About BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a leading enterprise-level ecommerce platform known for its flexibility, scalability, and agility. It combines the best of Software as a Service (SaaS) with open architecture, allowing for extensive customization.
Key features include flexibility to integrate with back-office systems, scalability for global reach, and agility to adapt to changing needs. It offers a comprehensive suite of features, including B2C and B2B capabilities, multi-storefront support, and omnichannel commerce. Security is a priority, with certifications like ISO/IEC 27001:2013 and PCI DSS 3.2, Level 1.
BigCommerce fosters an ecosystem of technology providers, designers, developers, and marketers to fill any gaps in resources. It emphasizes customer success with solution architects, implementation services, and dedicated success managers.
In a market where some competitors lock customers into proprietary offerings, BigCommerce stands out for its open platform’s flexibility and adaptability, tailored to each business’s unique needs.
Pros & Cons of BigCommerce
Pros
Feature-Rich: BigCommerce offers an extensive range of features even on its entry-level plans, including advanced capabilities that competitors often charge extra for.
Multi-Storefront: It provides excellent value for businesses running multiple stores by offering a multi-storefront feature.
Multi-Currency Selling: Selling in multiple currencies is straightforward with BigCommerce.
Real-Time Shipping Calculations: Unlike some competitors, BigCommerce offers third-party real-time shipping calculations on any plan without additional charges.
No Transaction Fees: BigCommerce doesn’t impose transaction fees, even when using third-party payment providers.
Robust Reporting Tools: All plans come with a comprehensive set of reporting tools, helping you gain valuable insights into your business.
Customization: Creating custom fields, allowing file uploads during purchases, and offering product review and drag-and-drop page builder functionalities provide flexibility.
SEO Features: BigCommerce offers strong search engine optimization features to boost your website’s visibility.
Unlimited Staff Accounts: You can have an unlimited number of staff accounts, making it suitable for teams of all sizes.
GDPR Compliance: It includes built-in features to help you meet GDPR requirements effectively.
Cons
Annual Sales Limits: BigCommerce imposes limits on annual online sales, requiring an upgrade to a higher-priced plan if exceeded.
Limited Free Themes: Free themes can lack variety and originality, offering limited customization options.
Typeface Limitations: The number of included typefaces in free themes is limited, and page builder widgets don’t support custom typefaces.
Abandoned Cart Functionality Cost: Abandoned cart functionality can be relatively costly compared to some competitors.
No Shipping Discounts: BigCommerce doesn’t provide shipping discounts on any plan.
Template Editing Challenges: Editing free templates could be more user-friendly.
Smart Product Rules: Setting smart product rules to categorize inventory isn’t supported.
Expensive Advanced Reporting: Advanced reporting tools can come with a higher cost.
No Built-in RSS Feeds: The built-in blog lacks RSS feed functionality.
VAT MOSS Tax Rates: VAT MOSS tax rates may not be adequately supported.
BigCommerce Pricing
Standard: $39/month
deal for starting an online store.
No additional transaction fees.
Unlimited products, file storage, and bandwidth.
Unlimited staff accounts.
Up to 3 multi-storefronts.
Plus: $105/month
Designed for growing online businesses.
No additional transaction fees.
Unlimited products, file storage, and bandwidth.
Unlimited staff accounts.
Up to 5 multi-storefronts.
Pro: $399/month
Suitable for scaling your business.
No additional transaction fees.
Unlimited products, file storage, and bandwidth.
Unlimited staff accounts.
Up to 8 multi-storefronts.
Inventory locations up to 8.
Online sales up to $400,000 annually.
Enterprise: Contact sales for custom pricing
Tailored to meet the needs of larger enterprises.
No additional transaction fees.
Customized features and pricing.
Ideal for high-volume businesses.
All plans include 24/7 tech support via phone, chat, and ticket.
BigCommerce Stencil
BigCommerce Stencil is the theme engine used by BigCommerce to empower merchants and developers in creating visually appealing and feature-rich online storefronts. Here’s a summary of key points about BigCommerce Stencil:
BigCommerce Stencil is a modern theme engine that incorporates industry best practices in technology, design standards, and SEO. It ensures that online stores are equipped with contemporary and efficient features.
