BigCommerece is slightly off the usual profile of the standard website builder in the sense that it serves a very specific purpose. The site is designed to help build eCommerce stores and has eventually morphed into a complete all-rounder in terms of virtual commerce, right down to offering product retail packaging!
BigCommerce Features
Dedication to a cause is an admirable trait and BigCommerce certainly does with a vengeance. Everything about the site from the time you sign up is all about how to make those sales. By that, I mean that even the ‘Getting Started’ tutorial highlight related items such as analytics, revenue, products and orders.
There are MANY pre-configured marketing e-mails that will help in your sales efforts In terms of a storefront, BigCommerce only offers seven free themes. There are many other themes available but the price for those is steep and can set you back for up to $225 each. However, it also comes with useful tools such as a very basic logo creator.
BigCommerce comes with complete integration capabilities that will help you produce a powerful blend of email marketing, promotion campaigns, multiple shipping and tax options and will even help you scale your growth through social media channels. If you decide to setup on Facebook or eBay, not to mention lots of other sites, BigCommerce is alongside you all the way.
BigCommerce offers a clean, easy-to-use interface backed by powerful tools Also unique is that it allows you to add on extra tools, much like WordPress uses plug-ins to extend its basic capabilities. This greatly extends the possibilities of any BigCommerce site and given the growing popularity of eCommerce, I’m sure that will be a very critical choice factor for platforms.
Features Demo
* Click to enlarge image.
15-day free trial, setup your online store: bigcommerce.com/dm/open-an-online-store
BigCommerce Themes Demo
Theme customization options is limited with Bigcommerce but you get plenty of choices at their 3rd party theme store.
BigCommerce theme: Atelier ($235) 
BigCommerce theme: Fortune (free) * Click to enlarge image.
BigCommerce Site Performance
I built a dummy store and measure the site’s performance using Web Page Test. Results were up to expectation but First Byte Time can be improved.
Pricing
Given that BigCommerce is all about helping people sell things, it’s not unusual that the pricing structure is pretty far above the standard site builder. It starts at $29.95 and scales up all the way to $249.95 following the volume of your sales transactions. However, on top of that there is also a per-transaction charge and possible another fee you may have to pay if you choose a premium template.
| Plans |
Price |
Shipping Rules Engine |
Customer Segmentation |
Abandoned Cart Saver |
Custom SSL |
Google Reviews |
| Standard |
$29.95/mo |
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| Plus |
$79.95/mo |
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| Pro |
$249.95/mo |
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| Enterprise |
Custom |
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Success Stories
BigCommerce has a wide range of success stories but here we’ll go with a big-name brand that has used it with effect – Toyota Australia. Given how big the brand is, you can be certain that before choosing BigCommerce there were comprehensive studies done, and it was acceptable. If Toyota is willing to go for it, why can’t you?
Visit online: shop.toyota.com.au/
Conclusion
BigCommerce is big on commerce and less towards site building. The concept, design and presentation of the entire product is skewed towards that are to perfection and price-wise, I think it’s a win given that pulling together all those features and components on your own would be horribly expensive, not to mention a complete nightmare. If you’re looking to sell, I recommend you stick to that and let BigCommerce worry about the technology.
Also – Learn other ways to make your first website.
PROS
- A complete online sales tool.
- No transaction fees for all 40+ payment gateways.
BigCommerce Alternatives