Choosing the best ecommerce platform: Shopify vs BigCommerce

Choosingthebestecommerce platform:ShopifyvsBigCommerce

Updated: Mar 30

Asanaspiringecommerceentrepreneur selectingtherightplatformtolaunchyouronlinestoreisa pivotaldecisionthatcansignicantlyimpactthetrajectoryofyourbusiness Thisdecisioninvolves notonlychoosingthepoliciesthatwillgovernyouroperations,butalsodeterminingthetechnical capabilitiesthatwillultimatelyshapethecustomerexperience

Intherealmofecommerceplatforms, Shopify standsasatitanwithover2milliondailyusers Its closestcompetitor BigCommerce boastsarobustuserbaseofaround1million Comparing ShopifyandBigCommercetodeterminewhichoneisbettersuitedforyourbusinesscanbea dauntingtask,especiallysincebothplatformshaveaproventrackrecordofsuccessfullyhosting thousandsofecommerceenterprises

Asyouevaluatetheecommerceplatformthatbestsuitsyourbusinessneeds,thereareseveral factorstoconsider includingthesizeofyourenterprise thecustomerexperienceyouintendto provide andyourkeyprioritiesinaserviceprovider Inthisarticle wewilldelveintothedetailsof bothShopifyandBigCommercetohelpyoumakeaninformeddecision

Byexaminingtheinnerworkingsofeachplatformandanalyzingthenerpoints weaimtoprovide youwithacomprehensiveunderstandingofwhichplatformisbestsuitedforyouruniquebusiness requirements Withthisknowledge youwillbewell-equippedtoselecttheidealecommerce platformforyourenterprise providingyourcustomerswiththeexceptionalshoppingexperience

Asanecommercebusinessowner,youhavenumerousconcernstoconsiderwhenselectingthe rightplatformforyourenterprise Inthisarticle,wewillconductanin-depthanalysisoftheve criticalareaswhereShopify andBigCommerce dier:

1 Features:Wewillexaminethebuilt-incapabilitiesandthevariouspluginsandintegrations eachplatformoers

Usability:Thisincludesassessingtheeaseofinitialsetup dailyuse andthequalityofsupport oeredincaseofissues

2

3 Logistics:Thisareacoversorderfulllment,security,andtaxmanagementfeatures

MarketingandSales:Wewillcomparetheplatforms'integrationwithsaleschannelsandSEO capabilitiestodrivetracandsales

4 PricingandPayments:Wewilllookattheplatformcostsandpaymentprocessingoptions availableforcustomers

5

Byexploringtheseessentialelements wehopetoprovideyouwithvaluableinsightstomakean informeddecisionbetweenShopifyandBigCommerceforyourecommercebusiness

Usability

Inbusiness,timeisavaluablecommodity Choosinganecommerceplatformthatiseasyto understandandoperatecanreducethetimeyouspendlearningtheplatformandallowyouto focusonincreasingconversions Hereisanevaluationofeachplatform'seaseofuse:

InitialSetup

Whenitcomestocreatingyourecommercewebsite theprocessisrelativelysimilarregardlessof whetheryouoptfor Shopify or BigCommerce Aftervisitingthehomepageofyourchosen platform,youwillanswerafewmultiple-choicequestions,andthenreceiveapersonalizedset-up guidethatwillwalkyouthroughselectingatheme addingacustomdomainname andcreating yourrstproductpage Withinanafternoon youronlinestorewillbeupandrunning

Bothplatformsoeruser-friendlysignupprocesses,withShopify'sbeingslightlymoreintuitive,and BigCommerceoeringtheaddedbonusofallowingyoutocreateadditionalstaaccountsatno extracost Witheitherplatform,youcangetyourecommercebusinessothegroundquicklyand easily

EaseofUse

Shopify istheidealplatformforbeginners,withalmosteveryfeatureincludingatooltipthatappears whenyouhoveroverit providinganexplanationofitsfunction Thismakesnavigatingtheplatform mucheasieranduser-friendly

BigCommerce ontheotherhand maytakeslightlylongertobecomefamiliarwith buttheeort oftenpaysowithgreatercontrolovervariousaspectsofyourstore Forinstance,addinga producttoyourBigCommercestoreisamoreintricateprocessthanwithShopify,involving numerouselds However oncetheprocessiscomplete youcanpersonalizehowcustomersview yourproduct Youcanincludeadditionalfeatures,suchasagiftwrappingoption,minimum purchaseorder,andanunlimitednumberofproductvariants,whereasShopifylimitsyoutojust threeproductvariants

It'sworthnotingthatsomebusinessownerspreferShopify'svisuallyappealinguserinterface(UI)to BigCommerces whichisanessentialconsiderationsinceyoullbeusingtheplatformeveryday

