Volusion is Web-Based E-Commerce Software
I’ve written extensively about Shopify here, and now it’s time I weigh in on Volusion for you entrepreneurs setting out to buy Volusion software. This Volusion review sets out the details about this web-based e-commerce software.
Volusion is an online e-commerce platform that enables you to build a store.
BUT, it’s not small business software because you can build a HUGE online business with Volusion software.
Is an E-commerce store worth it?
Building an online store is easy with web-based e-commerce software like Volusion and Shopify. However, succeeding is another matter.
You see, Volusion and Shopify don’t actually get you buying traffic to your website. They also don’t ensure you’re selling products that will sell. They simply give you the tools to easily, inexpensively, and quickly build an online store. This Volusion review doesn’t tell you how to build a successful online store; instead it sets out the details about why or why not to buy Volusion web-based e-commerce software.
The key to succeeding online is … “tons and tons of targeted traffic.” This is assuming you have good offers, which I’m assuming you have or will have.
Most online stores fail because they simply do not get enough website traffic.
The bad news is getting 10 visitors a day is not going to result in many sales. You need hundreds and thousands of visitors each and every day. That is why once you have a great looking online store set up, focus on driving targeted traffic to your site. By targeted traffic I mean buyers of what you have to sell.
The good news is using Volusion web-based e-commerce software is so easy and fast that you can quickly start devoting your time to getting traffic to your website. Methods for driving traffic is beyond the scope of this article – but if building an online store is what you want to do, be prepared to work like crazy (or spend like crazy on paid advertising) to get visitors to your website.
What is Volusion?
It’s an online store software platform that enables you to build an online store WITHOUT knowing any coding at all. Just sign up, try a free 14 day trial, click buttons and open for business.
It’s web-based e-commerce software which means you operate your entire store through the Volusion website via a private account.
It’s a turn-key solution because it comes with all the tools you need to build an online store.
My Quick Opinion:
If you’re serious about driving traffic to your online store, Volusion is a great solution. Their templates look great, it’s easy to use, and is relatively inexpensive.
My Longer opinion – take a look at the details:
14 Day Free Trial
You’re never going to know if software is perfect for you if you don’t give it a try. Volusion knows this and offers a free 14 day trial, giving you time to test-drive before you buy Volusion software.
E-commerce website templates
You can choose from 33 free templates or upgrade to a premium template, of which there are hundreds. I’d start with a free template and see how you do with your initial website traffic. You may ultimately wish to test different templates to see what converts better. The point here is you have no shortage of templates to get started. You don’t need to design a thing, but you can customize the templates if you wish.
Start driving traffic with built-in affiliate program software
I can’t stress the importance of driving traffic to your site. The Volusion platform includes an affiliate program where you can pay website publishers and article writers to promote your store.
You pay them when they generate sales through their link. Many businesses succeeded because of their attention to an affiliate program. It can be an extremely effective way to attract targeted traffic. The best part about affiliate marketing is you only pay out when sales are generated. It’s a variable expense rather than a fixed expense.
Conversion Conversion Conversion
Once you get traffic, you need to convert that traffic to buyers. Volusion has several features to help your conversion including:
- A merchandising image enlarger;
- One page checkout. There’s nothing worse than losing a customer due to a complicated and lengthy checkout process.
- You can upload an unlimited number of product images. Images sell.
- Product comparison charts built-in. You can sell when you show that your products are superior to the competition.
- Free live chat option. You can set up live chat on your store to answer website visitors’ questions while they are on your site. This can be a very effective conversion tool.
Volusion Merchandising and Conversion Video:
Security
- Store Security
- Building a online store with Volusion solves all the security hassles you might have to worry about using other e-commerce platforms. You get SSL encryption, members only options, and filtering for contact form completion.
You Won’t Be Left On Your Own
- Volusion offers live telephone support as well as email, live chat, and video tutorials.
Credit Card Integration
You’ll need to qualify for a merchant account, which you can do when you buy Volusion web-based e-commerce software. After all, if you can’t offer credit card payments, it’s hardly an online store. If approved for credit card processing (apply during your 14 day trial), it’s very easy to integrate your credit card processing into your Volusion store.
Pricing
No Volusion review would be complete without telling you the cost to buy Volusion. After your 14 day free trial, the monthly packages are $29, $39, $79, $99, and $179. For most first-time online retailers, the $29 package which enables you to sell up to 100 products is sufficient. You can always scale up.
BUT, before you go into e-commerce, ask yourself if you’re prepared to work like crazy driving traffic to your site. If you don’t know how to do this, then I recommend looking into it first to see if that is what you want to do.
As a small business owner, I can tell you that attracting traffic work never ends. However, the bulk of the work is up-front. Once you establish a reputation and build your web presence, it gets easier. What I love about focusing a business online is your past efforts continue to yield results well into the future.
What do I mean?
Suppose you do some article marketing by publishing articles on your e-store website and then publish them on some high quality article directories such as EzineArticles and ArticleBase. Your articles, once published can drive traffic to your store for a long time into the future. Once you have a few hundred articles driving traffic, you have the beginning of a powerful web presence working for you.
Article marketing is just one example. The same applies to videos, social networking, etc.
Anyway, I consider Volusion a good e-commerce solution and if nothing else, is worth a 14 day free test-drive.
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I love Volusion shopping cart myself but the only little issue with them is they need more web 2.0 style templates. I know I can do them myself or get a designer to make new ones but most times it is better if one gets them in built. Other then that I believe the software has everything one needs to have a great e-commerce site.