Selecting the Best Platform for Your Online Store: Shopify vs BigCommerce

Thinking about bringing your business online and unsure whether to choose Shopify or BigCommerce?

Both platforms are widely used. Each comes with its unique features, and the decision ultimately depends on what your business specifically needs.

In this blog, we'll explore key factors like design flexibility, features, pricing, and more to help you decide which platform aligns best with your business. By the end, you'll have a clear idea of whether Shopify or BigCommerce is the right choice for your online presence.

What is Shopify?

Shopify stands out as a well-liked platform for enabling ecommerce, aiding businesses in establishing and running online stores. It equips users with tools to design, manage, and promote their stores, as well as handle payment processing and order shipments.

Whether you're a small business or a large multinational brand, Shopify caters to all. Its diverse set of features and functionalities makes it a versatile choice for businesses of various types and sizes.

What is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is a popular ecommerce platform, almost as well-known as Shopify. It's a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes.

It has a simple and clear dashboard that makes running your business easy. It also offers many built-in ecommerce features and SEO tools that are helpful for all businesses.

Shopify Vs Bigcommerce : A Quick Comparison

Here are some of the distinctions between Shopify and BigCommerce.

Shopify Vs BigCommerce : Key Differences

User - Friendliness

Shopify

Shopify might not be the best option for beginners and all-sized businesses due to its more challenging learning curve, which can be overwhelming for those not familiar with ecommerce terminology and concepts. Moreover, a basic understanding of web technologies such as HTML and CSS is necessary to fully customize the store, making it potentially challenging for beginners to navigate and implement certain aspects.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce may pose challenges for beginners with its technical user interface and the use of complex terminology on its dashboards, requiring users to invest time in researching terms. Despite this, the platform compensates by offering an extensive knowledge base through video tutorials and blogs, aiming to facilitate a better understanding of its features.

Design

Shopify

Shopify has professional themes for your website, coming in different styles for various businesses. While you can still customize a bit, it's not as much as BigCommerce. Shopify provides a diverse selection of both free and paid themes that can be used to design an attractive website. You can make changes to the themes using code. But BigCommerce offers more options for making your site unique. On the other hand, Shopify's themes are known for their professional and sleek appearance.

BigCommerce

Opting for BigCommerce is a great choice if you desire full control over your website's design. The platform's drag-and-drop feature empowers users with extensive customization options, allowing changes in color, font, layout, and more to craft a website that perfectly mirrors your brand. Additionally, BigCommerce provides an array of impressive themes crafted by third-party developers, enhancing the visual appeal of your site.

Pricing

Shopify

Shopify's pricing plans range from an affordable $39 per month for basic features to a comprehensive $399 per month Advanced plan. Additionally, Shopify offers a customized enterprise plan to cater to the specific needs of larger businesses.

Additionally, Shopify offers a customized enterprise plan to cater to the specific needs of larger businesses.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce offers three main pricing plans with fixed monthly costs ranging from $29 to $299 when you opt for the annual billing option. They also provide an Enterprise plan with flexible pricing for more advanced features. You can explore BigCommerce by taking advantage of their 15-day free trial before deciding on a paid plan, allowing you to test the platform's capabilities for your online store.

Product Options

Shopify

Shopify enables the addition of an unlimited number of products to your online store, facilitating easy categorization into collections and the creation of filters for customer convenience. Shopify also supports product variations and offers additional features through the Shopify App Store, including customized swatches, product bundles, and automated variant image swatches for an improved user experience.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce provides users with various options for product management, allowing the addition of an unlimited number of products and the creation of numerous categories and subcategories. The platform supports product variations, such as different sizes and colors, and enhances customer navigation through the use of filter tags.

Additional Staff Users

Shopify

In the Basic plan, the inclusion of additional staff users comes with a set limit of 2, providing flexibility for business needs. Meanwhile, the Shopify plan allows for up to 5 users, while the Advanced plan extends this capacity to accommodate up to 15 users.

BigCommerce

In contrast, BigCommerce distinguishes itself by offering unlimited staff members on all plans, providing scalability and unrestricted access for team collaboration across various subscription levels.

Transaction Fees

Shopify

Shopify imposes a 0% transaction fee on all plans exclusively when utilizing Shopify Payments; however, a transaction fee is applicable for users who opt not to use Shopify Payments.

The transaction fee varies based on the plan selected: Basic Plan: 2% Transaction Fee Shopify Plan: 1% Transaction Fee Advanced Shopify Plan: 0.5% Transaction Fee

It's important to consider these transaction fees when deciding on the most suitable Shopify plan for your business.

Shopify provides access to various payment gateways, including popular methods like PayPal, CC Avenue, and Amazon Pay. Additionally, Shopify offers its own simple payment process called Shopify Payments, which can be easily integrated into your website.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce makes it easy to accept payments from over many countries with its pre-integrated payment processors. Setting up payment options is a breeze, requiring just one click. The platform supports popular payment methods, including PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.Net . There are no transaction fees on any plan, regardless of the system used for processing card transactions.

Customer Support

Shopify

Shopify provides 24/7 customer service through phone, live chat, and email. You can get help from the Shopify Forum, where many users share their knowledge. Since Shopify has more users, you might get faster answers in their forum. In terms of response time, Shopify's customer support is usually faster than BigCommerce's.

BigCommerce

You can contact BigCommerce's support team anytime using phone, email, or social media like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. BigCommerce also has a community where you can ask questions and find solutions posted by other users. They regularly share blogs and FAQs there too.

Mobile - Friendliness

Shopify

Offers a variety of easy-to-use features and provide responsive, mobile-friendly templates.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce offers a diverse range of user-friendly features and delivers mobile-responsive templates for an accessible and seamless experience.

Security

Shopify

All Shopify plans include free SSL certificates, and the platform is compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

BigCommerce

BigCommerce offers free SSL certificates across all plans and adheres to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

What Should you Consider When Selecting the Right Ecommerce Platform?

Keep in mind the platform's user-friendliness and affordability, as some may need to be more suitable for beginners.

Look for platforms that offer versatile customization options and can scale as your business grows.

Ensure the platform provides advanced features such as inventory management, shipping and payment options, tax calculation and comprehensive analytics.

Conclusion

That concludes our comparison of Shopify and BigCommerce. We trust that you now have a clear understanding of which platform might suit your ecommerce business needs best. The choice between the two depends on your specific requirements for your online store. If you're looking for more from your website builder, consider exploring ZenBasket.

ZenBasket is an excellent choice for businesses of any size, providing an easy-to-use interface, budget-friendly pricing, and a diverse set of features. With ZenBasket, you can establish a polished online store effortlessly, even without coding experience, and start selling your products within minutes. Ready to elevate your online store? Begin your journey with ZenBasket today!