Shopify vs BigCommerce: Which Platform for eCommerce Website development?

In the world of hosted eCommerce software platforms, Shopify and BigCommerce are major players. There is no denying the fact that both have earned their places at the top of the eCommerce pack but it can be hard to tell which will be the best fit for your online store. The latter was founded in 2009 while Shopify is offering its simple-to-use shopping platform to entrepreneurs and merchants since 2004.

If you are selling online, of course, you need Shopify website developers or a platform from which to promote and sell your products, so eCommerce platforms like these make an ideal solution. Note that, both the platforms can serve remarkably well to support your needs but there is a slight difference between the two that makes each a better fit for specific scenarios. 

Shopify vs BigCommerce: Overview

BigCommerce: The Best for a purely Online Business

It supports any size of business backed by cloud-based infrastructure, product management, and more. BigCommerce even allocates products based on the business size. With over 100,000+ client base, doesn't mean it is less powerful. It offers incredible features like:

1. Built-in feature with no need for installation.

2. User-friendly features

3. No transaction fee on any payment gateway plans

4. Templates for a personalized store

BigCommerce offers a 15-day free trial then there are different paid plans which offer the best features like abandoned cart recovery, advanced inventory management, shipping management, and much more.

Shopify: The Best All-in-one eCommerce platform

The easy-to-use and set up platform empowers more than one million online users, making it one of the most popular choices among business owners. Powering micro to large stores and everything in between, it features:

1. Unique theme options

2. In-depth analytics

3. 100+ different gateways

4. Marketing tools

Combining these features with the expertise of a Shopify website developer and you will have an excellent eCommerce platform.

Head to Head Comparison: Choose the Best Platform for Ecommerce Website Development

1. Ease of use: When we look at the ease of use, we mainly look at the front-end and back-end interfaces. So coming to Shopify, it is one of the easiest merchant experiences you can find. For basic store development, Shopify has drag and drop areas making it fairly easy to build a website. With fewer options and less out of the box customizations, it becomes incredibly easy for beginners to set up a store. For when you need complete control over the look and features of your Shopify store, you can simply get in touch with experienced website developers. On the other hand, BigCommerce slightly younger than Shopify has a unique approach to user interface and experience. Common elements and finer level of control is there with complex and steeper learning curve most options are still out of way.

2. Product categories: The first impression many customers have of your online store is the visual elements, that is how you structure your website. To simply put, it is vital to have a clean, functional, and memorable extension of your brand. So of course, your product categorization has an impact on search engine optimization and integration regardless of what you choose. Shopify features 'smart categories' which allows merchants to categorize your products right in the admin panel, an incredibly simple method of organizing your inventory. While categorizing products is quite complicated as it has to be applied manually.

Tip: Though Shopify is limited to only 100 products regardless of inventory management. If you need any third-party integrations to leverage the best Shopify has to offer, take help proficient workers to make it work for you! 

3. Features, Customization, Apps, and Integration: Every business has different needs and priorities so during the selection phase you might require options to keep up with customer demand and competitors. Worth a mention are some of the more useful and essential features you will need:

1. Full-responsiveness

2. Stock management

3. Advanced search feature

4. SEO tools

5. Marketing tools

6. Freedom and flexibility of design

7. Custom plug-ins

8. Payment gateway

9. Easy checkout integration

10. Security

You might have already heard a lot about apps being required on Shopify. If you wish to make your online store better than the rest you can check out different themes to get extra functionality. Shopify offers over 2000 apps and integration as compared to BigCommerce which offers 500+ apps. Though BigCommerce offers built-in features. Professional web themes and customization offered by Shopify are very important for your store as it decides the look, feel and makes it easy to use.

The good news is that if you already have your store set up on eCommerce websites like Amazon or eBay, you can simply sync it with the apps and built-in features, allowing you to integrate any features and make it up to shortcomings from a single dashboard.

The Verdict

By now, if you are unsure of what you need, Shopify might be the viable option to start. Whether you are a capturing business on an eCommerce website, social media, or offline, Shopify got you covered, considering its incredible ease and broad apps!