BigCommerce is one of the top eCommerce platforms that provides merchants with an all-in-one solution for selling online. It offers a range of features and tools, including a customizable storefront, mobile optimization, and integrations with popular payment gateways and shipping providers. However, with so many eCommerce platforms available, it can be challenging to decide if BigCommerce is the right choice for your business.
In this article, we’ll provide in-depth BigCommerce reviews, covering everything from its pricing to its features and more. Specifically, we’ll discuss the following aspects:
- A quick glance at BigCommerce;
- BigCommerce pricing: How much does it cost?
- Thorough BigCommerce reviews on themes, eCommerce features, and so on.
Without further on, let’s get started!
BigCommerce Reviews: An Overall Look
In this section, we provide an overall look at BigCommerce, giving you a better understanding of the platform, as well as its pros and cons.
What is BigCommerce?
BigCommerce is a leading eCommerce platform that provides a comprehensive, hosted solution for businesses looking to sell online. As a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform, BigCommerce offers a cloud-based, all-in-one solution that allows merchants to build, run, and scale an online store without the need for a dedicated team of developers.
In addition, this platform is recognized for its scalability, performance, and advanced features. It is particularly well-suited for mid-level and large businesses looking for a robust eCommerce solution that can handle high volumes of traffic and sales.
Meanwhile, the BigCommerce platform is also a great option for small businesses looking for a platform with advanced customization capabilities. With a wide range of built-in features, as well as an app store offering additional integrations and extensions, merchants can tailor their online store to meet their unique needs.
BigCommerce Pros and Cons
Let’s look at the right side of the BigCommerce reviews to see why so many businesses choose it as their eCommerce platform.
- No platform fees/commission on any plan: BigCommerce does not charge a platform fee or commission on any of its plans, which means you get to keep more of your profits.
- Great in-built, user-centric free features: BigCommerce offers a range of free features, such as abandoned cart recovery, discount codes, and product reviews, which can save you money on additional apps and integrations.
- Smooth multi-channel integration: If you’re already selling across marketplaces or social media, BigCommerce is a natural next step, as it integrates easily with channels like Facebook, Amazon, and eBay.
- Strong SEO support for organic growth: BigCommerce offers strong SEO features, including customizable URLs, page titles, and meta descriptions, which can help improve your search engine rankings and drive more organic traffic to your store.
Meanwhile, the BigCommerce website builder still has some areas for improvement.
- Limited free themes available in the store: While BigCommerce offers a variety of themes to choose from, only a few of them are available for free. This means that businesses may have to spend more money to purchase premium themes or hire a web developer to customize their site’s design.
- Technical knowledge required: If you’re not familiar with web design or development, BigCommerce may not be the best option for you. The platform requires a bit of technical knowledge to navigate and make the most of its features. While the interface is user-friendly, customizing your store or adding new features can be challenging without prior knowledge. This means that you might need to hire a web designer
- Slow response to user requests: BigCommerce is known to be slow in responding to user requests for extra features or extensions. This can be frustrating for businesses that need specific functionality but are unable to implement it due to the platform’s limitations.
BigCommerce Reviews: Pricing
In this section, we’ll take a closer look at the various plans available and their respective features to help you choose the right one for your business.
BigCommerce Pricing | Monthly subscription | Yearly subscription |
Standard | $39 | $29 |
Plus | $105 | $79 |
Pro | $399 | $299 |
Enterprise | Custom | Custom |
There are four different BigCommerce pricing plans, starting with a 15-day free trial, giving you plenty of time to test the waters.
With the Standard plan (starting at $39 per month), you will have a feature-rich platform with mobile-responsive design, built-in BigCommerce blogging, scalability, and unlimited products. Although the Standard plan is a good option for businesses with a limited budget, it may not be the ideal choice for those looking to scale their operations quickly due to some missing key features.
