BigCommerce - Your Key to E-commerce Success and Growth

BigCommerce Review

BigCommerce is a popular e-commerce platform providing businesses with the tools and features to build, customize, and manage their online stores. It is a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, meaning that it is a cloud-based platform that doesn't require users to install or manage software on their own servers

BigCommerce is one of several e-commerce platforms available in the market, and businesses choose it based on their specific needs and requirements for their online store. It competes with other platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce (for WordPress), Magento, and more. Your choice of platform will depend on factors like the scale of your business, your technical expertise, and your budget.

How to join Bigcommerce

To get started with BigCommerce and create your online store, you can follow these steps:

Visit the BigCommerce Website:

• Go to the official BigCommerce website by entering "www.bigcommerce.com" into your web browser's address bar.

Sign Up for an Account:

• On the BigCommerce homepage, look for a "Get Started" or "Free Trial" button. Click on it to begin the sign-up process.

Provide Basic Information:

• You will be asked to provide some basic information to create your account. This typically includes your name, email address, and password. Fill in the required fields.

Choose Your Store Name and Industry:

• Next, you'll need to choose a name for your online store and specify the industry it belongs to. This information helps BigCommerce customize your store's setup.

Answer Setup Questions:

• BigCommerce may ask you a series of setup questions to understand your business needs and goals. Answer these questions as accurately as possible.

Start Your Free Trial:

• Once you've provided the necessary information, you can typically start your 15-day free trial. During this trial period, you can explore the platform, set up your store, and familiarize yourself with BigCommerce's features.

Configure Your Store:

• Follow the on-screen instructions to configure your online store. This includes selecting a theme or template for your store, adding products, setting up payment options, and configuring shipping settings.

Customize Your Store:

• Customize the design and layout of your online store to match your brand and style. You can make adjustments to colors, fonts, and other design elements.

Add Products:

• Populate your online store with product listings. For each product, provide details like product images, descriptions, prices, and stock levels.

Set Up Payment and Shipping:

• Configure your payment gateway to accept online payments and set up shipping options, including shipping rates and methods.

Explore BigCommerce Features:

• Take the time to explore BigCommerce's features, such as SEO settings, analytics tools, and marketing options. You can also integrate third-party apps and extensions from the BigCommerce app store to extend your store's functionality.

Launch Your Store:

• When you're satisfied with your online store's setup and customization, you can proceed to launch it. This makes your store live and accessible to customers.

Promote Your Store:

• After launching your store, focus on marketing and promotion to attract visitors and customers. Consider using various online marketing channels, such as social media, email marketing, and SEO, to drive traffic and increase sales.

While you can start with a free trial, BigCommerce is a paid platform, and you'll need to select a suitable pricing plan before your trial period expires. Choose a plan that aligns with your business needs and budget.

Who uses BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is used by a diverse range of businesses and organizations across various industries. It is a versatile e-commerce platform that can cater to the needs of different types of sellers, from small startups to large enterprises. Here are some examples of the types of users and businesses that commonly use BigCommerce:

Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs): Many small and medium-sized businesses choose BigCommerce for its ease of use, affordability, and scalability. It gives them the tools to establish an online presence and sell products or services.

Entrepreneurs and Startups: Startup companies and entrepreneurs often use BigCommerce to launch their online stores quickly and cost-effectively. The platform's user-friendly interface and customizable templates make it accessible to those with limited technical expertise.

Mid-sized Businesses: Medium-sized businesses with a growing online presence can benefit from big commerce's flexibility and scalability. It allows them to handle increased product catalogs, traffic, and sales volume.

Large Enterprises: Some large enterprises choose BigCommerce for its robust features and ability to handle complex e-commerce operations. BigCommerce Plus and Enterprise plans offer advanced features and customization options suitable for larger businesses.

B2C and B2B Retailers: BigCommerce caters to both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) retailers. It offers features like wholesale pricing, customer-specific catalogs, and integration with B2B e-commerce solutions.

Brands and Manufacturers: Companies that manufacture and sell their own products often use BigCommerce to create branded online stores. This allows them to maintain control over their brand and customer experience.

E-commerce Agencies and Developers: E-commerce agencies and web developers use BigCommerce as a platform to build and customize online stores for their clients. They can leverage the platform's flexibility to create unique solutions.

Multi-Channel Retailers: Businesses that sell their products on multiple channels, including their own online store, marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, and social media platforms, find BigCommerce's multi-channel capabilities beneficial.

Global Sellers: BigCommerce supports multiple languages, currencies, and international shipping options, making it a good choice for businesses looking to expand their global reach.

