Shopify vs. Volusion: Which Store Builder Is Better Suited for Ecommerce?

 Shopify vs. Volusion may be the first solution you encounter online if you've been searching for a way to create an online store. Both are robust, dedicated eCommerce platforms that provide users with robust tools for product creation, marketing, and sales. Nevertheless, there remain significant differences in performance and capabilities.

So in this article I will explain to you each platform, and the difference between them. You will know what Shopify is, what Volusion is and what are the pros and cons of each platform, its price, its outstanding features... Read this article to the end!

What is Shopify

Shopify is one of the most powerful eCommerce website builders currently available. The Canadian solution specializes in simple store configuration and elegant web design. It has a comprehensive set of features, sales tools, and third-party integrations that can assist in the growth of your online business.

Shopify is a hosted solution, so you won't have to worry about purchasing hosting from a third party or purchasing a domain. Currently, the platform hosts over one million customers, including colossal brands such as Tesla, Budweiser, and Lakers Store.

What is Volusion

Volusion is also an eCommerce-specific website builder that focuses on customer insights and analytics and offers a variety of payment options. Volusion has existed since 1999, which is now more than twenty years ago. Since then, Volusion has grown to support over 180,000 business owners. They also maintain the option for some major customers, such as Intel and 3M.

Volusion previously offered two versions of their software, but they now only offer V2, a new and simplified platform designed to help merchants sell more quickly.

Pros and Cons of Shopify and Volusion

Shopify vs. Volusion

In this section, we will examine the most important services that a store builder should offer to businesses. Comparing Shopify and Volusion on all of these factors will provide you with a comprehensive overview of both platforms so you can make an informed decision. Let's get started.

Pricing

When selecting a platform, the cost is likely the first consideration for most business owners. Can you afford to maintain an online store in addition to shipping costs and billing? Here are pricing plans for Shopify and Volusion to accommodate all budgets.

Shopify has five pricing plans, and the first three are the basic:

• Basic Shopify: $29 per month
• Shopify: $79 per month
• Advanced Shopify: $299 per month
• Lite: $9 per month
• Shopify Plus: pricing depends on the requirements (but usually around $2000 per month)

Shopify Lite allows you to connect your existing website to Facebook and use all Shopify features, whereas Shopify Plus is an enterprise-specific pricing plan. Sign up for an annual subscription if you find the price of the three basic plans to be prohibitive. This will allow you to save 10% for one year in advance, and 20% for two years in advance.

Currently, Shopify offers a 90-day free trial with no credit card required. Shopify extended the trial period to help businesses during the COVID-19 period.

For Volusion, there are four plans you can choose from; the pricing structure is quite similar to that of Shopify:

• Volusion Personal: $29 per month
• Volusion Professional: $79 per month
• Volusion Startup: $179 per month
• Volusion Business: $299 per month

Like Shopify, you can save some money if you sign up and prepay three months, bringing the cost of the Personal plan down to just $26 per month. All plans come with a 14 day free trial, so you can test each one for your store before committing. At first sight, both platforms' pricing plans are fairly comparable, so let's see the features of Shopify vs. Volusion entry-level plans:

Basic Shopify allows you to have a fully functional store with a blog that can sell unlimited products, have 24/7 support, abandoned cart recovery, gift card, and other sales channels. The drawbacks are:

• You can only have 2 staff accounts
• Additional 2% transactions fees if you don't use Shopify Payment

On the other hand, Volusion Personal plan allows you to create a fully-fledged online store with no transaction fees, unlimited products, automatic tax calculator, and synced inventory. The drawbacks are:

• The revenue you can generate is limited to $50k per year
• You only have online support, not full support like Shopify
• No multiple admin users either

Both Shopify and Volusion have comparable pricing plans, making it difficult to determine which platform is superior. However, Shopify offers superior services for the same amount of money, especially the Basic plan's support services. Therefore, Shopify is the winner in terms of pricing value.

Main features

Each builder has its own unique set of tools and capabilities. But are they exactly what a store requires? This will lead you to the solution. Overall, Shopify and Volusion have a comparable set of core capabilities that enable you to:

• Design your store using a range of pre-made templates
• Optimize your products for search engine optimization
• Create catalogs of products
• Manage your store using a CMS
• Accept online payments through payment gateways

However, which platform is simpler to utilize? Research and experimentation have led me to the conclusion that Shopify is significantly simpler to use than Volusion. This is due to Shopify's user-friendliness, which includes simple editing tools, clear steps, and an easily accessible "undo" button. On the other hand, Volusion can be complicated because the storefront and backend editing interfaces are separated. This requires constant switching between them without the use of keyboard shortcuts.

