Rented stores get you started. Made stores help you grow.
Template platforms are a good first step. Shops with a real counter and a real brand outgrow them. This is what changes when your store is designed, built and run for you.
What you stop doing.
Choosing between themes.
Paying for an app for every gap.
Matching website stock to the till by hand.
Chasing three vendors when something breaks.
Bolting AI on afterwards.
No templates. Every store is made for its brand.
We never sell a template. Each store is designed from scratch for its brand, its range and its customers, then built on the Helixs commerce engine. You get a store that looks like nobody else, on a core that is already proven.
Your layout, colours, type and imagery, designed by the studio.
Visual and 3D features when your products need to be seen to sell.
Features built for your store and switched on only for you.
One engine underneath: stock, checkout, till and back office.
A template platform and Helixs, side by side.
| Template platform and apps | Helixs |
|---|---|
| Pick a theme, then customise it | Designed from scratch by the studio |
| An app for each gap, each with its own fee | Built in, or built for you in the same core |
| A separate point-of-sale plan, often per location | A till in the browser on the same stock and customers |
| General AI tools and add-on chat apps | An adviser that recommends only your real products |
| A fee on sales through other payment providers | No commission on your sales |
| Australian tax set up through settings and apps | GST tax invoice, BAS and five-cent cash rounding built in |
| Data processed in many countries | Store and database in Sydney, offshore providers listed |
| Platform support, app vendors and your developer | One studio to call |
Based on the publicly listed plans, fees and terms of major template platforms, checked 9 October 2026.
When a template platform is the better choice.
If you are just starting out, want to set everything up yourself this weekend, or need a marketplace of thousands of apps, a template platform is a sensible choice. Helixs is for shops that are ready for a store made for them, and a team that keeps it running.
FAQ
Questions retailers ask first.
How is Helixs different from Shopify or BigCommerce?
Those are platforms you set up yourself and extend with apps. Helixs is designed, built and run for you by one studio, with the till, stock, AI and Australian tax built into the same system.
Do you take a commission on my sales?
No. You pay a setup fee and a monthly fee. Card fees go from Stripe to your own account, and we never take a share of your sales.
Can you move my store from Shopify?
Yes. We import your products, customers and order history from Shopify or a CSV file, and you see a dry-run report before anything changes.
Is a custom store harder to keep running?
Not here. Your design sits on the same tested engine as every Helixs store, so updates and security reach you without a rebuild.
