Founded by 16-year-old Kevin Sproles in 1999 as a web design studio, Volusion added ecommerce functionality in 2002 and hasn't looked back. More than 180,000 entrepreneurs have looked to the company for help hosting and managing their online businesses, and Volusion has processed more than 185 million orders worth $26 billion.
The company offers a hosting/site-building combo platter worthy of consideration if you're in need of a basic online store and the means to promote products. The company focuses on easy, custom designs and ecommerce-optimized features. Although Volusion could increase its support offerings to further justify a price tag that exceeds most shared hosting competitors, the company's focused niche in online store design and inventory management warrants the investment.
Store owners will need to purchase a domain elsewhere before connecting it to Volusion and launching their store. Once you're ready to start designing your site, Volusion's revamped site builder provides dozens of stellar mobile-friendly themes. The company used to offer hundreds of themes, so we expect — and want — to see the number of options grow.
Unlike many ecommerce site builder plans that limit your product numbers substantially, Volusion's most basic plan allows you to display unlimited products. Regardless of which plan you choose, site owners are allotted unlimited storage and zero transaction fees, in addition to tools for inventory management, order processing, and shipping oversight.
Finally, market your products via social media integrations and reach new markets via integrations with Amazon, eBay, and Google. Collect payments via all the major credit card issuers (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and AmEx), as well as through cash, PayPal, Google Wallet, Amazon, and Stripe. The platform will calculate reports to show your return on investment and store activity.
- Design your store with a drag-and-drop builder
- No transaction fees, plus easy app integration
- Market products via email, coupons, and social
- Guides, tutorials, and 24/7 customer support
- 99.9% network uptime guarantee
- Try Volusion FREE for 14 days.
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Money Back Guarantee
14-day FREE trial
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Disk Space
Unlimited
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Domain Name
New or Transfer
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Shopify is easily one of the more well-known eCommerce web builder platforms in the hosting industry. Plans are fully hosted, include a free site builder tool, and allow you to showcase an unlimited number of products with unlimited file storage as well. Compared to other web hosts, Shopify is not going to offer you the same level of robustness in terms of technological offerings, but the company's ecommerce features are on point. Online store building is Shopify's bread-and-butter service, and the company is darn good at it.
First of all, the Shopify theme store features hundreds of free and premium theme options that are relatively easy for customers to manipulate. Dev-savvy folks can further customize their storefronts and themes via the Shopify API. You can actually start building your online marketplace today — for free for 14 days — and select your plan later. The Shopify experts are on call and ready to help 24/7.
Once you've built your online store with Shopify, build your business by processing product transactions through a myriad of payment methods. Shopify users can sell via social media, by integrating a Buy Now button, or by using the Shopify POS system. Serious ecommerce folks may opt to purchase the retail package add-on, which includes a cash register, receipt printer, and barcode scanner.
All in all, Shopify offers everything you need to run an efficient and lucrative online business. The commerce-oriented features are many, and they only advance with each upgrade in service package. Also, you can buy or transfer your domain name, or park your online store at a free MyShopify.com subdomain. If you're ecommerce-focused, trust Shopify for your online store building.
- Sell via social media or hosted commerce platform
- FREE website builder and hundreds of themes
- Unlimited products and unlimited bandwidth
- PayPal or Shopify point-of-sale systems
- Advanced reporting and real-time shipping updates
- Try Shopify FREE for 14 days.
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Money Back Guarantee
14-Day FREE Trial
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Disk Space
Unlimited
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Domain Name
FREE subdomain
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