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Volusion vs Shopify : Which one is the best?
- The main price difference is that Volusion's highest plan over 100 is cheaper than Shopify's highest plan.
- Shopify is easier to use for someone with no experience.
- Shopify templates range from $140 to $180 which makes them the cheaper alternative.
- The Shopify platform offer a great amount of payment gateways to connect to.
- The Shopify app store offers more free and premium apps than Volusion.
- Shopify customer service is faster to reach and find thru phone and live chat.
Two of the most popular eCommerce store building platforms are Volusion vs Shopify.
They offer users the ability to feature, market and sell products by making use of inbuilt features.
To understand which of the two between Volusion vs Shopify is best for you, we will take a deeper look at each of these great platforms and compare their pros and cons.
We will observe different categories such as pricing, customer service and overall ease of use.
Shopify is an e-commerce store builder that is based in Canada and is well known for being simple to use and offers attractive designs. It has over 600,000 merchants making use of the platform.
Volusion is a simple to use platform that has been around for more than two decades now. While it may not have as many users as Shopify, it still has a decent number of e-commerce stores.
Let's dive in…
What's the cost?
Shopify offers its users with four plans with monthly prices set at $9, $29, $79 and $299.
Any upgrade in monthly pricing means more features and the transaction fees also goes down.
The downside to Shopify is that it still charges transaction fees, something that is quickly losing momentum with most other e-commerce platforms.
However, it is possible to have the fees waived when using Shopify payments.
That's good news!
But what about Volusion? How does it compare?
Volusion offers $25, $75, and $135 plans and an increase in the monthly fee comes with added features. However, users will still need to pay transaction fees of between 0.5% and 2% per transaction.
Clearly, the monthly costs between Volusion vs Shopify are quite similar with the main difference being Volusion's highest plan being over 100 cheaper than Shopify's highest plan.
As far as pricing goes, Volusion is the clear winner.
Shopify: 0
Volusion: 1
How easy are them to use?
One of the areas where Shopify excels is in the simplicity of use.
The back-end has a simple design, clear admin and is easy to navigate.
In fact, it is so simple to use that Shopify users will often learn the basics from trying out the trial feature.
Volusion is not left behind as far as ease of use is concerned. A lot of emphases is placed on ease of use. Simple language and colorful icons allow users to quickly learn how to navigate the features.
Volusion also guides its users through the basic process of performing tasks which can be annoying to a user who is experienced.
While both platforms score top marks for ease of use, they are not exactly the same and in this case between it is Shopify that is the winner.
Shopify: 1
Volusion: 1
What kind of features do they offer?
Both Volusion and Shopify come with a rich array of features to help you set up a successful e-commerce store.
Users can create catalogs, manage their store using CMS, use payment gateways and achieve a cool looking design by making use of the pre-existing templates.
Speaking of templates
Shopify and Volusion offer templates that are professionally designed, neat looking and are responsive. This means that they will resize themselves to best fit where you need them and will still look good on different sized screens.
Users have the option to choose between free templates and paid templates.
There are more free templates on Volusion than on Shopify—11 in total. However, Shopify offers varieties on each of its free templates which provides users with more options.
As for the paid templates, Shopify has more than Volusion.
And what's more,
While the paid Volusion templates are priced at a standard cost of $180, Shopify templates range from $140 to $180 which makes them the cheaper alternative.
Shopify: 3
Volusion: 2
Payment Gateways
Shopify clearly outdoes Volusion by the number of payment gateways that the platform is compatible with. While Volusion allows 37 payment gateways, Shopify has over 100.
Both e-commerce platforms also feature their own payment gateway (Shopify payments and Volusion payments)
The greater number of payment gateways with the Shopify platform makes it the clear winner.
Note that in both Volusion and Shopify, the total number of payment gateways that users can use will vary depending on the location. For example, users in Europe may only use fewer payment gateways than users in the United States.
Shopify: 4
Volusion: 2
E-commerce apps allow store builders to integrate more functionality. But there is no contest as to which of the two (Volusion vs Shopify) is the clear winner in the apps section.
Shopify users have access to over 200 apps to choose from compared to 70 on Volusion.
Shopify also has more free apps than Volusion.
Shopify: 5
Volusion: 2
Many e-commerce store owners are very interested in knowing the dropshipping features of a store builder.
In drop shipping, you can sell products without actually having them in stock. Merchants simply take orders and send them to the supplier who then ships the products to the clients.
One of the main motivating factors in this way of selling is that there is no need for a high initial set up and capital.
With the many apps available for drop shipping in the Shopify store users can take fully take advantage of this type of business model.
Volusion only offers users with just two dropshipping apps.
Again, Shopify is the winner.
Shopify: 6
Volusion: 2
Point of Sale
Point of sale is where e-commerce store owners can use their platform to conduct business from a physical location.
Volusion and Shopify both make it possible to do this by integrating and syncing the inventory.
Shopify allows users to buy hardware directly from them for point of sale transactions. These include barcode scanners, label printer, till and receipt printer.
A variety of UPC scanners and receipt printers are compatible with the Volusion platform. However, Shopify is far much easier to use. With Volusion, a lot more work is involved in getting things set up and fully functioning.
Shopify: 7
Volusion: 2
Volusion does well as far as its marketing goes with an out of the box features such as email system for sending newsletters to potential customers. (within the Volusion platform itself) and users can even create an affiliate program
The drawback that we found is that the CRM system doesn't work with emails that have SSL integration.
Things take a different turn with the Shopify platform but it is possible to integrate with different CRM tools by downloading an app from the Shopify store.
To develop an affiliate program, there are apps for this as well an example of which is the Tapfiliate app.
Volusion provides a better experience which allows users to operate marketing campaigns and use marketing tools through the platform. Shopify, on the other hand, offers more functionality.
Shopify: 8
Volusion: 2
How is their customer service?
Let's start off with Volusion shall we?
It offers 24-hour online support on all its plans. However, the phone support is only accessible with the $35 plan and up. Shopify phone support is accessible on their $29 monthly plan and up.
The fact that the Volusion interface isn't as simple and straightforward to use means that users will need the phone support.
Shopify also offers LiveChat feature and email, something that is also available on Volusion.
For those that want to read things fast and easy, here are the pros and cons of each.
Shopify: 9
Volusion: 2
- The CMS is simple to use
- It offers more free templates
- It is better for dropshipping
- There are no bandwidth limits
- You can integrate more apps
- There is a transaction fee on each sale
- The phone support is not the simplest to use
- Requires the use of apps and plugins even for basic functions
- You can build a fully functioning e-commerce store with its cheapest plan at $15 per month
- Users will not pay any transaction fees
- It is an excellent choice for its affiliate program
- While transactions are free there are bandwidth limits to its users
- There is no function for blogging
- To use SSL certificates users will need to pay extra
Wrapping it up
Between Volusion vs Shopify, it is clear that the better of the two is, of course, Shopify.
It has more features, a simple to use interface and offers no bandwidth limits.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
Shopify vs Etsy: Which one to choose?
Have you been wondering between Shopify and Etsy to start selling your products which of these two would be ideal and best option to build your eCommerce store?
Then you've come to the right place.
I will take you through the main differences between Shopify vs Etsy and let you decide which one best suits your business. After reading this article, you will get a pretty good idea where to begin first.
Sounds good?
- The main differences between platforms
- Which one would help you sell more?
- The different prices
- More…
There is one main thing you need to be clear.
It all comes down to your method of selling
While Shopify is a webstore, Etsy, on the other hand, is a marketplace. This makes them quite different in their approach and sometimes, online sellers will actually prefer to use them both.
Let's take a dive in and discover more shall we?
Shopify vs Etsy—the main difference
Etsy is a marketplace as we keep saying. But what does this mean?
Well, Etsy offers a place where artists, crafters, and designers can meet up to buy their unique self-made products. As a seller, you will not need to concern yourself with designing your own website but instead just open an account and list your products and descriptions.
Using Etsy insanely simple. In fact, for first time online sellers, it could the perfect place to test the waters.
However, there is a catch and account holders will have to abide by Etsy rules.
And now for some numerical facts.
If you are doubting the popularity of Etsy, there are 1.8 million sellers registered on the site as well as over 30.6 million buyers.
But how does Shopify compare?
Shopify is an e-commerce store building platform that offers users plenty of options in terms of website design, customization, integration, and flexibility.
You are fully in charge of your store.
With Shopify, you can customize the site and tweak it to appear just right. You will be fully responsible for maintaining your e-commerce store. That means it's up to you to engage new clients or perform webstore conversion funnel building.
All of it!
Shopify however, still seems to attract more and more users every day. The platform powers over 500,000 businesses located in 175 countries.
In fact, the only other rival that outperforms Shopify is WooCommerce.
Now that we have understood the basic functioning between Shopify vs Etsy, let's dissect further and look deeper into their differences.
Shopify vs Etsy—selecting products
Handmade products and goods, vintage items and other works of art—these are the only items that can be sold on Etsy. Clearly, the site is strict on its guidelines as to what can and cannot be sold.
Shopify, however, has no restrictions on the type of products that can be sold as long as they are legal.
