Are you a web developer looking to create an online store for your clients? If so, you’ve probably heard of two popular platforms: BigCommerce and Shopify. Both offer a range of features and capabilities that can help bring your e-commerce projects to life. But deciding between the two can be a daunting task. That’s why we’re here to explore the pros and cons of BigCommerce vs. Shopify for web development! In this blog post, we’ll dive into the key differences, benefits, drawbacks, and everything in between – helping you make an informed decision on which platform best suits your needs. So buckle up as we embark on this exciting journey together!
Introduction to BigCommerce and Shopify
When it comes to building an online store, the choice of ecommerce platform is crucial. This decision can have a significant impact on the success of your business, as well as the overall user experience for both you and your customers. Two popular options in the market are BigCommerce and Shopify.
BigCommerce and Shopify are both fully-hosted ecommerce platforms that offer a range of features and tools to help you create and manage your online store. They provide similar solutions but have some key differences that set them apart from each other. In this section, we will explore the basics of these two platforms to help you make an informed decision about which one is best for your web development needs.
BigCommerce:
BigCommerce was founded in 2009 and has quickly become one of the leading ecommerce platforms available today. It powers over 95,000 online stores across various industries, including fashion, home goods, electronics, and more.
One of the main selling points of BigCommerce is its user-friendly interface that allows users to build their online store without any technical knowledge or coding skills. Its drag-and-drop design feature makes it easy to customize your storefront by arranging elements such as product listings, banners, images, and more.
Another advantage of using BigCommerce is its powerful built-in marketing tools. These include SEO optimization features like meta tags and sitemaps, social media integrations for promoting products on different social channels, abandoned cart recovery emails to reduce lost sales opportunities, discounts and coupons
Similarities between BigCommerce and Shopify
When it comes to building an ecommerce website, the platform you choose can make or break your success. BigCommerce and Shopify are two of the most popular options for Best bigcommerce development companies, and for good reason. Both platforms offer a wide range of features and tools to help businesses create a professional and functional online store. In this section, we will explore the similarities between these two ecommerce giants.
- User-Friendly Interface:
Both BigCommerce and Shopify have user-friendly interfaces that make it easy for anyone to set up and manage their online store. They offer drag-and-drop editors, customizable themes, and intuitive navigation that require no coding knowledge.
- Responsive Design:
Responsive design is crucial in today’s mobile-driven world, as more and more people are shopping on their smartphones or tablets. Luckily, both BigCommerce and Shopify have responsive templates that automatically adjust to fit any screen size.
- Extensive App Stores:
BigCommerce and Shopify both have app stores with thousands of apps available to enhance your online store’s functionality. These apps cover everything from marketing tools to accounting software, making it easy for businesses to find the right solutions for their specific needs.
- Multiple Payment Options:
Both platforms support multiple payment gateways, making it easier for customers to make purchases with their preferred method of payment. This includes major credit cards as well as alternative methods such as PayPal or Apple Pay.
- SEO Optimization:
Search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for driving traffic to your website and increasing sales. Fortunately,
Differences in Web Development Services
When it comes to web development services, there are many options available in the market. However, two of the most popular platforms for creating e-commerce websites are BigCommerce and Shopify. Both platforms offer a range of features and tools that make it easy for businesses to set up and manage their online stores. However, there are some key differences between these two platforms that can impact your decision when choosing the right one for your business.
- Pricing:
One of the biggest differences between BigCommerce and Shopify is their pricing structure. While both platforms offer various pricing plans for businesses of different sizes, Shopify has a lower starting price point compared to BigCommerce. This makes it more accessible for small businesses or startups with limited budgets. On the other hand, BigCommerce offers more advanced features in its higher-priced plans, making it a better option for larger enterprises or businesses with complex needs.
- Design and customization:
Another key difference between these two platforms is the level of design control and customization options they offer. With Shopify’s theme store, users have access to hundreds of professionally designed themes that can be customized according to their brand aesthetic and preferences using drag-and-drop editors or HTML/CSS coding. On the other hand, BigCommerce has fewer built-in themes but allows more flexibility in terms of customizing them through its Stencil framework.
3.Professional Services:
When it comes to professional services such as web design and development, both platforms have their own network of experts who can help businesses build their online stores
Design and Customization Options
When it comes to creating an online store, having a visually appealing and professional design is crucial for attracting customers and driving sales. That’s why choosing an e-commerce platform with robust design and customization options is essential.
Both BigCommerce and Best Shopify development companies offer various features that allow users to create unique and personalized online stores. Let’s take a closer look at the design and customization options offered by these two platforms.
Design Options:
BigCommerce offers over 100 professionally designed themes that are fully responsive, meaning they will automatically adjust to fit any device screen size. These themes are also highly customizable, allowing users to change colors, fonts, layouts, and more to match their brand aesthetic.