Volusion's advantages, however, lie in other sales tools. Can it compete with Shopify's features? Let's find out.

First, Volusion is equipped with robust analytics tools. There is a search term analysis that reveals what Google customers are searching for. By understanding what people want in this way, you can make your website more discoverable. Second, you receive assistance in setting up your store from professionals who provide services such as marketing, store migration, web design, and custom applications. Five businesses are listed in the expert directory.

Shopify also provides easy-to-read analytics and a long list of experts who are not location-dependent. You can search for suitable assistance by location, service, and price range. Therefore, Voulison is for data enthusiasts who don't care much about design, whereas Shopify is the answer for any e-commerce site seeking to scale easily.

Shopify is still the best e-commerce platform because its user-friendly features help store owners sell more.

Store design

Shopify versus Volusion in terms of store design is an intriguing matchup, given that both are website builders. You would want your online store to be responsive on all screen sizes, given the increasing number of mobile shoppers.

Shopify provides 72 free and paid themes with excellent design, compatibility with all screen sizes, and a wide range of styles. These are divided into numerous categories based on the types of eCommerce for which they are suitable, allowing you to select the best option for your store. All themes are responsive, and premium themes are priced between $140 and $180 less.

Volusion currently offers 17 themes, 15 of which are free and two that cost $180 each. All of these are responsive on mobile devices and represent industry-specific features that can improve the performance of your website. The majority of themes pertain to fashion, food, and furniture.

Shopify's theme store is organized with filters for price, style, industry, and more, making it easier to find the ideal template, whereas Volusion does not offer this functionality. Additionally, Shopify themes include a greater number of variants, and the premium options can cost less on average. Even Shopify themes can be edited using their mobile editor.

It is difficult not to conclude that Shopify is superior to Volusion in terms of store design.

Payment methods

Regardless of the platform, payment methods are crucial to a positive user experience. Examine the payment gateways supported by Shopify and Volusion.

With Shopify, more than 100 payment gateways are available worldwide. Visit their website to find out what your country or region offers. The transaction fee begins at 2 percent for the Basic account and decreases to 0.5% for the Advanced account. Shopify Payments - Shopify's own payment method powered by Stripe, is available to merchants in eleven countries at no cost.

Volusion supports approximately 40 third-party payment providers in addition to its own option, Volusion Payments. However, the payment method is restricted to the United States and a transaction fee still applies. If you own a retail store, your company can accept credit cards on the platform and easily integrate with Volusion point-of-sale systems.

With Volusion Payments, you must apply and wait approximately 5-7 days to be approved, whereas Shopify Payments approval is frequently instantaneous.

With more third-party payment gateways and a more attractive native option than Volusion, Shopify is the winner in terms of payment methods.

Dropshipping

Dropshipping is one of the factors that makes website builders more appealing, as it allows you to sell more quickly and with a smaller budget commitment. In case you were unaware, dropshipping is the practice of selling products online without having physical inventory. Instead, you accept an order, transmit it to your suppliers, and allow them to deliver the goods to the customer.

This method of selling products is gaining popularity because it requires little capital to launch a business. However, competition in the dropshipping industry is fierce, and sourcing products and selecting dependable suppliers is difficult. Therefore, if you wish to engage in dropshipping, you must select a platform that supports it.

Doba and Kole Import are two dropshipping apps for Volusion products and suppliers. Oberlo, Shopify's app for sourcing products, already supports dropshipping. As a result, Shopify offers an abundance of apps. And Volusion lacks an integral blogging platform, an essential tool for content marketing and standing out.

Again, Shopify is the clear winner in this category.

Shopify vs Volusion: Who is the winner?

Thus far, Shopify and Volusion, two eCommerce website builders, have faced off. Let's have a quick recap.

Shopify is a robust platform that comes with a multitude of features and an extensive app store to enhance the functionality of your store. Your company has all the tools necessary for success and easy, rapid expansion. Volusion, on the other hand, is more focused on data and has some good built-in selling tools, but it lacks a blogging feature and can be more expensive. Most of Volusion's important features are inferior to Shopify's. It also lacks customer service.

Shopify is the deserving winner overall. It has significantly more sales features, apps, themes, and 24/7 customer support than Volusion.

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