Shopify vs Etsy—the price
The question as to which of the two between Shopify vs Etsy is more cost effective really comes down to how much you are selling.
Take Shopify. It charges its platform users a monthly subscription depending on the plan you are on. Etsy, on the other hand, may turn out costlier in the long term due to the transaction fees.
Shopify has 3 main plans which include:
- Basic at $29 per month
- Shopify $79 per month
- Advanced Shopify at $299 per month
There are still credit card rates to deal with and a transaction fee of 2%, 1% and 0.5% on the various monthly plans respectively.
You will not pay any transaction fees if you use the Shopify payments.
For some e-commerce store owners, there may be a need to hire SEO experts and web designers to get the site running just right. These come with their own costs, something that you do not have to worry about with Etsy.
You will not pay any monthly subscription fees or a membership fee with Etsy. There are however 3 main fees which merchants need to pay which are:
- A listing fee of $0.20 per item for the item to be listed for 4 months
- A transaction fee of 3.5%
- 3% +$0.25 payment processing fee per transaction
Shopify vs Etsy—seller exposure
Brand recognition is something every seller is trying to achieve in one way or another. If you are considering Shopify vs Etsy, then high chance your branding still has a long way to go.
Both Shopify and Etsy are great but as far as exposure and branding are concerned, Esty is the simpler choice.
What are we saying here?
We are saying it is far easier to get traffic to your products in a marketplace than to do so in an e-commerce platform.
But I'm afraid there's more to this than it would appear.
Assume a prospective customer was to come across your product listing on Etsy. Odds are there are similar sellers offering the same item in almost exactly the same way. Your business is getting exposure but there are very few ways to make your listing stand out. Often it comes down to heading tweaking and thumbnails.
Getting loyal customers on Shopify is not simple. There are a lot of SEO and marketing efforts that you must do. However, once your site ranks high enough there will be very little competition to deal with.
It becomes easier for a site visitor to be converted into a loyal customer. Once having bought form your site, there is all likelihood that they will come back next time to make other purchases.
Esty is a good option when selling a fewer number of items. However, if you are selling many items then Shopify is the better option.
Shopify vs Esty—the pros and cons
Etsy pros
- By selling craft supplies, crafters can get the materials needed to create their own products
- It is possible to earn through selling eBooks
- Fewer Fees
- There are training courses to sell on Etsy for beginners
Etsy cons
- It's not easy to differentiate from your competitors
- Much harder to rank on search engines
- You can only sell from a limited number of categories
Shopify pros
- Shopify uses their own servers to host your store
- The site loads quite fast
- SEO is easy to perform on Shopify and will help users rank higher on search engines
- 24/7 customer support
Shopify cons
- Is costlier with the monthly subscription plans
- Extra costs based on hiring SEO experts and other types of experts such as designers
- Not as simple to set up as Etsy
Wrapping it up
When choosing between Shopify vs Etsy, it all comes down to your type of business and proprieties. They both perform different functions with one being a marketplace and the other an e-commerce building website.
Etsy is simple to get started on and requires next to no e-commerce skills. Shopify, on the other hand, is a great platform when you want to scale up and diversify.
Shopify vs Wix: Which is the best?
Shopify and Wix are among the most popular eCommerce store building websites in the market. If you are wondering which of the two, Shopify vs Wix is best, the answer may not be as simple it would otherwise appear.
Luckily for you, you've landed on the best place to compare and find out which one is best for you.
Shopify is a leading platform, arguably among the best in the market. Wix, on the other hand, has made a name for itself as a drag-and-drop, simple to use website builder.
Let's take a look at Shopify vs Wix to find out which one would be best for your situation.
Without further ado!
- Ease of use
- Features
- Themes
- Fees and payment gateways
- Customer support
- Etc
Let's dive in!
Ease of Use
Ever heard of the saying 'time is money'?
Nobody wants to spend too much time learning and putting their e-commerce store together.
No sir! What you want is to get the online store up and running quickly so you can concentrate on the very important task of promoting your business.
When it comes to simplicity of use, the Shopify vs Wix debate doesn't get any easier.
Take Wix.
It features a Drag and drop feature for almost every part of the website building. Think of putting Legos together. That's all you'll be doing really—dragging and dropping web pages, images and so forth.
What's more, Wix features templates that are simple to use and will help you get started fast.
Shopify is a bit more complex and with good reason. It is designed to build a fully functioning online store with a lot more features than Wix.
For just this reason, building your e-commerce store with Shopify will take you some time but with the benefit of having more tools to work with such as blog creation, payment options and adding different categories.
Shopify is better if you want to achieve a more advanced store. However, if you are new to this, Wix is definitely the much simpler alternative.
So, Shopify vs Wix, who wins as far as ease of use goes? Well, Wix of course!
Okay, so Wix threw the first blow by being simple to use. Lets now take a look at features. This is where Shopify does some muscle flexing.
It has far more advanced features than Wix. From abandoned cart recovery to creating manual orders, detailed reporting, and complex third-party shipping rates, Wix is left on the sidelines on this one.
And we've not even considered the Shopify app store where users can use currency conversion, add customer wish lists and make use of thousands of apps.
Take abandoned cart recovery, that's just not there on Wix but is something Shopify users can make use of.
Now, now! That is not to say that Wix doesn't have some really cool features. You get to customize messages to customers, do a ribbon advertising sale and the great thing is, even with the fewer features, Wix continues to bring out new ones regularly.
Between Shopify vs Wix, it is Shopify that excels as far as features go. Wix, however, is a great alternative when building a simple website for selling fewer products.
Form a strictly technical point of view, there is not much difference between an online store and a physical one. Think about it, suppose you came across a physical store that wasn't well organized. What are your chances of going in and buying something? Well, minimal.
The same concept applies to the themes on online stores. A nicely designed theme will draw you in and likely convert you into a buyer. And that is exactly what Shopify intends to do with its themes.
Shopify bases its designs on the sales data. Recognizing that up to 39% of online sales are made from the smartphone, Shopify has designed its themes to be mobile friendly.
You can achieve the same with Wix, but there's a lot more work involved in making themes mobile friendly.
Shopify has a team of independent designers working full time to ensure that regardless of the department you want to sell in, there are beautiful themes to match.
Granted, some paid themes may cost as much as $180. But trust us, it's well worth it in the long run.
Wix does provide users with a selection of over 55 themes.
Note that once you pick one, it is not possible to change. This could be problematic for the user when rebranding the store. However, they are very simple to edit.
In the Wix vs Shopify contest, Shopify is the clear winner as far as themes and designs go. Wix's themes are perfect when looking to create a simple website. You can add products, connect payment methods and add customer navigations. For a more advanced customer experience, however, Shopify is the way to go.
Let's first understand SEO. It the science of getting sites to rank on Google.
Assume you sell cowboy hats. When buyers search "buy cowboy hats" on Google your site should appear as high as possible on the first page. This is only possible with good SEO practices.
That's the whole point of creating an online store, isn't it? to be found.
The higher your e-commerce store ranks on Google, the more the visitors and the more of those visitors can be turned into loyal customers.
Which of the two excels at SEO between Shopify vs Wix? I'm afraid it is a tie with this one.
By making use of meta titles, tags, and meta descriptions, both Shopify and Wix excel at SEO.
Between Shopify vs Wix, we know you are itching to know which of the two is more expensive to set up and run.
Let's start off with Wix.
Users have two options here:
- The Wix eCommerce Plan at a monthly fee of $17
- The Wix VIP at a cost of $25 per month
Shopify, on the other hand, has 3 main plans:
- Basic Plan at $29 per month
- Shopify at $79 per month
- Advanced Shopify at 299 per month
Shopify's basic plan will cost you $144 a year over the Wix eCommerce plan. That said, there are more features on the Shopify basic plan than on the Wix eCommerce plan.
Wix's plans are great for entry-level online stores but if you are looking to build a much more advanced e-commerce store, Shopify is your best bet.
Which of the two between Shopify vs Wix is best, considering the cost involved very much depends on your individual requirements.
Fees and Payments gateways
There is really no contest between Shopify vs Wix on payment options and fees. Shopify accepts over 100+ payment gateways and third-party merchants.
Wix has 18 third-party merchants.
Don't let this soil your intentions of going for Wix though, as their app allows users to add many more payment options. And the great thing is you can make use of the most popular payment options such as PayPal, Stripe, and Autrhorize.net.
Back to Shopify.
When you use Shopify payments, you will not pay any transaction fees. Other payment options on Shopify will require you to pay between 0.5% and 2% transaction fees.
With Shopify payments, you are also able to receive money directly from customers.
But what about Wix?
Wix will not charge you any transaction fees so that's a big fat plus. But since you will be using third party payment gateways, your fees will depend on how much the different processors charge credit card fees.
When choosing between the two, ask yourself who your target customers are and what payment options most appeals to them.
You might just find that Wix will work fine for you. Shopify, however, offers more options.
Customer support
Both these platforms offer excellent customer support with agents that you can talk to ever phone or email.
On the other hand, Shopify does take things a notch higher by providing customers with a 24-hour LiveChat feature. You won't find this with Wix.