Support

BothShopify andBigCommerce oerarangeofcustomersupportoptions,including24/7live chat phoneandemailsupport ahelpcenter andacommunityforum

ShopifyLearn,acollectionoffreevideocoursescoveringvariousaspectsofecommerce,isa valuableresource regardlessofwhetheryouchoosetousetheplatformornot Itcovers everythingfromplatform-specichow-tostobroadertopicslikemanagingnancesasan entrepreneur

BigCommerceoersasimilarvideocourseprogram BigCommerceAcademy whichrequires paymenttoaccess However,theyalsooerafreecollectionofrecordedwebinarsandpodcasts

Forenterprise-levelcustomers bothplatformsprovideprioritysupportintheformofadedicated supportagentforthoseonShopify'sPluspackageandanonboardingconsultantforthoseon BigCommerce'sEnterprisepackage BigCommerce'soerprovidesexpertadviceupfront makingit abetteroptioninthisregard

Intermsofusability Shopifycomesoutontop primarilyduetoitsintuitivenature However its importanttonotethatBigCommerceisnotparticularlydiculttouse

Features

ThemesandCustomization

Whenitcomestothemes,bothShopify andBigCommerce oerawiderangeofmobile-responsive options Shopifyboasts105themes 11ofwhicharefree whileBigCommerceprovides286themes 15ofwhicharefree However BigCommercesoptionsmaynotbeasvariedastheyrstappear withseveralthemesbeingverysimilartoeachother,dieringonlyincolorscheme

Bothplatformshaveasimplebuilderforeditingthemes However Shopifysbuilderprovidesmore contentblockoptions,includingsignupandcontactforms,andblogstrips Whilebothplatforms allowyoutoeditHTMLorCSScode thismaynotbeidealforsmallbusinesseslookingtoquickly setupanonlinestorewithoutspendingtoomuchtimeonwebdesign Inthiscategory Shopifytakes thelead

PluginsandIntegrations

Shopify’sAppStoreoersanunparalleledrangeofover8,000pluginsthatcovereverythingfrom marketingtoupsellingandcustomerservice Thisvastselectionoftoolsenablesyoutopersonalize yoursiteinanywayyouwant withouttheneedforadeveloper Ifyoureplanningtoimplementa growthmarketingstrategy,whereyouexperimentwithmanysmallchangestoboostyour customerbaseorconversions Shopify’sAppStoreisaninvaluableasset Thebreadthofchoice ensuresyouhaveampleopportunitiestotryoutnewfeatures

BigCommerce’sappstoreislessextensive withjustover1300pluginsavailable While BigCommercehasequivalentstomanyofShopifyspopularapps moreinnovativefeaturesmaybe missing Ontheotherhand,BigCommerceoersmanyfeaturesupfrontthatyou’dneedtoinstalla pluginforonShopify Theseincludetheabilitytoaddproductreviews generatereal-timeshipping quotes andcreateunlimitedstaaccounts Usingfewerpluginscanimproveyoursitesloading speed,whichhasSEObenets

Inaddition Shopifypluginsoftencomewithsubscriptionfees Ifyouonlyrequireafewofthem the monthlycostcouldadduptoseveralhundreddollars Ifyou’reasolopreneurorprioritizecostsavingoveranall-singing all-dancingonlineshop BigCommercehasalottooer

Insummary,ifyouwantafullycustomizedstoreandcanaordit,Shopifyistheclearwinner However ifyou’reworkingwithatightbudgetandhappywithasimplersite BigCommerceisa morecost-eectiveoption

MarketingandSales Marketing

EmailmarketingisanessentialpartofanysuccessfuldigitalmarketingstrategyduetoitshighROI withanaveragereturnof$36forevery$1spent Therefore,it'simportanttoconsidertheemail marketingcapabilitiesofecommerceplatforms

Shopify oersafreepluginthathandlescriticalemailmarketingows,suchaswelcomemessages, rstpurchaseupsells andabandonedcartreminders Theseareallessentialfeaturesforany ecommercebusiness andhavingthembuiltintotheplatformsavestimeandeort

Ontheotherhand BigCommerce doesn'thaveabuilt-inemailmarketingfeature However itiseasy tointegratethird-partyemailsoftwaresuchasMailChimp ConstantContact orOmnisend which canprovidesimilarfunctionalities

BothShopifyandBigCommerceoertheabilitytocreateautomaticdiscounts coupons and promotionsviabanners,andtheiranalyticsdashboardsallowyoutotracktheresultsofanyads you 'rerunningonotherplatforms Overall Shopifytakestheleadinthiscategoryduetoitsbuilt-in emailmarketingplugin butBigCommercesintegrationwiththird-partysoftwareisalsoaviable option

SearchEngineOptimization(SEO)

