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Read time : 10 min
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Published on 20-06-2024
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Article
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Read time : 10 min
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Published on 20-06-2024
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BigCommerce Review: How Can It Boost Your Online Business?

Aakanksha Sharma
Aakanksha Sharma
Content Marketer
BigCommerce Review: How Can It Boost Your Online Business?

In this BigCommerce review, we'll answer the question: What is BigCommerce? Ideal for those new to online selling as well as established brands, BigCommerce stands out with its user-friendly interface and robust features that cater to success in the digital marketplace. Let’s dig into what sets BigCommerce apart from other eCommerce platforms.

What Is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is a powerful e-commerce solution made to simplify online business operations. This platform stands out by providing a complete set of tools for both small and large businesses. It supports various sales strategies, from drop shipping to selling directly to consumers and B2B operations.

What sets BigCommerce apart is its emphasis on enhancing user experience and simplifying store management. The platform has a user-friendly dashboard that helps store owners easily handle products, process orders, and analyze sales trends to make informed decisions. Its strong analytics tools track performance metrics, providing valuable insights for growing the business and increasing profitability.

BigCommerce focuses on being flexible in its sales and marketing. It easily connects with popular social media platforms, marketplaces, and specialized applications, so businesses can reach more customers and sell through different channels. The platform also has built-in tools to help improve online visibility and attract more website visitors, like advanced SEO tools.

BigCommerce makes it easier for entrepreneurs to focus on growing their business by reducing the need for extensive technical know-how in e-commerce. Whether you're starting a new online store or expanding an existing one, BigCommerce offers a reliable foundation that adapts to the changing needs of modern e-commerce.

Key Features and Benefits of Using BigCommerce

Let's explore the main features and advantages highlighted in various Big Commerce reviews that make BigCommerce an attractive option for store owners:

  • Flexible, Customizable Themes: Choose from over 100 free, paid themes that align with your brand's style. You can customize these themes to achieve the exact look and feel you want for your store.
  • Powerful Product Management: Manage your product catalog effortlessly. Add photos, videos, descriptions, options, variants, and more. Features like bulk editing simplify the process of updating multiple products at once.
  • Integrated Marketing Tools: Utilize built-in tools to bolster your marketing efforts. These include abandoned cart recovery, product recommendations, customer groups, and coupons. Additionally, leverage email marketing, SEO, and social media integration capabilities to expand your reach.
  • Secure Checkout: Ensuring security is paramount. BigCommerce provides bank-level security to create a safe checkout experience. It works with Level 1 PCI standards and easily connects with popular payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and Square.
  • Exceptional Support: If you encounter any issues, BigCommerce offers 24/7 support through live chat, phone, email, community forums, and extensive resources like articles and video tutorials.

With its customization, ease of product management, robust marketing support, stringent security, and dedicated customer service, BigCommerce stands out as a top choice for over 60,000 stores worldwide. Could it be the right fit for your business needs?

Benefits of Using BigCommerce

Let's delve into the benefits that make BigCommerce an attractive option for eCommerce businesses of all sizes:

1. Cost-Effective and Scalable:

  • Affordable Starting Plans: Launch your store with plans starting as low as $29/month.
  • Seamless Scalability: Easily upgrade to higher-tier plans as your business grows, with no need to switch platforms.

2. Optimized for SEO:

  • SEO-Friendly Design: To enhance user experience, features include mobile-responsive layouts, fast load times, and customizable, customer-friendly URLs.
  • Enhanced Search Rankings: Optimize page titles, meta descriptions, and alt texts for images to boost your store's visibility in search engine results.

3. User-Friendly and Easy to Use:

  • Intuitive Interface: Navigate effortlessly with a simple dashboard and straightforward menus.
  • Efficient Setup: A quick setup wizard and straightforward product/category addition enable rapid store deployment.
  • Ideal for Beginners: The platform's user-friendly nature is particularly beneficial for those new to eCommerce.

4. Large App and Theme Marketplace:

  • Diverse Plugin Library: Access thousands of free and paid apps to add functionalities, from shipping solutions to marketing tools.
  • Variety of Themes: Select from a broad range of free and paid themes to create a storefront that embodies your brand's identity.

Examples of Successful BigCommerce Stores

BigCommerce powers over 60,000 stores, including many successful and well-known brands. Here are a few examples of companies finding success with BigCommerce:

Skullcandy Skullcandy uses BigCommerce to improve its global online presence and sell a variety of audio products like headphones, earbuds, and speakers. BigCommerce helps Skullcandy offer a consistent and easy shopping experience across different devices. The platform's e-commerce tools have helped Skullcandy increase sales by improving conversion rates and making inventory management more efficient.

Timbuk2

Timbuk2, based in San Francisco, designs and sells customizable backpacks and travel accessories directly to customers through its BigCommerce storefront. BigCommerce's flexibility allows Timbuk2 to offer different custom product options, which is important for a brand that focuses on personalized products. Detailed analytics from BigCommerce have helped Timbuk2 improve their product offerings and marketing strategies, leading to increased customer engagement and sales.