Shopify also offers a wide range of free and paid themes that are mobile-responsive. Their theme store has over 70 professionally designed themes with different styles, layouts, and color schemes to choose from. Additionally, Shopify allows users to edit HTML/CSS codes directly for further customization possibilities.
Winner: Both BigCommerce and Shopify offer a variety of well-designed themes suitable for different industries; however, BigCommerce has a slight edge with its extensive collection of free themes.
Customization Options:
BigCommerce provides several tools for customizing your online store without needing any coding knowledge. The “Store Design” tool allows users to customize their website’s appearance by dragging and dropping elements such as logos, banners, images, etc., onto the page builder. BigCommerce also offers advanced options like custom fields and product filtering for more in-depth customization.
SEO and Marketing Tools
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and marketing are crucial components of any successful e-commerce website. Without proper optimization and marketing efforts, it can be challenging to attract traffic and drive conversions on your online store. Both BigCommerce and Shopify offer a range of tools and features to help merchants improve their SEO efforts and implement effective marketing strategies. In this section, we will explore the pros and cons of SEO and marketing tools offered by both platforms.
BigCommerce:
BigCommerce offers a comprehensive set of built-in SEO features that make it easy for merchants to optimize their websites for search engines. Some of the key highlights include customizable URLs, meta descriptions, sitemaps, canonical tags, alt tags for images, and more. These features allow merchants to improve their website’s visibility on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
One standout feature of BigCommerce is its integration with Google AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages). This enables merchants to create lightning-fast versions of their product pages specifically designed for mobile devices. With mobile commerce accounting for a significant portion of e-commerce sales today, this feature can give BigCommerce users an edge over competitors in terms of page load speed.
In addition to SEO features, BigCommerce also offers a range of built-in marketing tools. These include abandoned cart saver emails, product reviews functionality, gift cards & coupon codes creation, social media integrations with Facebook & Instagram ads as well as built-in integrations with email marketing services like Mailchimp.
Payment Gateways and Transaction Fees
Payment gateways and transaction fees are a crucial aspect to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform for your web development needs. These are the systems that allow you to securely process payments from your customers, making it possible for you to run a successful online business.
Both BigCommerce and Shopify offer a variety of payment gateways to choose from, including popular options like PayPal, Stripe, and Square. However, there are some differences in terms of fees and features between these two platforms that may impact your decision.
Transaction fees refer to the percentage or flat rate charged by the payment gateway for each transaction processed through their system. This is on top of any processing fees charged by your chosen payment processor. Let’s take a closer look at how BigCommerce and Shopify compare in terms of transaction fees:
BigCommerce:
One of the main selling points of BigCommerce is that they do not charge any transaction fees on top of what is charged by your chosen payment processor. This means that you can keep all the profits from your sales without having to pay any additional fees to BigCommerce.
However, it’s worth noting that this only applies if you use one of their preferred payment processors: PayPal Powered by Braintree, Authorize.net or Adyen. If you choose to use another payment processor, such as Stripe or Square, then BigCommerce will charge a 0.5% fee on every transaction made through their platform.
Customer Support
When it comes to running an online business, providing excellent customer support is essential for success. Both BigCommerce and Shopify offer various customer support options, but there are some key differences between them.
- 24/7 Support: One of the most significant advantages of using BigCommerce for web development is its 24/7 customer support. This means that no matter what time zone you or your customers are in, you can always reach out to their team for assistance. Shopify, on the other hand, offers 24/7 chat and email support, but phone support is only available during limited hours.
- Multiple Channels: Another aspect to consider when comparing customer support between BigCommerce and Shopify is the availability of multiple channels. While both platforms offer live chat and email support, BigCommerce also offers phone support and has a community forum where users can ask questions and get answers from other merchants.
- Knowledge Base & Resources: Both BigCommerce and Shopify have extensive knowledge bases with articles and tutorials covering different aspects of their platforms. However, BigCommerce’s knowledge base tends to be more comprehensive with detailed instructions on how to use specific features or troubleshoot common issues.
- Dedicated Account Managers: For businesses with large inventories or complex needs, having a dedicated account manager can make a significant difference in terms of customer support experience. This service is only available on the higher-tier plans of both platforms; however, many users report that BigCommerce’s account managers tend to be more hands-on and responsive
Pros of Using BigCommerce for Web Development
BigCommerce is a popular e-commerce platform that offers a wide range of features and tools for building and managing an online store. It has gained popularity among web developers due to its user-friendly interface, robust security measures, and flexible customization options. In this section, we will explore the pros of using BigCommerce for web development.
- User-Friendly Interface:
One of the major advantages of using BigCommerce is its user-friendly interface. The platform provides a simple and intuitive dashboard that allows users to easily navigate through different sections and manage their online store efficiently. This is especially beneficial for novice web developers who may not have technical expertise in building an e-commerce website.
