10-second breakdown:
BigCommerce is a great up-and-coming option that is challenging the leader in the ecommerce space (Shopify). This platform’s user-centered features and overall simplicity make it a big name in the making. There are multiple pros geared towards getting shop owners to think twice before signing up with someone else.
The good:
One page checkout is available for all shops using BigCommerce. This is a feature that many other ecommerce platforms don’t offer yet. If your casual “window shoppers” see that you can complete the transaction all on a single page, it has been proven to increase conversions.
There are several tools available to help with your SEO. Rank higher in the search engines for the products you sell (or related terms) and you’ll be drawing them in naturally with intent to buy.
No transaction fees. Every transaction will cost you the processing, but you won’t pay an additional charge to BigCommerce for it.
The bad:
The site builder is a bit clunky and underperforms compared to others. It could take a developer to get things the way you want.
Prices have recently changed and may be too much to start your store, especially if you have a solid growth plan. The plans increase dramatically based on your income.
How it works:
BigCommerce could be the next big name in ecommerce. With a unique and compelling pricing offer and all of the features you could want, this platform has loads of potential. The first step you take with a typical solution is choosing the package that is right for you. Not with BigCommerce. Their pricing is so clear, you don’t have to choose. It’s all based on revenue (and a few extra features). Here’s the breakdown:
Standard (sales up to $50,000/year): All plans have unlimited storage and bandwidth for an unlimited number of products.
Plus (sales up to $125,000/year): At this level, you get access to the abandoned cart saver to help you capture those visitors who are trying to leave without that item they were thinking about.
Pro (sales up to $1 Million/year): Here, you’ll get a site-wide security SSL and access to some further analytics.
There are enterprise-level options for large operations, but that’s a whole different beast that will need to be worked out with a rep from BigCommerce to move forward. The potential setback with these plans is the number of transactions you are limited to having. You aren’t charged transaction fees, but with all plans (except enterprise) you’re only allowed to have up to 3000 transactions. That works out to less than 9 transactions per day which is more than a bit low. If you sell low-cost goods you may earn at the standard level (less than $50k), but need an enterprise plan. This makes it a problem.
That said, you do get a crazy amount of features standard with all plans. Things like
single-page checkout, shipping discounts, SEO features, POS for physical stores, app integrations, coupons and gift certificates, a ratings/reviews system, customer support, and social selling options. These goodies along with the fact that you don’t need specific hardware, just a decent computer and a solid internet/mobile/wifi connection, make great benefits.
Once you sign up and sign in to your dashboard, a tutorial will show you the ropes. Next, you can play around with the software a bit and you’ll notice that it’s easy to navigate. Uploading individual products and adding things (like coupon codes) is a really simple process. The hard part with BigCommerce is picking a theme for your shop.
There are two sets of themes, but one (called “blueprints”) is being phased out. There are more free options in this set, but some aren’t responsive (a huge no-no in online shopping nowadays). The other site builder and themes are called “stencil”. It’s a bit easier to manage and doesn’t require any sort of coding knowledge. However, there are only two free themes and the rest cost around $150 bucks. All of the themes in this category are responsive and it is the site builder that will be supported for the long-term.
Your products will look good here, too. You can upload hi-res images and allow your visitors to zoom in and get a good look. Your offers will also be organized with a sidebar that is customizable and sorts out by categories, pricing, and other metrics. The ability to set up a store on Facebook and use “buyable pins” will help gain those social buyers and could be used in conjunction with advertising. There are even features to help you sell on eBay.
Your buyers will benefit from real-time quotes from all the major shippers and selling worldwide won’t be a problem with currency conversion calculators and tax estimators. Customers will have the option to signup to your site or use guest checkout. By offering the choice, you build trust and don’t alienate those who just want to buy now (that’s the goal, right?).
Before you’re ready to sell, you’ll have to be able to take payments. For that, a processor or payment gateway will be necessary. BigCommerce integrates with 40 of them and you can check out our favorites right here.
Once you’re up and going, the analytics available (with some plans) are too good not to mention. The ability to see how your visitors are interacting with your site will yield valuable insights. Split testing your offers, copywriting, and other aspects will mean better sales over time.
If you have any problems, support is available 24/7 via email, live chat, and phone. Talking to a real person when your business venture is having problems is a great benefit that isn’t offered by all of the ecommerce solutions.
BigCommerce has all of the features you could possibly want, but with only 8-9 transactions per day (3000 in a year) before you need an enterprise solution may not be sustainable for those with low-cost items that sell well. If you sell higher-priced goods and don’t see yourself breaking that limit, it’s possibly the best choice out there.
For complete rankings of all ecommerce software, go here.
http://authority.org/ecommerce-software/bigcommerce/ http://authorityorg.tumblr.com/post/150394092487
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