With a feature-rich and intuitive interface, BigCommerce offers an array of tools and functionalities to create, customize, and optimize their digital storefronts. From simplified inventory management and secure payment processing to more user-friendly checkout experiences, BigCommerce gives businesses the necessary tools to drive online success.
What is BigCommerce?
BigCommerce is a feature-rich eCommerce platform that helps businesses build and maintain their online stores. The platform was developed with the aim of providing organizations with a comprehensive solution to meet their eCommerce needs.
The wide range of tools and functionalities simplify the process of setting up and managing an online store, BigCommerce is accessible even to those without extensive technical knowledge.
With focus on scalability, BigCommerce allows businesses to grow and expand their online operations and provide the infrastructure and tools necessary to accommodate increasing product catalogs, handle higher order volumes, and support integration with various third-party applications and services.
How does BigCommerce work?
The platform offers an interface focused on a positive UI so organizations can set up their online stores without extensive technical expertise. Organizations and development teams can choose from a range of customizable themes and templates to create visually appealing storefronts that align with brand identity. BigCommerce makes use of responsive design principles, ensuring optimal end-user experiences across devices and screen sizes.
“BigCommerce offers several dedicated customer support options through various channels, including email, live chat, and phone.”
The unique features of BigCommerce
Comprehensive infrastructure | BigCommerce operates on a strong and scalable infrastructure, leveraging advanced server technologies and cloud-based hosting solutions to ensure high performance and reliability. |
Content Delivery Network (CDN) | The global CDN delivers website content efficiently, reducing page load times and improving the shopping experience for customers across the globe. |
Database management | A sophisticated database management system handles large volumes of product data, customer information, and transactional records. Therefore businesses can efficiently organize and retrieve data for smoother operations. |
Server-Side Rendering (SSR) | SSR techniques optimize website performance by rendering pages on the server before serving them to users. This approach improves page load times, improves user experience, and supports search engine visibility. |
Caching mechanisms | Advanced caching mechanisms, including full-page caching and object caching, store frequently accessed data to accelerate the delivery of web content, resulting in faster page loading and improved overall site performance. |
Automated backups | Automated backups of website data, guarantees critical information is securely stored and can be restored in case of any unforeseen incidents or data loss. |
Load balancing | Load balancing techniques distribute incoming web traffic across multiple servers, ensuring optimal resource usage and preventing servers overloading during peak periods. |
BigCommerce integrations
WordPress
With the BigCommerce WordPress plugin, businesses can embed their BigCommerce store within their WordPress website. This integration simplifies management of products, inventory, and orders directly from the BigCommerce backend while making use of the the content creation and marketing capabilities of WordPress.
PayPal
With PayPal’s integration, businesses can give customers with a secure and convenient payment option, accepting payments through PayPal’s extensive network of users. This integration provides secure transactions, a familiar payment experience for customers, and helps businesses build trust and increase conversion rates.
Google Ads
Google Ads integration means businesses can set up conversion tracking, allowing them to measure the effectiveness of their ad campaigns in terms of sales and revenue generated. Organizations can also use dynamic remarketing, showcasing personalized ads to potential customers who have shown interest in specific products.
How organizations are using BigCommerce
Online store setup and customization
BigCommerce offers organizations an intuitive platform for setting up and customizing their online stores. With its user-friendly website builder and a wide array of templates and themes, businesses can create visually appealing and tailored digital storefronts that align with their branding. The platform supports easy customization of layouts, colors, fonts, and images, empowering organizations to create a unique and compelling online presence.
Efficient product management and inventory control
One key aspect of BigCommerce is its product management and inventory control capabilities. Businesses can easily organize and categorize their product catalog, including variations and attributes, simplifying the process of showcasing and managing their offerings. The platform facilitates real-time inventory tracking, leading to more accurate stock levels and helping businesses avoid overselling. Efficiently managing product inventories means organizations can simplify order fulfillment processes and provide customers with accurate availability information.
