BigCommerce Assessment – The Good and The Unhealthy for 2023

BigCommerce is a strong, fully-hosted ecommerce web site builder that’s appropriate for each newbie and superior customers. It packs all of the important options for a fast and straightforward begin, plus it boasts many fascinating superior options for a calculated and high-performance scale up. With over 60,000 retailers promoting in over 150 nations, BigCommerce is definitely probably the greatest options for companies of any dimension and customers of all expertise ranges.

BigCommerce In comparison with the Greatest Ecommerce Platforms

There’s little doubt that BigCommerce is likely one of the high trade powerhouses for constructing on-line shops—it’s a staple on our record of greatest ecommerce web site builders. That stated, it’s possible you’ll need to examine it to a few of the alternate options earlier than deciding if it’s the appropriate match for you. 

Shopify is our high general decide as a result of it combines a user-friendly interface with sturdy options and in depth design choices. Attempt Shopify threat free for 3 days.

Wix was made with freshmen in thoughts, but it surely additionally gives highly effective options and superior customizations to accommodate rising companies. Get began on Wix with a free trial or use it free ceaselessly.

Bluehost is a hosting service that makes it straightforward to construct a WordPress website and storefront with automated WooCommerce performance. Join Bluehost and get 60% off your first 12 months.

Squarespace is a web site builder with easy ecommerce integrations, permitting you to construct stunning web sites with limitless fastened pages. Join Squarespace and get a 14-day free trial.

BigCommerce: The Good and the Unhealthy

BigCommerce is a posh platform with as many bells and whistles as its friends. What helps it stand out are its superior product options and promoting instruments which are accessible on the entry degree with out getting in the way in which of newbie customers. 

What BigCommerce Is Good At

Wonderful for design: BigCommerce gives a library of over 150 paid themes for whenever you already know the aesthetic you need, and over 10 free themes for when you have to get a phenomenal retailer up and working straight away. With BigCommerce’s web page builder, you’ll be able to simply drag and drop design parts, incorporate plug-and-play widgets, and even add your personal HTML with out having to rewrite code for all the web page. 

For a slick look with dynamic parts, the platform’s carousel characteristic is nice for creating rotating banners, and the swatches characteristic permits customers to hover over product photographs for immediate zoomed-in views. Designing a retailer with BigCommerce saves you time as effectively, for the reason that picture supervisor routinely adjusts all the things for a totally responsive expertise throughout gadgets.

Complete checkout: Optimizing the checkout course of is vital for changing guests into clients and driving extra gross sales. With BigCommerce’s Checkout SDK, you’ll have a full JavaScript library of actions that you would be able to implement into a totally custom-made checkout expertise—from including progress bars and buyer login strategies to pulling up each accessible transport methodology for a given order. 

One other standout characteristic of BigCommerce is its deserted cart restoration system, which is out there on each plan above the Normal tier. This built-in software sends automated emails to clients who depart your retailer with out finishing their purchases, encouraging them to return and end the checkout course of. 

BigCommerce even gives visitor checkouts and an embeddable one-page checkout possibility to make sure that your web site gives the total bundle at each level of sale. 

Multi-channel promoting choices: With BigCommerce, you’ll be able to combine with a number of on-line marketplaces and social media platforms equivalent to Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Fb, Instagram, and Google Procuring—all from a single dashboard. This makes managing your gross sales tremendous handy irrespective of the place they’re occurring. 

For instance, you’ll be able to even promote straight on eBay with out having to go away your BigCommerce website, simply by inputting your eBay app and developer ID.

web optimization options come commonplace: As a small to medium-sized enterprise proprietor, you understand how vital it’s that your website ranks effectively in on-line searches. Fortunately, BigCommerce has you lined with built-in web optimization optimization options.

With any BigCommerce plan, you’ll have routinely optimized URLs on your product and class pages, plus you’ll be able to change your URL settings everytime you need. Each web page in your website will solely have one URL so that you gained’t take a efficiency hit for duplicate content material, and any time you rename a product, the URL will regulate to replicate the brand new title with automated 301 redirects from the outdated internet tackle. 

However that’s not all. BigCommerce product pages even have built-in microdata equivalent to product scores, manufacturers, and costs to enhance how effectively your website ranks, and the platform’s personal content material supply community helps it load quick for buyers and engines like google alike. 

