Selecting the proper eCommerce solution is the key to success for companies planning an online store. With so many platforms being in operation, the two best platforms are BigCommerce and Shopify. However, other platforms such as Wix, WooCommerce, and Magento also have some different features from Shopify. This article will take a short tour of the various eCommerce platforms currently available in the market, along with what you need to know about BigCommerce, Shopify, and others.
What is Shopify?
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A Comprehensive Comparison
To decide which platform to choose between BigCommerce and Shopify, you should take into account your business, and these factors include; size, technical capability, and funds. Two other essential e-commerce platforms that can also be used are Magento, WooCommerce, and Ecwid. The advantage of using one platform is that it may be better suited for a particular type of content or task; however, the disadvantage is that one will have to use more than one platform to find the one that best meets your research needs.
1. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is an interoperable platform for building online stores today, aimed at growth. It has integrated functionalities, no per-transaction costs, and high product catalog compatibility making it perfect for small, medium, and large businesses.
Key Features
Scalability: BigCommerce is particularly suitable for merchants who are in the middle of their growth journey. This means it is capable of handling large stocks at once and can be effectively used in enterprise e-commerce stores.
No transaction fees: Unlike the fees found on Shopify, there are no transaction fees on BigCommerce as well as other payment gateways.
Built-in features: While integrated with Ecwid, BigCommerce also offers various in-built features, such as intelligent SEO, selling across multiple platforms, such as Amazon, eBay, Facebook, and more, and cart abandonment tools.
Customization: BigCommerce enables additional customization solutions, such as editing the code of the site and its function.
Pros
It is easily screenable for thousands of items and can handle large catalogs.
Offers good organic growth functionality for SEO.
There are no fees for transfers to external payment systems.
Cons
Complexity: Compared to other platforms, BigCommerce comes with advanced features and functionality that can be confusing for a newbie.
Limited themes: It has fewer free themes than Shopify, as its premium themes are priced higher.
2. Shopify
Shopify is an accessible and capable e-commerce solution that requires little effort to market its benefits and boasts a vast number of products. It is best suited for medium-sized or small businesses that want an easy-to-set-up solution with a wide range of features and good support.
Key Features
Ease of use: Shopify is arguably one of the easiest e-commerce platforms to work with – ideal for small to medium-sized businesses.
App ecosystem: Shopify’s best feature is its app store, which currently has over 6,000 apps. There’s an app for almost everything, including marketing automation, human resources, inventory, project management, and inventory.
Mobile Optimization: These platforms are mobile-first, and hence, your store will look good regardless of the device it is being viewed on.
Multiple Payment Options: Shopify Payments optimizes checkout; Shopify accepts over 100 payment gateways worldwide.
Pros
Easy to navigate, even for newcomers using tablets.
It’s a great app store to download lots of additional options.
Fast and friendly customer support is available 24/7.
Cons
Transaction fees: Shopify has a transaction fee for each sale unless you use the integrated Shopify Payments.
Cost of apps: There are so many apps out there today, many of which charge a monthly fee that can sometimes be steep.
Limited customization: For detailed customization, you are heavily reliant on app or third-party developers.
3. Other eCommerce Platforms
In addition, there are other e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce, Magento, or Wix, which have two extremes, again, in adaptability, flexibility, and scalability, depending on different categories of businesses ranging from start-ups to corporates with complex demands.
1. WooCommerce (for WordPress)
WooCommerce is a robust, open-source plugin for building an online store on top of WordPress, offering much flexibility. However, it requires some coding skills and experience using a host platform like Shopify or BigCommerce. That’s the reason why you need an Amazon SEO consultant who can help you understand the complexities easily. As a result, it will help businesses improve visibility and traffic, and lead them to great sales directly on the platform.
Customization: The plugin feature within WooCommerce allows you to build on WordPress and is fully customizable.
Cost: The essential plugin, WooCommerce, is free, but using hosts, themes, and plugins incurs additional costs.
Best For Companies or those individual entrepreneurs who are already using WordPress or are interested in it.
2. Magento
Magento is a powerful tool designed for larger firms that have a large number of products in their stock. It is completely scalable but in my opinion, is very technical and requires a lot of attention in terms of maintenance.
Scalability: For larger business organizations with bigger and more specific needs.
Customization: It is highly flexible, and users can design Magento according to their likes and preferences, but it requires coding.
Cost: The community version is open source, while the hosted version, extensions, and development can be expensive.
3. Wix
Wix is an all-in-one website creator with sales tools and is primarily for small business owners or freelancers.
Ease of use: The website is built with drag-and-drop tools, so no coding is required.
Limited features: It is not as full-featured or robust as Shopify or BigCommerce for purely online retailers.
Cost: A somewhat cheaper solution with a relative lack of opportunities for growth and personalization.
4. Squarespace
Squarespace is another website builder that allows selling products online. Of course, it is one of the most beautiful and easy-to-use WordPress themes.
Design: Pleasant design suitable mostly for creative businesses such as fashion, art, and photos.
Limitations: It doesn’t offer most of the modern eCommerce solutions that some larger organizations may need.
Cost: Slightly more expensive than Wix but still within reach of the average consumer.
BigCommerce vs Shopify: Comparison Overview
Many factors need to be considered when comparing e-commerce platforms, including simplicity, customization, transaction costs, e-commerce expenses, SEO capabilities, and the size of enterprises using the platform. BigCommerce has many great capabilities and the potential to grow, but its navigation is highly complex, making it very suitable for small, growing businesses or enterprise-level organizations.
Shopify, on the other hand, is great at third-party integrations and user interface applications as it has a lot of available applications for the user, but this comes at a price that only allows basic customization. Additionally, transaction fees are charged unless Shopify Payments is used. This can be integrated into WordPress to form WooCommerce, which is very flexible and attractive as a solution, its only drawback is that it is not free and requires the installation of a host and plugins.
This solution is designed for large corporations as it offers extensive customization options and scaling solutions. However, this comes at a hefty development cost. Wix is user-friendly, with a drag-and-drop interface, and is also affordable, but it does not offer the advanced e-commerce tools required for growth businesses. Each platform has its unique strengths, which means the option chosen should be tailored to the specifics of the selected business.
Which Platform Should You Choose?
The correct e-commerce platform for your business will be determined by your business needs, budget, and level of technical expertise, from a small participant in the market who only desires a user-friendly interface to an established company that demands a high degree of complexity of the offered solutions. Their pros and cons have to be familiarized with to choose the best e-commerce platform upgrade for your online store growth and development.
Conclusion
The optimal e-commerce platform for your business will be determined by your particulars, limits, and technical implementation skills. Bigcommerce is suitable for the medium scale for the growing businesses, Shopify is the best for a person with a low learning curve, while other competitors like Woocommerce and Magento are suitable for enterprises with specific needs. Such inclinations should not lead to misconceptions about the advantages and disadvantages of each platform.