Stencil themes are designed to be responsive and mobile-friendly, ensuring a seamless shopping experience on various devices.
The Page Builder tool included in Stencil themes allows easy customization of a storefront’s appearance without the need for coding. Users can adjust colors, typography, banners, headings, carousels, footers, and layout characteristics.
Each Stencil theme can contain one to four variations, allowing optimization for specific markets, audiences, and styles while managing them as a unified theme.
The Cornerstone theme serves as the foundational theme for rapidly developing BigCommerce themes and is available as an open-source project on GitHub. It offers responsive variations to choose from.
Stencil CLI (Command Line Interface) enables developers to work on Stencil themes locally without affecting the live storefront. It provides real-time preview and testing across different devices and viewports.
Stencil employs logic-based templates using Handlebars.js, a lightweight templating language, allowing developers to efficiently embed dynamic and conditional logic into storefront pages.
Stencil themes support both Sass and SCSS, popular CSS pre-processors, enabling developers to nest CSS properties, use variables, and mix-ins.
JavaScript event hooks in Stencil themes can access remote objects, allowing developers to trigger events based on shopper behavior, facilitating the collection of product data and optimization of the shopping experience.
YAML Front Matter is used in Stencil to request only necessary objects on the storefront, improving page speed and content rendering efficiency.
BigCommerce Stencil serves as a modern replacement for the older Blueprint theme framework.
BigCommerce offers various support options, including a developer community, Stack Overflow for programming-related queries, and direct support through Live Chat, Phone Support, or Email Support.
In summary, BigCommerce Stencil is a powerful theme engine that empowers users to create visually appealing and responsive online storefronts with flexible customization options, responsive designs, and efficient development tools.
BigCommerce B2B
BigCommerce B2B Edition is a specialized ecommerce solution tailored to meet the unique requirements of business-to-business (B2B) transactions. This platform offers a comprehensive set of features and capabilities designed to simplify and optimize the B2B ecommerce experience.
Recognized by industry experts like Andy Hoar, CEO of Paradigm B2B, BigCommerce B2B Edition stands out as a cost-effective and partner-centric solution. It allows B2B companies to streamline their operations, reduce complexity, and focus on their core business aspects.
One of the key advantages of BigCommerce B2B Edition is its ability to foster innovation. It provides scalability, flexibility, and openness, enabling businesses to adapt and innovate quickly without encountering friction. This adaptability is crucial in the ever-evolving B2B landscape.
Expanding into new markets, reaching different customer segments, and exploring additional sales channels is effortless with BigCommerce B2B Edition. It supports the creation of multiple storefronts, making it easy to tailor the shopping experience for diverse audiences. This flexibility is especially valuable for companies looking to expand their presence and cater to various markets.
Integrations play a pivotal role in the B2B ecommerce ecosystem, and BigCommerce B2B Edition excels in this aspect. It simplifies the integration of essential tools, including ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), OMS (Order Management System), and CRM (Customer Relationship Management), through one-click integrations and open APIs. This streamlines business operations and enhances efficiency.
Buyer experience is a top priority for B2B companies, and BigCommerce B2B Edition offers tools to elevate it. Pre-built features such as instant quote generation, user permissions, and easy reordering contribute to a superior B2B customer experience. Customized shipping rates, powered by the native integration with ShipperHQ, further reduce costs and enhance convenience.
BigCommerce B2B Edition caters to various B2B sectors, including manufacturing and wholesale. It recognizes that the needs and expectations of these sectors differ from traditional retail, and it provides tailored solutions to address these unique challenges.
Partnering with certified agencies is another advantage of using BigCommerce B2B Edition. These agencies bring specialized expertise to the table, helping businesses design and build attractive online stores, improve marketing strategies, and streamline B2B operations. This partnership ensures that businesses have the support and guidance they need to succeed in the competitive B2B market.
In summary, BigCommerce B2B Edition empowers B2B companies with a versatile, user-friendly, and growth-focused platform. It simplifies complex processes, fosters innovation, and provides the flexibility needed to adapt to changing market dynamics. With seamless integrations, enhanced buyer experiences, and expert agency partnerships, BigCommerce B2B Edition is a valuable asset for B2B businesses aiming to thrive in the digital commerce landscape.