Asacrucialaspectofdigitalmarketing,SearchEngineOptimization(SEO)issomethingtokeepin mindwhenchoosinganecommerceplatform Havingawebsitethatcanbeeasilyfoundbysearch enginessuchasGooglecansignicantlyreducemarketingcosts

BothShopify andBigCommerce allowyoutocustomizeimportantwebpageinformationsuchas titletagsandmetadescriptions whichisbenecialforSEOpurposes

IntermsofSEOoptimization BigCommerceedgesoutShopifyslightly Itoerstheoptiontofully customizeURLs whichcanmakeiteasierforsearchenginestoindextheinformationbyproviding descriptivetitles

Ontheotherhand ShopifysURLsautomaticallyinclude /products /collections or /pages and cannotbeeditedtoremovethem

Todrivetractotheirsite manybusinessespublisharticlesrelatedtotheirproducts Bothplatforms oeranintegrationwithWordPressforthispurpose WhileShopifychargesanextramonthlyfeefor thisserviceandonlyallowstheadditionofa'buynow'buttontotheblog,BigCommerceoersa freeintegrationthatallowsforgreatersiteintegration

SalesChannels

Sellingyourproductsonvariousonlinechannelsisessentialintoday'secommerceworld,andboth BigCommerce andShopify oermultipleintegrationstohelpyoudosowithoutanyextracosts YoucaneasilysellyourproductsonFacebook Instagram andAmazonthroughbothplatforms andtheyalsoprovidefreeintegrationsforsellingonGoogleShopping

BigCommercegoesastepfurtherbyenablingyoutosellonPinterestandeBay whichcanbea bonusforsomebusinesses

Bothplatformsalsohaveoptionsforacceptingpaymentsinthephysicalworld whichcancomein handyforsmallbusinessessellingatmarketsorpop-upshops However,you'llneedtopurchasea

IfyouchooseBigCommerce,you'llneedtobuyhardwarethroughathirdpartylikePayPalZettle, Square,orHike Ontheotherhand,Shopifyhasitsownoption,makingtheprocessabitsimpler

Whenitcomestochoosingbetweenthetwoplatforms,yourmarketingstrategyplaysasignicant role Shopifyoersaneasy-to-useemailmarketingfeature,whileBigCommerceisbettersuitedfor bloggerswithitscomprehensiveSEOtools

Logistics

Security

BigCommerce andShopify takesecurityseriouslyandhaveimplementedstrongmeasuresto protectcustomerdata Bothplatformsuse128-bitSSLencryption whichsafeguardssensitive informationsuchascreditcarddetails,passwords,andpersonalmessagesfrombeingaccessedby unauthorizedthirdparties

Additionally,bothplatformsadheretoPaymentCardIndustryDataSecurityStandards(PCIDSS), whichoutlinepoliciesforsafeguardingnancialtransactions Thisstandardwasdevelopedbyve majorcreditcardcompaniesandisconsideredabenchmarkforpaymentsecurity

Shipping

Ecientshippingisacrucialaspectofe-commerce Luckily bothBigCommerce andShopify oer variousfeaturestostreamlineyourshippingprocess

WithBigCommerce youcanoerreal-timeshippingquotesonyourstorefrontforfree Youcan alsogenerateUSPSlabelsforordersandprintthemdirectlyfromyourcontrolpanel makingiteasy andconvenientforyou

Similarly Shopifyallowsyoutogenerateliveshippingcosts butonlyonAdvancedShopifyorPlus plansandthroughathird-partyservice However,theplatformmakesupforitbyoeringsupport formultiplecarriers includingindustryleaderssuchasUPSandDHS Youcanevenprintshipping labelsdirectlythroughShopify notjustfromUSPS whichstreamlinestheentireshippingprocess

InventoryManagement

Whenitcomestoinventorymanagement Shopify oersmoreadvancedfeaturesoutofthebox thanBigCommerce WithShopify youcaneasilymanageyourinventoryacrossdierentlocations andkeeptrackofwhereitemsneedtobeshippedfromallwithinyourdashboard Ontheother hand,ifyouwantsimilarfunctionalityinBigCommerce,you'llneedtopurchaseathird-partyapp

Shopifyisespeciallypopularamongdropshippers,whooutsourcehandlingandshippingof productstoathirdparty TherearenumerousappsavailabletoconnectyourShopifystorewith stockprovidersandshippingcompanies includingOberlo whichisactuallyownedbyShopify

TaxCalculations

Asaplatformforecommerce Shopify oersacomprehensivesetoffeaturesforcalculatingtaxes automatically Youcaneasilysettaxestobeautomaticallyincludedfordierentregions,even

adheringtocomplexVATMOSSrulesinEurope Thisisparticularlybenecialforsmallteams asit cansaveyouthetroubleofhiringanaccountant

