations

To enhance your online store's functionality and performance, it's essential to integrate the Shogun page builder with third-party tools. Shogun provides a few options of around 13 different apps, focusing on popular marketing platforms like email marketing services and CRMs. 

Shogun can meet these needs by offering integrations with apps like Google Analytics, Google reCAPTCHA, Klaviyo, Olark, and more. This helps streamline your workflow and improve data tracking for better conversion optimization. However, the range of integrations may not be as extensive as what PageFly offers.

It's easy to see why this is the case, as the app has already provided powerful tools that help merchants scale up their Shopify store pages. However, Shogun might not fully meet those needs when it comes to building a visually stunning and highly effective store page using the existing features and integrations.

5. Limited Customer Support

Access to 24/7 live chat support, which is helpful for quick troubleshooting, is only included in the higher-tier plans starting at $249/month.

This can be a significant disadvantage for merchants on lower-cost plans, especially beginners who might struggle with Shogun's advanced features. Without instant support, the page-building process could be slower and more frustrating.

6. Difficult to Learn

Given its wide range of powerful tools, Shogun is not surprisingly more complex than straightforward page builders. Learning to use these advanced tools effectively will take more time and effort, which can be challenging for users new to Shopify or page builders in general.

Is Shogun the Right Page Builder for You?

1. Who is Shogun for?

Shogun is an excellent choice for established businesses or large online stores that need advanced tools and features to manage multiple Shopify stores.

If you're a store owner who wants to improve user experience and boost conversions without needing to code or hire a developer, Shogun could be a valuable tool. It offers features like A/B testing, conversion optimization tools, and multi-store content management.

Shogun's advantages go beyond store owners. Its features benefit e-commerce managers, marketers, SEO experts, and even web designers or developers working with a Shopify business. Its team collaboration tools enable everyone to contribute to the online store's success.

2. Who is Shogun NOT for?

Beginners and small business owners

Shogun might not be the best option for brand-new or small businesses. It isn't very budget-friendly, with their most comprehensive plan costing $399 per month with an annual subscription. This price can be hard to justify for a business owner who isn't making at least five figures in monthly sales on Shopify.

For businesses in this position, Shogun may not provide enough return on investment just yet. It might be better to look into other page builders that offer a more affordable option with the right features for smaller stores.

Merchants don’t need complex tools

If your store is straightforward and doesn’t need complex features, Shogun’s advanced tools might be more than you need. It’s better to choose a more straightforward page builder that’s easy to use.

If your business already has a skilled team of developers, they might be able to create similar custom designs using Shopify's built-in page builder at a lower cost. In that case, Shogun’s expense might not be worth it.

Store owners looking for stylish templates and high customizability

While Shogun offers customization, its template library might lean towards a more classic style. If you have a strong vision for a stunning, trendy, or highly unique design, other builders might offer a broader range of trendy design elements.

If Shogun doesn’t meet your needs, the options below might better fit your store.

Shogun Alternatives

1. EComposer Landing Page Builder 

When searching for “Page Builder” on the Shopify App Store, we found the EComposer app, which has a top rating of 5.0/5 stars and over 4,000 reviews from merchants. Its excellent rating and “Built for Shopify” badge interested us, so we decided to try it.

We were impressed. EComposer is a new app that helps you create attractive and professional pages without needing any coding skills. It includes many advanced features, such as pre-designed templates and elements for various page types. You can also build custom pages that are not available in Shopify by default.

If you need unique designs for a specific niche or seasonal promotions, EComposer offers plenty of options. The designs keep up with current trends to help increase conversions. You can also customize by combining templates or sections through a simple copy-and-paste process.

EComposer has several key features:

• Easy Drag-and-Drop Editor: With a simple editor, you can easily customize pages, preview them on different devices, and make adjustments as needed.
• Exclusive Features: Design custom views, search, and cart pages, and use global blocks to maintain a consistent look throughout your store.
• Pre-Made Templates: Choose from up to 300 templates and over 1000 sections to quickly build and edit pages.
• Built-in Extensions: Enhance the shopping experience with tools like Ajax Cart and Color Swatches without needing extra apps.
• Third-Party Integrations: Integrate with over 50 essential tools for online stores, covering your main needs without overwhelming you with options.