Wix is better with its inbuilt editor. When setting up your Wix store, simply hover the mouse on the editor's question marks and quickly receive answers to particular problems. It is not as simple with Shopify which requires you to open a different page.
And then there is the help center.
On Wix, there are plenty of videos and articles to help you set up the best online store possible. Okay, Shopify may have a help center but does not offer videos.
In the end, Shopify's customer support errs towards building an e-commerce store. Wix provides more technical support.
We've seen that between Shopify vs Wix, the right one for you depends on your individual requirements. To help you decide better, let me go over pros and cons on a list.
- Superior customer support with 24 hours email, phone, and LiveChat support
- E-commerce tools and features are designed for building an online store
- Is compatible with more than 70 payment options
- It cost more to build your e-commerce store on Shopify.
- Comes with over 500 templates that can be easily edited to suit your niche
- It is more affordable than Shopify
- Has an app store where users can get even more features
- It was initially designed to build a website and may be limited in e-commerce features
Wrapping it up
Wix offers an excellent choice for people who want a simple website and an online store that doesn't list too many products. It is simple to set up and virtually anyone can do it.
If, however, you are looking for more features and control over your e-commerce store, Shopify is the better option. It comes with more features and while being a bit more expensive offers user's greater versatility.
Shopify vs Squarespace : Which one is better?
Deciding between Shopify vs Squarespace should be a walk in the park. After all, they are both meant to fulfill the same purpose, build websites, right?
But even while this is the case, these two great platforms started life rather differently.
While Shopify was initially designed to help users create their own e-commerce website from scratch even with no web design skills, to begin with, Squarespace was originally intended for creating and maintaining content-based websites.
But which of these two great platforms between Shopify vs Squarespace is the best at providing e-commerce solutions? That's what we are going to find out.
Recently, however, Squarespace has seen the addition of e-commerce features to its design and this puts it in the same business with Shopify.
- Building a website vs building an e-commerce store
- Costs
- Transactions and credit cards
- Payment gateways
- More….
Let's find out!
Building a Website vs Building an E-Commerce Store
The first thing you want to do when deciding between Shopify vs Squarespace is your main objective. Do you want a website or are you looking to create an e-commerce store?
Alright granted, an e-commerce store is technically a website but what we mean here by "website" is creating a platform to share information from any discipline such as health, nature, wildlife or lifestyle.
With an e-commerce site, the main goal is to sell products online.
Building a Website
Let's assume your interest is building a website. This will require you to focus on the design and the management of content. In this case, the clear winner between Shopify vs Squarespace is the latter of the two.
Squarespace has neatly designed templates, well-developed blogging features, has very intuitive CMS and is just a delight to use.
Note that Squarespace offers its users with two main options; the normal platform and the developer's platform.
The normal platform is the most commonly used. However, while it still offers excellent features, it lacks more advanced features of the developer's platform which as the name suggests is designed with the web developer in mind.
Of course, the developer's platform allows greater customization of the website but to fully utilize its features, users need to have a background web development.
Most of you out there, however, may not be well versed in web development and this is why when deciding between Shopify vs Squarespace we are going to focus on the normal platform.
While it still offers great features, suffice to say that it is only suited for a simple website.
One of the main challenges we found when deciding between Shopify vs Squarespace is the navigation with the normal Squarespace platform.
Once you create the main parent page, which will come with subpages, you are only able to view the subpages once you click on the parent page.
Second, you are limited to just how much you can customize the template. Of course, you are able to change certain aspects such as the typefaces and colors but really not much else.
But don't get your hopes down.
That said, the templates are very well designed and you can make them look even better by tweaking the colors and the basic designs.
Ironically, the lack of too many options and features have the added benefit of making it super easy to build your own website with the Squarespace normal platform.
But how does Shopify compare?
Squarespace allows you to build a professional looking website in no time. You will be able to display images and content better. Shopify simply doesn't offer users these kinds of features.
Building an E-Commerce Site
Things take a confusing turn when deciding which one the two between Shopify vs Squarespace to use when building an online store.
The two platforms make it possible for users to build decent e-commerce stores. To decide which one is best, you have to weigh the pros and cons of each.
With Squarespace, you have 4 monthly subscriptions to choose from.
- Personal plan at $16/month
- Business plan at $26/month
- Basic plan at $30/month
- Advanced plan at $46/month
Users in Europe should note that the prices are exclusive of VAT. They are also discounted when users pay upfront for a whole year.
Shopify, on the other hand, provides users with 5 monthly plans.
- Shopify Lite at $9/month
- Basic Shopify at $29/month
- Shopify Plan at $79/month
- Advanced Shopify plan at $200/month
- Shopify Plus at around $2000/month depending on the requirements.
Users should also note that in cases where they pay upfront for a whole year, the discount rates are between 10% and 20% on the different Shopify plans.
A few things to keep in mind with Squarespace:
- You will not be able to sell with the personal plan
- You cannot add JavaScript or CSS to your site with the personal plan
- The business plan charges 3% transaction fees on any sale
- The maximum number of site admins and authors are restricted to 2 with the personal plan
- With the online store's plan, you get a year of e-commerce reporting
- When you pay a whole year's subscription on any plan, you get a free custom domain.
A few things to keep in mind with Shopify:
- You will not actually be building an e-commerce site with the Shopify Lite plan but rather you are able to use your existing Facebook page or website by adding the Shopify sell button.
- You only get gift cards with the higher priced plans.
- To get advanced e-commerce reporting, you will need to subscribe to the higher priced plans as well.
Transactions and Credit Cards
Both Shopify and Squarespace will charge users transaction fees and credit card fees.
What's the difference you might ask?
Well, transaction fees are charged on each transaction depending also on the monthly plan while credit card fees are charged when processing payments again depending on your monthly plan.
Let's start with Shopify
Users have the option of using Shopify payments in which case they will not pay any transaction fees. However, users still pay the following credit card fees:
- 4% +30c on the Advanced Shopify Plan
- 6% +30c on the Shopify Plan
- 9% +30c on the Shopify Lite and the Basic Shopify Plans
If you, however, opt for third party payment gateways to handle your credit card transaction Shopify will require you to pay:
- 2% transaction fees on Shopify Lite and Shopify Basic plans
- 1% transaction fees on the Shopify plan
- 5% on the Advanced Shopify plan
But what about Squarespace?
Well, their transaction fees only apply with the business plan in which case you pay a rate of 3%.
As far as the credit card fees go, since Squarespace only uses PayPal or Stripe, these two payment options will determine how much you are charged on your credit card depending on their rates.
Note that both transaction and credit card fees will vary depending on the country you are transaction from or to.
For example, when using Stripe, Squarespace users in the US will pay 2.9% +30c for every transaction while in the UK users will pay 1.4% +20p for every transaction provided the user is using a European card.
Note that if you want to opt for the Shopify payments, you can only do so if you are in any of the following countries:
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Australia
- Japan
- Singapore
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Hongkong
- Ireland
Which brings us to our next point…
Payment Gateways
You can think of payment gateways as processors of credit card transactions.
With Shopify, anyone anywhere in the world can pretty much use the platform as it is compatible with over 100 different payment gateways.
Squarespace on the other hand only uses Stripe and more recently added PayPal to the list. These are just 2 payment gateways compared to Shopify which has over 100.
From a strict payments point of view, Shopify remains the clear winner.
The Costs
With Squarespace, their $14 per month personal plan is enough when you are only interested in creating an information website.
However, this is not enough if you are aiming for a more content driven site. The personal plan lacks a lot of features that you will need to achieve this.
The next best option is their business plan which will costs you $26 per month but comes with e-commerce functionality.
On the other hand, with the Shopify basic plan, you are able to build a fully functional e-commerce store at a $29 monthly fee.
Recall that Squarespace only offers users 2 payment gateway options and charges 3% transaction fees on their business plan. Even while the Shopify basic plan is a bit expensive, it is still the better option when you consider the 100+ payment gateway options.
And when you want to forego building your own website, Shopify offers users the Shopify Lite plan at a $9 monthly cost.
However, keep in mind that there plenty more to consider between Shopify vs Squarespace than just the monthly charges and the payment gateways. Let's find out.
Key Features
Comparing the two, Shopify has been around longer as an online store building platform. Because of this, it has a more extensive list of features that far outweighs that of Squarespace.
Coupled with the more than 100 payment gateways, Shopify also allows for drop shipping, has more advanced e-commerce reporting features and has a point of sale technology to mention a few.
Both the Shopify and Squarespace interfaces are not very different. On the left side of your screen is the menu. You can use it to move to different sections of CMS such as settings, analytics.
We found Squarespace to be a little simpler to use thanks to its drag and drop feature when setting up the site. It is very user-friendly.
This is not to say that Shopify is difficult to use just that setting up your site can take a bit of time compared to Squarespace.
However, Squarespace does tend to get a bit slow when making use of its drag and drop feature and we found that it was easier to use on some browsers than in others. Squarespace also tends to hang when uploading images.
This is not so with Shopify as its responsiveness is quite fast.
To best make use of Squarespace, you will require a decent machine with a fast processor. As far as speed and responsivity go, Squarespace is the better choice.
