When it comes to choosing an e-commerce platform for your online store, two of the most popular options are Bigcommerce and Shopify. Both platforms offer a range of features and tools to help you build and manage your online store, but they have some distinct differences that set them apart. In this blog post, we will compare Bigcommerce and Shopify and highlight why we believe Bigcommerce is the better choice.

Pricing

Bigcommerce and Shopify have similar pricing plans, with monthly fees starting at around $30. However, Bigcommerce offers more flexibility in terms of customization and integration options, and its pricing plans offer more resources, such as bandwidth, storage, and products, at a lower cost compared to Shopify.

Customization

Bigcommerce offers more customization options than Shopify, including the ability to access the platform's source code, which allows for more advanced customization. With Bigcommerce, you can also choose from a range of templates, including free and premium options, and use apps and plugins to extend the functionality of your store. Shopify, on the other hand, has a limited number of templates available, and its customization options are more limited compared to Bigcommerce.

Integration and Add-ons

Bigcommerce offers a wider range of integration and add-on options compared to Shopify. Bigcommerce integrates with a range of popular e-commerce tools, such as Amazon and eBay, as well as payment gateways, such as PayPal and Stripe. Additionally, Bigcommerce has a large app store with a range of free and paid apps, which can help you extend the functionality of your store. Shopify also has an app store, but the selection is more limited compared to Bigcommerce, and some of the best apps are only available as paid options.

Customer Support

Bigcommerce and Shopify both offer excellent customer support, with 24/7 phone and chat support, as well as email and knowledge base support. However, Bigcommerce offers more resources for its customers, such as a community forum, where you can connect with other Bigcommerce users and get answers to your questions. For our clients, we handle the support connection between our clients and Bigcommerce, this allows us to get to the results in a more technical manner, however their support will work with anyone at their level of expertise. In conclusion, Bigcommerce and Shopify are both excellent e-commerce platforms that offer a range of features and tools to help you build and manage your online store. However, we believe that Bigcommerce is the better choice due to its more flexible pricing options, greater customization options, and wider range of integration and add-on options. Additionally, Bigcommerce's excellent customer support and resources make it the ideal platform for businesses of all sizes.

Parnership

Lowthian Design has a partnership with Bigcommerce, this allows us access to additional resources including sandbox websites to test features and layouts as well as a partner portal for additional access to support.