EComposer allows you to add custom code, such as JavaScript and CSS, for unique design options. Its Section Builder and Global Blocks help maintain a consistent brand look. You can also use AI tools like ChatGPT to help write product descriptions and website content.

EComposer Pricing Plans:

• Free Plan
• Basic Plan – $19/month
• Pro Plan – $39/month
• Premium Plan – $99/month

Rating & Review: 5.0/5 (4,158 reviews)

So What Makes EComposer Better Than Shogun?

• Many Built-in Extensions: It has over 25 built in add-ons, so you don’t need extra apps.
• Full Design Control: Use its AI content generator and custom code options for more design flexibility.
• Affordable Pricing: EComposer offers budget-friendly plans and a free option, and live chat support is available on all plans.
• Wide Range of Templates: Choose from 200 templates and over 1000 section layouts for various page types.
• 24/7 Live Chat Support: Get help anytime with around-the-clock live chat support included in all plans.

2. LayoutHub Page Builder

LayoutHub is another option if you're looking at competitors to Shogun. It lets Shopify users create stylish websites with little to no coding. The user-friendly platform features a drag-and-drop interface and pre-designed templates to help you build professional pages easily.

While LayoutHub might have fewer customization options than builders like Shogun or EComposer, it still offers a good range of templates and designs created by e-commerce experts to help improve your conversion rates without costing too much. Their support team is also known for being helpful and responsive.

Here are the key features of LayoutHub:

• User-Friendly Editor: Easily build professional pages with a simple editor.
• 24/7 Support: Get help from their expert support team at any time.
• Easy Integrations: Connect effortlessly with apps like Ryviu, Stamped.io, Loox, Growave, and Yotpo.
• Great Performance: Designed to work well on any device and meet user needs.
• Fast and SEO-Friendly: Optimized for fast loading and better search engine rankings.

LayoutHub pricing plan:

The features provided are enough to create a Shopify page, making it a budget-friendly option for those who need basic functionality.

• Free Plan
• Basic Plan – $14.99/month
• Pro Plan – $29.99/month
• Premium Plan – $59.99/month

Rating & Review: 4.9/5 (2,923 reviews)

3. Instant Section & Page Builder

Instant is a new Shopify app that lets you create pages without coding. It’s designed to be simple, making building pages that look good on all devices easy. You can also collaborate with your team in real time and make edits directly within Shopify.

You can email support or ask questions in the “ask questions” channel on Instant’s Slack Community if you need assistance. They typically respond within 24 hours, and users on higher-tier plans receive faster support.

Instant is worth trying because it offers great options for customizing your pages over Shogun.

Key features of Instant include:

• Pre-made Templates: Ready-to-use full-page and section templates to get you started quickly.
• Figma Integration: A plugin to move designs from Figma to Shopify easily.
• Customizable Pages: Adjust pages and sections with native Liquid code.
• Shopify Features Support: Compatibility with Shopify market features, meta fields, and app blocks.
• Direct Editing: Edit sections directly within the Shopify theme editor.

Instant pricing plan:

Instant offers a free plan that allows you to publish 1 page, 1 section, and 1 blog post. For more features and unlimited pages, you'll need to upgrade to a paid plan. However, these plans are quite expensive, similar to Shogun's, and still have limitations on theme sections and product templates.

• Starter Plan – $39/month
• Pro Plan – $99/month
• Business Plan – $249/month

Rating & Review: 4.9/5 (74 reviews)

Others also read

Shogun Alternatives & Competitors: Comparison and Recommendations

30+ Must-Have Shopify Apps for Every eCommerce Store

How To Create A Unique Landing Page in Shopify (+Templates)

Final Thought

That concludes our review of Shogun. It’s a strong choice for creating Shopify pages and has a solid reputation. By examining its features, pricing, and pros and cons, you should have a clearer idea of what it offers.

We hope this review helps you decide whether GemPages is a good fit for your business. Choosing the right page builder is crucial for your online store's success, so choose the one that best suits your needs.

If you don’t have a Shopify account yet, now is a great time to start. You can get your first month for just $1 on any plan and explore everything Shopify has to offer.