Squarespace has some pretty templates even more so than Shopify. What's more, while Shopify offers users with 10 templates, you can choose any of up to 70 with Squarespace.
However, we found that the awesome looking templates on Squarespace are designed for a website that is more information geared than an e-commerce platform. In fact, out of the 70 templates, only 16 of these are meant for an online store.
Have You Decided on a Template Yet?
Good, now pick any of the many visuals such as parallax scrolling.
And as if that wasn't enough, the Squarespace images allows users to enhance them, even more, thanks to their integration with Getty Images. This means that instead of spending a lot of your dollars buying images directly and then uploading them, you will only spend around $10 plus VAT to download images directly to your Squarespace.
And things don't stop there!
You can add a Vimeo or YouTube video as a template background.
But let's consider Shopify. While their templates may not be as visually appealing compared to Squarespace, they are still very well designed.
And if you feel like they are not up to your standards, you can always buy better-looking templates from the Shopify template store.
This means that your options just went up even higher than with using Squarespace provided you are willing to cough up between $140 and $180.
With these new templates, you also get features such as parallax scrolling and video backgrounds.
Which one is better between Shopify vs Squarespace really comes down to the user's main intentions. Squarespace is the better option for information-driven websites such as blogs while Shopify templates are ideal for e-commerce stores.
Importing and Exporting Products
You can import and export products on both Shopify and Squarespace but while the former only lets you do this using a CSV file, Squarespace provides users with plenty more options.
With Squarespace, you can use Shopify, Big Cartel, Etsy as well as a CSV file. This gives it an edge over Shopify itself.
However, Shopify excels at exporting product data and it doesn't really matter the type. With Squarespace however, you can only export physical products.
Search Engine Optimization
With Shopify, there is an automatic generation of meta descriptions and page titles for all the products and pages. This gives things a head start.
Things, on the other hand, are a bit different with Squarespace. While Shopify uses the basic SEO terminology such as meta descriptions, alt text, and titles, Squarespace uses names such as captions, excepts and descriptions.
These can still be used for SEO but the problem is that if not used correctly, they can end up showing on your templates.
SEO Is Better on Shopify
SEO is just simpler with Shopify as you are using the basic terms as they are normally used. In other words, it is less confusing.
Another great advantage with Shopify is that it will prompt the user to develop a 301-page redirect every time they change the URL of the page. The process is simple as well. By a simple tick of a checkbox, the task will automatically be done for you.
Creating a 301 page direct on Squarespace could be easier as the process will have to be done manually.
Point of Sale
POS or point of sale is a feature that is only available on Shopify but not on Squarespace. It makes it possible to not just sell products online but at your physical store as well.
To best make use of the POS, users will require a barcode scanner, cash drawer, a card reader and a receipt printer. As you sell both online and from your physical store, your inventory count is kept in check by the POS system.
While it is possible to use Squarespace to sell from a physical store the difference is that there will be no printing of paper receipts or using the physical equipment such as barcode scanners.
The card details would be added to a tablet or laptop and then they would receive a receipt through email, well, theoretically.
For the majority of people who venture into e-commerce, their main intention is to do dropshipping. This is where the user acts as a middleman between a business and its clients by posting the businesses products on your site.
Understanding Dropshipping
Once a customer orders a particular product, you send that order to the owner of the business or supplier and they, in turn, send the product to the customer.
The main advantage with drop shipping is that you will not have to purchase stock. However, due to the high competition involved, the profit margins are usually very low.
Between Shopify and Squarespace, it is Shopify that offers the best features when you want to start a drop shipping business. There are plenty of apps to facilitate this such as Oberlo.
This is more than can be said for Squarespace.
For users on Squarespace, an alternative would be to use Shipstation or to register for a Shopify Lite plan and add the Shopify buy button to your Squarespace site. This, however, is a lengthy procedure and nowhere near as simple as just using Shopify for dropshipping.
Mobile Apps
You will get mobile apps to help manage your site whether you are on Shopify or Squarespace.
As far as Squarespace goes, there are five main apps available on both iOS and Android:
- Commerce
- Analytics
- Blogs
- Note
- Portfolio
Frequently Used Apps
Of these, the most common apps include the commerce and blogs app. They allow Shopify users to manage orders as well as publish content while on the move.
Analytics & Note Apps
The Analytics app allows you to use your smartphone to check the stats.
And when you want to make notes and publish on platforms such as Google Drive, DropBox or Evernote, the note app allows you to do just that without the need to log into your Squarespace account.
The Portfolio App
The portfolio app allows users to download the images on Shopify onto their smartphones. You can show them to people when there is no internet access.
Many Apps on Shopify
Shopify also provides users with plenty of apps. However, there are two main ones that are popular among Shopify users.
The main Shopify app comes with a few basic features in one such as checking the stats and managing orders.
The second is the point of sale app. This makes it possible to accept orders and payments from a physical retail store.
Like we said, Shopify offers you plenty more apps but these two are the most commonly used apps by mobile users.
So, which is better?
Suffice to say both Shopify and Squarespace offer users better management of their sites via mobile apps but the way these two platforms approach it is quite different.
Squarespace users have to download a different mobile app for the specific task at hand. With Shopify, users can manage their site with just one or two apps.
Shopify apps are simple to use. However, since Squarespace apps are designed with the individual task in mind, they could be better at solving those specific tasks.
Selling Digital Goods in EU
If you plan on selling goods in the EU, you need to keep note of the VAT MOSS or VAT Mini One Stop Shop.
When selling goods to different countries in the EU, you have to include the value added tax of the individual country you are selling to.
While Shopify will automatically calculate the VAT of that particular country, this is not the case with Squarespace where you have to manually input the rates.
SSL Access
Lets first define what SSL is, shall we?
This is the standard security technology which enables an encrypted link to be sent between the web server and the browser. Its function is to ensure that the data shared between the browser and server is safe and remains private.
Recently Squarespace allows its users to install SSL certificates and the good news is that the user can use it with any domain. This is also true with Shopify.
Our verdict?
Both Shopify and Squarespace excel at SSL access.
When you buy any of the plans on Shopify for a whole year's subscription, you get a free domain. Now it's important to note that you can also get a custom domain with Shopify, but it is by no means free. You will need to pay an annual fee of $13.
However, you can also buy domain names through Squarespace as well.
The benefit of having a domain with either Shopify or Squarespace is that it becomes super simple to host your own site since the settings come pretty much pre-configured. What's more, you are still getting a TLD or a top level domain.
Product Images
To provide the best display of products images with Shopify, they need to have the same aspect ratio. Otherwise, all visitors will see is an uneven display with different sized images.
This inconsistency is not very visually appealing.
It Gets Hard
And it is not the simplest task to ensure the same image size on your Shopify store. A trick is to use image editing software such as photoshop to resize the images.
Another alternative is to use Pixc; an image editing app by Shopify. It will provide you the first 150 images free editing but anything above that and you will have to pay a monthly fee of $0.05.
Things are much easier with Squarespace. Once you decide and select on the best aspect ratio to display your images, the system will crop them automatically.
What's more, users can even define a focal point on the images. This ensures that the main part of the image is on display and isn't cut off.
We found that the Squarespace e-commerce reporting feature only provides the basic stats such as sales, traffic sources, and visitors.
Shopify, on the other hand, is much more advanced. Some of the reports include:
- Sales reports
- Finance reports
- Acquisition reports
- Behavior reports
- Customer reports
And things don't stop there.
With Shopify, you can even create your own custom reports.
But there is a drawback.
To be able to access Shopify's reports, you have to be subscribed to their costlier plans from the advanced plan and up. Their lower priced plans only offer basic reports similar to the ones on Squarespace.
Similarly, if you want more advanced reports on Squarespace, you will need to be subscribed to their more advanced plans.
Of course, a way around this on both Shopify and Squarespace is to use Google Analytics. This, however, means configuring and adding settings manually.
One of the most important aspects of running an online retail store is blogging. You can use quality content to drive traffic to your e-commerce store.
While it is not all e-commerce platforms that provide users with the blogging option, at least both Shopify and Squarespace have this feature.
In terms of which of the two offers the most features, we'll have to go with Squarespace on this one. Users can make use of both categories and tags. However, with Shopify, you can only use tags.
Third-Party Integrations
With the Shopify app store, users can find literally thousands of integrations that can be used with apps. What's more, there are plenty of apps that can enhance the functionality of your Shopify store such as dropshipping and enhancing SEO.
This is not so with Squarespace. While it is still possible to integrate other applications with Squarespace, user options are not as diverse as is with Shopify.
AMP or Accelerated Mobile Pages is a format that makes the content load extremely fast on mobile devices. The way it works is by leaving out certain information from the main site to deliver a trimmed down version of your mobile phone.
With such a format, there is better user experience as loading is instantaneous. With such fast loading, users will stay on your page for longer which often translates to more purchases.
What's more, Google gives priority of AMP pages and ranks them above normal standard pages.
It is really simple to enable AMP with Squarespace. All you will need to do is find the relevant checkbox in your site's settings.
