BigCommerce vs Shopify: Quick Guide to Help You Decide

Every enthusiastic individual with unique business ideas wants to quit their full-time job and embark on a journey to start their venture and thrive. However, much must be practiced and studied before jumping onto the bandwagon. A research project by Forbes found that 90% of all eCommerce businesses fail within the first 120 days of launch. There may be numerous reasons a business fails – limited knowledge about the target audience, perhaps the wrong eCommerce marketing strategy, or simply choosing the wrong eCommerce platform. This article will discuss BigCommerce vs Shopify, so let's keep the information specific! 

So what makes choosing between BigCommerce vs Shopify so important? Both platforms provide users with optimum scalability and features to help them reach their goals. Let's look at some stats here: 

• Over 60,000 merchants are using BigCommerce to manage their online business. On the other hand, over 1,700,000 businesses are using Shopify for its support system and channels. (Tidio)
• Shopify takes up 27% of the market share of eCommerce websites on the internet, while BigCommerce takes less than 1% of the total eCommerce market share. (Tidio)

The writer, Tooba Nadeem, is an experienced web developer with five years of expertise in software development. Her extensive knowledge and research enable her to provide comprehensive insights into Various technical topics. She excels at presenting complex information in simplified language, ensuring clarity for their audience. Trustworthy and knowledgeable, she delivers accurate and detailed information, establishing themselves as a reliable source of correct information. 

This BigCommerce vs Shopify guide is a comparison of each platform for entrepreneurs looking forward to starting their businesses. Whether you own an apparel brand or started making handmade jewelry, this manual can guide you about the features, marketing support, and BigCommerce vs Shopify. 

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a user-friendly eCommerce platform that helps small businesses build an online store and sell online. It is a widely known eCommerce website builder with over 4.1 million online stores and offers features designed to simplify business operations. As of 2023, it is predicted that Shopify merchants with have over 700 million customers. Not just that, Shopify registers a revenue of $5.6 billion in 2022 and is expected only to increase exponentially in 2023.

Key features: 

• Website and theme customization 
• Marketing tools 
• Content management 
• Social media integrations 
• Payment processing 
• Shipping options and much more. 

Besides these, Shopify also offers its store owners access to thousands of different apps to help expand store capabilities. 

What is BigCommerce?

Just like Shopify BigCommerce is also a leading eCommerce platform that empowers businesses and enterprises to build, manage and scale their online stores. It discloses to have over 60,000 total customers and a total revenue run rate of $316.7 million as of Q1 of 2023. It has user-friendly tools and capabilities to easily create an online store. However, there is a bit of a learning curve for individuals with no technical expertise, especially in building an online eCommerce platform. 

Key features 

• Easy website setup
• Scalable and customizable websites
• Integrated payment processing 
• Marketing tools and much more 

BigCommerce too offers its users a wide range of third-party integrations and extensions available on the platform enabling the store owners to customize and scale as the business grows. 

Shipping goods with Shopify

Varied shipping options are important for shipping goods the customers to avoid delays. Shopify has a number of shipping providers that can fulfill the customers' orders. The best part is the shipping providers vary to the region the customer has placed the order. If the Shopify service store owner has subscribed to the advanced Shopify plan, they can also avail of the calculated shipping rates from USPS, Canada Posts, FedEx, and many more. 

In addition, Shopify's fulfillment network speeds up the shipping process to the fulfillment centers, making shipping order products to the customers faster. 

Shipping goods with BigCommerce

BigCommerce includes a variety of shipping options for customers. 

If you are an eCommerce startup, consider shipping solo. Self-fulfillment gives the store owner complete control over the shipping and fulfillment process. In addition to that, there are also options to add a personal touch, for example, a personal thank you note from the store owner to the customers. 

The BigCommerce apps market also has over 800 integration options for fulfillment and shipping. BigCommerce Calculated shipping cost option is also available for a number of providers, including UPS, USPS, FedEx, and more. It makes it easier to find an app that fits the budget for businesses – a startup or a renowned enterprise. 

