If you’ve been looking to find an online store builder, chances are you’ll have come across both Shopify and Volusion.
Both Shopify and Volusion are dedicated ecommerce platforms, but there are still some major differences between them. For one, Shopify has much more advanced sales features than Volusion, whereas Volusion’s strengths lie in its analytics and data tools. Volusion is much harder to get to grips with than Shopify.
When it comes to choosing between these two ecommerce website builders, there’s a lot to consider: who provides the best tools? Who offers the deepest customer insights? And who charges the least?
Well, you’ll be glad to hear we’ve saved you the headache, comparing the two builders in all the key areas.
Shopify is the strongest ecommerce website builder on the market. It has the most comprehensive set of sales tools, features, and third party integrations, and really helps your business flourish.
While Shopify is the best overall, it is, of course, not for everyone. It may not have the right inbuilt features for your store, or it may not suit your taste or budget. Whatever the reason, there are other options.
Volusion is another ecommerce-specific website builder, providing lots of payment options while focusing on analytics and customer insights. Yes, these two features are great, but the builder lacks in other departments.
We’ve researched and tested each builder, and even got people just like you to test them too. So without further ado, let’s see the results of Shopify vs Volusion…
Shopify or Volusion: Head to Head
We test and analyze every platform we review, and that’s how we calculate each star rating. The scores below are based purely on our in-depth research.
| Score Out Of Five | Shopify | Volusion |
| Ease of Use | 3.5 | 3.2 |
| Design | 3.9 | 3.6 |
| Sales Features | 4.5 | 3.7 |
| Customer Support | 3.8 | 1.7 |
| Pricing | 3 | 2.5 |
As you can see, Shopify consistently scored higher than Volusion. From our research, it’s clear that Shopify has better sales features than Volusion, scoring 4.5 out of 5 stars. However, Shopify and Volusion scored very similarly for both design and ease of use, with Shopify just staying ahead of Volusion.
Pros and Cons
Ease of Use
So each builder has some useful selling tools. But are they easy to use? Well, with the help of our research and user testing, we have the answers.
In short, Shopify is slightly easier to use than Volusion. Why is that? It really comes down to simplicity. Shopify does the basics well, with simple editing tools and an easily visible ‘undo’ button.
When talking about Shopify’s ease of use, one user commented:
I was pleasantly surprised. I can definitely see why people opt for this builder.
On the other hand, Volusion tries to do too much. The editing interface is split between the storefront (what your customers see) and the backend. This means you’re constantly clicking from one to the other, and they don’t provide any keyboard shortcuts. Although Shopify is constructed in a similar way, there’s a lot less to and fro.
Our users felt the same way, with one person saying:
There is just an utter lack of clarity over how to do things. It was so overly complicated.
Shopify vs Volusion – Ease of Use: The Verdict
Shopify is easier to use than Volusion. It keeps the editing interface really simple, with lots of visual cues and a clearly labeled ‘undo’ button. On the other hand, Volusion is just too tricky to navigate, with no obvious cues or a simple navigation menu.
Check out our Shopify vs Squarespace review here.
Or our BigCommerce vs Shopify article.
How about our Shopify vs WooCommerce?
Sales Features
As we mentioned, Volusion is tricky to use, particularly when trying to design your website. But, its power lies in its features. Can it match our top rated ecommerce builder, Shopify, for sales tools? Let’s find out…
Firstly, although it doesn’t come with your typical inbuilt data tools, Volusion has some superb extra analytics features. We particularly love the search term analysis, letting you see what customers are actually looking for on Google. This is really useful because, by knowing what people want, you can tailor your website and get found online more easily.
While it lacks some useful additional features – there’s no blogging feature, and it’s tricky to customize your site – it does provide a mobile app, which lets you manage your store on the go. What’s more, there are no transaction fees to worry about.
Overall, Volusion is for data-loving business owners who aren’t too fussed about design.
While Volusion does away with transaction fees altogether, Shopify will charge you if you don’t use its own payment gateway, Shopify Payments. Yes, there are 100+ other payment methods to choose from, but it’s still something to think about.
Shopify pulls through, however, with its massive app store and social media channel integration. This means you can improve your site’s performance with a range of shipping and marketing apps, and sell across 10 social media channels.
In a nutshell, Shopify is for any online store looking to scale easily.
Shopify vs Volusion – Sales Features: The Verdict
Shopify has the most comprehensive selection of sales features on the market. That being said, Volusion does well, particularly with its excellent analytics tools. However, Shopify just has too much in its locker, especially when you consider its large app store and multiple sales channels.
You can read more about Shopify Payments here.
