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E-Commerce Platforms Comparison
ShopifyE-commerce

Shopify vs Visualsoft Comparison: Which is Best for Your Online Store

Guide

August 2, 2024Author: Preslav Nikov11 min read
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Struggling to choose between Shopify and Visualsoft for your online store?

This Shopify vs Visualsoft comparison breaks down their ease of use, customization, features, and pricing to help you make the right choice for your business.

Shopify and Visualsoft Overview

  • Shopify makes it easy to set up your online store with an all-in-one platform solution, designed for ease of use and scalability.

  • Shopify has over 4.61 million live stores, that’s a lot more than Visualsoft which has 917 stores. This huge difference in market share shows Shopify is the dominant player in the e-commerce space.

  • 57.69% of all active Shopify stores are based in the US, while 80.4% of Visualsoft stores are based in the UK. User Experience and Ease of Use of Shopify and Visualsoft

Comparing User Experience: Shopify vs Visualsoft

User experience is a big factor in choosing the right ecommerce platform.

Shopify is easy to use for developers and non-tech business owners.

Visualsoft is less user-friendly and requires additional support and development services to be used effectively.

Shopify’s User Interface

Shopify’s interface is designed to be simple and beginner-friendly with a drag-and-drop builder to make creating online stores easy.

Even small business owners can set up and launch their online business in a day or two.

This user-friendly interface allows you to focus on revenue generation and strategy rather than back-end issues and maintenance.

Learning Curve with Visualsoft

Visualsoft’s platform has a steeper learning curve than Shopify. The control panel can be tricky to navigate without proper training and is overwhelming if you have no technical knowledge.

So Visualsoft users often need ongoing support and development services to use the platform effectively. Visualsoft’s platform is also more complex and requires more setup time and often support from their support team.

Customisation: Shopify or Visualsoft?

Customisation is a big factor if you want to stand out online. Shopify has a huge library of customisable themes so you can tailor your store to your needs.

Visualsoft has robust customisation options but often requires its design team to fully utilise these options.

Shopify’s Customisable Themes

shopify themes to start without coding expertise

Shopify’s theme library caters to different aesthetics and functionalities.

You can do advanced customisation through HTML, CSS and Liquid to build a store for your brand.

The theme editor is user-friendly so you can easily modify colours, fonts and layouts and make your store accessible to users with varying levels of technical knowledge.

See our favourite Shopify themes for clothing and beauty brands.

Visualsoft’s Bespoke Design Options

Visualsoft offers bespoke design and development options including personalized product pages, custom templates, and unique design features for your brand.

Their Single Page Product Customisation feature allows your business to customize the layout, design, and functionality of individual product pages.

This level of customization requires support from Visualsoft’s design team and incurs higher ongoing costs.

Features and Functionality

The features and functionality of an e-commerce platform are key to its success.

Shopify App Store has thousands of apps that extend and enhance your online store.

Visualsoft has personalised product recommendations and multi-store management features to enhance the customer shopping experience.

Shopify App Store

shopify app marketplace

The extensive app store, also known as Shopify’s app store, features over 8,000 apps, covering areas like marketing, merchandising, discounts, and customer service.

These apps extend various aspects of your store’s functionality including product sourcing, order management and automating processes.

User reviews and ratings help you find the right tools in the app store.

Visualsoft's Personalized Solutions

Visualsoft has a range of features to enhance the e-commerce experience for both businesses and customers. Here are some of the key features:

  • Personalised Product Recommendations: Product suggestions based on individual customer preferences and browsing behaviour to enhance the shopping experience.

  • Multi-Store Management: Manage multiple stores from one platform, and simplify the management of multiple product lines and markets.

  • Advanced Marketing Services: Access to marketing tools and services including SEO, PPC and social media to drive traffic and sales.

SEO and Marketing Tools: Shopify and Visualsoft

To drive traffic and sales you need to use SEO and marketing tools. Shopify has built-in SEO tools.

Visualsoft has marketing services including SEO, PPC, and social media.

