shopify vs volusion

Shopify vs. Volusion: A Simple Decision for Business Owners

Shopify and Volusion are both formidable contenders in this arena, each offering distinct advantages. Shopify boasts advanced sales features and extensive third-party integrations, making it a powerhouse for e-commerce growth. Meanwhile, Volusion excels in analytics and customer insights, though it may be more challenging to navigate than Shopify.

In this Shopify vs. Volusion comparison, we'll delve into their pricing, ease of use, pros and cons, and key features to help you determine which platform aligns perfectly with your business goals.

Shopify or Volusion: At a glance

Shopify, founded in 2006, serves millions of global stores with a robust feature set including in-house payment processing, comprehensive shipping tools, and advanced management functionalities. It is renowned for its extensive ecosystem and widespread popularity, catering effectively to businesses seeking rich features and scalability.

Volusion, established in 1999, focuses on providing robust data analytics, customizable interface design, and flexible payment options. It appeals particularly to users interested in detailed insights into their business performance and the ability to tailor their online store's look and feel.

Both platforms offer 24/7 customer support and user-friendly interfaces. Choosing between Shopify and Volusion depends on specific business needs and growth strategies, whether you prioritize Shopify's comprehensive ecosystem or Volusion's analytics and customization capabilities.

Volusion vs. Shopify: Which Is Right for Your Business?

Shopify is the better choice than Volusion overall. Shopify supports unlimited product listings, offers diverse themes for customization, and integrates well with multiple payment gateways. It's ideal for businesses aiming to expand internationally and leverage a large app ecosystem for diverse operational needs, including advanced SEO and seamless online-to-offline sales integration.

While Volusion features a cheaper transaction fee, it is inferior to Shopify in almost every other aspect. Volusion basically limited you to onlyy physical products, has bad customer support, fewer and more expensive themes, and no built-in blog.

Shopify or Volusion: Quick Comparison

Feature

Shopify

Volusion

Pricing and Plans

Starting from $25/month to $399/month

Starting from $35/month to $299/month

Transaction fees

Transaction fees on lower plans (unless using Shopify Payments)

No transaction fees

Ease of Use

User-friendly interface, intuitive setup process

User-friendly interface, straightforward setup

Sales Features

Comprehensive: Abandoned cart recovery, gift cards, discount codes

Basic: Inventory management, product variations

eCommerce Features

Extensive app store (6,000+ apps), POS systems, analytics

App store, SEO tools, CRM, customer reviews

Web Design Templates

Wide selection of mobile-responsive templates

Customizable templates optimized for mobile

SEO Features

Strong SEO Capabilities: Customizable titles, meta descriptions, sitemaps

Basic SEO tools: Customizable URLs, alt tags

Help and Support

24/7 support via phone, email, live chat, extensive documentation

24/7 support via phone, email, live chat, Help Center

Security

Level 1 PCI DSS compliance, SSL encryption

PCI certification, SSL encryption

Shopify offers a broader range of features and a larger app ecosystem, making it suitable for businesses needing scalability, advanced sales tools, and extensive customization options.

Volusion is straightforward with no transaction fees, making it ideal for users who prioritize ease of use, basic to intermediate sales features, and essential eCommerce functionalities.

Shopify or Volusion: Detailed Comparison

Pricing and Plan

Aspect

Shopify

Volusion

Pricing

Starting from $5/month (Starter), $25/month (Basic), $65/month (Shopify), $399/month (Advanced)

Starting from $35/month (Personal), $79/month (Professional), $299/month (Business)

Transaction Fees

5% - 0.2% depending on plan

Varies, typically lower than Shopify

Payment Processing

Shopify Payments (available globally)

Volusion Payments (limited availability)

Free Trial

3-trial day

14-trial day

Annual Subscription Discount

25% off (if paid annually)

10% off (if paid annually)

Additional Costs

- Transaction fees: 2.9% + 30¢ for Shopify Payments

- App fees (if using third-party apps)

- Domain name registration ($14/year)

- Theme costs (free to $400)

- POS hardware (optional, but cost varies)

- Transaction fees: Varies, additional 1.25% for lower plans

- Additional bandwidth fees over the limit

- SSL certificate ($149/year)

- Additional features/plugins (varying costs)

- Custom development costs

Ease of Use - Shopify Wins

Shopify is more user-friendly compared to Volusion. Shopify's interface is intuitive and straightforward, featuring simple editing tools, clear visual cues, and an easily accessible 'undo' button. Users find it easier to navigate and appreciate its streamlined design for building online stores.

In contrast, Volusion's interface is criticized for being complex and less user-friendly. It separates storefront and backend editing, lacks clear navigation cues, and doesn't offer keyboard shortcuts. This makes it more challenging for users to manage and customize their stores efficiently.

