Why an Ecommerce Visual Editor Is the Key to Better Storefront Design

Building and maintaining an ecommerce storefront often feels like juggling creativity with technical limitations. Traditional website builders offered a lifeline to non-technical users, but they often came with trade-offs in flexibility and scalability. 

Enter visual editors — a powerful evolution designed to bridge the gap between developers and marketers, enabling agile design workflows without compromising performance.

In this blog, we’ll explore what visual editors are, how they differ from website builders, the key benefits they offer, why Makeswift, powered by React, is the best ecommerce visual editor, and the emerging trends shaping the future of this technology.

What is an ecommerce visual editor?

A visual editor is a no-code tool that allows users to create and modify website layouts directly within a live-preview interface. Unlike traditional CMSs, which rely on back-end forms to manage content, visual editors provide a “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) experience. This means marketers and designers can visually manage elements like text, images, and layouts in real-time, removing the guesswork of translating back-end changes to front-end results.

According to Lindsay Trinkle, Co-founder of Makeswift, “A visual editor is really just more sophisticated than your standard no-code ecommerce website builder. It provides all the benefits of a WYSIWYG tool but with the flexibility to handle complex design and functionality that marketers need today.”

What are components?

At the heart of modern visual editors are components, reusable building blocks for web design. Components can include text boxes, buttons, carousels, or entire page sections, and they are designed to be modular and customizable. Components enable marketers to quickly update a page’s layout without impacting the overall site structure.

Jeremy Adam, Director of Website Strategy at BigCommerce, explains: “Components are the building blocks of the frontend. For example, a text component lets you define styles — like whether it’s a headline or body text — and reuse it across pages. This reusability ensures consistency while saving time.”

By leveraging a component-based approach, visual editors empower marketers to work independently while ensuring their designs are consistent and scalable. Lindsay adds, “What’s beautiful about components is that they isolate functionality, so marketers don’t have to worry about breaking the entire site when making updates.”

Visual editor vs. website builder: What’s the difference?

A visual editor is a WYSIWYG interface that allows teams to design and customize web pages within their existing website environment, offering flexibility and developer control. In contrast, a website builder is an all-in-one platform with templates, hosting, and domain management, designed for simplicity and ease of use. However, website builders lack options for self-hosting or enterprise-level extensibility, making visual editors the better choice for businesses that need advanced customization and scalability.

Jeremy highlights this distinction: “The main difference is control. Website builders like Wix and Squarespace are opinionated — they decide how you manage hosting, layouts, and functionality. Visual editors like Makeswift let you design with freedom and efficiency while still letting you choose which best-in-class web technologies work for your needs.”

Design freedom and customization.

Ecommerce website builders often come with pre-designed templates that are easy to use but limited in flexibility. Customizing beyond the provided templates usually requires developer support or workarounds.

Visual editors, however, prioritize design flexibility. Marketers can create unique layouts or modify components without being constrained by predefined templates. 

Lindsay notes, “With Makeswift, designs can go directly to marketers, giving them control to build out custom pages without needing a developer first, and only bringing them in when there are more complex design needs. This streamlined workflow flips the traditional process, reducing developers' involvement in basic layout tasks and boosting efficiency for all teams involved.”

Performance and scalability.

One of the biggest drawbacks of traditional website builders is their tendency to generate bloated code, which can slow down site performance. This is especially problematic for ecommerce brands that rely on fast-loading pages to convert customers.

Visual editors address this issue by adhering to modern coding best practices. Makeswift, for example, is built on React, a highly efficient JavaScript framework. “React enables us to create fast, scalable websites without the overhead of traditional visual tools,” explains Jeremy. “It’s like having the best of both worlds — developer-grade performance and marketer-friendly design.”

Integration with enterprise systems.

Website builders are often standalone solutions, which makes it difficult to integrate them with advanced systems like CRMs, ERPs, or headless ecommerce platforms. Visual editors, on the other hand, are designed to fit seamlessly into complex tech stacks, supporting integrations that enterprise brands require.