WhileBigCommerce alsoallowsforautomatictaxcalculations youwillneedtointegrateathirdpartyapp,suchasAvalara,Vertex,TaxJar,orTaxCloud,withyourstoretoachievethisfunctionality

Inconclusion Shopifyemergesasthewinnerintermsoforderfulllmentandtaxcalculation convenience

PricingandPayments-MonthlySubscriptions

Shopify costpermonth

Basic:$39usd

Shopify:$105usd

BigCommerce costpermonth

Standard:$2995usd

Plus:$7995usd

Advanced:$399usd Pro:$29995usd

Asasmall-to-medium-sizedecommerceretailer,you'llndthatstartingonthe'basic'tiersofeither softwarewillprovideyouwithallthenecessaryfeatures However thereareafewdierencesto note

BigCommercewillrequireyoutoupgradetoaPluspackageonceyoureach$50000inannual revenue Meanwhile Shopifyspackagesarenottiedtostoreincome butupgradingfromtheBasic totheStandardplanunlocksmorefeatures,suchasdetailedanalyticsreportsanduptovesta accounts

Ifyou'reonatightbudget,BigCommercemaybeabetteroptionforyou,astheyoerlowerapp subscriptioncosts However theyalsocatertolargerbusinesses TheirEnterprisepackageis designedforcustomerswhoturnovermillionsofdollars andoersaccesstotechnicalsupport andotherbenets

PaymentOptions

Intermsofpaymentmethods, Shopify andBigCommerce oerarangeofoptionstosuitmost ecommerceneeds Shopifyboastsintegrationwithover100paymentmethodsglobally while BigCommerceoersintegrationwith65 Bothplatformsincludepopularpaymentoptionslike ApplePay,PayPal,GooglePay,anddebitcards

Onemajordierencebetweenthetwoistransactionfees WhileShopifychargestransactionfees between1%and3%perpurchase,unlessyouusetheirproprietarypaymentportal,Shopify Payments(whichisnotavailableinallcountries) BigCommercedoesnotchargetransactionfees

So,ifyou'relookingforacheaperoption,BigCommercemaybethewaytogo,asyou'llbepaying fewerpluginsubscriptionsandavoidingtransactionfees

AtaGlance:ShopifyvsBigCommerce

Usability

Features

Shopify

Theplatformishighlyuserfriendlyandoersan abundanceofhelpfultutorials

Whilethereareover8000 add-onsavailable evenbasic featuresrequireplugins

BigCommerce

Althoughitoersplentyof helpfulcontent theplatform hasasteeperlearningcurve

Whileitsout-of-the-box capabilitiesaresuperior it onlyoersapproximately 1300apps

Marketing&Sales

Aqualityemailmarketingtool andcomprehensivead reportingareprovidedfor free

ExcellentforenhancingSEO andincorporates supplementarysales channels

Logistics

simpliestaxcalculationsand orderprocessing

Itispossibletomanagetaxes andorderfullmentinthe platform,butitmaynotbeas straightforwardcomparedto Shopifywithouttraining/ familiarizationwiththe platform

Pricing

Transactionfeesare applicableandplugin subscriptionscan accumulate

Therearenotransactionfees butyou'llneedtoupgradeto aprofessionalplanonceyou surpass$50000inturnover

Whichoneisthewinner:BigCommerceor Shopify?

Asabusinessowner choosingbetweentwogreatecommerceplatformscanbeatoughdecision BothShopifyandBigCommercehavetheirownuniqueadvantagesthatcatertodierenttypesof users

Shopify hasestablisheditselfasamajorplayerintheecommerceindustry,thankstoitsuserfriendlyinterfacethatallowsyoutocreateaprofessional-lookingwebsitewithoutanycoding experience It’sperfectforsmallbusinessownerswhowanttofocusonrunningtheirbusiness withoutworryingaboutthetechnicalsideofthings

Ontheotherhand BigCommerce isagreatoptionforthosewhowanttoavoidtransactionfeesand monthlyapppayments It'smoresuitableforlargerbusinessesthathavethebudgettohire developerswhenneeded BigCommerceexcelsinprovidingpersonalizedattentiontoenterpriselevelclientswhoarelookingtoexpandtheirbusinessonline

However thesuccessofyourecommercestoreultimatelydependsonhowwellyouunderstand yourcustomers behaviorWhetheryouchooseShopifyorBigCommerce itsimportanttoclosely monitoryourcustomers'activitiesonyourwebsiteandgatherfeedbackregularly Bydoingso,you cantailoryourwebsitetomeettheirneedsandincreasethechancesofmakingasale

At Digital D alogue, were able to prov de our services for free because some vendors may pay us for web trac or other sales opportunities Our miss on is to help technology buyers make informed purchasing decisions which s why we oer information for all vendors - even those who do not pay us