Is this the end of Shopify page builders like Replo, GemPages and PageFly?

Short answer: no—but the game just changed in a big way.

With vibe coding platforms like Lovable, you can now describe the store you want in natural language and get a working Shopify theme or storefront generated with AI, already connected to Shopify’s backend.

For merchants and agencies, that raises a real question:

If AI can vibe-code a Shopify template for me… do I still need classic page builders?

Let’s unpack what’s actually happening and where tools like Replo, GemPages, and PageFly still fit in.

1. Where we are today: the era of drag-and-drop Shopify builders

For years, the “default” way to customize Shopify without touching code has been a page builder app.

Three names come up again and again:

Replo

Replo positions itself as a visual web development platform for Shopify. It gives you a theme builder for landing pages, product pages and sections, focusing heavily on performance and advanced customization—without needing an in-house dev team.(replo.app)

Key ideas:

• Visual builder tightly integrated with Shopify themes

• Used a lot for high-converting landing pages and complex layouts

• Premium pricing aimed at serious brands and agencies

GemPages

GemPages brands itself as a conversion-focused page builder for Shopify stores. It brings drag-and-drop layouts, templates, sales funnel tools, upsells/downsells and more, all without coding.

Notable points:

• Drag-and-drop editor with a large template and element library

• AI-assisted layout generation from images/URLs

• Strong focus on CRO (countdowns, bundles, stock counters, A/B tests)

PageFly

PageFly is probably the most widely recognized “classic” builder: a drag-and-drop Shopify landing page builder that lets you build all kinds of pages (home, landing, collections, etc.) without code.

Highlights:

• 90+ elements, lots of templates, responsive controls

• Deep integration with Shopify themes and other apps

• Aimed at merchants who want control but don’t want to hire a dev

These tools solved a huge problem: “I want control over my frontend, but I don’t want to write Liquid, HTML, CSS, and JS.”

Now vibe coding is attacking the same problem—but from the opposite side.

2. What is “vibe coding” and how does Lovable change Shopify dev?

Vibe coding is a newer idea: instead of dragging blocks or writing code, you describe what you want in natural language, and the AI builds it for you.

Think of it as:

“Chat with an AI about your store vision, and it writes the code, hooks things up, and gives you a working project.”

Lovable is one of the leading platforms in this space. You can already:

• Describe your store’s concept, brand and layout

• Let Lovable generate a professional Shopify store with products, branding and page structure

• Have that store integrated with Shopify’s checkout and backend so it’s not just a pretty mockup—it actually works.(

Lovable’s own guides and community content frame it as part of the broader “vibe coding apps” ecosystem—tools where you build by talking instead of manually designing or coding.(

This is very different from a classic page builder:

• You’re not pushing blocks around on a canvas

• You’re not choosing from 100+ prebuilt sections

• You’re giving intent (“I want a minimal, modern product grid with big images and a focus on bundles”) and letting the AI propose and generate the implementation

So… does that kill PageFly, GemPages, Replo?

Not quite.

3. Vibe coding vs page builders: apples and oranges (for now)

Let’s compare them on a few dimensions that actually matter to merchants and agencies.

3.1 Speed: idea → live page

• Vibe coding (Lovable):
  Amazing for zero-to-one. You can go from “I’ve got a brand idea” to “I can click around a working storefront” extremely fast—sometimes in a single session.

• Page builders:
  Slower at the very beginning because you need to pick templates, drag elements, tweak spacing, etc. But once your design system is in place, they’re efficient for ongoing incremental pages.

Who wins?
For first prototypes and experiments, vibe coding is hard to beat. For ongoing, structured page production, builders are still very strong.

3.2 Control and predictability

• Vibe coding:
  You get something smart and often impressive, but it’s still an AI guess. You’ll have to iterate via prompts or drop into the code to correct details.

• Page builders:
  You always know exactly what you’re placing where. It’s “what you see is what you get,” which is comforting for many brands and CRO teams.

Who wins?
If you’re a perfectionist brand or you do heavy CRO, PageFly/GemPages/Replo still feel safer and more controllable.

3.3 Who’s actually using it?

• Vibe coding (Lovable):
  Today, it leans more towards technical or semi-technical users: founders, product people, and dev-friendly agencies who are comfortable with the idea that AI is generating and editing real code for them.(Lovable)

• Page builders:
  Designed from day one for non-developers. Many solo merchants live inside PageFly, GemPages or Replo without ever touching code.