The versatility of BigCommerce, its features, and its scalability make it an attractive choice for a wide range of businesses and organizations looking to establish or expand their online presence. The specific features and plans offered by BigCommerce can be tailored to suit the needs of different types of users and industries.

How does BigCommerce pay you?

If you are a merchant or business owner using BigCommerce to run your online store, BigCommerce does not pay you directly. Instead, you use BigCommerce to facilitate and manage payments from your customers when they make purchases on your online store. Here's how the payment process typically works with BigCommerce:

Payment Gateway Integration: You will need to set up a payment gateway within your BigCommerce store. A payment gateway is a service that securely processes payments from your customers. BigCommerce supports a variety of payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, Square, Authorize.Net, and others.

Customer Checkout: When a customer makes a purchase on your online store, they go through the checkout process, where they provide their payment information.

Payment Processing: The payment gateway you've integrated with your BigCommerce store securely processes the customer's payment, verifying the payment details and ensuring the funds are available.

Payment Confirmation: Once the payment is successfully processed, the customer receives a payment confirmation, and the order is recorded in your BigCommerce admin dashboard.

Funds Transfer: The funds from the customer's payment are typically transferred to your business bank account based on the schedule and terms set by your chosen payment gateway. This can vary depending on the payment gateway and your specific agreement with them.

Order Fulfillment: After receiving the payment confirmation, you can fulfill the customer's order, which may involve packaging the products and arranging for shipping.

Reporting and Management: BigCommerce provides tools and reports to help you manage your sales, track payments, and monitor the financial aspects of your online store.

Bigcommerce pricing

BigCommerce offers several pricing plans to accommodate different types of businesses and their specific needs. Below are the general pricing plans and key features available at that time:

Standard Plan:

• Starting at $29.95 per month.
• Features include unlimited products, unlimited bandwidth, professional reporting, and responsive website design.
• This plan is suitable for small businesses or startups.

Plus Plan:

• Starting at $79.95 per month.
• Includes all Standard Plan features.
• Additional features such an abandoned cart saver, stored credit cards, and more advanced reporting.
• Recommended for growing businesses with higher sales volume.

Pro Plan:

• Starting at $299.95 per month.
• Includes all Plus Plan features.
• Additional features like Google customer reviews, product filtering, and custom SSL.
• Ideal for established businesses with higher traffic and sales.

Enterprise Plan:

• Custom pricing.
• Tailored to the needs of large enterprises.
• Includes advanced features like priority support, custom facets, and personalized account management.
• Suitable for high-volume businesses with complex requirements.

How Reliable is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is generally considered a reliable and robust e-commerce platform. Its reliability is demonstrated by several factors:

Uptime and Performance: BigCommerce maintains high levels of uptime, meaning that online stores built on the platform are available to customers and functional most of the time. The platform invests in infrastructure and technologies to ensure stability and fast loading times for online stores.

Security: BigCommerce takes security seriously and employs various security measures to protect online stores and customer data. This includes regular security updates, encryption (SSL certificates), and compliance with industry standards like PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).

Scalability: BigCommerce is designed to handle the growth of online businesses. Whether you're just starting or have a high-volume store, the platform can accommodate your needs and scale with your business.

Data Backups: BigCommerce offers automated data backups to ensure that your store's data is safe and can be restored in case of unexpected issues or data loss.

Content Delivery Network (CDN): BigCommerce uses a Content Delivery Network to optimize the delivery of web content to customers, which enhances the speed and reliability of your online store.

24/7 Customer Support: BigCommerce provides customer support around the clock to assist users with any issues or questions they may have. This level of support contributes to the overall reliability of the platform.

Disaster Recovery: The platform has disaster recovery plans in place to handle unforeseen events and minimize downtime.

Monitoring and Updates: BigCommerce continually monitors its infrastructure and software for performance and security, and it regularly releases updates and improvements to the platform.

While BigCommerce is generally reliable, these factors include the quality of your internet hosting provider, the third-party apps and integrations you use, and how well you maintain and manage your online store.

Is BigCommerce suitable for beginners?

Yes, BigCommerce is suitable for beginners who are looking to start their own online store. It is designed with user-friendliness in mind, offering a range of features and tools that make it accessible to individuals and small businesses with limited technical expertise. Here are some reasons why BigCommerce is a good choice for beginners:

User-Friendly Interface: BigCommerce provides an intuitive and easy-to-use interface that allows beginners to set up and manage their online stores without the need for extensive coding or technical skills.

