Volusion Review
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- Date Established
- 1999
- Location
- Austin, TX
Pros
- Easy to use
- Competitive monthly cost
Cons
- Limited features
- Additional fees
- Limited integrations
- Limited payment gateway integrations
Volusion Overview
In the late 1990s, website designer Kevin Sproles noticed a trend in his clients’ requests. They wanted shopping cart software they could use to sell online easily. In response, Sproles founded Volusion, an all-in-one shopping cart solution. Since its founding in 1999, Volusion has grown to employ more than 200 people and now hosts over 30,000 merchants.
Volusion is a cloud-based eCommerce software. Using this tool, online sellers can build an online store, add products and payment details, and begin selling on their website.
In the past, Volusion has offered two versions of its software: V1 and V2. While V1 is still available, Volusion has switched its focus to V2 (now called VOLT). You can expect VOLT to receive the most attention from developers moving forward. In this article, we’ll focus primarily on Volusion VOLT since that seems to be the direction of the company. Keep in mind, however, that if you are interested in Volusion V1, you can still sign up for a trial of the older software.
Keep reading for a full Volusion VOLT review. We’ll look at pricing, features, add-ons, customer service, and more for this all-in-one solution.
Table of Contents
Volusion Pricing
Volusion offers a 14-day free trial (no credit card required), so you can test out the platform risk-free. If and when you decide to use Volusion to host your online store, you can choose from a number of pricing tiers.
Volusion organizes its pricing tiers according to the volume of sales a business makes on a trailing 12-month basis. When your business grows, and you surpass the annual sales cap on your selected plan, you get bumped up to the next pricing tier. Each step up in pricing includes access to more advanced features and customer support options.
Plans are billed monthly by default, without any setup or cancellation fees (though if you cancel, you must remember to cancel all your third-party services individually to avoid additional fees).
You don’t have to sign any contracts to use Volusion, but if you decide to purchase three months in advance, you can take advantage of a 10% discount. Also, for sellers who plan to build multiple stores, there is a 10% discount on each additional store you create with Volusion.
Here’s a breakdown of the pricing structure and the features that come at each level:
Personal
Volusion’s Personal plan costs $29/month and includes:
- Up to $50K in annual sales
- Unlimited products
- Unlimited file storage and bandwidth
- Free SSL certificate
- Coupons and discounts
- Automatic tax calculator
- Manual orders
- Integrated dropshipping
- Standard shipping rates
- Online support
Professional
Volusion’s Professional plan costs $79/month and includes everything in the Personal plan, plus:
- Up to $100K in annual sales
- Bulk order processing
- Fulfillment centers
- Advanced discount engine
- Competitive shipping rates
- Online and phone support
Startup
Volusion’s Startup plan costs $179/month and includes everything in the Professional plan, plus:
- Up to $250K in annual sales
- $50/month in “Quick Wins” credits
- Competitive shipping rates
- Online and phone support
Business
Volusion’s Business plan costs $299/month and includes everything in the Startup plan, plus:
- Up to $500K in annual sales
- $150/month in “Quick Wins” credits
- Dedicated success team
- Traffic growth consultation
- Premium shipping rates
- Priority support
Prime
Volusion’s Prime plan is available at custom pricing and includes everything in the Business plan, plus:
- Over $500K in annual sales
- Access to support via Volusion’s Slack account
- Multiple admin users
- Premium shipping rates
Cloud-Based Or Locally-Installed
Volusion is a cloud-based solution.
Hardware & Software Requirements
None! Just keep your computer and internet browser current and maintain a strong internet connection.
Volusion also offers mobile apps for Android 5.0+ and iOS 10.0+. You can use these apps to manage your online store while you’re away from the computer.
Specific Size Of Business
Volusion is best suited to small businesses and startups.
Ease Of Use
Volusion offers a free 14-day trial to all prospective customers. Although you have to provide Volusion with some contact info, you do not need to give them your credit card to sign up.
When you go to test the software, you’ll find that, in general, the basic features of Volusion are easy to use. It’s simple to add a product, set shipping preferences, and make small adjustments to the look and feel of your website.
Source: Volusion
That said, when it comes to locating advanced features, Volusion can be fairly clumsy. The toolbar on the left side of the screen does not expand into nesting subcategories, which means that if you’re looking for a specific feature, you often have to click into multiple pages to find it.
What’s more, Volusion doesn’t offer the same level of functionality as other eCommerce software. In many cases, Volusion is easy to use because it doesn’t have very many features. Take a look below for a few of the features that you can expect from Volusion as well as a discussion of the software’s limitations.