In the event you’re in search of a extra custom-made strategy, BigCommerce gives superior web optimization options and plugins that may aid you optimize your website even additional. Remember the fact that a few of these plugins are paid add-ons, nevertheless.

Spectacular API options: One of many greatest benefits that comes with BigCommerce is how one can pull information out of your retailer and show it on different platforms and purposes by way of the BigCommerce API (software programming interface). This can be a highly effective software that mixes the advantages of a standalone ecommerce website with the flexibleness of making customized integrations and functionalities elsewhere.

For instance, you need to use the API to showcase your merchandise on an exterior weblog, or you’ll be able to pull order information right into a customized reporting software. You may even provide safe logins on exterior websites.

The API additionally permits you to develop customized apps that work together along with your BigCommerce retailer, equivalent to a customized stock administration app, a bespoke transport calculator, or perhaps a specialised customer support software. With the BigCommerce API, you’ll be able to even synchronize your retailer’s information with exterior buyer relationship administration (CRM) techniques and enterprise useful resource planning (ERP) software program, making it simpler to streamline what you are promoting operations with tailor-made options.

In the event you’re superior sufficient, using the API will optimize your retailer’s performance and supply helpful insights that can be utilized for automating duties, facilitating customized reporting, and enhancing the general consumer expertise. 

Nice product administration: BigCommerce’s product administration space may be very straightforward to make use of and has an easy interface that makes including merchandise, looking out, importing, and exporting a breeze. Plus, with limitless file storage, bandwidth, and merchandise to record, you’ll by no means have to fret about working out of area.

But it surely’s not nearly managing your merchandise. BigCommerce additionally gives an assortment of integrations with paid CRMs like Zoho and Salesforce that aid you preserve tabs on patrons and goal buyer teams with customized advertising. These enable for segmentations primarily based on issues like buy historical past and geography, and monitoring orders is a breeze with the power to filter by monitoring quantity, date, and order standing.

With BigCommerce, you’ll have all of the instruments you have to handle your merchandise and buyer relationships in a single place.

No transaction charges: In the event you’re a small to medium-sized enterprise, you realize each greenback counts. And whereas another platforms cost transaction charges or penalize you for utilizing third-party cost gateways, BigCommerce fees no transaction charges and accepts over 65 cost strategies at no further price. This can be a large deal for companies with excessive gross sales volumes, as these charges can add up shortly.

But it surely’s not simply that, as a result of BigCommerce additionally handles funds in over 100 currencies, and that’s true for all of its plans, together with Normal. Small aggressive edges like this are what make BigCommerce a really engaging possibility.

Potential BigCommerce Drawbacks

Difficult for true freshmen: In an effort to get essentially the most out of BigCommerce, it could require some internet improvement expertise that’s too superior for freshmen. Some features will not be related for brand spanking new customers, and even if in case you have some design expertise, the accessible themes are sometimes so advanced, with very many information, that they might be overwhelming. 

To benefit from APIs, it’s possible you’ll want the help of a developer to get conversant in the ins and outs of organising superior integrations. In fact, if you have already got lots of internet improvement expertise, this will not be an issue in any respect. However for individuals who aren’t able to sort out a steep studying curve simply but, they might have to discover a easier answer.

Additional bills: Along with the month-to-month charges and potential overage charges, a lot of BigCommerce’s design themes might be fairly costly, starting from $150 to $300 every. For newer customers particularly, meaning you have to be very even handed when selecting a theme, since you don’t need to preserve bouncing from one costly theme to the subsequent. 

Moreover, whereas lots of the apps and add-ons on the platform are free, a few of them can price as a lot as $75 monthly. For instance, BigCommerce advertises that its ShipperHQ transport guidelines engine is out there for all plans, however you’ll solely get a 15-day free trial of the combination earlier than it’s a must to pay $75 monthly no matter your plan. 

Whereas these bills could appear daunting, it’s vital to weigh the advantages of the platform towards the prices. BigCommerce gives a variety of options and customization choices, making it a superb alternative for companies that want a excessive degree of management over their on-line retailer. Plus, with many free themes and apps, there are workarounds to a few of these bills.

Canonical URL points: In the event you’re contemplating utilizing BigCommerce on your small to medium-sized enterprise, you ought to be conscious that customizing canonical URLs might be difficult. Canonical URLs assist engines like google distinguish between unique content material and duplicate content material, which is essential on your web optimization rating. 