The Plus plan starts at $105 per month. It comes with all the features of the Standard plan, plus a few additional features such as abandoned cart recovery, customer groups to reward frequent shoppers, and store credit cards. This plan is considered a “sweet spot” for businesses because the Standard plan may not provide enough features to help businesses get the most out of selling. Meanwhile, the Pro plan offers no outstanding features but increased sales volume.
The Pro plan (starting at $399/month) is ideal for larger businesses with a budget and revenue threshold of up to $400k. It includes all the features of the Standard and Plus plans, along with custom SSL and product filtering. These advanced features help manage inventory and increase revenue, attracting more customers and providing a better shopping experience.
Finally, the Enterprise plan is designed for businesses that want to go big and grow beyond. This plan supports fully customizable and scalable stores with advanced features such as priority support, API support, and more. This BigCommerce plan is available upon request, as it is tailored to each business’s individual needs.
BigCommerce Reviews: Detailed Analysis
To help you make an informed decision, we’ll demonstrate more information about BigCommerce for your consideration. Let’s explore!
1. Ease of use
BigCommerce has a wide range of features and tools to help you build your online store. Many BigCommerce reviews state that while the platform is not difficult to use, it can be complex for non-tech users.
The platform does offer tutorials to help you get started with the basic setup of your store, such as adding products, configuring shipping settings, and managing tax rates. Customization can be complex and requires technical expertise, particularly for tweaking the Stencil framework that is recommended for advanced developers only. And also, you can hire best developers from their website who providing these kind of services.
One common issue users have reported is the platform’s design interface, which can be split between two areas – the product management section and the storefront editor. To address this, it’s recommended to set up the inventory section first and then move to the storefront editor to personalize the storefront.
Moreover, BigCommerce has recently introduced a visual merchandising tool called Store Design to make the platform more customizable and help users see the effects of their edits.
2. BigCommerce themes
Another thing we’ll discuss in the BigCommerce reviews is its decent, impressive templates. There is a wide range of templates that cater to various budgets, making it one of the best eCommerce platforms out there.
If you are just starting out and have a low budget, you can choose from 12 free themes. However, if you have a more substantial budget, BigCommerce offers over 100 paid themes ranging from $145 to $235. These templates are not only mobile responsive but also visually appealing and easy to work with.
What’s more, BigCommerce provides the flexibility to customize these templates to personalize your store according to your brand. With the Style Editor function, you can experiment with colors, fonts, carousels, and more, without requiring any coding skills. The Style Editor also gives you instant control over everything from background colors to logo positions, the number of featured products, navigation arrow colors, and more.
If you have a developer background, you can also work with the CSS and raw HTML to update your theme as per your requirements.
3. eCommerce features
Based on the latest BigCommerce reviews, we all know that this is a powerful eCommerce platform that comes with an extensive list of eCommerce features, making it stand out from its competitors. The platform makes it easy for businesses of all sizes to manage products, process orders, and enhance sales.
I. Multi-channel selling
One of the benefits of using BigCommerce’s multi-channel selling feature is that you can keep track of all your sales from different websites using BigCommerce’s data reporting tools. These tools help you to point out trends, track performance, conversion rates, and more, all from your dashboard.
Moreover, with the data reporting tools, you can analyze the performance of your store across different channels and make informed decisions on how to optimize your sales strategy. For example, if you notice that your store is performing better on eBay than on Facebook, you can allocate more resources towards eBay and adjust your marketing strategy to attract more customers on that channel.
II. Product management
BigCommerce’s product management is not only about importing products, setting up inventory tracking, and editing details. It also provides advanced tools that help eCommerce store owners to create a great product experience for their customers.
One of these tools is the ability to create product variants. This feature allows you to offer different versions of the same product, such as different sizes, colors, or materials. By providing more options, you can appeal to a broader audience and increase your sales.
What’s more, BigCommerce also offers a unique feature called Product Customizer, which allows customers to personalize products by adding their name or a custom message. This feature is particularly useful for businesses that sell personalized items such as gifts or customized clothing.
III. Order processing
BigCommerce brings an advanced order processing system that takes the buyer’s journey to the next level. After a customer clicks the buy button, the platform handles the order processing, making it easy to process orders, print invoices, and packing slips.