There's a lot more to do to enable AMP in Shopify. You will need a third-party app such as fireAMP and RocketAMP which you will have to pay for.
G Suite
Squarespace has a partnership with Google which allows it to offer users with a G Suite integration. It allows users to manage certain tasks without having to leave the site such as adding users, renaming users and reviewing G Suite invoices.
You can also use G Suite with Shopify. You will, however, be required to edit the DNS settings for the email accounts to work.
CSS and HTML Editing
There is a lot you can do in terms of coding your Shopify site and in fact, you have complete control over HTML and CSS on all Shopify plans apart from the Shopify Lite.
On the other hand, Squarespace allows you to edit CSS but only some parts of HTML.
Remember what we said about the developer Squarespace version? With it, you can get more control over the coding of the site. To take full advantage of it, however, the user will need to have a strong background in coding.
With the phone support, live chat and email support provided by Shopify, it is safe to say that it performs better in this department than Squarespace.
There's only email support and live chat with Squarespace. The main downside that we found on both sites is that before you can receive any support, you will first have to peruse their help pages for the question you want answering. This can be rather annoying.
- Users of the Shopify platform can list an unlimited number of products
- Users enjoy 24/7 support including a LiveChat feature
- Comes with has fraud analysis feature
- Comes with abandoned cart recovery which has been shown to boost sales by up to 30%
- Not the cheapest e-commerce building platform
- Users do not get to enjoy a free domain name
- The most affordable plan offers just 2 staff accounts
- Users can list an unlimited number of products
- The annual plan offers a free domain name
- Comes with 24/7 support
- The site is optimized for mobile phones
- Paying monthly for the various plans is more expensive
- The domain renewal cost of $20 may be a bit steep
- Doesn't feature abandoned cart recovery
Wrapping it up
When it's all said and done the bottom line is deciding which is better between Shopify vs Squarespace. The answer, however, is not that simple. If your main aim is a content and information-driven website, then Squarespace is better.
If on the other hand, you intend to build a large efficient and effective online store, Shopify is your best bet thanks to its more advanced features, a large inventory of resources and professional reporting.
Woocommerce vs Shopify : Which one to choose?
Are you planning on starting your very own online store? Brilliant idea! You will need an eCommerce platform to get things moving. Here we wish to look at WooCommerce vs Shopify and find out which of the two is the better choice.
Both WooCommerce and Shopify are some of the most popular eCommerce platforms on the market. Each comes with its own features as well as its own set of pros and cons.
By understanding these features, you can make a decision as to which of the two between Woocommerce vs Shopify will serve you best.
- Understanding WooCommerce and Shopify
- What to consider when choosing an eCommerce platform
- What are the costs?
- How easy is to use?
- What type of payment methods does it offer?
- etc
Let's get started!
Understanding WooCommerce and Shopify
Before we get to the actual comparing of the features of these two great platforms, it's important to first understand what they are all about.
Shopify is well known as an all-rounded platform that helps you set up your eCommerce store and perform tasks such as inventory management and accepting payments without the need for web hosting, caching or concerning yourself with security.
WooCommerce on the hand is a plugin that is built on WordPress. It allows you to make use of CMS or contentment management systems to be able to run your online store.
Now you know!
Which of the two you choose will entirely depend on your personal situation and interests.
What to Consider When Choosing an eCommerce Platform?
The journey to picking the best eCommerce platform is filled with plenty of information that could leave you confused at best. But do not worry. With a few awesome tips, everything should be easy.
- Cost- This is the amount that you will need to set up and run an eCommerce store.
- Simple to use – You want to go for something that is easy even for a beginner to use.
- The number of the integrations – The platform should allow for different integrations to help manage the store better.
- Methods of payment – The more payment methods that you can incorporate into your online store the better.
- Scalability – Your eCommerce platform should scale as the business grows.
These are the basics that you need to keep in mind when starting your online store. Let's consider them in greater detail below.
Cost is the number one factor to look at. It goes beyond the amount required to start an online store to any extra services and features that you may need to add.
The main benefit with WooCommerce is that you can access it for free as a WordPress plugin. To make use of it though, you will require a domain name, SSL certificate and an account to host your WordPress site.
How much are we talking?
Well, getting a domain name will cost you$14.99, an SSL Certificate costs $69.99 and to host your site, you will need to pay around $7.99 each month.
While it is not cheap especially when you are just starting out, it is lower than Shopify. What's more, you will not have to pay any fees per transaction. Let's not forget the free themes.
The main downside to WooCommerce is that extra plugins mean more costs and you will also pay more for hosting as your online store grows.
What is the cost of Shopify?
Shopify features three main plans. There is the Basic plan that charges $29 per month, the Shopify plan that goes for $79 per month and the Advanced Shopify plan that goes for $299 per month.
However, keep in mind that you will need apps and other add-ons to improve your Shopify store. This means extra costs.
The payment method that you choose will come with its own fees. For example, using your own merchant account will result in a 2% fee on all transactions.
What about the Shopify payments option?
This will cost you $2.9+30 cents per transaction.
User Friendliness
It really doesn't matter whether you are an expert web designer or you have no background in IT. One thing remains true, you want a website that is simple to use and navigate.
WooCommerce is very much unlike Shopify. It is self-hosted which means that other than installing WooCommerce, you will have to keep backups, manage updates, and deal with security matters.
Customization is easy though. This is thanks to the 50,000+ WordPress plugins available at your disposal. However, since you will need WordPress page builders, you will have to dedicate a significant amount of time learning.
The fact that Shopify is fully hosted means that you will not have to concern yourself with software installation and management. After signing up, you get to pick a design, add some customizations then move on to adding products.
You get an easy guided tour of the platform.
But there is a drawback.
The only tools available to you are contained in their app store. Luckily, the large variety means that they are more than enough.
As far as ease of use goes, were simply going to give the title to Shopify.
Your eCommerce store is up and running. You are still going to find yourself needing extensions and integrations. Extra tools make running your store more efficient. Tools for email marketing, analytics or leads generation will take your business to the next level.
WooCommerce is built on top of WordPress. You have access to more than 50,000 plugins.
And when you want a plugin that is specifically designed for your store, you can get one by hiring a developer to do this for you.
It's hard to even for Shopify to compete with that.
Shopify provides you with access to hundreds of apps on their app store. You can always find something for the task ahead. Whether its product reviews, SEO, discounts, and countdowns, there is an app for almost anything.
With integrations and add-ons, however, WooCommerce is simply better.
Method of Payments
There are plenty of payment gateways that you can use to get cash flowing. While some may not be suited for your online store, others may not be used by some clients.
It makes sense, therefore, for your online store to accept different payment gateways.
With WooCommerce, you get both PayPal and Stripe as default. You also get all the popular payment gateways.
And this is where it gets interesting.
Since WooCommerce is self-hosted, the only fees you are going to pay are those charged by the bank or the payment gateway.
Shopify has their own method of payment known as Shopify Payments. It also allows many other popular payment gateways such as PayPal, Amazon payments, first data, and checkouts.
Is there a downside?
Indeed, there is. Payment gateways will charge fees per transaction. On top of this Shopify will also charge an extra 2%. There are also credit card fees which start at 2.9%+30cents depending on the plan.
The choice as to which is best really boils down to your individual situation. You can save a lot of money though with WooCommerce.
Once you have your online store set up, the next thing you want to think about is how to attract customers so that revenue can start streaming in.
For this to be possible, your e-commerce store has to have a high ranking on Google search pages. This is what SEO or Search Engine Optimization is all about.
Deciding which of the two between Woocommerce vs Shopify has the best SEO features is hard to decide. They both provide users with apps to help the sites rank high on search engines. One such tool is Yoast, WordPress SEO plugin.
Shopify on the other hand has plenty more SEO apps to choose from such as the SEO Doctor App.
Customer Support
With Shopify users, not only get 24-hour phone support but email support and LiveChat as well. Whats more, there are plenty of useful guides as well as access to a community forum.
It's absolutely brilliant!
No matter what time of the day or night there is always someone to help you solve your problems.
But what say Woocommerce?
Woocommerceapproachess customer support from a hands off perspective. Users are expected to solve their problems themselves by getting answers from the Woocommerce community and forums.
The upside of this method is that it will work just fine for someone with website building skills. But I'm afreaid the same cannot be said for other users without such skills.
Getting solutions is not as fast and easy as with using the Shopify platform. More time spent looking for answers means less time spent marketing your products and earning revenue.
Naturally, as an eCommerce store owner, you want your business to thrive. However, more sales come with extra demands, especially on resources. This is what CEOs refer to as 'growth pains'.
While both WooCommerce and Shopify can take a large amount of traffic, they do have their differences.
If you are on the WooCommerce starter plan, you will start to experience some challenges as your eCommerce store grows.
You can expect the costs to rise as well.
However, you do have better control over your resources. In fact, you can stay clear of paying for resources that you are not in need of.
With Shopify, you can pretty much forget about matters of security, site performance and of course scalability thanks to the fact that the technical aspects are handled by Shopify.
Shopify's infrastructure can take high volume traffic without affecting your site's downtime, security, updates or backup.
