Squarespace is a CMS platform that allows users to create a DIY blog, eCommerce store, and/or portfolio (visual art or music). Some Squarespace website and shop templates are industry or use case-specific, such as menu builders for restaurant sites.
$25
per month
Stripe Payments
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Stripe is a payment gateway software solution which supports a range of payment related needs such as subscription management and recurrent billing via Stripe Billing, integration with third party payment services via the Stripe Connect API, assistance starting an Internet business which accepts payements via Stripe Atlas, fraud prevention via Stripe Radar, and payment analytics via Stripe Sigma. Additional features and modules include Stripe Issuing, which allows users to create,…
$0.02
per charge
Volusion
Score 4.8 out of 10
N/A
Volusion is a cloud-based ecommerce solution from the company of the same name in Austin, TX. It features an intuitive dashboard, built-in marketing and promos, SEO, templates, and tools to customize look and appearance.
Stripe is much easier to set up and use, has a simpler UI, and lower transaction fees. A no-brainer when it comes to taking credit card payments online.
Paypal is much better due mainly to the server hardly ever having outages, just as easy if not easier to install and customers are used to the brand and trust it more than others. Square is very similar to Stripe but obviously integrates with its own system so has very few …
They are very similar. PayPal charges you monthly to have the ability to set up monthly payments. I had a problem with PayPal earlier this year where it would let me set up a recurring payment but then would not let me charge my customer the following month. It's actually a …
Stripe and Paypal are both excellent options for accepting payments. Paypal is a little more widely accepted for international payments, but domestically within the US we see that most of our customers use the Stripe module for payment processing over Paypal. Both are equally …
Volusion provided the best overall list of features, performance history, and bang for the buck. By not being the new kid on the block, they have worked out a lot the bugs and kinks that plague many ecommerce platforms. They've also refined a system that is very user-friendly …
Squarespace is one of the best solutions out there for building a website or web experience that looks good, has great functionality and is cost-effective, even for smaller businesses. Although most people in marketing will find most of the elements intuitive, if the creator is struggling with any of the functionality, there are many, many support options and other users who can offer assistance.
We had a client who wanted a QR to use in their marketing, which enabled their clients to donate to us. It was so useful to be able to set it up, and we can track the views and donations received using this code. Another client with issues with our website wanted to set up a monthly subscription, so I sent her a payment link, which worked brilliantly. For clients that want to make one-time donations, it also lets the client choose the amount. The only scenario where we haven't been able to help is when clients want to change the card associated with the payment - whilst we understand it is for security/gdpr, it means they have to cancel and set up something new, which poses the danger that we may lose them as a customer.
Volusion is a good company if you're starting out. The problem is that, if you want more complexity out of the program, you're kind of stuck. Also the regular time out errors and slow downs can be very frustrating. Packages that miss overnight deadlines because your system stops working can cost you customers. In today's highly competitive market, that's just something that's hard to put up with. If you have a lower volume of business you might be able to work around these issues.
Stupid simple to use. I know very creative people who cannot code and this is probably the easiest ever platform for them!
Pretty website templates and great functionality with showing off portfolios.
They've already figured out what are the problems that non-coding people have when creating websites and they've figured out a simple solution for all of it.
Templates are pre-built for a good end user experience. I've gone through the process of building custom sites as well as tweaking both free and paid templates that Volusion's design team provides.
Their support team didn't use to be as helpful, but in recent years have answered nearly all questions I've had. Their support section within the database provides detailed walkthrus as well.
Order processing is easy once you've been trained on the system. We got to a point where nearly the entire process was automated from initial purchase through shipping.
API calls use the previous call as a reference, even if you weren't the one we made the previous call. Can lead to data gaps, so you often have to set a manual date range to look back to make sure you aren't missing any data.