Shopify’s Built-in SEO Features

Shopify Theme Customizer

Shopify’s built-in SEO tools help improve your online store’s search engine ranking. These include:

  • Customizable meta tags, titles, and descriptions

  • Automatic sitemap generation

  • Mobile responsive themes improve search ranking by optimizing the mobile version of your site.

  • Customizable title tags

  • 301 redirects

  • Automatic sitemap generation

  • Editable images alt tags

  • Meta descriptions

  • Meta titles

Visualsoft’s Marketing Services

Visualsoft has a range of marketing services as add-on paid options. These services include SEO, digital strategy and marketing with a dedicated team for each channel to ensure maximum performance.

Their SEO services aim to increase site visibility, attract new customers and build brand awareness, their PPC and paid ads services run campaigns on Google Ads and Microsoft Ads.

Payment Gateways Integrations

In commerce, merchants are charged a credit card processing fee for every transaction which they pay to the bank or payment processor.

Payment Gateways and third party Integrations

In 2013 Shopify launched their in-house payment processor called Shopify Payments. With the payment solution, you can accept and manage payments directly through Shopify instead of integrating a third-party payment gateway.

Here are three benefits of using Shopify Payments.

  • Instant setup and approval

  • Simplifies the checkout process

  • Lower transaction fees than third-party gateways.

More about Shopify Payments fees here.

Shopify supports multiple payment gateways including Klarna, PayPal and Opayo.

Visualsoft’s Payment Integration

Visualsoft’s platform integrates with multiple international payment providers through its VS Pay system, supporting over 40 payment methods and over 135 currencies.

VS Pay doesn’t list any fees but it’s dependent on the payment gateway chosen (Visualsoft partners with Stripe which charges around 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction).

Visualsoft doesn’t offer the same flexibility with third-party integrations and plugins as Shopify.

In summary, Shopify Payments is more competitive and transparent.

Pricing and Scalability: Shopify vs. Visualsoft

When choosing an ecommerce platform you need to consider the pricing and scalability.

Shopify has multiple pricing plans from the basic Shopify plan to the advanced Shopify Plus. Each plan has different features and benefits to suit your business needs.

Visualsoft has custom pricing, tailored to your business needs, including a setup fee and a monthly subscription that covers platform access, hosting, support and updates.

Shopify’s Tiered Pricing

Shopify pricing

Shopify’s pricing plans are for different business sizes and needs, from £24 to $2,000 or more per month depending on the plan you choose.

More about the features, transaction fees and storage limits.

visualsoft pricing

Visualsoft's Custom Pricing

Visualsoft pricing

Visualsoft’s custom pricing involves a consultation to understand business needs and offer a bespoke pricing structure.

Their pricing starts from £300 per month for the Build package. They also have the Growth package at £500 per month and the Scale package at £1,500 per month.

Visualsoft also has a bespoke package built for your business.

Customer Support and Resources: Shopify and Visualsoft

Shopify's dedicated support team

Good customer support is crucial for any e-commerce platform. A responsive and knowledgeable support team can make all the difference in resolving issues quickly, minimizing downtime, and ensuring a smooth customer experience.

24/7 Shopify Support

Shopify’s customer support is available 24/7. Live chat, phone and email support at your fingertips anytime.

This 24/7 support helps you keep the shopping experience smooth and any issues resolved quickly.

Visualsoft's Dedicated Support Team

Visualsoft has a support system for its users available through phone, email and online ticketing systems.

But unlike Shopify, Visualsoft’s support isn’t 24/7 which can sometimes cause delays in resolving critical issues. Visualsoft also has an online knowledge base to help with common issues.

Security and Compliance: Shopify vs. Visualsoft

In ecommerce customer data protection and secure transactions require strong security and compliance. These are important as they build trust with your customers and ensure their sensitive information is handled with care.

Shopify's Security Measures

Shopify is committed to high-security standards, providing a robust framework for your online store:

  • Encryption of Sensitive Data: Data in transit and at rest is encrypted to prevent unauthorized access.

  • Fraud Analysis Tools: Advanced tools to identify and prevent fraudulent transactions and protect your revenue.

  • Regular Security Updates and Patching: Platform integrity and protection against emerging threats.

  • Continuous Monitoring: Real-time detection and response to potential threats to maintain security.