Perpetual Kid

This Austin gift and toy store has used BigCommerce since 2007. They manage a large product catalog with over 3,000 unique items. Perpetual Kid uses BigCommerce’s marketing tools and SEO features to boost their digital marketing efforts. These tools have helped Perpetual Kid significantly increase their online visibility and annual revenue to over $10 million. The easy site management and analytics have helped them better understand customer behavior and improve their sales strategies.

Pro World

Pro World is a big seller of sports gear for fans of major league sports teams in sports like football, hockey, basketball, and soccer. During busy times around big sporting events, they need a platform that can handle lots of visitors to their website and lots of sales. BigCommerce provides solutions for big businesses like Pro World to manage lots of transactions and keep their website safe and stable when lots of people are using it. This is really important for making sure customers are happy and trust the website.

These examples show how versatile and scalable the BigCommerce platform is for all types of businesses. Whether you sell headphones, backpacks, toys, or sports gear, BigCommerce has the features and functionality to help your store thrive.

What are the Challenges of Using BigCommerce?

We decided to skip the traditional list of BigCommerce pros and cons. After exploring its benefits and features, let's now examine the challenges you might encounter, especially as your store grows.

1. Inventory Management

  • Outgrown Basic Features: BigCommerce's built-in inventory works well for small stores. However, it lacks features like advanced product variants, bulk editing, or automated inventory forecasting. These become crucial for managing a large and dynamic product catalog.
  • Integration Headaches: Integrating a robust third-party inventory management system (IMS) can be complex. Data migration and ensuring smooth information flow between BigCommerce and the IMS require technical expertise.

2. Order Fulfillment

  • Complexity Overload: Fulfilling orders, managing returns, and tracking shipments become increasingly intricate with a growing order volume. BigCommerce offers basic functionality, but complex fulfillment needs might necessitate additional integrations and automation tools.
  • App Dependency Maze: While BigCommerce offers integrations with various shipping carriers and logistics services, these might not cater to your specific needs. Implementing custom fulfillment workflows often requires additional apps, adding complexity and potential compatibility issues.

3. Scaling Limitations

  • SMB Focus: BigCommerce excels at serving small and medium-sized businesses. Its core features might not be enough for high-growth businesses with complex needs.
  • Upgrade Costs: As your business expands, scaling up on BigCommerce often involves subscription upgrades and additional app integrations. This can lead to unexpected costs and increased management overhead.

4. Planning for Growth

  • Strategic Approach: High-growth businesses need a strategic plan to address these challenges. This might involve considering alternative platforms that offer more robust built-in functionalities or cater better to future scalability needs.
  • Understanding BigCommerce: Knowing BigCommerce's strengths and limitations upfront is key. By carefully evaluating your current and future needs, you can choose the right platform and avoid roadblocks down the line.

Conclusion

BigCommerce has cemented its position as a powerhouse in the online retail sector, offering scalability, extensive customization, and a broad suite of features that cater to diverse business needs. It provides the essential tools and infrastructure that businesses require to navigate the competitive landscape of today's digital marketplace. With a commitment to continual enhancement and staying abreast of the latest e-commerce trends, BigCommerce enables businesses to leverage cutting-edge technology for sustainable growth and innovation.

After this BigCommerce review, if you're ready to fully leverage the platform with custom solutions for your business, reach out. Connect with our team at hello@coderapper.com.

FAQs

What is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is a cloud-based e-commerce platform that allows businesses to create and manage online stores.

How does BigCommerce compare to other e-commerce platforms?

BigCommerce offers extensive built-in features, scalability, and easier integration, making it competitive with platforms like Shopify and Magento.

Is BigCommerce suitable for small businesses?

Yes, BigCommerce is suitable for small businesses due to its flexible pricing plans and scalable features.

What are the key features of BigCommerce?

Key features include customizable templates, multi-channel selling, robust product catalog tools, and advanced SEO capabilities.

Is BigCommerce SEO-friendly?

Yes, BigCommerce is SEO-friendly with features like customizable URLs, automatic sitemap generation, and optimized headers.

Can I use my own domain with BigCommerce?

Yes, you can use your own domain name with BigCommerce.

Does BigCommerce support mobile responsiveness?

Yes, BigCommerce themes are mobile-responsive, ensuring your store works seamlessly on all devices.

What payment gateways are supported by BigCommerce?

BigCommerce supports major payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, Square, and many others.

Is there a free trial for BigCommerce?

Yes, BigCommerce offers a 15-day free trial for new users.

Can I integrate third-party apps with BigCommerce?

Yes, BigCommerce allows integration with a wide range of third-party apps through its app marketplace.

What is the pricing structure for BigCommerce?

BigCommerce offers several pricing plans, starting from the Standard plan to the Pro and Enterprise plans, based on the scale and requirements of the business.

How is customer support on BigCommerce?

BigCommerce provides 24/7 customer support via phone, email, and live chat.

Does BigCommerce provide security features for online stores?

Yes, BigCommerce offers several security features, including SSL certificates and compliance with PCI DSS standards.

Can I migrate my existing store to BigCommerce?

Yes, you can migrate your existing store to BigCommerce using migration tools and services offered by BigCommerce.

Is there a limit on the number of products I can sell on BigCommerce?

No, there is no limit to the number of products you can sell on BigCommerce.