Simply upgrade your plan.
The downside is that as much as you will upgrade your plan, your expenses also increase.
The fact that Shopify does most of the tasks for you makes it the superior hassle-free option.
In a nutshell…
- Excellent visual quality of its themes.
- Clear and straightforward pricing.
- Installing apps for extra features is easy.
- More free apps.
- Very easy to use.
- Reliable customer care.
- The premium rated themes are quite expensive.
- More expensive to run compared to WooCommerce.
- You will have to install more apps to utilize the Shopify in the best way.
- You can choose any theme you like provided it complies with the standards.
- Free WooCommerce software and cheaper to set up.
- You are able to maintain complete control over your data.
- Simple to use.
- Easy to edit and add content for SEO purposes.
- While it is free to set up, there are other charges involved and the pricing structure is not as straightforward compared to Shopify.
- Requires more work to configure your eCommerce site.
- Not as easy to set up.
- Since support is through the WordPress forums it is not as efficient as Shopify.
Wrapping this up
WooCommerce and Shopify are some of the best eCommerce platforms available today. The right one will depend on your individual situation. Shopify may be simple to use but you lack full control. However, you do get unlimited scalability.
WooCommerce, on the other hand, provides you with much more control but the drawback is that you will require knowledge on how to manage your website. If your aim is to save on costs then WooCommerce is a great option.
Bigcommerce vs Shopify : Which one is better?
Anyone who is interested in opening an online store has probably come across these two big names in the industry— BigCommerce vs Shopify. When starting out, picking between these two platforms can prove a bit of a challenge.
Each has its own set of pros and cons and often, there is really no clear winner.
We totally get it.
After all, you wouldn't want to choose one only to later realize that it would have been better for you to go with the other. That's why we've created this comprehensive guide on the features of both platforms to help you make a well-informed choice.
But when it's all said and done…
It's always a great idea to check out both websites. You will have a clearer view on the benefits and services offered which will help you in making the right choice between BigCommerce and Shopify.
Without further ado, let's get straight into it!
- Website design integrations
- Tools offered for eCommerce
- Access to experts to help
- Accessing apps
- How is Support?
- Which is more credible?
- etc
Website Design
We've all come across boring looking websites when browsing the world wide web. What was your first reaction? If you are like everybody else, you likely left the site and went on to the next pretty quickly.
A great looking website is important.
This is how you make a first impression to your potential clients. If they like the theme and look of your store, they will hang around for longer which increases your odds of making a sale.
Both BigCommerce and Shopify provide you with free and paid themes.
But is there any difference?
Take Shopify. The themes are modern, stylish and very much up to date. This is mainly thanks to Shopify's way of allowing independent designers to create the themes. Many of them bring their unique and attractive ideas that certainly grab attention.
The main downside with Shopify themes is that the best will usually require you to pay between $100 and $180.
It would seem like it. But since you are only making a one-off payment, it is definitely worth it in the long run.
BigCommerce, on the other hand, requires you to sign up with an email address to access their free themes. For us, this process was not as straightforward as with Shopify especially considering that we wanted to compare the two.
Recently BigCommerce has started to include independently designed themes by professionals resulting in great looking sites. As with Shopify, the paid ones will range between $145-$245.
However, as much as BigCommerce is trying to stay up to date, Shopify is still the clear winner as far as website design is concerned.
Tools for ECommerce
To be able to effectively run your eCommerce store, you need some basic tools. These will help keep track of inventory, manage to ship, pay taxes, set prices, offer discounts, showcase your products and when a client makes an order, keep track of that order.
How do they perform?
While both BigCommerce and Shopify provide you with some excellent tools. There are a few differences.
Shopify provides access to tools that will help you better manage your store. However, if you want to make use of advanced features, you need to download the advanced tools from their app store at a fee.
BigCommerce, on the other hand, gives you access to advanced tools without you having to download from an app store. All the tools are included in the monthly fee.
Access to Experts—BigCommerce vs Shopify
At some point, you are going to need help with your eCommerce store. Whether it's selecting the best theme or setting up your store from scratch. There are experts to help you do this in both Shopify and BigCommerce.
Shopify has the most experts, however. Well over 780 in total.
What's more…
You can select one that is closest to you geographically in if you prefer to work with them physically.
BigCommerce does give you access to experts but they are not as many. However, considering their themes are not as up to date as Shopify themes, having access to designers is a useful feature.
Accessing Apps
Access to apps will help take your business to the next level and both BigCommerce and Shopify excel in this department.
But Why do you need more apps?
Well, more advanced apps can help you perform tasks that you were previously not able to. In fact, they can help free a lot of time by automating some daily mundane tasks such as inventory management and shipping.
Indeed, this might mean extra charges.
However, compared to the time saving and many other benefits, it is well worth it. You can access these apps from the Shopify or BigCommerce app store.
Shopify far outperforms BigCommerce in the number of apps available to its users. Over 1400 compared to around 250 with BigCommerce.
Anyone who operates an online store has at some point ran into technical difficulties. This is why support is crucial. It helps you get over those minor setbacks and continue running your business effectively.
BigCommerce and Shopify offer excellent support. You have access to 24-hour phone service as well as forums and tutorials.
With Shopify, you can reach out to the support team through email, phone or online chat. The same is true with BigCommerce. While they previously did not offer 24-hour support, BigCommerce recently upgraded to allow for this.
Technical difficulties are one of the most frustrating things to eCommerce store owners. They can make you miss out on sales. This is why they need to be sorted immediately.
Which is more credible?
When choosing an eCommerce store builder, you simply cannot overlook credibility. With both BigCommerce and Shopify, you will not have to worry about credibility as they are 2 of the biggest online store builders in the world.
Something to consider though.
BigCommerce is dwarfed by Shopify in the number of transactions that are processed each year.
Statistics alone paint a picture.
If you were to take the total number of sales each year divided by the number of customers using either BigCommerce or Shopify, those on Shopify sell significantly more. This shows that most people are more likely to buy on a Shopify store than on BigCommerce.
Pricing Strategy
Price is one thing that will definitely grab your attention. As humans, we naturally want to save as much as we can and will steer away from overspending.
However, as much as this is the case, decisions on picking the best eCommerce store builder cannot be based solely on price. Otherwise, you will go for the cheapest resulting substandard work.
What we want is great Value.
Even if an eCommerce builder charges more yet provides you with excellent value for your buck, you are better off in the long run. You will get a site that is eye-catching, simple for your clients to navigate, and easy for you to manage.
Shopify has 3 main plans; Basic Shopify at $29 per month, Shopify plan at $79 per month and Advanced Shopify at $299 per month.
There is also the Lite plan at only $9 per month. It lacks many of the features of the other plans and is basically for people with a WordPress site and want to convert it to a store mainly by adding a Shopify payment button.
Keep note of the transaction fees.
Shopify charges between 0.5% and 2% on all transactions. If you were to use the Shopify payments, however, these charges are waived.
There are also the credit card charges of either 2.4% +30 cents per transaction on the Basic Shopify plan and 2.9% +30cents on the advanced Shopify plan.
Transparency is the name of the game with Shopify.
BigCommerce on the other hand also features 3 main monthly plans. The Standard plan charges $29.95, the Plus Plan charges $79.95 and the Pro Plan charges $249.95.
Similarly, you also get a very transparent fee structure with BigCommerce. And the great this is, you will not pay any fee per transaction.
Once your BigCommerce store starts to gain traction and more revenue starts to stream in, you will be required to upgrade your monthly plans.
Comparison BigCommerce vs Shopify
Let's recap, shall we?
We've seen that Shopify provides more updated themes compared to BigCommerce. However, BigCommerce did score top marks when it comes to accessing more advanced tools.
As far as experts go, you have greater variety with Shopify which allows you to choose one close to you geographically. Support is important and both BigCommerce and Shopify provide 24-hour customer support.
We've also found that since both Shopify and BigCommerce are two of the world's leading eCommerce store builders, they are highly credible.
While Shopify does charge fees per transaction it does waiver some of the fees if you use their Shopify payments. This is not something that you will need to worry about with BigCommerce as there are no transaction fees.
What we are saying here is…
- Professional, stylish and up to date themes.
- 24-hour phone support.
- Access to a large number of experts.
- Access to a large number of apps via the Shopify store.
- Highly credible eCommerce builder.
- You can only access advanced tools via the Shopify apps store for a price.
- There is a transaction fee.
- You get access to advanced tools inclusive of the monthly charges.
- 24-hour phone support.
- Credible eCommerce builder
- No transaction fees charged on sales.
- The themes are not very updated and there is a long process to acquiring the available themes.
- Fewer experts.
Final Thoughts
After having considered some really important factors, Shopify seems to be the better choice. However, recall what we said in the beginning. It is always a good idea to go through each builder's website and gather more information. Only then will you be sure of making the best choice.


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Within a span of few years, SaaS(Software as a Service) has become quite notable. However, subscribers and providers of SaaS are still in dilemma about which of the two, single-tenant and multi-tenant SaaS, is the more beneficial one.