- Robust Security Measures:
Security is crucial when it comes to online transactions, and BigCommerce takes this aspect seriously. The platform offers advanced security features such as SSL encryption, PCI compliance, fraud detection, and protection against DDoS attacks. These measures provide peace of mind to both merchants and customers while ensuring secure transactions on the website.
- Scalability:
BigCommerce is designed to cater to businesses of all sizes – from small startups to large enterprises. As your business grows, you can easily scale up your store with BigCommerce’s unlimited bandwidth and storage options without worrying about any additional costs or server limitations.
Robust E-commerce Features
When it comes to building an e-commerce website, having robust features is crucial in ensuring a smooth and successful online shopping experience for both the business owner and customers. In this section, we will dive deeper into the e-commerce features offered by BigCommerce and Shopify and compare their strengths and weaknesses.
- Storefront Design:
Both BigCommerce and Shopify offer a wide range of professionally designed templates that are customizable to fit your brand’s aesthetic. However, BigCommerce takes it a step further by offering more advanced design tools such as drag-and-drop page builders, which allow you to create unique layouts without any coding knowledge. On the other hand, Shopify offers an extensive app store with various design apps to enhance your storefront’s appearance.
- Product Management:
In terms of managing products, both platforms offer similar basic features such as inventory tracking, product variants options, and bulk editing capabilities. However, BigCommerce stands out with its built-in multi-channel selling feature, allowing you to sell products on different marketplaces like Facebook and Instagram directly from your dashboard.
- Payment Options:
Ensuring secure payment options is vital in gaining customer trust for online businesses. Both platforms support major payment gateways such as PayPal and Stripe; however, Shopify has an advantage with its own payment gateway – Shopify Payments – which doesn’t charge transaction fees like third-party gateways do.
- Shipping Solutions:
BigCommerce offers real-time shipping quotes from major carriers such as USPS and FedEx based on weight or destination zones.
User-Friendly Interface
One of the key factors in choosing an e-commerce platform for web development is the user-friendly interface. After all, your online store should be easy to navigate and manage, not only for you as the owner but also for your customers. In this section, we will explore the user-friendly interfaces of BigCommerce and Shopify and compare their pros and cons.
BigCommerce prides itself on having a simple and intuitive interface that allows even beginners to set up their online store easily. The dashboard is well-organized with clear navigation tabs, making it easy to find what you need without getting lost in a sea of options. The layout is clean and visually appealing, making it both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, BigCommerce offers drag-and-drop design tools that allow users to customize their website without any coding knowledge.
On the other hand, Shopify also has a user-friendly interface that makes managing an online store accessible to anyone regardless of technical skill level. The dashboard is clean and organized, with all essential features readily available through a sidebar menu. One standout feature of Shopify’s interface is its live preview function, which allows users to see changes made in real-time before publishing them on their website.
Scalability
Scalability is a crucial aspect to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform for your business. It refers to the ability of a website to handle an increasing amount of traffic, products, and transactions without compromising its performance. In this section, we will discuss the scalability features of BigCommerce and Shopify, and how they stack up against each other.
BigCommerce boasts itself as a scalable platform that can accommodate businesses of all sizes – from small startups to large enterprises. One of its standout scalability features is the ability to handle high traffic volume without slowing down or crashing. This is achieved through their enterprise-grade infrastructure which includes load balancing, CDN (Content Delivery Network), and advanced caching techniques. These technologies ensure that your website can handle sudden spikes in traffic during sales or promotions without any downtime.
In addition, BigCommerce offers unlimited bandwidth on all their plans, meaning there are no restrictions on the amount of data that can be transferred between your store and customers. This allows for a smooth browsing experience for your customers regardless of the number of visitors on your site at any given time.
Cons of Using BigCommerce for Web Development
BigCommerce is a popular e-commerce platform that offers many benefits for businesses looking to create an online store. However, like any tool, it also has its drawbacks. In this section, we will explore the cons of using BigCommerce for web development.
- Cost:
One of the main drawbacks of using BigCommerce is its cost. While it does offer a free trial and affordable plans for small businesses, it can quickly become expensive as your business grows. BigCommerce charges transaction fees on top of their monthly subscription fee, which can add up and cut into your profit margins.
- Limited Customization:
While BigCommerce does offer a wide range of customizable templates and themes, there are limitations to how much you can truly customize your website design. If you have specific branding or design requirements, you may find yourself limited by the options available on BigCommerce.
- Technical Expertise Required:
Setting up an online store on BigCommerce requires some technical expertise or at least familiarity with coding languages like HTML and CSS. This can be challenging for those who do not have experience in web development. Even though there are tutorials and support available on the BigCommerce website, it may still require external help to fully optimize your website.