Volusion Features
Volusion comes with the basic features small businesses need to create an online store. Volusion VOLT is still missing some more advanced features, and we are hoping to see those features added in the future. Here’s a quick breakdown of the features that are currently available:
- Dashboard: Volusion’s admin panel is simply organized, with categories listed in a toolbar to the left. When you first sign up, the Home page features the steps you need to take to set up your online store. Once you’ve published your site, this page gives you a more general overview of your store.
Source: Volusion
- Products: Add products to your store with Volusion’s bulk import tool. This tool imports new inventory using CSV files. With Volusion, you can list physical products that come in multiple variants (different sizes, colors, and styles), and you can price each item differently. You can also choose specific images to be displayed with each variant. Unfortunately, Volusion is not a good option for merchants who want to sell digital products. Volusion does not offer a simple way to deliver downloadable content to customers; you have to fulfill each order manually.
Source: Volusion
- Multichannel Selling: Use the integration with Pinterest to sell products with Product Pins.
- Checkout: Volusion has features for automatic tax calculation. You can also adjust your shipping settings to offer free shipping or charge shipping rates based on price or weight. If you want to calculate shipping rates from carriers in real-time, you’ll need an integration with Shippo to do so.
- Inventory Management: Track inventory for all your products and variants to make sure you never sell an item you don’t have on hand.
- Marketing: Create and promote discount codes. Use CRM tools to view your customers’ purchase history and contact information. You can also suggest related products to previous customers to inspire additional purchases.
- Dropshipping Features: Use Volusion’s fully-integrated Fulfillment Services app to ship products directly from suppliers.
- SEO Tools: Write custom URLs, meta tags, descriptions, and more.
- Reports & Analytics: View reports using Volusion’s Facebook Pixel app or Google Analytics integration. Use built-in analytics tools to view traffic metrics, abandoned cart data, store sales, site visits, and top products.
Web Design
When we look into web design, we look for three things: elegant design templates, usable theme editors, and customization.
Volusion offers just 14 free themes, all of which are mobile-responsive. These designs are attractive and image-focused. There are also two premium themes, which are priced at $180 each. A library of 16 themes is not the smallest selection we’ve ever seen, but we’d like to see a few more themes available.
Source: Volusion
Volusion lets you make changes to your design in a few ways. Web developers can create and customize content blocks using the site’s CSS.
Source: Volusion
For those without coding abilities, there is Volusion’s easy editor. You can use the visual editor to add content blocks (such as blocks of text, images, headers, and footers) to your site. Customize these blogs by changing colors, buttons, images, and text. Volusion’s visual editors are easy to use, although they do not offer the greatest level of customization.
Volusion Integrations & Add-Ons
Integrations are connections to modules and other third-party software that let users access more features. Volusion currently lists only 21 applications, excluding payment processors.
Fortunately, one of these applications is Zapier. A connection with Zapier allows you to integrate multiple third-party solutions beyond the listed applications. However, to access those integrations, you have to pay Zapier’s monthly fee. The 21 available applications make for a very small selection, and we would like to see Volusion continue to add integrations to its V2 platform.
There’s also an API available if you’d prefer to have your developers build a new connection.
Payment Processing
Volusion also integrates with a small selection of payment solutions.
Currently, Volusion connects with PayPal Express Checkout, Stripe, and its own payment solution called Volusion Payments (more on that in a minute). Through a connection with Stripe, you can also accept payments through Apple Pay.
All payment options are available on all pricing plans, but you can only enable one payment processor at a time (in addition to PayPal Express Checkout).
Volusion’s payment solution, Volusion Payments, is not actually its own payment processor. Instead, Volusion Payments is another name for “Volusion Merchant Services,” which connects you with a third-party payment solution. Available payment options are Authorize.Net and Fort Point Payments (for high-risk merchants). Through these services, Volusion Payments can offer some merchants discounted payment processing rates as low as 2.15% + $0.30 per transaction. Volusion Payments is only available to US merchants who are also US citizens.
Volusion Customer Service & Technical Support
Volusion offers 24/7 customer support to users on all its plans. Support options are fairly basic on lower-level pricing plans with priority support becoming available on higher-level plans. Here are the support options available:
- Phone: Schedule a phone call with Volusion from your admin panel. You can schedule calls up to 45 minutes long.