Firstly, in order to understand the two better, it's essential to comprehend their meanings. Tenants are customers/ subscribers/ clients /consumers of a service. A tenant can be a company that has its own set of subscribers or can be anyone from general public.
The former tenant is generally a user of B2B or Line-of-Business applications such as CRM; for example, Google Apps used for business purposes.
The latter tenant, however, is a user of Consumer oriented or B2C SaaS. Some of the popular examples are Twitter, Dropbox, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. In these SaaS applications, general people are the tenants. What's important to observe is that the above mentioned services initially started off as consumer oriented apps but gradually they are trying to expand into the B2B sector as well.
B2B services actually call for more advanced development efforts and architectural considerations, compared to B2C services.
Multi-tenant SaaS
Before recognizing the meaning of a multi-tenant SaaS, it's crucial to discern the development and deployment process of a conventional web application. A web application is actually planned, developed and distributed, while keeping the demands of a single client in mind. Meaning, different code base and database instances are developed and deployed for every particular client. Consequently, if there are 200 clients then 200 code bases (builds) and 200 databases will have to be deployed and sustained.
Multi-tenant SaaS, on the contrary, is designed in a manner that it sustains a single codebase as well as a single database for n number of clients. Thus, if a company has 200 clients then they can all use the single code base and database immediately.
The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and other agencies have already set multi-tenancy as one of the vital (or at least desired) characteristics of a Cloud SaaS.
Advantages of Multi-tenant for SaaS Provider
Reduction in Maintenance and Support: It becomes incredibly easy to support and maintain one code base and database, instead of maintaining and issuing patches for 200 code bases. Besides, it's easier and simpler to update the code and infrastructure at a single place than doing the same in 200 different places.
Cost Efficient: In multi-tenant SaaS, resources like infrastructure, development and maintenance efforts are shared, which consequentially leads to cost savings. Even though, at first a multi-tenant SaaS might demand more time and effort, but it certainly pays in due course, once the subscriber volume is enlarged. In almost all cases, the sign-up by new subscriber and the on-boarding process is easily updated for nominal sales and support price.
A single-tenant provider, on the other hand, finds it difficult to give service at a reasonable price point after a point of time. In turn, he finds it hard to compete with other providers and consecutively becomes financially infeasible.
Security: Safe-guarding various applications of disparate clients can be wearisome for single-tenant SaaS providers. Conversely, multi-tenant SaaS providers can easily secure their clients' applications by simply incorporating high-tech security software in their single code base and database. They can then deploy it with an infrastructure (IaaS) provider, who holds an impeccable reputation in security and up-time.
Advantages of Multi-tenant for SaaS Consumer
As stated already, a multi-tenant SaaS provider reaps in lot of benefits, which makes him efficient and effective and the consumers of this provider automatically stands to gain from the reaped in benefits. Due to increased efficiency, the number of subscribers of the said provider is likely to increase at a faster rate. In effect, the economies of scale would increase, which would in turn provide the service to consumers at a reasonable price point. Moreover, since the provider is handling all his consumers from a single code base and database instance, he would put in extra efforts to provide immaculate quality service.
Multi-tenant SaaS is any day better than single-tenant SaaS. Despite some minor problems that some subscribers might seldom face, the benefits of multi-tenancy make it the best alternative. So, the next time you sign up SaaS, do enquire about Multi-tenant SaaS.
About Leo TechnoSoft
Leo TechnoSoft is Outsourced Software Product Development Company with innovation centers in LA, Chicago and India. The Company expertise covers BI, SaaS based applications, Cloud Computing, Migration, Integration, Cross Platform, Testing, Mobility, Big Data, Product Development, SharePoint, SaaS Tenant and IoT Integrations.
To know more about Leo TechnoSoft, contact us at email@example.com or call us at 407-965-5509.

subset: commoncrawl


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Check out this great video
Check out this great video
The goal was to create something that was useful, affordable, fun and easy. We had the finished product in the FLiPSTONZ Band, but we decided to add a little fun by allowing our customers to put them together with a DIY kit. Now you can put your own stickers on the band. Each STICKrS n STONZ tool kit comes with everything you need to create the particular FLiPSTONZ Band you selected.
While driving back from a business trip, I gradually became focused on a rubber band bracelet that someone gave me. It was right in front of my face as my hands gripped the steering wheel. My initial thought was how simple yet powerful this thing was. I mean everyone was wearing them for some reason or another, but outside of advertising some restaurant or charity, it was basically useless. I then found myself thinking of things I could do with it to make the band better and maybe more useful in some way. After awhile I decided to call my father up in NY and started the conversation. He was the master inventor with 50 years of experience in manufacturing. I was just the sales guy. We had endless conversations like this one over the years and most ended like they had started, as an idea that eventually someone else did something with and made lots of money while we watched! After talking for a while, both Dad and I thought we had come up with a good idea. I however, thought it would just be one of those flashes in the pan. Something that we discussed and something that nothing would ever come of considering I certainly didn't have any time or funds to develop anything like this. About a week later, to my surprise and delight an envelope arrived with the daily mail. It was from Dad. When I opened it, there was a prototype of our bracelet idea inside. It was a silicone bracelet with eyelets and magnets designed to record an action by flipping a colored magnet. I was first amazed that Dad put this together based on our conversation and had to immediately put it on and show it to anyone that was around. I called my son to come downstairs, dialed Dad on the phone and heard the oven timer go off. My son came running down to the kitchen, Dad answered and with the phone on my shoulder, I hurried over to grab the oven door. As I did that, a few of the eleven colored magnets jumped off my wristband and on to the oven door! Within 5 minutes I knew we had a great idea but it definitely needed a lot of work!Our new objective was to design a new piece of wristwear from scratch, that could be useful in daily life. We wanted it to be a tool. Something that could do something useful and meaningful! Something that had multiple functions! We wanted it to be customizable and trendy! We wanted it to be unisex, comfortable and one size fit's all! And most of all, we wanted it to be affordable (by everyone) and have both meaning and value! Over the last year Dad and I have worked tirelessly to develop FLiPSTONZ Primal Wristwear and the STICK'rS n STONZ Primal Tool Kit. The concept is simple yet powerful, customizable, multifunctional and useful. Hope you like them!
Individual Use:
FLiPSTONZ Primal wrist wear was designed to be useful by assisting individuals to stay focused on a goal. They will not only remind you to do something but can be additionally used as a tracking mechanism. We have developed 10 wrist bands to date but there is virtually no limit as to what they can be used for!
1- Hydration Band- Reminds and tracks your water consumption
2- Prayer Band- Reminds you to Pray and tracks what you Pray for
3-Stop Smoking with Positive reinforcement
4- Smiley Band- Say something nice and share a smile
"Great custom promotional products"
For Business:
FLiPSTONZ Primal wrist wear are unique promotional products that can be used in business as an advertising and fundraising tool. The sky is virtually the limit with this one. Now you can get creative by using the 22 individual tiles to say something and get your point across. Great as a fundraising tool. It is the silicon bracelet on steroids! It will attract attention, provoke conversation, has longevity because it is made from quality materials, is extremely affordable, and is useful in daily life. And it does so without the use of batteries!
1- Hydration Band- for organizational walks and runs
2- Prayer Bands- for religious fund raising
3- Smiley Band- Don't worry be happy! Share a Smile and Change The World!
4- Missing Link- Share information through QR links
5- Habit maker or breaker bands
6- Show support for your team or club
Sign up and get our monthly up dates
"I needed marketing material for a fund raising event. I highly recommend these guys. Their friendliness and result-driven approach is what I love about them."
"These are the people I highly recommend. I needed some wristwear done in a hurry for my team. They do great work...and they're fast!"
We needed something different this year to promote our team and build team spirit! These guys custom designed a bracelet with our team logo, mascot , team ball and sponsors all in one. They looked great and we raised lots of money for the team!
Anne Higgins Petz, critically acclaimed author was one of the first people to use our"STOP SMOKING" band. If you are a smoker, you know how easily the URGE will come upon you. By wearing and flipping the stonz when she got the urge she created new associations and was able to beat a 40 year habit.
After purchasing your FLiPBIT, you will receive a confirmation email with a reference number. Click the Email Link below and type or paste your confirmation number in the subject bar. Then simply paste up to 24 pictures to the email. ( Please appreciate that we are printing square stickers so if you send rectangle shaped pictures they might have to be cropped or somewhat distorted in order to fit the square) Finally just hit send and we will get right on creating your customized one of a kind br


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The Okuma Crisium Graphite 2-Piece Fly Rod is one of the best fly fishing rods you can find at the moment. Graphite fly rods are usually considered high end models and they demand quite an expensive price, but this is not the case with this particular fly rod. While made of high quality materials and sturdily built, it is sold for a very convenient price that anglers simply love. If you are looking for an affordable graphite flying rod, you will find that the Okuma Crisium Graphite 2-Piece Fly Rod is a really great choice. Enjoying plenty of positive reviews from users, this is the kind of small investment you should make in your fishing gear for your next fishing adventure.
Our Review
Whenever you have to evaluate the performance of a fly fishing rod, a good idea would be to take a good look at the materials the model is made of. The build of the fly rod is of course, important, but the fact that a manufacturer uses only high grade materials is a sign that you are going to purchase a highly reliable piece of fishing equipment.
