If you are looking for a great ecommerce SaaS solution to feature, market, and sell products, then it is time to consider the two of the biggest names in the industry—Shopify and Volusion.
At first sight, these easy-to-use platforms are comparable with each other in design and price. However, if you have time and desire to choose the best one between the two, dive into our quick overview.
We were not trying to rediscover continents and took the most popular parameters for the comparison basis:
- ease to use
- main features
- design
- support
- pricing
At the end of this post, one ecommerce solution will get the victory. Which one? Let’s see.
Let’s start with a short introduction to both platforms.
Contents
Shopify vs Volusion in brief
Volusion was founded by a 16-year-old Kevin Sproles in 1999 as a web design studio. The ecommerce functionality was added in 2002. The company delivers powerful tools worthy of consideration if you need a basic online store and the means to promote your products.
Volusion is focused on easy, custom designs, and ecommerce-optimized features. Unlike many site builders that limit your product numbers, the basic Volusion’s plan allows you to display an unlimited number of products.
Shopify is one of the most popular ecommerce web builder platforms in the hosting industry. The theme store features a great variety of free and premium theme options that are easy for customers to manipulate. You can start building an online marketplace for free for 14 days and select an appropriate plan later.
Shopify users may sell via social media and integrate the Buy Now button into the checkout. You can also extend the basic functionality with add-ons to run an efficient online retail business.
Ease of use
The ease of use has become an essential factor while picking any business tools. For some shopping cart software providers, the ease of use is a priority; others lag behind.
Volusion has recently updated its backend, and now it works really well. The platform looks fairly intuitive and modern. Perhaps, it misses a simple starter tutorial as some options require taking many clicks. Still, adding products is rather straightforward.
Shopify offers pretty good customer support that is well-integrated with the main platform features. The company tries to accommodate a variety of clients’ needs and make e-store setup painless. You can add products and their configurations in a few clicks. Everything works well and fast; that’s why many people say that Shopify is one of the easiest ecommerce solutions ever.
Features
Both ecommerce platforms have some real benefits. Shopify and Volusion allow you to load products and manage them, complete transactions, and ship products to customers. Several overlapping features make both ecommerce offerings competitive on the market.
Volusion is actually more suitable for data-loving business owners who aren’t too fussed about design. It offers some impressive analytics tools. At the same time, it lacks some useful features, such as blogging and appropriate site customization (it is rather tricky in Volusion). Storefront instant search, a mobile management app, and a dropshipping app also look very beneficial.
Shopify is an excellent solution for any online store looking to scale easily. The platform pulls through with its massive app store and social media integration. Shopify has enough features to meet most of the business needs. With its help, you’ll be able to design a store with a range of templates, create catalogs of products, manage the store from an intuitive admin panel, accept online payments, and so on. However, mind that developing a powerful online shop on Shopify requires ecommerce expertise and development skills, so get ready for a deep dive into the platform’s guides or delegate all the technical work to Shopify professionals.
Design
Ecommerce website builders realize that like in brick-and-mortar stores, a low-quality and messy online shop keeps customers away. Even a tiny fine detail in design may influence the entire picture.
Shopify themes and templates are really eye-catching and elegant. There are 64 fully mobile responsive options to choose from. Ten themes are available for free. All Shopify templates are mobile-friendly and look great on any screen. You can use them for almost any type of business.
In Volusion, you will find 11 free templates and 34 paid themes. They are more expensive, and you have fewer options to choose from than in Shopify. There is also a nice opportunity to manage your store from a smartphone. However, Volusion’s themes offer industry-specific features that will contribute to the online shop performance.
Customer support
Customer support is exactly the thing that makes both ecommerce platforms easy to use and allows the vendors to position themselves as user-friendly online store building tools.
The reputation of Shopify in terms of customer support is rather good. It provides 24/7 phone and live chat assistance, as well as email and social media support. Moreover, the Plus Level price plan includes a dedicated support agent. The knowledge base of Shopify (aka, the help center) is very convenient and helpful.
Volusion offers phone support, but only from 7 am to 10 pm CST. There is no email assistance. Volusion likes to call each customer directly to deliver individual experience. Volusion’s help center also seems comprehensive and organized. Although the platform doesn’t have as many support options as Shopify, it still has enough resources to ensure the seamless performance of an online shop.
Pricing
Costs always matter. Shopify and Volusion price plans suit all budgets.
If you opt for Shopify, you will get the following three plans to choose from:
- Shopify Basic ($29 per month)
- Shopify Plan ($79 per month)
- Advanced Shopify ($299 per month)
Signing up to the yearly plan, you save some cash. If you do this, the monthly prices come down to $26.10, $71.10, and $269.10 respectively.
Volusion’s monthly price plans are as follows:
- Personal ($29)
- Professional ($79)
- Business ($299)
- Prime (customed)
You can also cut them by signing up for an annual subscription.
Despite the high prices, the Volusion plans come with many inbuilt features. Shopify looks slightly cheaper, but you’ll need to add more third-party apps.
Final thoughts
As you can see, two similar products, Volusion and Shopify, have some rather striking differences when it comes to how your company is presented online.
Who is the winner in the battle?
It’s only your decision. Many users love Shopify for it is scalable, affordable, and easy to launch. Volusion is preferred by other merchants because of its design and customization capabilities.
What do you think about these two ecommerce giants? Feel free to share your ideas in the comments! For more information, you can also check our Top 5 Best Ecommerce Platforms In 2019.