Customizable Templates: BigCommerce offers a variety of customizable templates and themes that beginners can use to create a professional-looking online store. You can easily modify these templates to match your brand and style.

Guided Setup: BigCommerce provides step-by-step guidance during the setup process, helping beginners configure their stores, add products, and set up payment options.

Responsive Design: The templates provided by BigCommerce are responsive, meaning they automatically adapt to different screen sizes and devices. This ensures that your online store looks and functions well on desktops, tablets, and smartphones.

SEO-Friendly: BigCommerce includes features and tools to help beginners improve their online store's search engine optimization (SEO). This can be important for driving organic traffic to your site.

Scalability: While suitable for beginners, BigCommerce is also scalable, meaning you can start small and grow your online store as your business expands. You won't outgrow the platform quickly.

Overall, BigCommerce's combination of ease of use, customizable templates, and essential e-commerce features makes it a solid choice for beginners looking to establish an online store. 

Is BigCommerce good for SEO?

Yes, BigCommerce is considered a good e-commerce platform for search engine optimization (SEO). It offers a range of features and tools that can help online store owners improve their website's visibility in search engine results. Here are some reasons why BigCommerce is well-regarded for SEO:

Mobile-Friendly and Responsive Design: BigCommerce provides responsive templates and themes, which means that your online store will look and function well on various devices, including smartphones and tablets. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in its search rankings.

URL Structure: BigCommerce allows you to customize your URL structure, including product and category URLs. This customization can help you create clean, keyword-rich URLs that are search engine-friendly.

Meta Tags: You can easily set custom meta titles and descriptions for your products and pages. This enables you to optimize your content with relevant keywords and improve click-through rates in search results.

Canonical Tags: BigCommerce automatically generates canonical tags for product pages to prevent duplicate content issues. Canonical tags help search engines understand which page is the preferred version when multiple URLs have similar content.

Schema Markup: BigCommerce includes schema markup, which provides structured data to search engines. This can enhance how your products appear in search results, potentially leading to higher click-through rates.

XML Sitemaps: The platform generates XML sitemaps that list all your store's pages, making it easier for search engines to crawl and index your site effectively.

Robots.txt File: You can control which parts of your site are accessible to search engine crawlers by customizing the robots.txt file within BigCommerce.

Site Speed: BigCommerce pays attention to site speed and performance optimization, which is a ranking factor for Google. Faster-loading pages can lead to better SEO results.

SSL Encryption: BigCommerce provides SSL certificates by default for secure browsing. Google gives preference to secure websites in search rankings.

Canonicalization and Pagination: The platform offers features to handle pagination and canonicalization for product listings with multiple pages, ensuring that search engines understand the structure of your site.

301 Redirects: You can set up 301 redirects for old or outdated URLs, ensuring that you don't lose SEO value when you update your site's structure.

SEO-Friendly URLs: BigCommerce automatically generates clean and SEO-friendly URLs for product and category pages, but you have the flexibility to customize them further.

Analytics and Reporting: BigCommerce provides built-in analytics and reporting tools to help you track your website's performance and make informed SEO decisions.

While BigCommerce offers strong SEO capabilities, it's important to note that SEO success also depends on the quality of your content, keyword research, backlink building, and other off-page factors. Consistently creating high-quality, relevant content and following best SEO practices are essential for achieving the best results in search engine rankings.

How do you increase sales in BigCommerce?

Increasing sales in your BigCommerce store involves a combination of strategic planning, marketing efforts, and optimizing your online store's user experience. Here are several strategies to help you boost sales in your BigCommerce e-commerce store:

Optimize Your Product Listings:

• Use high-quality images: Ensure that product images are clear and well-lit, and showcase your products from multiple angles.
• Write compelling product descriptions: Create detailed and persuasive descriptions that highlight the benefits and features of your products. Include keywords relevant to your target audience.

Implement Effective SEO:

• Perform keyword research: Identify relevant keywords and phrases that potential customers are likely to use in search engines.
• Optimize on-page SEO: Use these keywords in product titles, descriptions, meta tags, and URLs to improve your store's search engine visibility.
• Create high-quality content: Publish blog posts or articles related to your products or industry to attract organic traffic.

Leverage Email Marketing:

• Build and segment your email list: Collect customer email addresses and segment your list for targeted email campaigns.
• Send personalized emails: Use email automation to send personalized recommendations, promotional offers, and abandoned cart recovery emails.
• Create engaging newsletters: Share valuable content, product updates, and exclusive offers with your subscribers.