- Live Chat: Access live chat support on the Volusion website or in your admin panel. Volusion’s live chat support says they respond within a few hours, but I have always gotten responses within a few minutes.
- In-Software Help: Click the “?” icon in your admin panel to access the Help Center and live chat support or schedule a time for a phone call.
- Help Center: Volusion offers two different Help Centers: one for Volusion V1 and the other for Volusion V2 (aka VOLT). Because there are two Help Centers, it is sometimes difficult to search for a specific question (I often end up in the wrong Help Center). Make sure you check the version number at the top of the Help Center as you search for answers to your questions. One other limitation of the Help Center is that articles are not dated. Almost every article states that it was “updated over a week ago,” which makes it very difficult to ensure that information is up to date.
- Quick Wins: Volusion’s “Quick Wins” are support services that Volusion offers at flat-rate pricing. These services are priced around $100-$400 dollars, and they provide expert help in SEO, ads, design, and more.
- Videos: If you prefer to learn through example, you can find tutorial videos throughout your admin panel during the setup process. There are also a few videos available on the VOLT resource page, and Volusion offers a larger selection of videos and webinars on YouTube.
- Training: Users on the higher-level payment plans gain access to priority support and training through a dedicated success team and a traffic growth consultant. Users on the Prime plan also get access to Volusion’s Slack account, where they can chat with Volusion higher-ups directly.
- Blog: Volusion maintains an active blog, which covers various topics, such as online selling, site building, and marketing. You can also find industry news and Volusion product updates in the blog.
- Social Media: Volusion is somewhat active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn. The company’s YouTube account was last updated a year ago.
Volusion Reviews
Negative Reviews & Complaints
As with every service, there are some downfalls to using Volusion. I’ve searched the internet to see what current customers say about their experiences with Volusion. Here are the most relevant, recent, and recurring complaints:
- Too Expensive: Users report feeling nickeled and dimed. Merchants sometimes have to pay extra for services, such as Fraud Score and premium SSL certificates.
- Limited Integrations: Volusion only has a couple of dozen integrations, and that number has not increased over the past few years. It doesn’t seem like developers are interested in building connections with the software, which makes it difficult to add advanced features to the platform.
- Limited Features: Volusion lacks features in a few key areas. There are no tools for creating a blog (although you can integrate your blog from another site), and there are limited marketing features. I’ve also seen several reviews that say Volusion needs stronger reporting tools.
- A Lot Of Bugs: Users frequently report bugs and glitches. A few comments say Volusion’s updates cause more bugs than they resolve.
Positive Reviews & Testimonials
Overall, Volusion earns low-to-average scores across online user review sites. Volusion has 3.3/5 stars on G2 and 4.2/10 stars on TrustRadius. These scores aren’t great, and while we do find positive reviews of Volusion, there are more negative reviews out there. Here are a few positive features that we see users commenting on frequently:
- Ease Of Use: Users say it’s easy to set up an online store, and you can get your products online quickly. Users appreciate how the software is all-inclusive, which takes out many of the technological challenges of running a website.
- Good Customer Support: I’ve seen numerous reviews that praise Volusion’s support team. These positive reviews tend to mention live chat support, specifically.
Security
Volusion works to maintain site security for users and its customers. Volusion is PCI (Payment Card Industry) Level 1 compliant, and an SSL certificate is included with every plan. Volusion uses Google Cloud Platform, which maintains a 99.99% uptime record.
Furthermore, Volusion has Fraud Score, which helps you identify potentially fraudulent transactions. Fraud Score is available as a monthly subscription. Pricing is set at $12.95/month, $29.95/month, and $49.95/month.
Unfortunately, Volusion does not have a perfect record. Volusion experienced a recent security breach in October of 2019. Hackers were able to alter JavaScript code within the Google Cloud Platform to skim credit card information from 6,500+ stores. Since this incident, Volusion has been working to strengthen its security procedures.
Final Verdict
While Volusion is a good option, I can’t call it the best. Volusion’s limited features and integrations make the software less scalable than I would like it to be. At this point, I can only recommend the software to small business owners with limited experience in eCommerce.
If that sounds like you, go ahead and take Volusion’s trial for a spin. Just click the link below to sign up. Otherwise, take a look at a few of our favorite eCommerce software solutions. These options fit small and large businesses alike.
Liz Hull
Liz Hull is a writer for Merchant Maverick. In her three years with Merchant Maverick, she has tested and reviewed over 40 eCommerce platforms and published two ebooks on the topic of online selling. Liz has also been published in Startup Nation and Home Business Magazine Online. Liz has a BA in English and Spanish from George Fox University.