Stripe is the leader in the industry when it comes to any type of industry. All that is needed is a plan and then implementing that plan either with a developer, or through the help of Stripe's customer service team to assist in getting you setup. The ease of use time it takes to get up and running is second to none
When you spend so much time with a product like this and not only have you witnessed its growth, but you almost feel like you are next those that make the decisions of building features a certain way, you can't help but want to stay and be a part of their continued growth. It's simply a great product. Can it improve? By all means! But it will only improve because of users and avid resellers like me.
It's simple to use for someone who is really good with computers as well as those who are not. I've been using my personal squarespace for years and have also helped clients build a starting page which they are later able to manage theirselves.
Stripe offers a very easy-to-navigate platform with many different functions. From linking it to our website and accounting platform to tracking our payments, being able to issue a refund quickly if required, and setting up QR codes and payment links for subscriptions or one-time donations, it really covers so many aspects that we need and use on a weekly and monthly basis.
Help is available directly from the back end and uses full sentence searching to find answers to questions others may have asked before. With a ton of articles and support questions documents, it is very likely that your question has been answered. If not each page has the ability to open a direct email to support. Each case has a number and can be followed. Responses are often quick and have links and directions clearly stated
Stripe's support is nearly perfect – great attention to detail, fast response times, and a willingness to really dig into issues and get to the bottom of them. In the five years we've been using Stripe, the only negative thing I can say about their customer support is that it seems like there has been a slight shift to less technical front-line support agents, which means it's more likely your issue will have to be escalated before you get more information. This, however, has happened as Stripe rolled out more real-time support features like call and chat, and that really isn't workable if you're escalating everything right off the bat. It's absolutely an acceptable trade-off.
You have to wait on hold for at least 45 minutes every call—the tech support person never knows the answer right away so they put you on 10 minute holds only to come back and say they're still looking for answers. The chat function could take days to get a response. Our "Dedicated Account Manager" never checks in or answers, nor are they ever in the office when we call. It's like they try to be as unavailable as possible until you forget why you even called in the first place. Insane.
It is best to use the built-in features and recommended services for the most turn-key experience (ie. Skipjack for payment processing so that it can all be done from the Volusion backend).
Squarespace was quicker to set up and more accessible to manipulate the theme, pictures, and content. The page layouts are more versatile and fluid. With WordPress, more time-consuming efforts go into making a template work the way you want it to (because of the lack of the drag-and-drop grids that Squarespace has).
Stripe is easier to use and offers better support and rates. My favorite part with Stripe is probably their ready-to-use plug-in that's offered for me. We have multiple eCommerce stores and we rely on our payment process going smoothly. The plug-in from Stripe is free, constantly updated, secure, and very easy to implement.
While k-eCommerce was very glamorous to us because it integrates with our main workflow, it just didn't have some of the marketing features that are so integral to the way we do business online. The set-up costs were also way too high. Volusion is so affordable and feature heavy, it makes it very difficult for any shopping cart provider to compete. You can find others who are competitively priced and have similar features, but they simply aren't as robust (at least for the way we use it)
The cost is reasonably decent. My client says they spent about $20 a month or $240 a year. I asked her if she could add Google AdSense to her blog one day, and they believe they can. They said a custom site would cost them $3000-10,000 depending on who does it. And I agreed, but I found the website they created was on the lower end of that range.
It makes getting money from your clients really easy
It gives your clients the guarantee that their payment information is totally secure and confidentially used and kept
It is very easy to integrate with online assets of the company
In a couple of occasions, some companies have wanted me to use Stripe for them to pay me, and I have had a couple of hiccups. This was more related to the way that these companies set up the Stripe integration of my account to their platform. In both cases, the integration has not been possible and to this date, I still do not know why with exactitude.
As I said before, the commissions kept by Stripe could be lower, and shared with the CC companies, rather than having us clients pay for all of o it.
Honestly, when you're in the dashboard, the UX is simply horrendous. I mean, everything that should be 1-2 clicks away is 4-6 clicks away, and each pages takes at least four seconds to load. You just find yourself wasting a lot of time waiting for things to load. This should be more simple.
