BigCommerce Reviews & Pricing

Key Features

Storefront

• Page Builder: You can create and edit web pages without coding. Or you can jump into built-in HTML, CSS and JavaScript for advanced customization. Plus, you can ensure your pages look great on mobile devices and use Stencil CLI for in-depth development.
• PunchOut: BigCommerce makes it easy to create a unique checkout experience for customers. You can either use their server-to-server checkout API or the PunchOut2GO solution.

Storefront Conversion

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimize product listings, meta descriptions and URLs to attract organic traffic. It also offers built-in tools to analyze website performance and identify areas for improvement.
• Product Discovery: You can direct customers to find desired products quickly with the universal search bar. While using the platform, I could implement advanced search filters using Elasticsearch (a third-party app) and custom fields to refine search results based on specific criteria.
• Product Recommendations: The platform tracks customer personas and increases sales and customer satisfaction by suggesting relevant products. It uses customers’ purchase history and browsing behavior to create personalized product recommendations.

Cross-Channel Commerce

• Multi-Channel Sales: Expand your market reach by selling on multiple platforms. Sync inventory, orders and customer information across different channels. You can also connect the platform to social networks to showcase products and drive traffic to the online store.
• Platform Integrations: Enhance website performance and user experience by integrating with Google Cloud, Google AMP and Akamai Image Manager. You can also streamline content management with Acquia Digital Experience.

B2B

• Customer Segmentation: Create tailored shopping experiences for different customer segments. The platform offers personalized pricing, promotions and product catalogs to meet the specific needs of wholesale, corporate and enterprise customers.
• Flexible Pricing: You can implement complex pricing structures to optimize profitability. Define product-level pricing, bulk discounts and tiered pricing based on customer volume or order value.
• Purchase and Quote Management: Streamline B2B operations with efficient purchase order and quote management. Improve order accuracy and reduce processing time.

International Commerce

• Global Expansion: Reach customers worldwide by accepting multiple currencies, offering auto-translated product descriptions and providing optimized shipping options. Expand your market presence and increase sales revenue.
• Tax and Shipping Compliance: Simplify international operations by automating sales tax calculations and managing cross-border shipping. You can ensure compliance with local regulations and provide accurate shipping estimates to customers.
• Performance Optimization: Deliver fast and reliable shopping experiences to global customers. Use a content delivery network (CDN) to reduce website load times and improve user satisfaction.

Core Commerce

• Product Management: Centralize your product information for easy distribution across multiple sales channels. Organize products, variants and inventory levels efficiently. You can also access the catalog API to design custom connections with an external channel.
• Shipping and Returns: The system offers competitive shipping rates and options to enhance customer satisfaction. Streamline the returns process to improve customer loyalty.
• Data Analytics: Gain insights into your business performance and make data-driven decisions to optimize marketing campaigns, inventory management and customer experience.

Open Platform

• Customization: Tailor BigCommerce to your specific business requirements. Integrate with third-party apps, customize checkout flows and create unique shopping experiences.
• Security: Protect your business and customer data with SSL-certified web pages, PCI-DSS-compliant checkouts and encrypted data transfers. The platform also helps you comply with industry standards and safeguard sensitive information with multi-factor staff authentication.
• User Management: Manage user access and permissions effectively. Integrate with identity providers to streamline user authentication and authorization.

Approach to Common Challenges

• Overcoming Design Hurdles: Building a professional online storefront doesn't have to involve coding. Use a drag-and-drop editor to design professional websites easily, or build a website on WordPress and install the plugin for eCommerce functionalities.
• Mitigating Security Risks: Protecting customer and business data is crucial. Create a safe path to purchase for customers and store data to maintain compliance and year-end audits. The platform is ISO/IEC 27001:2013 & PCI DSS 3.2 compliant and level 1 certified. Online stores have multiple layers of firewalls, integrity scanners and intrusion detectors.
• Boosting Marketing Effectiveness: Reaching your target audience and driving sales requires a strategic approach. Distribute products on multiple social networks and marketplaces and manage every listing from the centralized dashboard. Upsell products by creating native discounts and promos. Design SEO-friendly URLs and maximize visibility by customizing metadata and robot.txt.
• Delivering Personalized Experiences: Personalization is key for modern shoppers. Create a central repository of customer data, make groupings and profiles, and offer AI-powered personalized suggestions, bundles and discounts. Integrate with Google Analytics for cart tracking.
• Expanding Your Global Reach: Breaking into new markets doesn’t have to be challenging. Sell to global customers and businesses, accept multiple currencies, and translate the website frontend into any language through third-party translation services.
• Streamlining Fulfillment Operations: Efficient order fulfillment is crucial for customer satisfaction. Centralize product, order and shipping management to get a clear overview of the entire fulfillment process. Automating tasks like pricing, quoting, tax calculation, order routing and invoice generation can reduce errors and accelerate order processing.

Cost of Ownership

• Standard: Charges $29 per month when billed annually. It offers unlimited staff accounts, sales channel integration, a storefront editor, multi-currency, a built-in blog and a mobile app. You can make up to $50k in sales and pay extra for additional revenue.
• Plus: Charges $79 per month when billed annually. It supports up to five storefronts, enables customer segmentation, tracks abandoned carts and stores customer credit card information. The annual sales cap is up to $180k.
• Pro: Charges $299 per month when billed annually and caps out at up to $400k in annual sales revenue. You get dynamic pricing, unlimited API calls and inventory management across eight locations.

• Payment processing fees: These are charged by your chosen payment gateway, not by BigCommerce.
• Domain name registration: You may need to purchase a domain name for your store.
• Third-party app costs: Some apps and integrations may have additional fees.
• Shipping and fulfillment costs: These depend on your chosen shipping carriers and fulfillment methods.
• Marketing and advertising expenses: Costs for paid advertising, email marketing tools or other marketing initiatives.

Limitations

• Limited free website templates.

Demo Resources

• Help Center: BigCommerce offers interactive demos to showcase the platform's features and capabilities. These demos are a great starting point for visualizing how the system can fit your business needs. It covers a wide range of topics, from setting up your store to advanced customization.
• Partner Services: BigCommerce has a network of partners offering specialized services such as web design, development, marketing and fulfillment. These partners can assist businesses in optimizing their online stores and achieving their goals.
• Podcasts and webinars: To stay updated on industry trends and best practices, BigCommerce provides a variety of podcasts and webinars featuring eCommerce experts. These resources offer valuable insights and actionable advice for online retailers.

FAQs