Dropshipping with Shopify and BigCommerce

An imperative feature for drop shippers selling products online is to be able to source products from suppliers in real-time. They can simply start their drop shipping business by adding those products to their stores and automating the selling and shipping process. 

Although BigCommerce and Shopify both apps enable their users to set up the store from start to finish, Shopify has more consistent quality. Oberlo is one tool that gives Shopify the advantage over BigCommerce in Dropshipping. 

With BigCommerce, dropshipping can be intuitive, considering setting up the products on the platform is particularly easy. One of the top apps on BigCommerce, Sprocket Dropshipping, enables users to find dropshipping product candidates across the major markets. 

All in all, If you plan on setting up a dropshipping store, chances are you will have to pay for add-ons to make the processes easier. This applies to both platforms: BigCommerce and Shopify. The fact that there are too many options for users to choose from is encouraging. After all, there is a reason why both store builders are popular destinations for online drop shippers. 

Shopify vs BigCommerce: Ease-of-use

Setting up a store on BigCommerce needs a bit of a learning curve, as it is meant for experienced online store users. There is no tour guide or pop-up to get started, so one must explore the features and options independently. 

However, it doesn't mean BigCommerce is hard to use. All settings, including design, account, and store management, are located on the left-side panel of the dashboard. BigCommerce's drag-and-drop editor feature lets users easily add logos, videos, and social media links and create a simple carousel to showcase their products. 

That said, it is not all cakewalk either! Adding products to a BigCommerce store isn't a straightforward process. The number of options in the sidebar may seem daunting, especially if it is your first time building an online store using BigCommerce. This is one reason why there is a learning curve to using BigCommerce. 

In contrast, Shopify is easier to use both in design and store management. Shopify creates a better balance between ease of use and power for users setting up their online store. Shopify's intuitive drag-and-drop features enable its users to easily customize the template, like sign-up forms, testimonials, slideshows, and more. 

Unlike BigCommerce, adding products to the Shopify store is easier and quicker. It doesn't have too many options that could overwhelm you from the start. Not just that, being a first-time user, if you're stuck somewhere, Shopify offers tutorials and guides to help you overcome the hurdle and continue building your online store. 

Speaking of BigCommerce vs Shopify, both platforms provide unlimited products and storage for all their subscription plans, so you can build a store of any size. Besides that, they also offer effective SEO tools to help with your store's online presence and more. 

Moreover, both platforms have their own blogging platforms to keep your customers up to date with product news and tips. It must be noted that Shopify's blog has more advanced tools than that BigCommerce offers its users. For example, Shopify enables its users to schedule publishing posts in advance. It also allows publishing multiple posts at once. 

Even though both website builders have plenty of eCommerce and marketing features, it can be said that Shopify is a better option with powerful tools and apps like that for dropshipping, payment gateways, and shipping features.

Shopify vs BigCommerce: SEO

It must be known that organic results make quite a difference in a consumer's purchasing decisions. And With 70% of online consumers only concentrating on organic results, Search Engine Optimization can prove to be an effective strategy to increase sales. 

In the contest of BigCommerce vs Shopify, it must be noted that both platforms offer some effective tools and apps. Both platforms can optimize content for search engines using effective keywords, making your store more discoverable. 

If SEO is the key focus for your marketing strategy, then both platforms can help you analyze your store's search engine tools and apps. Every plan the platform offers has automatic site maps, URLs, Title tags, and customizable metadata to improve your store's SEO quality – no matter the platform you have used to build your online store. 

As said above, both platforms offer blogging platforms and create valuable content for the target audience. Content marketing is an essential aspect of SEO, helping to boost organic ranking on search engines. It also helps build trust with the consumers, ultimately boosting the store's sales. 

All in all, it can be said that both platforms offer similar options for SEO – apps and tools, customizable metadata and tags, and the blog platform. One thing that gives Shopify a higher hand is the 600 SEO-specific apps in the Shopify store, while only nine are available for BigCommerce users. This extra functionality offered by Shopify can prove to be valuable in improving SEO and generating more traffic. 