Run Promotions and Discounts:

• Offer time-limited discounts: Create urgency and encourage immediate purchases by running limited-time promotions and sales.
• Bundle products: Create product bundles or kits at a discounted price to increase the average order value.
• Implement loyalty programs: Reward repeat customers with discounts, points, or exclusive perks.

Improve Website Speed and Performance:

• Ensure fast loading times: Optimize images and use content delivery networks (CDNs) to speed up your website.
• Streamline the checkout process: Simplify the checkout process to reduce cart abandonment rates.

Enhance User Experience:

• Implement responsive design: Ensure your website is mobile-friendly to accommodate customers on various devices.
• Optimize navigation: Make it easy for customers to find products by creating clear categories and menus.
• Use high-quality design: A visually appealing and professional design can instill trust and encourage sales.

Leverage Social Media:

• Promote products on social platforms: Share product updates, customer reviews, and engaging content on social media to reach a broader audience.
• Use social advertising: Invest in paid social media advertising to target specific demographics and interests.

Collect and Display Customer Reviews:

• Encourage reviews: Prompt satisfied customers to leave reviews and ratings for your products.
• Display reviews prominently: Showcase reviews on product pages to build trust and influence purchase decisions.

Implement Upselling and Cross-Selling:

• Suggest related products: Display complementary or higher-priced items on product pages to encourage additional purchases.
• Offer product recommendations: Use algorithms to recommend products based on customers' browsing and purchase history.

Analyze and Optimize:

• Use analytics: Regularly review sales data, website traffic, and conversion rates to identify areas for improvement.
• A/B testing: Experiment with different strategies, such as pricing, product descriptions, and images, to determine what works best for your audience.

Offer Excellent Customer Support:

• Provide responsive customer service: Respond promptly to customer inquiries and address concerns effectively.
• Implement live chat: Offer real-time assistance to visitors who have questions while browsing your site.

Promote Trust and Security:

• Display trust badges: Showcase security certifications, trust seals, and payment logos to reassure customers about the safety of their transactions.
• Use secure payment options: Offer well-known and trusted payment gateways to enhance customer confidence.

Remember that increasing sales often requires ongoing effort and experimentation. Continuously monitor your performance, test different strategies, and adapt your approach based on customer feedback and data analysis to optimize your BigCommerce store for maximum sales growth.

Bigcommerce Product Review

Product Overview:

BigCommerce is a cloud-based e-commerce platform designed to help businesses of all sizes create and manage online stores. It offers a wide range of features and tools to support the entire e-commerce process, from store setup to marketing and sales. Here are some key aspects of big commerce's product:

1. User-Friendly Interface: BigCommerce provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface that makes it accessible to beginners and experienced users alike. The platform offers a guided setup process, making it easy to get started.

2. Responsive Design: BigCommerce offers responsive templates and themes, ensuring that your online store looks and functions well on various devices, including mobile phones and tablets.

3. Customization: Users can customize the look and feel of their online stores through themes and templates. BigCommerce offers design flexibility, allowing for brand customization and unique store layouts.

4. Extensive Feature Set: BigCommerce includes a wide range of e-commerce features, such as product catalog management, inventory tracking, order processing, and payment gateway integration. It also supports multi-channel selling, allowing you to sell on marketplaces and social media platforms.

5. App Store: The BigCommerce app store provides a variety of third-party integrations and apps that extend the platform's functionality. Users can add features like advanced analytics, marketing tools, and more to enhance their online stores.

7. Security: BigCommerce prioritizes security, providing SSL certificates, regular security updates, and compliance with industry standards like PCI DSS to protect customer data.

8. Scalability: The platform is suitable for businesses of all sizes. It can handle high levels of traffic and sales volume, making it a scalable solution.

9. Analytics and Reporting: BigCommerce offers built-in analytics and reporting tools that help users track sales, customer behavior, and other key metrics for informed decision-making.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface for beginners.
• Responsive design for mobile optimization.
• Robust e-commerce features.
• Customization options for branding.
• Strong SEO capabilities.
• Security and compliance.
• Scalable for business growth.
• App store for extending functionality.
• Helpful customer support.

Cons:

• Costs can vary depending on the chosen plan and any additional apps or services.
• Some advanced customization may require technical expertise.
• Limited built-in blogging capabilities (as of my last update).

Conclusion:

BigCommerce is a reliable and feature-rich e-commerce platform suitable for businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises. Its user-friendly interface, customization options, SEO capabilities, and extensive feature set make it a strong choice for online store owners. However, the choice of plan and additional costs should be carefully considered to ensure it aligns with your specific business needs and budget.