Sales Features - Shopify Wins

Feature

Shopify

Volusion

Sales Channels

Multiple sales channels including Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and eBay

Integrations for Amazon and eBay

Abandoned Cart Recovery

Yes, available on all plans

Yes, available on all plans

Inventory Management

Advanced inventory management tools

Basic inventory management tools

Multi-Currency Support

Yes, with Shopify Payments

Limited

Product Variants

Supports multiple product variants

Supports multiple product variants

Discount Codes and Coupons

Yes, available on all plans

Yes, available on all plans

Mobile App

Yes, the Shopify app for managing the store on the go

Yes, the Volusion app for managing the store on-the-go

POS Integration

Full-featured POS system

Basic POS features

Shipping Options

Real-time carrier shipping rates, label printing, and discounts

Real-time shipping rates and discounts

Reporting and Analytics

Advanced analytics, customizable reports, Google Analytics integration

Basic analytics, limited reporting tools

Customer Accounts

Yes, with order history and tracking

Yes, with order history and tracking

Multi-Language Support

Limited, requires third-party apps

Limited, requires third-party apps

Email Marketing

Integrated email marketing via Shopify Email

Built-in email marketing tools

Shopify offers a more comprehensive and versatile range of sales features compared to Volusion. It excels with its multiple sales channels, advanced inventory management, extensive app store, and robust reporting tools. 

Volusion is strong in analytics and has no transaction fees, making it suitable for data-driven businesses, but it lacks the broader capabilities and integrations that Shopify provides.

Overall, Shopify is the superior platform for online stores aiming to scale and utilize advanced sales tools.

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eCommerce features - Shopify Wins

Feature

Shopify

Volusion

Storefront Design

Wide range of free and premium themes, easy customization with drag-and-drop editor

Limited free themes, more complex customization

Mobile Optimization

Mobile-responsive themes available

Mobile-responsive themes available

Payment Gateways

Supports 100+ payment gateways, no transaction fees with Shopify Payments

Supports multiple payment gateways, no transaction fees

Product Management

Unlimited products, advanced product management tools

Unlimited products, basic product management tools

Customer Management

Customer profiles, accounts, and segmentation

Customer profiles and accounts

Order Management

Comprehensive order management system, automated workflows

Basic order management system

Shipping Options

Real-time shipping rates, label printing, and shipping discounts

Real-time shipping rates and discounts

Tax Settings

Automatic tax calculations based on location

Automatic tax calculations based on location

Analytics and Reporting

Advanced analytics, customizable reports, Google Analytics integration

Basic analytics, limited reporting tools

Marketing Tools

Integrated email marketing, discount codes, social media integration

Built-in email marketing, discount codes

App Integrations

Extensive app store with thousands of apps for additional features

Limited app integrations, fewer third-party apps

SEO Features

Advanced SEO tools, editable meta tags, custom URLs, and sitemaps

Built-in SEO tools, editable meta tags

Multilingual Support

Limited, requires third-party apps

Limited, requires third-party apps

Dropshipping

Extensive drop shipping integrations through apps

Limited dropshipping options

POS System

Full-featured POS system for in-store sales

Basic POS features

Security

SSL certificate included, PCI-compliant

SSL certificate included, PCI-compliant

Customer Support

24/7 support via phone, email, live chat

24/7 support via phone, email, live chat

Trial Period

14-day free trial

14-day free trial

Shopify offers a more comprehensive set of eCommerce features compared to Volusion. It excels in storefront design, product management, app integrations, and POS system capabilities. 

Volusion provides solid basic features and no transaction fees, making it suitable for small businesses with straightforward needs.

However, Shopify's extensive range of advanced tools and integrations makes it the better choice for businesses looking to scale and optimize their online stores.

Web Design Template - Shopify Wins

Shopify offers an extensive range of design features, including 13 free themes and over 177 premium themes ranging from $140 to $400. These themes are all mobile-responsive, and Shopify provides ease of customization through a mobile editor and features like product zoom. Additionally, users can purchase third-party themes, such as those offered by companies like NextSky.

Volusion provides 11 free themes and 34 premium themes priced at $180 each. While these themes are also mobile-responsive, Volusion lacks robust mobile site management tools and has a more complex customization process compared to Shopify.

Therefore, Shopify stands out with its wider selection of affordable, professional themes that are easier to customize, making it the preferred choice for users prioritizing design and usability.

SEO Feature - Shopify Wins

When comparing SEO features, Shopify offers more comprehensive tools for optimizing your ecommerce website compared to Volusion. Shopify allows customization of page titles, URLs, image alt text, and meta descriptions, and includes advanced features like 301 redirects.

Volusion provides basic SEO capabilities with limitations on tweaking beyond the homepage and lacks robust 301 redirect functionality.

For businesses focused on maximizing online visibility and SEO performance, Shopify emerges as the preferred platform due to its extensive SEO toolkit and capabilities.

Help and Support - Shopify Wins

Both Shopify and Volusion offer robust customer support options tailored to their platforms. Shopify stands out with 24/7 availability for phone and live chat support, complemented by email and social media assistance. Additionally, their Plus Level plan includes a dedicated support agent for personalized service. 

On the other hand, Volusion provides phone support from 7 am -10 pm CST, emphasizing a direct, personal approach but limiting it to higher-tier plans starting at $299 per month. Many user also reports the bad quality of Volusion’s customer support.

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