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We've done in-depth research on each and confidently recommend them.
We've done in-depth research on each and confidently recommend them.
Anyone seriously considering Volusion should be aware that they just filed for bankruptcy https://www.andrewjowett.net/2020/07/27/e-commerce-provider-files-for-bankruptcy-after-hacking-breach/
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Trade Show Displays US
I tried to create an extensive e commerce store with a word press which I understand has more features and plug ins but it ultimately turned out to be a nightmare trying to stack the pages for my website. I had categories which then dropped into sub categories then into another sub category of that before you could land on a product page. I then came across the Volusion platform and finished the entire website within 2 weeks by myself. This made things so much easier for me with updating products, images, information and SEO info. I would highly recommend.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: BAHAMA GOLF PARTS
Volusion credit card processing Bait and Switch. Roger Bautista emailed us the fees Volusion charges and was quoted 2.15%, .30 per transaction, .30 batch fee and $5.66 location fee. When I got my first bill it was about 4.8%. I tried several times to reach Roger but he would not reply. Finally reached a manager who did nothing to help us just said that certain credit cards are billed more than 2.15% based on the customer’s rewards. That was never explained to us so obviously we dropped them.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: MIDWEST AUTOMOTIVE PROTECTION LLC
I went into this not knowing the pros and cons of the V2 platform Im giving it 3 stars because it did not work for my store but if someone had a small store say 50-200 products its super easy to use the support was fair. I dont think I would use the beginner package (dont recall the name) as if you have spent even a small amount of time using the computer you will figure it all out, and if you dont just set up a call and they will walk you thru it. Problems with V2 – Integration is not possible along with google shopping (at least on a large store). I even hired the Volusion advertising team at a cost of 300 up front plus 500 a month plus ad cost and due to the system problems they were unable to run ads for me (they did refund the $). So am I happy? not really I spent 5+ months battling this, I did learn a lot about e-commerce in that time but still out a monthly fee for 5 months with not much to show for it but long hrs at the computer(had to manually put each product on 4500 products). Long story short if you want a simple store with a few hundred products you might check it out if you want a lot of control, options, features, active websites, or run a lot of products may I suggest another platform. I may give them another shot in the future however it will be on the V1 Platform
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
We started our e-commerce with Volusion in 2016, not knowing any better until we ended our plan with them in 2019. Their online web site and software builder is not very friendly. It is awful, clunky and doesn’t produce a “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” experience. It really forced me look at better solutions which I did and found that I could build a simple site of my own using Muse and I used the ECWID widget to insert the online store into my page. ECWID is awesome! Within minutes of building an an ECWID store, you can integrate into all the social media platforms and your own web site. It looks professional and is 1/3rd the price of Volusion. I also use BlueHost for the hosting and email service.Why did I move away from Volusion?Late last year, Volusion increased their monthly fee from $75 per month to $299 per month without sending out any notifications. They expected they would handle the dissatisfaction through customer service (online) and these people are not very responsive and not empowered to make any decisions. They pretend to be listening to you only to come back and lie and say there is nothing more “their management” can do. These are really dishonest people and I feel sorry for the customer service people that have to be the front people for the crooked management. They lock you into their service and know you won’t want to leave because of the redesign work it takes to get out. Well, I can show you how to get out and do it simply.My recommendation is this. Don’t work with Volusion. They are not an honest company and their product is bad . Build your own website with Muse (it’s free) and use ECWID to build your store. Copy and paste the ECWID HTML code and voilà! You have a beautiful website that meets your design and a great looking online store.How do you stop using Volusion?1. Contact BlueHost and get a hosting plan for your existing domain name that you own2. Get the hosting server details from BlueHost so you can develop your new website (in stage mode) 3. Download Adobe Muse (it is free) and link it to the hosting details for BlueHost for easy web site download or simply use FTP to download the pages4. Sign up for ECWID and build your online store – it is so easy5. Design your new website in Muse and embed the ECWID HTML code in your product store page6. You’re done! You get a better looking website and webstore versus Volusion and easy integration tools for Google Shopping, Amazon, Facebook, etc. Volusion is planning another $100 per month price hike soon so don’t delay.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Top Rank PC
Had a previous website with them and they continued to bill me after I closed my account. Asked them to cancel them and they did the website; however, the payment processing they didn’t. So I sent an email to them and they said they would. Well decided to go alt one payment for that month then they were supposed to stop the rest. They didn’t so this year on taxes girlfriend notices they were still charging me. Will be migrating all my clients websites over to another eCommerce site and payment gateways.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Lighting the Path
