Shopify vs. Volusion
Shopify and Volusion are two of the best known and most popular hosted shopping cart providers. Both have solid customer satisfaction records and are considered “safe bets” for just about anyone who is getting into ecommerce. That being said, their respective services differ greatly in some pretty important ways, so potential users will want to take a close look at just what these providers offer before making a decision. Here are some of the key factors to consider when choosing between Shopify and Volusion.
The Basics
Although Shopify has a very Mac-influenced look and feel, its client and the majority of the optional apps available for it are accessed via the web, like most other shopping cart clients, so you don’t have to be a Mac user to use the service. While they offer a few different pricing plans, their Business package, priced at $99 US per month, is the most popular, and this plan allows users’ stores to display up to 10,000 unique products, and includes 1GB of storage (mainly for image files) and unlimited bandwidth. Shopify doesn’t charge a setup fee for new users, but they do levy a 1% transaction fee.
The Volusion service is also web-based. Volusion’s $99.99/month Gold plan allows for 5000 products and 15GB of bandwidth and storage. Volusion does not charge any transaction fees, but they do require a setup fee of $49 on all new accounts.
eCommerce Features
In terms of selling features, Shopify is adequate if unspectacular. All of the usual tools are here, from a certain degree of choice in payment gateways, to some automated search engine optimization features, to some simplified order tracking and inventory management facilities. The optional extensions available from Shopify’s App Store help to bridge the gap between Shopify and some of the more feature-rich shopping cart providers, but while some of the apps are free, others have a separate monthly cost which can make Shopify substantially more expensive over the course of a year.
Volusion, meanwhile, is a bit more robust than Shopify out of the box. Its feature set is more in line with the likes of BigCommerce and 3DCart. Many of Volusion’s added features (relative to Shopify) come in the form of statistics tracking and marketing analytics, and while novices may have trouble making heads or tails of some of the information presented, it can be useful in helping users to refine their business approach. Volusion also supports a couple of shipping options that aren’t available with Shopify, including DHL.
Ease of Use
Although Shopify is a bit light on high-powered marketing features, it makes up for this with its fantastic customization capabilities. Even if you have absolutely no experience with HTML, CSS, or any other web programming language, Shopify provides the tools necessary to give you almost unlimited control over the layout and functionality of your store; you can start from scratch or use one of Shopify’s preset themes as a canvas, and either way, the experience is much less difficult and more satisfying than those offered by just about any other shopping cart service.
Customizing your storefront with Volusion, on the other hand, is not quite as simple, and users will likely find its built-in editor much less capable than Shopify’s. The most unfortunate thing here is that Volusion’s pre-designed storefront templates are noticeably lacking in quality, so although the customization process is less simple with Volusion, it’s also more necessary, and this can add a lot of aggravation to the overall process of starting up an online store.
Volusion vs. Shopify Conclusion
For value (and profit)-conscious users, Volusion may in most cases be a better choice than Shopify, thanks to the absence of transaction fees. However, users who have high expectations as to the appearance of their stores will most likely prefer Shopify, thanks to its superior customization features.