Lindsay elaborates, “With Makeswift, we’re giving marketers a tool that doesn’t lock them into one ecosystem. They can use Makeswift on top of whatever back-end system they prefer, ensuring full compatibility and scalability.”

Key advantages of using a visual editor

Empowering marketers with no-code tools.

Visual editors like Makeswift enable marketing teams to design and update storefronts without needing developer support. As Lindsay highlights, “Marketers can use Makeswift’s pre-built components to create pages, freeing up developers to focus on customizations rather than repetitive tasks.”

Speeding up go-to-market timelines.

With pre-built components and intuitive drag-and-drop functionality, visual editors dramatically reduce the time it takes to launch new campaigns or product pages. Jeremy notes, “Our design and development workflow became significantly faster after adopting Makeswift.”

Enhancing user experience and personalization.

Ecommerce brands can easily experiment with page layouts, run A/B tests, and create personalized customer experiences. Jeremy emphasizes, “The flexibility of Makeswift allows us to test new ideas without impacting the rest of the site.”

Future-proofing with React.

Makeswift is built on React, a leading JavaScript framework. This ensures compatibility with modern web standards and a vast developer ecosystem. “React’s component-based architecture makes it easier to reuse and maintain code,” says Lindsay.

Why Makeswift is the best ecommerce visual editor

Makeswift is a standout in the growing landscape of visual editors, offering a marketer-friendly platform without compromising the flexibility developers need. Here’s why it’s the best choice for ecommerce brands.

Built for enterprise scalability.

Unlike traditional visual editors that require you to host your site within their ecosystem, Makeswift integrates seamlessly with your existing tech stack. Jeremy Adam explains, “Makeswift doesn’t host your website — it gives you the tools to build and optimize a fast, scalable application while letting you host it on your choice of hosting providers. That level of control is essential for enterprise brands.”

Component-based design for flexibility.

Makeswift’s use of React components empowers marketers to build and manage pages efficiently while maintaining design consistency. Lindsay Trinkle highlights this strength: “The ability to isolate and reuse components is what makes Makeswift so powerful. It gives marketers freedom while ensuring the technical integrity of the site.”

By enabling marketers to create and launch pages independently, Makeswift eliminates common bottlenecks caused by reliance on developers. This accelerates go-to-market timelines for campaigns, product launches, and experiments.

Seamless integration with ecommerce systems.

Designed specifically for ecommerce, Makeswift integrates effortlessly with platforms like BigCommerce, making it easy to create highly customized storefronts. This integration allows brands to unify their design and commerce workflows, ensuring that product pages, checkout processes, and marketing campaigns all work seamlessly together. 

Whether you’re managing a direct-to-consumer (DTC) store or a complex B2B operation, Makeswift provides the flexibility to adapt to your unique business needs while maintaining consistent branding and functionality. By leveraging BigCommerce's robust back-end and Makeswift's intuitive frontend tools, businesses can deliver an exceptional shopping experience tailored to their customers.

Emerging trends in visual editor technology

The convergence of composability and visual design.

Visual editors are increasingly becoming the bridge between back-end systems and front-end design, enabling seamless collaboration across teams. “We’re seeing a shift where composable solutions and visual tools are merging,” says Lindsay. “Marketers need the freedom to create without being constrained by backend limitations, and that’s what the future is all about — blending the best of both worlds.”

The rise of AI-powered enhancements.

While AI in website design is still in its early stages, its potential to automate repetitive tasks and optimize user experiences is significant. Jeremy explains, “AI’s role will be about accessibility and efficiency. It’s not about replacing creativity but enhancing workflows, like suggesting layout improvements or personalizing content based on user behavior.”

The final word

Visual editors are revolutionizing ecommerce by empowering brands to deliver faster, more personalized experiences. Makeswift exemplifies this innovation, offering unmatched flexibility and usability for growing businesses.

Ready to transform your ecommerce storefront? Discover how Makeswift and BigCommerce can simplify your design workflows while maximizing creativity and efficiency.