Shopify vs BigCommerce: Customer support 

To make the most out of your eCommerce store-building experience, it is imperative to consider things beyond pricing plans and shipping rates. 

While it is important to find tools and platforms that deliver a pricing structure that fits your budget, it is also important that the solution you work with is easy to use and comes to support when in need. Whether it's as simple as finding shipping quotes or you want to upgrade your basic pricing plan to an advanced one, reliable tech support is crucial for any business. 

Speaking of BigCommerce vs Shopify, both platforms offer similar options when it comes to supporting. It includes live chat functionality, forum communities, FAQs pages, and email support and call.  

BigCommerce gives the user access to 24/7 support and guidance over the phone, live chat, and email. However, it encourages you to fill out a form and review any suggestions on the platform catering to a similar problem before accessing their email or phone number. 

Nonetheless, a "Skip this step" option is available, considering you need extra support for any problem. It can be said that BigCommerce offers some of the best support, with around 90% of the issues solved at the very first call. 

Shopify, too, like BigCommerce, offers 24/7 support. It also asks you to find a solution to the problem before giving access to the email or contact details. 

However, Shopify's support strategy can be a little unclear in some places. For example, their phone support is available for certain countries, but if one doesn't belong to the country on their list, there is no clear advice on what can be done to resolve the issue or perhaps call tech support. Despite this, many customers using Shopify believe that if you are not interested in phone support, it still gives excellent customer support to its customers. 

Shopify and BigCommerce pricing

Speaking of website builders, the plan's monthly cost is an imperative factor that can make or break your budget. 

When it comes to BigCommerce vs Shopify, both platforms offer free trials. They also have pricing plans ranging from $39/month to $399/month. However, there are several differences between the prices of each platform. 

There are four BigCommerce pricing plans: 

• Standard: $39/month
• Plus: $105/month 
• Pro: $399/month 
• Enterprise: custom pricing depending upon the requirements. 

BigCommerce price varies upon the sales a store hits per year. However, it is only understandable since the hosted platform gives your business room to scale and increase sales with a plethora of well-paid features. 

In contrast to Shopify, it can be said that more features are being added to BigCommerce standard plan than that Shopify offers. It includes real-time shipping quotes, sales channel integration, a file store, unlimited products, and much more. 

Another fact worth noticing is that, unlike Shopify, BigCommerce does not charge a transaction fee. In addition to that, it also allows you to take advantage of PayPal's exclusive fee rates for BigCommerce users. On the other hand, Shopify charges a transaction fee, and only 15 staff accounts can be added to its advanced plan. 

Shopify offers five pricing plans: 

• Starter: $5/month 
• Basic Shopify: $39/month 
• Shopify: $105/month 
• Advanced Shopify: $399/month 
• Shopify Plus: Pricing values depend on the requirement of the store.
  

The major difference between the pricing ranges of both the platforms depends on the features available to each plan available for subscription

Resume: The key differences between Shopify and BigCommerce

The Verdict: BigCommerce vs Shopify

If choosing a platform is difficult, the options available are excellent! And that is the case with BigCommerce vs Shopify. 

Shopify has a name in the eCommerce development industry, and it's for a reason – it is very easy to use (even for a beginner). It allows the user to create a robust eCommerce website without altering a single code. It is the ultimate choice for people who don't have any technical expertise or simply run a small business and do not want to waste time thinking about the tech part of developing a website for their business. 

However, it doesn't mean that BigCommerce is any less worthy of being a choice. It is great if you want to save some money by not paying the transaction fees or monthly app payments — considering that you have coding skills or are ready to hire a developer when needed. It is excellent for corporates looking to move their store to the digital realm and value personalized attention. 

It is important to remember that your eCommerce store doesn't depend on your choice of BigCommerce vs Shopify but on how well you understand your audience and your response to consumer behavior. No matter the choice you make, understand their needs and survey them on how you can improve to provide a better experience. 

It is the ultimate way to give your customers what they want and give yourself every opportunity to make a great sale! 

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