BigCommerce

Overview: BigCommerce is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms.

They help people run thousands of businesses, generating over $9 billion in online sales throughout the company’s existence.

This BigCommerce review will tell you everything the company offers for your online storefront.

Price: Plans include Standard at $29.95 a month, Plus for $79.95 a month, and Pro for $299.95 a month.

Corporations needing more can call for custom pricing of the Enterprise plans.

Discounts Available: You can pay for a year in advance to lower the monthly cost.

There’s no change to the Standard plan, but you save $8 a month with Plus and $30 monthly with Pro.

Lifetime Plan: No

BigCommerce Pros:

• Strong SEO optimization for your storefront
• Flexible and scalable shops to grow with your business
• No commissions or fees taken

BigCommerce Cons:

• No one-click selling options
• Must pay more if you sell over a certain amount
• Involved setup can be difficult for many users

Introduction

BigCommerce is an eCommerce platform that empowers users to create stores and start making profits from what they sell.

It’s the best choice for businesses that plan to grow over time because the BigCommerce plans will scale with you.

Using this service takes away a lot of the work that goes into the backend of creating and managing a shop.

This BigCommerce review will give you information about the company, its history, and who will get the most out of this service.

Overview of BigCommerce

There are so many online storefronts that users struggle to decide what host to use.

Learning about BigCommerce gives you an idea of what the right eCommerce host can provide.

What Is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce gives merchants a simple way to create an online store.

You don’t need a website or template because BigCommerce provides it all with subscription plans.

You log in through their client portal and build your store using their tools, with no need for coding experience or technical knowledge.

You don’t even need special software on your computer.

The program is ideal for users who don’t have much web design experience and those who don’t want to invest too much time in their store’s online design.

Subscribing to BigCommerce frees you up to focus on the products and the business itself without needing to keep a close eye on the selling side.

BigCommerce History

Since its founding in 2009, BigCommerce has helped users create and run stores.

As you’ll read in this BigCommerce review, the platform empowers thousands of merchants to generate significant profits from selling their goods online.

The company has a global reach with offices in Texas, California, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine.

Pros of BigCommerce

• Countless free features give you everything you need to run your store without paying extra
• No commission fees on your use of the platform—you only pay for the subscription
• SEO optimization ensures your target audience will find their way to your store
• Multichannel integration allows you to link various storefronts and tools

Cons of BigCommerce

• Setup takes a lot of work, so having technical knowledge helps get your shop up and running
• Not ideal for smaller stores that won’t hit a particular profit margin each month
• Cost-prohibitive for larger businesses because there’s a ceiling cap on profits

How Much Does BigCommerce Cost?

BigCommerce has three different plans:

• Standard for $29.95 a month
• Plus for $79.95 a month
• Pro for $299.95 a month

The Standard plan is ideal for beginning businesses or those who have reached their perfect size and aren’t looking to expand.

You can sell up to $50,000 a year on this plan.

The Plus plan is for rapidly growing businesses and more prominent merchants who will sell up to $180,000 a year.

Other perks over the Standard plan include storing credit cards and reminding customers when they leave goods in their carts.

The Pro account serves businesses that sell $400,000 a year.

As these businesses are more established, some perks include product filtering and a more involved SSL certification on the site.

Is BigCommerce Worth the Cost?

Yes, BigCommerce is worth the cost.

The flexible plans give you a lot of leeway regarding how much profit your storefront brings in.

Since there’s a 15-day free trial, you can try out the platform and see how you like it before you spend a penny.

Why BigCommerce Is Worth the Cost

Paying about $30 a month for a shop that generates $50,000 a year in profits is a small price to pay.

As your business grows, you’ll pay more for a plan, but the benefits you get are worth it.

If you find that your company starts selling close to $400,000 a year, you can contact BigCommerce about their Enterprise plans, so you don’t have to move to another host.

The Problem BigCommerce Solves

BigCommerce solves the problem of getting your store off the ground.

It doesn’t matter how much you hope to expand or even what products you sell.

Any plan from the company gives you 12 templates to create your shop.

You then stock an unlimited number of items and accept payments through Paypal and other popular payment portals, so your customers pay easily.

With BigCommerce, everything’s in one place.

Your employees can all access the platform without needing to pay for extra user accounts, as many services require.

You can blog from the storefront, offer special discounts, and review detailed reports.

Why Would Somebody Want To Use BigCommerce?

Lots of major brands use BigCommerce, including Ben and Jerry’s, Sony, and Toyota.

If these corporations appreciate what BigCommerce offers, their structure will certainly be strong enough for your storefront, too.

A platform that can handle that type of traffic will have impressive uptimes, so you won’t miss a sale.

Who Is BigCommerce Best For?

As this BigCommerce review shows, anyone earning income from an online store can benefit from using the service.

With a low monthly rate for smaller stores, you’re not going to sign over a large portion of your profits to the store host.