Sadly, whereas BigCommerce does provide automated 301 redirects to make sure a consumer can now not land on particular pages, managing canonical URLs in BigCommerce requires updating the canonical tags within the HTML straight—and you’ll solely specify product, class, or web site URLs.

This limitation may very well be a dealbreaker for some companies that want a complete suite of instruments and customization choices. Nevertheless, it’s vital to notice that there are workarounds accessible.

For example, you need to use a third-party web optimization software to handle your canonical URLs exterior of BigCommerce. Whereas this will not be ideally suited for everybody, it’s a viable possibility for individuals who don’t thoughts utilizing an exterior software to handle their web optimization.

Annual gross sales limits: BigCommerce locations limits in your annual on-line gross sales, which is usually a large drawback for rising companies. In the event you exceed the restrict, you’ll both need to pay charges or improve to a better plan, if accessible. These limits might be decrease or nonexistent on different platforms, so it’s vital to contemplate what you are promoting’s potential for progress earlier than committing to BigCommerce.

In the event you’re a smaller retailer or a person developer, an annual gross sales restrict may not be an element for you simply but. Finally, the choice to make use of BigCommerce comes right down to your particular enterprise wants and objectives.

BigCommerce Plans and Pricing

BigCommerce is available in three primary plans that you would be able to pay for by the month at a premium or by the 12 months at a reduction. In comparison with Shopify, for instance, BigCommerce’s Normal, Plus, and Professional plans have the very same base costs as Shopify’s Fundamental, Shopify, and Superior tiers—that means you’ll need to have in mind much more than simply the value tag when deciding which platform is best for you. 

Normal

In the event you’re a small to medium-sized enterprise or a person trying to create a number of on-line shops by your self, BigCommerce’s Normal plan is a superb alternative. For simply $39 monthly whenever you pay month-to-month or $29 monthly paid yearly, you get a totally featured storefront that features the choice so as to add as much as two extra shops for simply $30 apiece monthly. 

You’ll even have entry to quite a lot of gross sales channels, together with eBay, Amazon, and Walmart, in addition to social media websites like Fb and Instagram. You’ll have the ability to promote in a number of currencies, provide real-time transport quotes, and also you’ll have the ability to provide coupons, reductions, and present playing cards to your clients. 

The Normal Plan additionally consists of entry to level of sale integrations like Sq., Vend, and Clover for in-store purchases, and you’ll have as much as 4 stock areas. 

With limitless workers accounts, the power to course of as much as $50,000 in on-line gross sales per 12 months, and no further transaction charges for utilizing main cost gateways, the Normal plan is nice for getting began with out breaking the financial institution. 

Plus

On high of all the things included within the Normal tier, BigCommerce’s Plus plan gives limitless workers accounts, as much as 5 stock areas, and superior checkout options just like the deserted cart saver and the power for patrons to save lots of bank cards for future purchases. 

This plan will run you $105 monthly should you pay month-to-month and $79 monthly should you pay yearly, and it permits for as much as $180,000 in on-line gross sales per 12 months.

With no transaction charges and as much as 4 further storefronts at $50 every monthly, the Plus Plan gives lots of worth for small to medium-sized companies which are able to scale. 

Professional

Once you’re able to degree up, BigCommerce’s Professional plan is a significant improve. With as much as eight stock areas, as much as seven further storefronts at $100 every monthly, and an annual gross sales restrict of $400,000, this plan is for when what you are promoting has some severe gross sales quantity. 

The Professional plan prices $399 monthly whenever you pay by the month and $299 monthly whenever you pay by the 12 months. Additionally, don’t fear about going over that gross sales restrict, as you’ll solely need to pay $150 for every further $200,000 in on-line gross sales. 

On high of all the things within the earlier tiers, the Professional plan additionally provides customized product filtering options for buyers to type via your stock, in addition to Google buyer critiques. 

Last Ideas

BigCommerce deserves severe consideration whether or not you’re a sole proprietor or a company enterprise. And whereas its scalability is what makes it so engaging, its built-in options are what units it aside. With every BigCommerce plan, you get limitless workers accounts, limitless product listings, no transaction charges, API entry, and 24/7 tech assist. 

As we’ve stated earlier than, BigCommerce is a staple on our record of greatest ecommerce web site builders, and we see it staying there for a really very long time. It’s user-friendly sufficient for freshmen to dabble with dynamic design parts and customized checkouts, and superior sufficient for internet consultants to implement high-level integrations for multi-channel operations and buyer administration techniques. Arduous to beat that.