An early priority for Work From Home Watchdog was to brainstorm various income ideas for people looking to make money online, and eCommerce is one avenue that was being utilized by affiliate marketers.
However, a look around the marketplace revealed that there are many different eCommerce software and platforms available.
I realized that eCommerce was growing in popularity, and so a Salehoo review followed. Then we looked at Shopify, and I must say, I was pretty impressed with both of them! Now let’s see how things shape up after my Volusion eCommerce Store review.
Straight off the bat, I’ll tell you that creating the base eCommerce store at Volusion is cheaper than SaleHoo. The cost is just £15 compared to Salehoo, which works out at £18.49 at today’s exchange rate.
Creating An Online Shop At Volusion
The usability, looks, and ease of integration of products (not forgetting the shopping cart functions) are surely what sets one online shop from another. So ‘for me’ the features available are the first things I check out.
Adding merchandise seemed a real breeze because there are loads of free templates to choose from. Even the demo theme looked great, so you can basically start with a great design for your eCommerce store.
I went ahead and edited some of the products and found the user interface very intuitive with everything in the place I’d expect it to be. And…I loved the vZoom Tool!
The ways of which you would market your eCommerce store that are integrated include features like daily deals, email opt-in lists rating stars, eBay, and SEO options.
These are all very good, but what stood out over and above the usual was a wish list and the ability to seamlessly slip in your Youtube videos.
Social doesn’t stop there with Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest built into your site stores mobile-ready templates.
Volusion Training And Support
It’s one thing having the eCommerce software giving you the ability to create these wonderful online stores, but is it something someone new working online could do?
That’s a question I had to ask myself, and I got the answer the day after signing up for my free 14 day trial in the form of a phone call from Lauren Rolfe.
Lauren called me up and introduced herself as my very own eCommerce consultant.
I was left a little speechless for a moment (very unusual for me!) as it was a very unexpected pleasant surprise. Lauren assured me that if there was anything that she could do to help she would.
I somehow believed her, and as we ended our short conversation she told me that she would email me some information that I may find useful.
I put down the phone and went immediately to my inbox, after a quick F5 (refresh screen) Lauren’s “Welcome to Volusion” email popped up. I quickly opened it to see what she sent.
General links:
- Pricing
- Design Pricing
- Feature List
Support Links:
- Training Videos
- Adding products
- Adding categories
- Product options
- Creating Deal of the day
- Setting up your Facebook shop
Plus…
- Volusion phone available 24/7, you can call them on: (+44) 0800 520 0312
- Links to Volusion live chat support and sales sections.
- A Direct number for Lauren :)
I previously had a play around with adding products etc, however having short training videos really made it a breeze to feel like an expert in eCommerce store creation.
The overall look of the stores created looks the best that I have tried to date, and the training resources are plentiful.
How Secure Are Volusion eCommerce Websites?
One aspect of an online store that you don’t want to be worried about is security. With credit card details and addresses linked you need total trust of the payment processors and any doubt involving server vulnerabilities must be squashed.
I’m not the WFHW team security expert, that’s Marcus, yet what I read about their robust admin-controlled security systems and a hardware guarantee that equals any top 3 hosting providers, I was more than willing to go ahead and jump in feet first.
Volusion Scam Reports
I wish I could say that I didn’t find any negative press about Volusion but I can’t.
The fact remains that there will always be people who complain about a product/service no matter how good it is, but our job at WFHW is to sort the serious complaints from the not-so-serious (or realistic).
There are a few angry customers that have taken the time to air their views, but these complaints are dated early/mid-2011 and seem to lack any real honesty.
The bottom line is what the customer feels so if you use Volusion do let us know how they fare in your business.
Volusion eCommerce Store Review Summary
I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Volusion as a class solution for setting up an online store.
The eCommerce platform they have created is one of the simplest that I have used, and the results look pretty good too. Lastly, the pricing is going to be hard to beat!
Tony – WFHW
I own a baby boutique online that I designed in 2004….I have heard many good things about Volution and would like to try it however, I already have approximately 1000 items and would rather be able to integrate my current shopping cart….can that be accomplished?
Thank you!
Shar
Hi Shar – Good question!
I’ve had a poke around and it seems that they are fairly well equip for 3rd party cart integration.
It really depends on what you’re using – but there is a list here and a free phone number to call to.
Let me know what they say and if you sign up,
Cheers for being here
Tony
This is such a great review, Tony! You have really done your homework and picked out some of the key points that make this platform so popular. I used to have a shop with Volusion, but had to take a break from running my business when some family priorities arose. I can say that their customer service was what won me over at the beginning (I never spoke with Lauren, but dealt with a gentleman in their London office, and he was very helpful), and after a while, I found that I was discovering new features every day that I didn’t even know Volusion offered! I’m with Tony – I strongly recommend Volusion to anyone who is looking to give their own business a true go!
Thanks for your thumbs up Tanya. It does seem like the are very proactive and forward facing in their approach to customer service. Glad to hear that they rocked for you.