Making the choice between two popular ecommerce platforms such as Shopify and Volusion isn’t easy. Knowing what features each one has and what the other doesn’t have can help you make the choice. Each platform has its pros and cons and that’s why in our Shopify vs. Volusion breakdown we will compare all of the main features of the companies to help you make the right choice. You can find an in-depth comparison below on everything from the marketing and SEO options to gateway payment options and transaction fees.
Design Options Comparison
On the design side of things both brands have a good selection of professional-looking ecommerce templates that should fit most stores. Both of the brands have around 100 or more free templates available with all of them having varying degrees of design quality. If you’re looking for premium themes they both have a decent selection available in their own template store and there are a few other third-party stores that sell templates. The Shopify premium templates seem to be a better value overall as many of the premium themes are around $150 where the Volusion premium themes are $175 and up for the most part. Either way both have plenty of free themes and editing systems where purchasing a premium theme probably won’t make sense for most stores.
Marketing and Advertising Comparison
Your store today needs to have a full marketing and advertising suite that includes strong social components. Both websites have good social components built into their platform with both sides having pros and cons depending on what type of product you’re going to be selling. Volusion has many great social features available including the ability to sell on Facebook, social buttons to easily Like, Tweet, and Pin your products, and more. Shopify has some features on the social side but they also have integration with many social plugins which can mean expansions in the future. The overall marketing of both is relatively generic but Volusion seems to have the edge in this department as aside from the social aspects they also have tools to manage Youtube video and also serve up daily deals within your own site with your own products.
SEO Comparison
The search engine optimization options could be included into marketing and advertising but I feel they need their own section. Having a store that’s optimized for search engines is a must today where many major stores online drive millions in sales yearly by just having a good search strategy. Also having things like search friendly URL’s also helps make the website look professional and should boost conversions. Luckily both websites look like they cover the basics of SEO from the H1 titles to the search friendly URL’s so there doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about on this front with either platform.
Transaction Fees
In my opinion transaction fees can be a huge factor, especially for those stores doing high volume. When you compare the two you can see a glaring difference in the transaction prices. Shopify charges a 2% transaction fee on their basic package and it gradually goes down until it’s 0% on the “unlimited” package. The big difference in this area is that Volusion charges 0% in transaction fees for all of their packages. Depending on the other features that factor into your choice this can be a game-changer if you’re a high volume seller and can’t afford any type of fee tacked on. Both brands do offer 0% transaction fee within some type of package though which isn’t always the case as a few ecommerce software companies never go to a 0% transaction fee.
Pricing Comparison
Pricing is another factor you need to look at when comparing the two services. While it’s impossible to absolutely compare the two you can still get a general feel for what you’re getting for the price. The beginning package from Shopify starts at $29/month while their largest package is $179/month. Volusion on the other hand has a starting package of $19/month and the largest package they offer is $149/month. All of the Shopify packages have unlimited bandwidth while the Volusion packages go up in bandwidth each step up.
I have been researching the big three and there is a lot on conflicting information on the web. I began my research with the intent of perusing Volusion. Now, leaning towards Shopity but not quite sure if either of the big three is the right move for me. My web designer is about 90% completed with my site but I don’t like the cart that is installed. It’s basically Paypal driven. It takes the customer away from my sight to Paypal and I do not want that to happen…My initial products are books (2). The line will be expanded to include other items including t-shirts but will never reach 100 items/products. I just need to be able to add a cart to my existing site that has great marketing tools, is compatible with QuickBooks, has live order tracking, allows mobile access and is extremely secure. Being able to sell on Facebook is a welcomed lagniappe but not a deal breaker. Also, I have my own merchant account and want to use my current host. Maybe I need software in a box?
In my opinion I would stay away from anything that’s software in the box. The major hosted shopping cart solutions will take care of the headaches with a secure SSL, web hosting that stays up and so on. The conflicting information is probably coming from the fact that these places like to change up their features every couple months so even things in this article may need some updating. I agree that the Paypal option may not be the best. I think you need to have all of the major credit cards available then also have the option for Paypal and Google Checkout. I’ve been hearing a lot of positives things about Volusion lately but Shopify also has a great reputation.