With this order processing system, you can track orders from start to finish, ensuring that each order is fulfilled promptly and accurately. The platform also provides detailed order information, including customer details, order history, payment status, and shipping details, making it easy to manage orders efficiently.
IV. Multi-currency support
BigCommerce reviews consistently praise the platform’s powerful multi-currency feature. This functionality makes BigCommerce a leading eCommerce platform for businesses looking to expand their global reach and accept payments in multiple currencies.
BigCommerce has partnered with five popular payment gateways that support multi-currency payments, including PayPal, Stripe, Square, Adyen, and Authorize.net. This partnership ensures that businesses can choose a payment gateway that fits their needs and easily process multi-currency payments.
V. Customizable checkout
BigCommerce’s customizable checkout feature has become a game-changer for online businesses. With the recent change in its checkout module, users can have access to its Checkout SDK, which is a library filled with JavaScript elements for checkout customization.
This new feature allows businesses to customize every aspect of their checkout page, including the background images, fonts, colors, and the number of steps needed for customers to move through the process. This level of customization is critical in creating a seamless checkout experience that aligns with a business’s branding and enhances customer trust.
VI. Shipping
When it comes to online businesses, shipping is a critical aspect that can make or break customer satisfaction.
For higher BigCommerce pricing plans, real-time shipping quotes are available to ensure that customers get accurate shipping costs at checkout. Additionally, the platform has an all-in-one solution for shipping tools, including a free app called ShipStation. With this app, businesses can access special discounts with leading shipping companies like DHL, USPS, and FedEx.
Providing a seamless shipping experience for customers is essential for any online business, and BigCommerce offers several options to achieve this. Businesses can offer in-store pickup, next-day delivery, shipping tracking, free shipping, and more to keep customers happy.
4. BigCommerce mobile commerce
When it comes to BigCommerce reviews, mobile commerce is an important feature that allows store owners to manage their business on the go. Both the BigCommerce App Store and BigCommerce Google Play are available, so users can easily check and update orders, view key performance metrics, monitor products, and search for customers on all of their BigCommerce stores.
Another standout feature of the app is its ability to provide users with an overview of their store’s performance, including revenue, orders, customers, and conversion rate, by day, week, month, or year. This allows store owners to monitor their business’s performance in real time, no matter where they are.
In addition to store performance details, the app also allows for easy customer management. Users can access the list of all their customers and view and search for detailed information about individual buyers, including personal information and order history.
Moreover, users can communicate with customers directly via in-app phone and email links, making it easier than ever to stay in touch with customers and provide top-notch customer service.
5. BigCommerce SEO & marketing
In the following section of our BigCommerce reviews, we’ll take a closer look at how BigCommerce supports the growth of your online business through SEO and marketing tools.
I. BigCommerce SEO
BigCommerce covers a range of SEO features to help improve the visibility of your website on search engines. Here are some of the top functions:
- SSL certificate: All BigCommerce plans come with an SSL certificate which helps to secure your website and improve search engine rankings.
- SEO-friendly URL structure: The URL structure for products, web pages, and categories can be adjusted, allowing you to create custom, short, or long URLs that align with your priorities.
- Mobile-friendliness: BigCommerce templates are responsive and optimized for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets. Additionally, the Stencil template supports Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), which helps to improve page load times and overall mobile-friendliness.
- Microdata: Many BigCommerce themes incorporate microdata, also known as “Rich Snippets”. This allows you to enhance your search result listings with information such as ratings, pricing, brand, and stock levels.
- On-page SEO: BigCommerce makes it easy to adjust page titles, metadata, and headings, which are important elements that search engines use to categorize and rank your site.
II. BigCommerce marketing
When it comes to marketing, BigCommerce provides a variety of tools to help you promote your online store.
- Banners: You can use banners for promotional and non-promotional purposes to capture your audience’s attention and highlight your main content.