Design Flexibility
Ecommerce-specific website builders have recently upped their design game. They’ve realized that, like brick-and-mortar stores, a messy shop keeps customers away.
So, both builders have some nice-looking themes – but what about the finer details?
In terms of numbers, Shopify offers 10 free themes and 50+ premium options costing $140-180. Each template is mobile responsive, so they look good on any screen size, and they’re suitable for almost any type of business (although the platform doesn’t provide DIY or art industry themes).
Volusion has 11 free templates, but only 34 paid options, costing $180 each. So, they’re largely more expensive, and you have less choice than Shopify. You also can’t manage your site from your smartphone, so it has less design flexibility, too.
However, all of Volusion’s themes are mobile responsive. And like Shopify, every theme offers industry-specific features which it believes will help your site’s performance. Our research found it has themes to suit most industries, too, apart from ‘art’ and ‘toys, books and education’.
Shopify vs Volusion – Design: The Verdict
Not only does Shopify provide more premium templates than Volusion, but they cost less on average, too. Both brands have made their themes mobile responsive, but Shopify’s come with a useful ‘product zoom’ function, and you can make edits on the move with their mobile editor.
Want to know more? Discover the 7 best ecommerce platforms here.
Or check out the best ecommerce software.
Help and Support
When using any technology in life, you’re bound to have a few questions along the way. Well, you may not be surprised to hear Volusion and Shopify have thought of this, with both offering great customer support.
Shopify provides 24/7 phone and live chat help, as well as email and social media support. It doesn’t stop there, though: as part of their Plus Level price plan, you get your own dedicated support agent. They really go the extra mile.
In the other corner, Volusion offers phone support, but only from 7am-10pm CST. They don’t provide email help either, but they do use direct phone contact to offer a more personal experience.
Shopify vs Volusion – Customer Support: The Verdict
Offering 24/7 support via phone and live chat, Shopify has the best customer help. While Volusion likes to directly call each customer for a personal experience, it cannot match Shopify’s dedicated support agent service, which is available on the Plus Level price plan.
Pricing and Value For Money
Like most business owners, you’re probably thinking about costs. Can you afford to build an online store while juggling invoices and contracts? Never fear – there are Shopify and Volusion price plans to to suit all budgets.
Shopify’s price plans are as follows:
- Basic Shopify ($29 p/m)
- Shopify ($79 p/m)
- Advanced Shopify ($299 p/m)
If that seems expensive, just remember that these prices are for yearly subscriptions, which are 25% cheaper than paying month by month. If you do this, the monthly prices come down to $39, $105, and $399, respectively.
Volusion’s monthly price plans are as follows:
- Personal ($29 p/m)
- Professional ($79 p/m)
- Business ($299 p/m)
These prices are the same as Shopify’s, which is why these two builders scored similar in our value for money category, although ultimately, Volusion performed worse, with a score of 2.5 out of 5. Like Shopify, you can also do it cheaper if you sign up for a year, bringing the cost of the Personal plan down to $26.10 per month.
Both Shopify and Volusion offer 14-day free trials, so you can test each one for yourself before committing.
Shopify vs Volusion – Price Plans: The Verdict
Shopify and Volusion both have three plans and exactly the same prices. Each builder offers a robust catalog of selling tools but ultimately, Shopify’s features pack more of a punch, making it the better value for money out of the two.
Shopify Plus (Enterprise Level Users) If your business generates 6 to 7 figures in sales per year, this is how Shopify Plus can help you grow even more.
Shopify vs Volusion: Summary
So we’ve pitched these two website builders against each other. But who is the ecommerce champ? We’ll reveal all after having a quick summary of how these ecommecre platforms compare.
Shopify is one of the most powerful ecommerce platforms on the market. It has all the tools your store will need to succeed and grow, while Volusion is more focused on data and insights. Although this is useful, Volusion fails to provide the same in-depth service that Shopify delivers.
With this in mind, which brand is best suited to which kind of user?
Shopify is the most comprehensive ecommerce website builder on the market today. It comes with loads of features and a large app store to personalize your website, making it suitable for any business owner looking to scale quickly and easily.
Volusion sits towards the bottom of the pack. It has some great payment options and inbuilt selling tools, but it has no blog feature and it isn’t good value for money.
The analytics tools, however, are a nice touch. This makes Volusion a possible option for data-driven business owners who love customer insights, however, we don’t believe it’s enough to top Shopify.
Overall, Shopify is the winner. It just packs too much of a heavy punch for Volusion, with its multiple sales channels, large app store, and 24/7 customer support.
Verdict: Shopify
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