Sales and conversion optimization
BigCommerce provides various features that facilitate sales and conversion optimization for businesses. The platform integrates with secure payment gateways, facilitating secure transaction processing. It supports popular payment methods, providing customers with flexibility in choosing their preferred payment options. Alongside this, BigCommerce provides built-in marketing tools, such as promotional campaigns, discounts, and upselling features, empowering organizations to drive sales and boost customer engagement. With SEO-friendly architecture and customizable URLs, businesses can optimize their online stores for better search engine visibility, attracting organic traffic and improving conversion rates.
Analytics and insights for data-driven decisions
To aid in decision-making, BigCommerce offers analytics and reporting features. Businesses can gain valuable insights into sales performance, customer behavior, and website traffic through integrated analytics tools. These insights help organizations identify trends, evaluate marketing campaigns, and optimize their strategies. When leveraging data-driven decision-making, businesses can refine their marketing efforts to improve customer experiences, and drive continuous growth.
Why organizations use BigCommerce
BigCommerce offers numerous advantages for businesses, starting with its omnichannel selling capabilities. Companies can sell across multiple channels, including online marketplaces, social media platforms, and mobile apps, providing customers with a positive shopping experience.
BigCommerce also excels in optimizing online stores for better search engine visibility through its built-in SEO features, which include customizable URLs, meta tags, and schema markup. The platform adopts a mobile-first approach, offering responsive design templates and mobile optimization to ensure a pleasant shopping experience on mobile devices.
Security is a top priority, with comprehensive measures like SSL certificates, regular updates, and PCI compliance to secure transactions and instill customer trust. BigCommerce supports a wide range of payment gateways, facilitating diverse and secure payment options for customers.
To improve the overall customer engagement, BigCommerce gives personalization and customer segmentation capabilities, letting businesses deliver targeted marketing campaigns and tailored product recommendations.
All of these benefits, and the offerings of built-in analytics and reporting tools, giving businesses valuable insights into sales performance, customer behavior, and marketing effectiveness, making sure they stay at the forefront of their industry.
Who uses BigCommerce?
BigCommerce is trusted by a wide range of businesses across industries, including renowned household names like Ted Baker, BMW, and Ben & Jerry’s. These prominent brands have leveraged BigCommerce’s eCommerce platform to establish and manage their online stores successfully.
Ted Baker, a global fashion retailer, uses BigCommerce to showcase its stylish clothing and accessories, providing an impressive online shopping experience to customers worldwide.
BMW, a leading automotive manufacturer, employs BigCommerce to power its online parts and accessories store, helping customers browse and purchase genuine BMW products more easily.
Ben & Jerry’s, the popular ice cream brand, uses BigCommerce to create an online store, so ice cream enthusiasts can explore and order their favorite flavors from the comfort of their homes.
The limitations of BigCommerce worth considering
Transaction fees | Transaction fees for certain payment gateways can add additional costs to the overall expenses of running an online store |
Learning curve | Customizing the design and functionality of BigCommerce may require some technical expertise or assistance, as the platform’s customization options can have a steeper learning curve compared to more user-friendly website builders. |
Advanced features on higher plans | Certain advanced features, such as customer segmentation, custom SSL, and abandoned cart recovery, are available only on higher-tier plans, which may not be cost-effective for smaller businesses with limited budgets. |
Annual sales threshold on lower plans | BigCommerce imposes an annual sales threshold on lower-tier plans, and exceeding that threshold may require upgrading to a higher-priced plan, potentially leading to increased costs for growing businesses. |
Bandwidth limitations | Bandwidth limitations are set on each plan, and exceeding the allocated bandwidth may result in additional charges or temporary suspension of website availability. |
Limited multilingual support | While BigCommerce supports multiple languages and international sales, the platform’s built-in multilingual capabilities are limited, requiring additional third-party apps or manual workarounds for comprehensive multilingual support. |
Dependency on third-party apps | To access certain functionalities or integrations not available natively on BigCommerce, businesses may need to rely on third-party apps, which can add complexity, costs, and potential compatibility concerns. |
Restricted API rate limits | BigCommerce imposes API rate limits on lower-tier plans, which can impact the speed and frequency of API calls, potentially affecting real-time integrations and data synchronization. |
Limited server access and control | As a hosted platform, BigCommerce restricts direct access to server settings and configurations, limiting businesses’ ability to fine-tune and optimize server performance to their specific needs. |