- Coupon codes & discounts: This feature is especially useful for exclusive promotions and sharing codes via email. It helps to motivate buyers to make a purchase.
- Email marketing: The BigCommerce integration with powerful email marketing tools like MailChimp, HubSpot, iContact, and Constant Contact lets you build customer lists and send targeted messages and newsletters to avoid lost sales.
- Abandoned cart recovery: When a customer enters their email and then abandons their cart, this feature can send an automated email to bring them back to their purchase.
- Google AdWords integration: This feature allows you to promote your products on Google automatically.
- Social media tool: You can add “Buy Now” buttons on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter to turn social browsing into online buying. BigCommerce makes it easy to market your brand on social media.
6. BigCommerce dropshipping
BigCommerce offers support for dropshipping, allowing you to outsource logistics and shipping operations to third-party vendors. That makes it ideal if you’re looking to start an online business without much capital investment.
BigCommerce supports greater flexibility as dropshippers can manage their business from anywhere and at any time. This eliminates the need to manage inventory, storage, and a physical store constantly.
Additionally, dropshipping with this platform requires significantly lower start-up budgets, as there is no need to purchase and manage large quantities of inventory. Also, there is reduced capital required as all products are produced, controlled, and shipped by the supplier.
7. BigCommerce support & security
The next part of our BigCommerce reviews is its support and security.
I. BigCommerce support
BigCommerce covers a variety of support options for its users. Upon signing up for a free trial, users receive a 10-minute call from the BigCommerce support team to discuss their business and how it can help them succeed. This personal touch is a unique feature that sets this platform apart from other eCommerce website builders.
For all price plans, BigCommerce provides 24/7 phone, live chat, and email support, as well as video tutorials and an extensive knowledge base. The BigCommerce Support Center also offers online forums where users can interact with other community members and receive help with any issues they may encounter.
II. BigCommerce security
There are positive BigCommerce reviews not only on its support but also on its security policies. Firstly, this eCommerce platform prioritizes security to ensure your website and your customers’ data are protected. All the pricing plans come with an SSL certificate, which encrypts data and makes it more difficult for hackers to intercept sensitive information. Additionally, BigCommerce websites are PCI-compliant, which means it meets the standards set by the Payment Card Industry to protect payment information.
The platform also has security measures in place to protect against fraud, such as using 3D Secure, which is an additional layer of authentication for credit card transactions. They also offer fraud protection services to help identify and prevent fraudulent activity on your website.
BigCommerce Reviews: FAQs
- 1. What big companies use BigCommerce?
BigCommerce is trusted by many big companies, including Skullcandy, Ben & Jerry’s, and Toyota Australia. These companies have chosen BigCommerce for its scalable and customizable platform, as well as its extensive range of features and integrations.
- 2. What are BigCommerce payment gateways?
In terms of payment gateways, BigCommerce offers a variety of options to cater to your needs.
- Paypal powered by Braintree;
- Using a third-party payment method;
- BigCommerce POS – Square.
- 3. Can I use my own domain with BigCommerce?
Yes, you can use your own domain with BigCommerce. In fact, it is recommended that you do so in order to establish a strong and professional online presence for your business. BigCommerce makes it easy to connect your own domain to your store, and you can even purchase a domain directly through the platform if you don’t already have one.
BigCommerce Reviews: Conclusion
BigCommerce reviews demonstrate that this is a powerful selling platform that offers a wide range of features and benefits for online retailers of all sizes. From its easy-to-use website builder to its advanced marketing tools and dropshipping integrations, this versatile solution can help businesses grow and succeed in the competitive world of online commerce.
With its reliable support, robust security features, and affordable pricing plans, BigCommerce is a great choice for anyone looking to launch or expand their online store. Whether you’re a small startup or a large enterprise, BigCommerce has the tools and resources you need to succeed in the digital marketplace.
Looking for more insights on eCommerce and retail strategies? Check out our LitCommerce Retailers Blog for informative articles and tips. Also, join our Facebook community to connect with other retailers and stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in the industry.