  • Third-Party Audits and Penetration Testing: Regularly done to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities to keep your store secure and compliant.

Visualsoft's Secure Transactions

Visualsoft’s VS Pay has several security measures to protect transactions:

  • CVC/AVS Checks: Verifies the transaction.

  • 3D Secure 2 Authentication: Adds an extra layer of security during the payment process.

  • Data Encryption: Protects sensitive data from unauthorized access.

  • Machine Learning Fraud Detection: Uses advanced algorithms to detect and prevent fraud.

  • Compliance with Top Security Standards: By using Stripe, a Level 1 PCI Service Provider, Visualsoft is compliant with the highest security standards.

International Expansion: Shopify and Visualsoft

International Selling and Expansion

Selling across borders is key in today’s global economy. Expanding your business internationally isn’t just an opportunity but a necessity to grow your business.

Shopify simplifies international selling and provides robust features supporting global expansion for businesses aspiring to achieve ecommerce growth.

Visualsoft has global shipping integrations and multi-currency support to manage international orders.

Shopify's Global Commerce Tool

Ensure your business grows with Shopify Markets

With Shopify Markets global expansion has never been easier. It gives your business everything it needs to sell, manage and deliver to anywhere on the planet.

Some of the features:

  • Set different pricing for each market

  • Create local stores

  • Manage localization, shipping, duties and compliance from one admin

For more information on this Shopify feature click here.

Visualsoft's Global Reach

Visualsoft integrates with international shipping solutions like Shiptheory to simplify global order delivery and automate shipping.

The Visualsoft platform offers the following features to support international expansion:

  • Automate shipping steps based on destination, order weight and other conditions

  • Connect with couriers worldwide

  • Simplify global order delivery

Data and Analytics: Shopify and Visualsoft

Understanding user behaviour, refining marketing and boosting sales data and analytics is key.

Shopify has a full suite of built-in analytics tools to give you insights into your store performance, customer demographics and behaviour patterns.

Visualsoft also has advanced reporting features including sales analytics and customer segmentation to track the performance of their marketing campaigns.

Shopify's Analytics Tools

shopify & google analytics

Shopify’s analytics tools have:

  • Reports on sales, customer psychology and inventory management

  • Traffic analysis

  • Web performance insights

  • Transaction analysis

These help you refine your strategy by measuring campaign performance and customer preferences.

The Live View feature shows real-time traffic to your online store, so you can make better decisions.

Visualsoft's Reporting Features

Visualsoft’s analytics has custom reports to give you insights into user behaviour and market trends.

  • Sales performance reports

  • Customer segmentation

  • Market analysis

  • Real-time data

So, Shopify or Visualsoft for your business?

Ultimately, the choice between both ecommerce platforms for your online venture should be based on various factors.

The Shopify platform is for you if you want user-friendly ecommerce solutions with lots of app integrations ongoing support and scalability.

Visualsoft with its custom design options is for businesses that need a high level of personalisation but the pricing is not transparent.

By considering these you can decide which one is best for your business.

You may also like: Shopify vs WordPress

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the differences between Shopify and Visualsoft?

In short, Shopify is for ease of use and scalability and Visualsoft is for customisation but requires technical expertise.

Which e-commerce platform is best for internationalisation?

Shopify is better for international expansion as it has streamlined tools for localisation, multi-currency and global market management.

How do Shopify and Visualsoft compare for customer support?

Shopify has 24/7 support across multiple channels and Visualsoft has support via phone, email and online ticketing system but not 24/7.

What are the customisation options?

Shopify has thousands of themes and advanced customisation options through HTML, CSS and Liquid and Visualsoft has bespoke design services with support from their design team for complex customisations. So both platforms have plenty of customization capabilities to suit all business needs.

How do the pricing models work?

Shopify has tiered pricing for different business sizes with plans from £24 to $2,000 per month and Visualsoft has custom pricing for each business with a setup fee and monthly subscription.

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Author
Preslav Nikov

With a decade of of e-commerce experience, Preslav, CEO of Craftberry, produces informative content. His writing focuses on practical insights and strategies in the e - commerce, aimed at helping professionals and businesses in the industry.

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