The cost is low, and there are no hidden fees, so you’re able to estimate your income and profits accordingly.

Why BigCommerce Is Best for Businesses

With the assorted plans offered, BigCommerce can handle your business whether you’re just starting out or blew up overnight.

You can easily upgrade your account to handle your sales without needing to learn the ins and outs of a brand-new platform.

If you reach the Pro account cap, contact the company for a custom Enterprise plan.

BigCommerce can handle it all.

Who Should NOT Use BigCommerce?

BigCommerce’s Standard plan has a cap of $50,000, which makes it seem ideal for small businesses.

However, solo sellers shouldn’t use BigCommerce.

Why Solo Sellers Should Not Use BigCommerce

BigCommerce is easy for anyone to learn how to use, but a single seller will spend a lot of time managing the site to sell just a few items.

Since all plans offer space for unlimited items, there’s really no need for a solo seller to pay for an account.

You can get a smaller plan at a lower price from a provider like Wix.

What To Think About Before Buying BigCommerce

This BigCommerce review provides a lot of information about the company and what its plans offer.

But you also need to look at your own business and consider key factors that will impact your decision to use BigCommerce.

Business Size

Consider your business size before paying for an eCommerce host.

Some free sites can handle a few sales a month with ease.

You won’t have to spend your profit on maintenance.

However, BigCommerce offers an affordable option for any business that hopes to expand.

Each plan has a clear income cap that you can use to mark your store’s progress.

One of the biggest perks of choosing BigCommerce is that you won’t have to recreate your shop as it grows.

If you’re a small business starting on Wix, you might find that you need something more reliable as your sales grow.

If you subscribe to BigCommerce at that point, you’ll have to redo your store and redirect your customers.

It’s best to start with BigCommerce right away.

Sales Cap

As previously mentioned, each BigCommerce plan has a sales cap.

With the Standard plan, you know your store can bring in up to $50,000 a year.

At that point, you’ll upgrade to the Plus account, with a cap of $180,000 a year.

These caps are a great way to mark your business’s progress.

You can even use them as goals to push yourself to grow your company.

Each sales cap comes with a different pay tier, of course.

But you’ll never need to put a huge percentage of your profits back into your BigCommerce host.

The monthly fees remain affordable because BigCommerce doesn’t gouge its customers.

Customization

You should have a general idea of how you want your store to look, but any BigCommerce plan provides 12 free themes to choose from.

On top of that, there are hundreds of paid templates you can use to create a unique shop that conveys your brand aesthetic.

There’s no need to know how to code or hire a graphic designer to manage this aspect of your business.

Free Trial

Though BigCommerce offers flexible plans, you don’t even have to think about them while you’re shopping around.

Take advantage of the 15-day free trial to see what the dashboard is like. Learn how you can create your storefront.

Populate it with your merchandise and see how it looks and how the sales come through.

Make sure you like the product before committing.

Payment Processing Options

Taking multiple forms of payment ensures customers buy from you instead of shopping around for someone who takes Paypal.

In fact, Paypal is the default option for all BigCommerce stores. However, you can also choose to activate other options, such as:

• Amazon Pay
• Apple Pay
• Ayden
• Bolt
• Google Pay
• Klarna

Features and Benefits of BigCommerce

You’ve figured out what you might need from an eCommerce provider.

Read on to see what features and benefits BigCommerce offers to ensure the platform meets your needs.

Tiered Plans

As previously mentioned, the tiered plans BigCommerce offers make them ideal for businesses of any size.

You can start small and stay small, knowing you have a reliable host supporting your store.

Or you can come in as a new seller and find your business growing exponentially without needing to find a more secure host.

No Transaction Fees

Anytime users open a store, they earmark a certain amount of the profit for transaction fees and commissions.

However, when you use BigCommerce, you don’t have to worry about the company taking any of your money.

Just as they don’t price-gouge you with their plan costs, they don’t take cuts of your income.

While you have to pay credit card processing fees to your chosen payment processing company, that’s all.

Many eCommerce platforms take a percentage beyond those processing fees, so they’re making money from your business, but BigCommerce doesn’t do that in any plan.

Multichannel Selling

While a BigCommerce subscription allows you to build your own storefront, you can also take advantage of multichannel selling.

List your products on Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media outlets to reach your customers as they’re scrolling.

You can also activate partnerships with eBay, Google, and Walmart to expand your reach.

SEO Optimization

You don’t need to know a thing about SEO optimization to drive organic traffic to your store.

BigCommerce automatically embeds HTML tags into your store’s code, so your shop ranks highly in search engine results.

Detailed analytics give you more information about your site performance and customers so you can focus your marketing campaigns.

Secure Sites

BigCommerce is a trusted provider, and you can check out all their guidelines on the Platform Trust Center.

They use firewalls to prevent hackers from getting into your store or customer data.

The company constantly updates its security measures to ensure they stay on top of the current threats.