Volusion awarded my nonprofit a free website hosting package. I signed up for their ecommerce processing to handle payments at the standard fee. They then canceled the nonprofit program and told me I had to pay them the standard monthly hosting fee, so I dropped the website hosting. The payment processing contract stated I had a 2 year agreement and they are making me pay for it even though they backed out of our initial hosting agreement and I am not even using it. Do not do business with them. They are dishonest and are ripping off a nonprofit which is trying to help other. Disgraceful.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Fresh Press
don’t use this company Shopify is way better w customer service, this place plain out don’t give a shit. canceled my plan and they continued to charge me and said they would not refund even though we had evidence of the cancelation , I don’t say this as average consumer either we us e-commerce based site to generate pre sale site for clients on the regular ( we are a custom apparel shop) their platform is basic and layouts of the sites are boring , shopify is better in looks and more user friendly if price is a concern then yea f*** it. we gave them a shot on 1 of our pre sales sites that we do – we do roughly about 20 of these a month – DEF not going back
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: N'Vision Entertainment
I have been a Volusion client for 3 years. Though their pricing was high for industry standards I continued to use them since my ecommerce site was set up and going. However, I am leaving them and would never consider them nor recommend them to anyone. I waited on hold for 45 minutes only to find out that my account was on hold for the unbelievable amount due Volusion of $.08. Yes, $.08. I talked with customer service, merchant services and accounting and until I sent the $.08 to them by cashier’s check, my account would remain on hold. How stupid and one more Volusion client is gone for good.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Volusion
Hi William,
Per your discussion with our Merchant Services team that day, the balance was waived and we reactivated your account per your request. We apologize for the longer-than-usual wait times to speak with someone regarding your issue, but we are happy to see that everything was resolved same day.
Thanks,
The Volusion Team
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Nicotine Nirvana
When I started with Volusion 8 years ago they were pretty good, reasonably priced, easy to reach & helpful. They have gone down rapidly in the last two years & today I found out that they had changed my plan from PRO 75 at $80/mo to Business at $205/mo with absolutely no notification or authorization. After 90 minutes on hold for billing I think they got it corrected but I won’t know until the refund posts & they bill me for next month. The backend is extremely slow, the prices are now higher than others & their customer service is absolutely horrible. If you’re setting up a new site I would definitely look elsewhere & in spite of the logistical nightmare of moving to a new platform sooner or later we are going to have to do it.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Volusion
Hi Cliff,
We apologize for the longer-than-usual wait times for our billing department during that time. However, it looks like you were able to speak with someone from our billing department that same day. We were able to downgrade your plan and refund the difference for you. We understand the frustration that this may have caused, but we are happy to see that the issue was resolved in a timely matter. Every customer is hugely important to us and we want to ensure each merchant has a positive experience. Thank you for your continued service!
– The Volusion Team
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Marjorie''s Beef Jerkt
They took unauthorized transactions from my account. I will never ever trust them again for business. If you are a victim call your bank immediately and make a complaint
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Volusion
Hi Michelle,
We would really like to speak with you regarding this issue and learn more information to fully understand what happened. We never take transactions out of our merchants’ accounts without notifying them first. We would love to reach out to you to discuss this issue. Would you mind providing a with your store ID number so we could look into this for you?
Thanks,
The Volusion Team
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Terrible company. Would not recommend to anyone. Their platform is super glitchy and they will change the pricing on you without telling you. Customer service is basically non-existant. I asked to talk with someone in billing, I was told no one would answer me today and maybe tomorrow. I am so frusterated and will be looking at other options. Ive been with them for 10 years too long.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Volusion
Hi Jason,
First, we want to thank you for 10 years of your service and your feedback. We really do care about every customer, which is why we are reaching out to you. We apologize that you felt like you needed to go through public channels to get a response from us.
We wanted to talk through the reasons behind the price change. For many of our customers, bandwidth, overages, and purchasing a SSL annually are an issue. Our new plans include all of these things, and were put together in an effort to make the lives of our customers easier.
In early September, we emailed over information about the pricing change and explained the plan updates that were to take place. In this email we also gave you access to choose your new plan.
We would be happy to speak with you more to see how we can help. Would you mind giving us a little more information about your store so we could reach out to you directly?
Thank you,
The Volusion Team
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.