If you're looking to start a new online store or looking to expand
an existing one, choosing the right e-commerce platform
is key to your success two of the most popular eCommerce
platforms are WooCommerce and BigCommerce each with their own
advantages. Hey everyone this is Ashleigh with IWD Agency
- The eCommerce experts. We help merchants
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If you're weighing the options between WooCommerce and BigCommerce
keep watching to see how they stack up against each other when it comes to
customization, pricing, scalability. usability and a
whole lot more. In a nutshell BigCommerce is an
all-in-one software-as-a-solution SaaA platform that
gives you the whole package - hosting, content, payment, SEO,
marketing tools, among many other features
WooCommerce is not an eCommerce platform per se
but an open source plugin that gives e-commerce functionality to your
existing WordPress site. According to eCommerce technologies
statistics by BuiltWith, 24 of sites use WooCommerce and the most
recent trends suggest woocommerce is the number one platform
it has a whopping 29% of the market compared to only 1.45 by BigCommerce.
Nonetheless, BigCommerce claims it has helped merchants grow 28%
year-over-year compared to the industry's average of 14%.
Now let's dive into those differences. Usability...
if you are not a tech guru usability tops your list
when looking to build a website easy workflow and fast troubleshooting save
you time for managing your store rather than going through endless technical
documents here's where bigcommerce shines it is a
fully hosted platform easy for those with little to no
experience building websites it has a simple signup process and you
can set up your store in minutes by giving a few details about your store's
theme products and customization choices
woocommerce gets a little trickier it is a wordpress plugin which means you
need to install your wordpress site buy a domain name and hosting account
and take care of technical issues like security
caching or backups all on your own you could also choose a hosting provider
like bluehost e-commerce for as little as 3.95 per month which
has pre-installed woocommerce also woocommerce only works with
wordpress where bigcommerce can easily be integrated with any content
management system although woocommerce has a host of free
add-ons and plugins that help you create a more complex platform
it has a learning curve and needs you to be hands-on with technology
bigcommerce has a slight edge when it comes to easy use
Design, Themes and Customization... overall bigcommerce has pricier design
themes and limited customization possibilities
it offers seven free themes and 50 additional themes ranging from 145
dollars to 245 compared to woocommerce's 14 themes that
come with an additional total cost of 39 still bigcommerce has recently
introduced a new front-end framework called stencil which allows you to
design aesthetically pleasing storefronts without
coding knowledge if you have an eye for design or like to have more control over
what your online store looks like woocommerce gives you endless options to
customize your site the downside is that editing and
modifying can become time intensive and you also need to know code
with woocommerce the more technical know-how you have
the more you can modify your site. Pricing...
budget is a huge deciding factor when starting your online store
if you are tight on budget consider not only the initial costs for building your
site but also any recurring costs for
maintaining your business bigcommerce has a three level plan
starting at 29.95 a month a big challenge with its pricing setup is that
it automatically upgrades your plan when your sales exceed 50 000 and
continues to charge more as you hit higher revenue tiers this
might deter a business that likes to stay in complete control of its growth
scheme woocommerce is a free plug-in but costs
can add up when you have to buy add-ons an ssl certificate and hosting
services separately adding additional features and
customization choices can also add to your total monthly cost
woocommerce is certainly less expensive overall but calculating your additional
costs can be a hassle compared to bigcommerce's all-in-one plans
Features and Add-ons... Bigcommerce prides itself on the strength of its built-in
features not only does it offer ssl certificates
for secure payments but it also provides powerful tools for
seo analytics and reporting shipping essentials design and marketing
another of its great features is its abandoned cart recovery
which sends emails to customers when they leave their cart without checking
out although the feature is not exclusive to
bigcommerce woocommerce also offers it through a third-party plug-in
they do claim it can recover 25 of potential lost sales woocommerce has
an infinite number of add-ons you can use as well
but it doesn't offer the full package like big commerce
because it's a wordpress plugin it also gives access to 55 000
free plugins in wordpress in addition to its own 250 free plugins
you can find a plugin in woocommerce for anything imaginable
the sky's the limit. Help and Support... Another big win for bigcommerce is it
offers 24/7 help and support via phone email and live chat not to
mention a help center with all kinds of guides to best manage your site
with woocommerce you are for the most part on your own
it offers little to no support services that said
there is a help center with lots of technical documents that can be helpful
for tech savvy users. Security... security features with privacy
payments and customers information have become very valuable for any e-commerce
platform bigcommerce ensures your site remains
pci compliant which guarantees you don't lose any sensitive information
woocommerce also provides security add-ons but it is your responsibility to
keep your site pci compliant as neither woocommerce nor wordpress
will take care of this for you it's also more prone to security
vulnerabilities because it hosts a variety of third-party apps and
wordpress plugins it's much less selective than
bigcommerce which offers a more controlled and selective app market.
Scalability... as your online store grows with more
customers products and inventories your ecommerce platform
needs to adapt to the new scale so it doesn't drag down your store's
productivity or speed both platforms offer variety of
scalability options woocommerce has great customization
abilities and businesses using the platform have over a hundred thousand
products listed but the added features and plugins that
create a more complex structure limits its scalability by issues like
block site traffic slower load time and poor site
optimization which means slower performance not so
with bigcommerce because it's a fully hosted platform it
is hassle free it has very fast page load times
and it can handle 500 000 hits a minute although both platforms are highly
scalable the scale leans heavier for bigcommerce because it has a smoother
workflow and able to manage a larger delivery
network within one simple platform there are specific challenges in
managing a growing b2b business that woocommerce might not be
able to meet for instance you might need multiple users with the
same account to see each other's orders or have access to special discounts
woocommerce needs heavier configuration and software development to handle large
amounts of orders in contrast bigcommerce has great b2b
built-in features like custom pricing large catalogs draft orders and powerful
seo capabilities because it integrates practically with
any site it gives you the most flexibility
and more bang for your buck. Multi-store Setup...because of its usability built-in
security features and fast delivery network bigcommerce is
a more efficient platform if your store is going global
it also has a powerful wordpress plugin that allows you to manage multiple
stores anywhere around the world with a single control platform and a simple
technical setup no iframes or javascript knowledge
necessary it also provides streamlined global
shipping and supports major global careers
with its ability to sell across multiple platforms like amazon and facebook
it becomes an easy choice if you're looking to expand beyond borders
although woocommerce does not match in scale it now offers a way to build a
multilingual online store it even has additional services like
translation services which you can add on as another plugin
choosing the right platform is the first step for starting your e-commerce
business both woocommerce and bigcommerce offer
powerful tools and you should carefully consider your store's unique
requirements and management policies if you are comfortable with technology
need maximum flexibility design control and add-ons
woocommerce is the way to go it's also less expensive and lets you choose the
best hosting service for your needs if you want a more hands-off experience
especially with back-end logistics of a larger business
bigcommerce is an easier solution if you found this information helpful
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thanks for checking in with us today until next time
you