BigCommerce Customer Service

Before trusting a company with your livelihood, you want to know how much they’re willing to help you.

Understanding what customer service options they have can help you feel confident in the plan you choose.

Does BigCommerce Offer Customer Service?

Yes, BigCommerce offers customer service.

They’re available 24/7, but you’ll find out from customer reviews that not everyone appreciates what they offer.

What Types of Customer Service Does BigCommerce Offer?

BigCommerce offers 24/7 phone and email customer service.

Before you’re patched through, you’ll have a chance to look at articles that might contain the answer you need.

You can also interact with the chatbot on their homepage.

You can also take advantage of BigCommerce’s help outlets to find a solution to your problem, such as the BigCommerce Community.

Why Should You Trust Us?

We strive to be honest in all our feedback, which is why you see both the good and the bad in this BigCommerce review.

With years of experience in the blogging and eCommerce industry, we have a good idea of what simplifies your work and is worth the investment.

What BigCommerce Users Are Saying

BigCommerce has a four-star rating across the internet.

That’s a great vote of confidence, but it’s worth reading reviews to understand what a customer actually experiences.

You’ll frequently see a user mention customer service in their BigCommerce review.

Most people say they’re very dissatisfied with it.

One user says, “I’d rate BigCommerce zero stars if I could.

I was having a problem with my site and called customer service.

Several reps transferred me back and forth. When I tried to explain my problem, one representative just hung up on me.”

Another person wrote, “The volume limit is ridiculously low for BigCommerce.

You pay for a Pro plan, but the ceiling is $400,000.

I did the math and found that it’s better to use a separate card processor for my eCommerce site.

It’s an extra fee and additional setup, but worth the hassle compared to BigCommerce prices and fees.”

A business owner expressed frustration with the platform, saying, “I told customer service my problem, and they said they couldn’t fix it but recommended a developer who could—if I paid him.

It made me wonder why I’m even paying for this service. I’ve been looking into switching to Shopify.”

BigCommerce Alternatives

Though this is a focused BigCommerce review, we want to provide some alternative solutions.

BigCommerce isn’t the right tool for everyone, so you should consider these highly-rated competitors.

Shopify

Shopify is an online eCommerce platform that allows users to sell products, courses, and services.

The site accepts payments and integrates with third-party shippers to simplify the work behind running a business.

How Does Shopify Differ From BigCommerce?

Shopify’s pricing is very affordable, but the platform takes a commission, while BigCommerce doesn’t.

These fees add up over time, so you end up paying more to Shopify than you would just for a subscription.

Larger businesses will appreciate the option of Shopify Plus.

Who Is Shopify Best For?

Shopify is best for businesses that sell across multiple platforms.

Online businesses can use the platform easily, but you can also use Shopify when you sell from a pop-up shop, crafts fair, or farmers market.

You can find plenty of Shopify themes to make your storefront reflect your brand identity, too.

WooCommerce

Like BigCommerce and Shopify, WooCommerce is an online store host that grows with your business.

You can start using it as a beginner and upgrade your plans as customers find your shop and become repeat buyers.

How Does WooCommerce Differ From BigCommerce?

BigCommerce hosts the store for you and also gives you an outlet for blogs or a landing page to round out your business.

WooCommerce, on the other hand, is a WordPress plugin.

You build your WordPress site, and when you’re ready to launch your store, install the WooCommerce plugin to craft your shop and start selling.

Because of WordPress’s open-source software, WooCommerce pricing is much better than BigCommerce—it’s completely free.

If you want a specific theme, you’ll have to pay extra for it, but you can get a basic shop online with no extra fees on top of your domain name and website hosting.

Who Is WooCommerce Best For?

WooCommerce is best for new sellers.

There’s no learning curve to this platform, so users opening their first store will appreciate how simple it is to build a storefront and start processing sales.

Users who already have a WordPress site also appreciate how simple it is to install the WooCommerce plugin and start selling.

Magento Commerce

Adobe owns Magento Commerce, so you’re getting a lot of cool features you’ve come to appreciate from Adobe’s other offerings.

The storefront can handle unlimited products, just like BigCommerce, but that’s where the similarities end.

How Does Magento Commerce Differ From BigCommerce?

The original form of Magento Commerce was free, open-source software.

After Adobe took over, they bundled the program with their Commerce Cloud.

To get everything you need from this eCommerce host, you have to first contact them for pricing.

Who Is Magento Commerce Best For?

Magento Commerce is best for users who want a hand in creating their eCommerce site.

You need to have a bit of design and technical knowledge to use the Commerce Cloud and set up your store.

Sometimes updating inventory is even too difficult for the average user.

Wrapping Up

This BigCommerce review presented a lot of information to empower you to make a decision about your online store.

While the reviews say customer support is less than stellar, you can’t beat the monthly price and income potential BigCommerce offers.

With the option of the 15-day trial, there’s no reason you shouldn’t see what BigCommerce can do for your business.