Choosing between BigCommerce and Shopify is a difficult decision because both platforms are at the top of the ecommerce pack. Luckily, we have compared, examined, and analyzed Shopify and BigCommerce’s features to help make your decision easier.
Review this guide to narrow down these two well-built ecommerce platforms.
What Is Shopify?
Shopify is a popular ecommerce hosting platform that allows users to build online stores. It is used as a foundation to run a variety of ecommerce businesses. Some things you can do with Shopify include engaging with customers, showcasing products, and accepting payments.
All of the features and tools Shopify has helps you to facilitate and manage the process of selling products on the internet.
Notable Shopify Features
The features you get with Shopify will depend on the plan you choose. Here are some of the plan options you can choose from:
Shopify Lite - $9/month
Basic Shopify - $29/month
Shopify - $79/month
Shopify Advanced - $299/month
Shopify Plus
For more information on Shopify pricing, check here.
Here are some of the most notable features Shopify offers across plans:
CRM
Activity Dashboard
Content Management
Content Library
Customer Accounts
Categorization
Customer Segmentation
Customizable Reports
Customizable Templates
Data Import/Export
Electronic Payments
Email Alerts
Drip Campaigns
Electronic Signature
Email Marketing
Image Library
Inventory Management
Refund Management
SEO Management
Shopping Cart
Website Integration
Shipping Management
Sales Automation
What Is Bigcommerce?
Bigcommerce is an all-in-one ecommerce site builder with helpful store management capabilities. It allows users to fully scale their online businesses with their full suite of tools and integrations.
This platform allows you to create your online store, make it searchable with its SEO tools, host, market your site, and keep your site safe with security features.
Notable Bigcommerce Features
The features you get with Bigcommerce depend on the plan you choose for your business. Bigcommerce has a variety of plans for you to choose from. These plans include:
Standard - $29.95/month
Plus - $79.95/month
Pro - $299.95/month
Enterprise
For more pricing information, check out their pricing page here.
Shopify vs. BigCommerce: Pros and Cons
When choosing a hosting platform for your virtual storefront, it’s important to consider which capabilities are right for your company.
Review this list of pros and cons for both Shopify and BigCommerce to help you decide which platform to invest in.
Shopify Pros and Cons
Pros:
The Shopify dashboard is easy-to-use and makes it simple to grow your business
Shopify’s automation is fast and effective
Customizable design
Great content management system
Integrates well with marketing efforts
Minimum IT management issues
Cons:
More features could be available to test during the trial period
Lack of themes and templates
Costs can add up quickly
Site speed slows down with certain plugins
BigCommerce Pros and Cons
Pros:
Easy credit card payment processing
Fast customer support
Can handle a large inventory of products
Quick load time
Amazon, Ebay, and Google integration
Advanced search tools
Cons:
Shipping options are limited
App extensions are difficult to implement and can be confusing
Back end administration is difficult to interpret
There’s a steep learning curve for users who don’t have a background in IT or coding
4 Things to Consider Before You Choose Your Ecommerce Hosting Platform
You’ll need to choose the right ecommerce technology to support your retail strategy. Here are four things to consider before you buy:
1. Integrations
Most platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce have a library of tools for you to use to run your shop. However, you may need to rely on some plugins and integrations that make your ecommerce shop run smoothly.
Some integration options you should consider include:
Plugins to assist with accounting such as sales, profits, taxes, and revenue
Email marketing tools that help you keep in contact with customers
Rewards plugins for customer retention
Shipping plugins that make tracking your shipments easier
2. Pricing
Price is one of the first things you should consider when shopping for an ecommerce platform. Take a look at your budget and see which plan and hosting site works best for your needs. When considering the pricing package, take your customers into consideration when you add features. Leaving out key features due to price may cause you to lose sales.
3. Mobile Readiness
About 60 percent of searches are conducted on a mobile device. This means your hosting site must be mobile ready so your customers can access your site from any device.
Both Shopify and BigCommerce help you perfect your mobile site with their robust tools.
4. Customer Service
Lastly, your hosting platform should provide you with top tier customer service. Having someone to call at any time in the event of software outages and server downtimes is a large factor to consider when shopping for platforms.
Think about support cost, support times, and the tiers of support the hosting platform offers before you start your plan.
Conclusion
Both platforms will allow you to start your online business. As Shopify Partners we do have our favorite, but we would encourage you to try both platforms using their free trials and choose the one that makes you feel the most comfortable using, especially when managing your products, adding images, inventory and more. Feel free to contact us for a consulting or training session on Shopify.
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