Greg ORourke
- Aug 19, 2021
- 5 min read

The Secret behind Shift4Shops Free eCommerce Websites-A Shopify Killer?

Updated: Jan 12, 2023

Let me start off by saying, this is NOT an affiliate article trying to get you to click a link, you go there, the affiliate gets paid and they never help you in any way. My name is Greg O'Rourke, I have been helping merchants grow their businesses for over 20 years. We have offered many solutions, including merchant processing, allowing merchants to accept credit cards in their store and online for the past 17 years. We work closely with each new or existing business to learn your business and create solutions that would benefit your business. I tell you this because there are so many junk reviews and articles all over the internet. Most of those articles really just lead you into a clickbait sale and most could care less about you or your business.

So, what''s this have to do with Shift4Shop and the secrets to the free eCommerce website? We will get to that! First off, who is Shift4Shop? How can they offer a fully integrated eCommerce website with all the bells and whistles for Free? What's the catch? How do the differ from Shopify? Is it really free? What Comes with the site? Is this a trial offer?

Who Is Shift4Shop?

Shift4 Payments is the parent company of Shift4Shop. Shift4 Payments (NTSE: FOUR) is one of the top leading providers of payment processing and technology solutions. They have over 350 major technology integrations. Shift4 Payments handles over 3.5 Billion transactions a year. Over 25+ Years in business. 200K+ merchants. Clients they serve: Denny's, Choice Hotels, Fat Burger, Cold Stone, Arby's, Cesars Entertainment, Baja Fresh..and the list goes on.

Shift4 Payments Acquired 3dcart and named it Shift4Shop. 3dcart is a well respected player in the eCommerce world. 3dcart was created in 1997 and focused on building eCommerce comprehensive websites.

What's the Catch? Is It Really Free?

Yes! As long as you use Shift4 Payments the rate 2.9% + .30 cents is the same competitive rate as Square, Stripe, PayPal, BUT the merchant does not pay any monthly or annual hosting, website software fees or any hidden fees. All payments are integrated into your site by a click of a button on set up. The use of the enterprise website software is free to use for USA based merchants for life, as long as you use Shift4 Payments integrated payment processing inside the site.

Good news for those who have a website on another platform. Shift4Shop will migrate your site over to theirs for free. Now, typically that would cost a fortune to migrate but Shift4Shop will do it for free. Why? simple, they want your long term business. The one caveat is that your store must process more than 5K in monthly sales for them to migrate-transfer your store. If you do less than 5 thousand a month they recommend just using their free template builder for a brand new site. Remember, any monthly sales volume whether your just starting out or a multi-million dollar corporation has no cost to use the software platform if you use their payment processing.

So, think of it this way, a cell phone company gives you a free phone only if you use their cell service. The phone would cost you nothing. In this case Shift4Shop gives you free enterprise website software with free hosting, only if you use Shift4 payments integrated payment processing. Also, in this case they own the website software platform and the processing company. The good news is that all your services are under one roof. This is how they can give away an end-to-end complete eCommerce plan at no cost if you use Shift4 payment processing.

Remember, there is no way around not paying for credit card processing. Any place you accept credit cards in any business anywhere, you have to pay processing fees. Those are never free because the credit card companies like Visa, MasterCard, American Express charge for the use of accepting credit cards.

Is This A Trail Membership?

No, this is not a trail membership. We don't need or ask for your credit card to sign up. This is a FREE all-in-one e-Commerce solution so you can build and grow your online store while eliminating all your platform, hosting, and premium fees. Use the payment processing that comes with the free Ecommerce website and you pay nothing for the website software platform for life.

Is This A Basic Website?

No, this is an enterprise level top tier website. The enterprise level websites are a different from other websites in terms of user experience and functionality. These websites are mostly built for the large enterprises, corporations, groups and hospitals.

The technology used in developing the enterprise level website will combine software integrations to run a business. Normally, it will have higher data storage, faster hosting, and the ability to handle thousands of customers. The enterprise level websites have different functionality than the other websites. An Enterprise website combines software to help with day-to-day activities of an enterprise such as managing records, accounting, automation, project management, SEO, gift certificates, discount & affiliate commission systems, marketing tools, order & shipping management, email marketing, and more..This enterprise level site also comes with unlimited bandwidth, unlimited categories, unlimited products, and no revenue caps! It's like driving a Rolls Royce out of the gate vs an economy car.

What’s do the other guys (Competitors) charge for these type of site?

Big Commerce- sites says, that their Enterprise site must have over 400K in revenue and they don't list the price. They will let you know. They have a lesser site that charges $299.95 a month

Wix- site says, Enterprise sites must make over 500+ in monthly revenue before you can even get one. Wix may charge 500+ each month for enterprise website. They request you call for pricing.

Volusion- Site says, $299 month only up to 500K. Anything over that you have to pay more and move up to a more expensive monthly plan

Shopify- $299 a month charges shopping cart fees. Basic features, limited control, shared checkout.

Shift4Shop All-in-One Enterprise plan $0 with all the bells and whistles. Unlimited bandwidth, data, categories, no revenue caps, no cart fees. Website management and marketing tools included. All free and ZERO cost using Shift4 Payments.