Who wins?
For DIY merchants who want full visual control: page builders.
For dev/agency-led teams who want a faster starting point and aren’t afraid to open the hood: vibe coding.

3.4 Long-term maintenance

This is where agencies like abZ Global care a lot.

• Vibe-coded stores:
  You get code as an output. That’s powerful (you own it), but it also means someone needs to own the codebase: refactors, theme updates, performance, Shopify API changes, app conflicts, etc.

• Page builders:
  Delegate a big chunk of that complexity to the app. They keep updating their editor, elements, and integration with Shopify—it’s “platform as a safety net.”

Who wins?
If you have a long-term technical partner or in-house dev, vibe coding can be a huge accelerator.
If you don’t, a mature page builder is less risky.

4. So… is this the “end” of Replo, GemPages and PageFly?

Realistically: no. But they will have to adapt—and some already are.

Many builders are adding AI into their own products:

• GemPages now touts AI-powered page building and image-to-layout functionality.(Analyzify)

• Replo has introduced a “fully customizable AI builder” in some of its pricing tiers.(replo.app)

• PageFly’s ecosystem continues to evolve with strong template libraries and integrations, staying attractive to non-technical merchants.(PageFly)

So the likely future is not “Lovable replaces all Shopify page builders”. It’s more like:

• Vibe coding platforms become the new idea and prototyping layer

• Page builders continue as the visual control and optimization layer

• Agencies and developers sit in the middle, orchestrating both

The big losers will be tools that stay purely drag-and-drop and never embrace AI or deeper Shopify-native workflows.

5. How a Shopify agency can actually use Lovable and page builders

From an agency perspective (like abZ Global), the playbook looks something like this:

1. Vibe code the first version
   Use Lovable to generate an initial Shopify template or full storefront from a proper creative brief:

   • Brand voice, colors, layout preferences

   • Type of product catalog

   • Desired sections and flows

2. Pull it into a sustainable structure
   A senior frontend dev cleans up the generated theme:

   • Standardize components

   • Improve performance, accessibility and SEO

   • Align with Online Store 2.0 best practices and sections schema

3. Layer on a page builder where it makes sense
   For marketing teams that want autonomy, we still:

   • Integrate PageFly or GemPages for landing pages and campaigns

   • Or use Replo for high-end CRO-driven pages where marketers want to test fast without touching code

4. Keep complex logic, integrations and performance in code
   Things like:

   • Custom product configurators

   • Advanced bundling logic

   • Headless or multi-front setups
     are still best maintained by developers, even if some of the base layout came from vibe coding.

Instead of choosing “AI vs. page builder”, the smart move is building a stack where each tool does what it’s best at.

6. What should a Shopify merchant do right now?

If you’re a store owner or marketing lead, here’s a simple way to think about it:

Try vibe coding (Lovable) if…

• You’re starting a new brand or doing a big redesign

• You want to explore a lot of variations quickly

• You’re working with a dev or agency that can take over the codebase afterwards

Stick with / add a page builder if…

• You’re happy with your current theme

• Your team loves visual editing and doesn’t want to think about code

• You care most about ongoing campaigns, CRO and fast landing page launches

Best of both worlds

• Use vibe coding to get unstuck fast and explore directions you’d never design from scratch.

• Use GemPages / PageFly / Replo to run your day-to-day marketing machine once the foundation is in place.

Conclusion: It’s not the end – it’s a new layer on top

Vibe coding platforms like Lovable are not the death of Shopify page builders.

They are the signal that:

• The “no-code vs code” distinction is fading

• Describing what you want in natural language is becoming a normal part of how we build

• Tools that don’t embrace AI and deeper Shopify integrations will slowly become irrelevant

At abZ Global, we see it this way:

Lovable is how you explore.
Replo, GemPages, PageFly are how you refine.
Custom code is how you win long-term.

If you want to:

• Experiment with vibe-coding your Shopify theme

• Clean up and optimize what AI generated

• Or integrate a page builder properly into a fast, scalable Shopify setup

you can always reach out and we’ll help you design the right stack—not just the shiny new tool.