Graphite is a popular choice when it comes to fly fishing rods and for all the right reasons. First of all, graphite is really lightweight, so graphite fly rods are the best choice for all categories of anglers, regardless of their skill level. Actually, graphite rods have quite a reputation for being very forgiving on beginners, so you will be able to cast consistently, even if you have never fished in your life. For a casual adventure or feeding your ambitions to become a seasoned angler, getting a graphite rod like this one is highly recommended.Buy from Amazon.com for ($131.36)
Graphite is a material that lends increased sensitivity to the rod. That being said, being able to 'feel' the fish when they bite is no longer the same guessing game as it usually is for anglers with little experience under their belts. You will be able to pull fast and mark the first catch sooner than you think, which will give you a sense of accomplishment right away. However, you need to keep in mind that you may have to experiment a little to learn your fly rod so you do not pull too early and lose the fish.
Comeback rate is another aspect that must be mentioned when talking about graphite fly rods like the one reviewed here. Fiberglass fly rods tend to vibrate quite a bit, which is why they are not the best recommendation for beginners. Mastering your casting technique will take less time when using graphite, and the Okuma Crisium Graphite 2-Piece Fly Rod is a great choice because it is also inexpensive, compared to high end models.
The reel seat is made of rosewood, which is a strong and reliable type of timber, so you will not have to worry about the reel seat breaking too easily. The guides are made of titanium oxide and stainless steel, which are other sturdy materials you can count on. All these make the Okuma Crisium Graphite 2-Piece Fly Rod a reliable fly fishing rod that will turn your fishing adventures into something worth writing home about.
Smooth casting is a great characteristic of this fly fishing rod. If you are the type of angler preferring a smooth and patient cast, you will be rewarded and you will manage to catch the fish you want with minimum effort. Graphite fly rods are usually medium/fast action rods, and they are more forgiving for beginners, which is why they are so highly regarded.
Being 9 feet in length, the Okuma Crisium Graphite 2-Piece Fly Rod is considered to be a great choice if you plan on fishing in small waters. The manufacturer recommends using this fly rod in this manner or in any situation where the casting distance is not that important.
The model is very lightweight, so it will help you cast with ease, that being the number one reason why such fly rods are preferred by beginners. A smooth cast complements the superior abilities of this fly rod and makes it one of the most popular you can find.
This sturdily built rod is a good fit for the budget conscious angler. Graphite rods are usually pretty expensive and many feel deterred by the price tag when it comes to choosing a competitive fly rod. The Okuma Crisium Graphite 2-Piece Fly Rod is sold for an affordable price, which makes it a popular choice among novice and seasoned anglers alike.
Buy from Amazon.com for ($131.36)


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Now, more than ever, in this very angry, judgmental, divisive, aggressive and violent world we live in, is there the need for compassion, acceptance, tolerance and forgiveness. There is little that individuals can do on a global level to effect change, to move the world towards a place of greater communication, cooperation and peace. But there is a great deal that we can do at the level of family, friends, acquaintances, peers and co-workers.
We can be a role model of compassion and right action. We can be a role model of service to others and the miraculous power of forgiveness to heal old wounds and soothe the primal, savage beast buried deep inside the psyche of each of us.
Forgive To Win! is an inexpensive book that teaches people how to be that role model. It is short, but to the point, providing practical tools for people who want to forgive but have trouble letting go of anger and resentments.
When we forgive, we win. And the whole world wins with us. Consider giving the gift of forgiveness to someone you love this holiday season: http://amzn.to/v4Xx1q


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Wow, is all I can say about this unique clip. I've seen these beasts in action on the operating table and to put it into practice tying flies is just amazing. But think about it, this should be part of the training for all surgeons to be able to get a feel for the robot. Just check out the half hitch technique at the end there. I'm also amazed that they didn't pick an easy fly. I suppose surgery isn't all that easy, so a complex fly is a good subject. May I suggest a Rangeley Streamer for the next video?
Dr. Szlyk demonstrates the precision and dexterity of the daVinci Surgical Robot by tying a delicate fly fishing lure small enough to fit on the head of a dime!


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In this weeks episode the androids and assets team revisits Deep Space Nine Se. 1 Ep. 14 Progress, in which Kira find herself on the "other side" and Nog cuts his teeth in the Yamok Sauce biz. Politics and comerce abound, so buckel up for a wild ride.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | TuneIn | Spotify | RSS


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Staff Picks: September 2016
Novation – Launchpad Pro
Grid-based controllers—popularized by Monome's beautifully sculpted wooden instruments first developed over a decade ago—have become nearly ubiquitous tools for modern producers of electronic music. As interfaces for digital audio workstations (DAW), such as Apple Logic Pro X or Ableton Live, grid controllers provide unparalleled flexibility and an intuitive way to create soundscapes and compositions. Recent updates to Novation's popular Launchpad Pro significantly improve the user experience of the controller. RGB keys coordinate with Ableton Live's session view, making selections easier, while a new scale mode ensures that compositions are always in key. Given the range of its functions combined with its affordability, the Launchpad Pro is surely one of the best buys in the electronic music world today.
With the tendency to look your best and look particularly gorgeous doing mundane things, celebrities have taken over social media. Australian comedienne, Celeste Barber brilliantly decided to recreate some of the more ridiculous pictures posted. Her Instagram, @celestebarber has gained continued growth in popularity and followership that there is now a #celestechallengeaccepted where fans can recreate their own photos based on a celebrity or rather bizarre advertisement (yes, I have participated in it, check it out on my Instagram @tara_jabbari if you dare!). Celeste is having fun, providing us a chance to get creative all the while showing us to stop taking ourselves so seriously.
I love embracing the modern technological era by saying "I wish I had a device that could do this" and being able to find someone who had the same thought and put it into production. It's not just about finding cool technology and using it (these are the late adopters), it's about actively searching for technology to customize your life. Early adopters, I think, get more satisfaction out of the technology because they make it their own. And also, it's very hipster to be an early adopter.
So my thought was, when I go on a run I need three things: I need a music device, I need a GPS device, and I need headphones. This ususally turned out to be a lot to carry though. My GPS watch doesn't have music so I also need my mp3 player. My phone has both GPS and music and could link to Bluetooth headphones, which is almost ideal, except that carrying a phone while running sucks – the armbands are never comfortable for me and phones are kind of bulky and hard to look at to know your pace. So I searched for the solution and found it: the TomTom Spark. It has the capabilities of a GPS watch, plus music storage and Bluetooth capability for headphones. There is a big difference between this and a smartwatch. A smartwatch can only pair to your phone via Bluetooth and cannot independently sync to headphones. A smartwatch usually gets music through its connection to your phone instead of having individual storage. This watch allows me to run untethered with only a watch and some wireless headphones – bliss! Moral of the story: Sometimes we accept technology as it is without considering alternate applications, like Bluetooth is only for phones or cars, when it could be used in a system like a running watch.
~ Julia
Regardless of how much you might know about Frank Ocean the artist, or even Frank Ocean the man, the simple fact that his new album, Blond(e), took over 4 years to release should be enough to catch your attention. Don't look for a single on this album, but listen and re-listen for the endless narratives that are intricately woven across each unique track. If you're willing to do that, you'll find an intensely contemplative, at times defiant and others heart-rending, statement on what it means to find oneself in a postmodern era.


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Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Automation that is friendly and efficient
Large businesses with their own IT departments use Big Data Analytics combined with AI and Machine Learning to streamline their process, provide faster customer service and gain a deeper understanding of customer behaviour. Automated phone answering systems are an example of this technology.
There are many ways to apply cost-effective versions of AI and ML to medium and small businesses that help automate customer service, sales and billing to run smother so there can be more time for meaningful customer connection.
Learn about you
We sit down with you and learn about where you would like to increase automation, have more responsive customer service and share information promptly.
Expertise for the right solution
Based on the way your business works and the business results you are focused on achieving we work with AI experts and researchers to discover what is current in AI and what program would work best for your company.
Based on the type of program or project we will then provide an estimate. We will sit down with you and explain the details of the ROI and answer any questions you may have.
Build and Implement
We will begin the building process and get you updated on its progress. Once ready we will implement the program and educate on how it works.
Staying current
We are here for you and after implementation, we will stay connected and provide updates on the industry and answer any questions you may have.
To learn about how AI can help your business:
Contact us by phone at 587.523.2252 ext 115
Or with the online form below


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Countryside and Coastline
A land with a thousand faces
Morbihan, little sea in Breton, takes its name from its famous Gulf which, according to legend, has as many islands as there are days in the year.
There is no better name for this unique region where the sea and the land come together in a delightful environment with an exceptionally mild climate. The peaceful, leafy countryside is criss-crossed with rivers leading to a coast line where fine sandy beaches alternate with rocky coves.
Morbihan has a rich heritage of Art and History Heritage towns, character villages, superb castles and châteaux and amazing megalithic sites just waiting to be discovered.
Welcome to Morbihan – a beautiful region with something for everyone !