Selecting the right ecommerce platform is similar to selecting the right business partner. At first, everything looks very clear. It needs a website, shopping cart, payment system.
However, with the development of
business, things start changing.
Nowadays you think about
customization, performance, integration, customer experience, selling
internationally and efficiency. All of a sudden, the platform you select today
might have a huge influence on the position of your business several years
later.
Two ecommerce platforms are often
discussed when talking about ecommerce development – Shopify and BigCommerce.
They are great; both platforms host
thousands of successful online businesses. Plus, there are always communities
of satisfied customers who will happily convince you that one platform is
better than another.
It is not always true.
Here are some comparisons of Shopify
vs BigCommerce for ecommerce growth.
Why Scalability Matters More Than Most Businesses
Think
Most companies tend to choose a
platform depending on their immediate needs.
It does make sense at first, but
problems arise as the company grows.
·
There arise some questions:
·
Is it capable of handling more
traffic?
·
Does it accommodate bigger product
catalogs?
·
How flexible is it in terms of
customizing?
·
Can it connect with other platforms
used in the business?
·
How about doubling or tripling of
sales?
The answers to these questions can
make or break the platform.
Shopify: Simplicity That Supports Fast Growth
The easy Indiability of the Shopify
service has been one of the reasons why it has gained such popularity.
The merchants don’t have to be highly
technical experts to set up a store as all these tasks are managed by the
platform itself.
This has made Shopify development
services in India popular for setting up stores.
Where Shopify Excels
Simple Store Management
The Shopify interface is simple and
easy to use.
Business owners can easily manage
products, orders, customers, marketing campaigns .
App Ecosystem
Another great benefit of Shopify is
the availability of the app ecosystem.
Businesses can extend their
functionality without starting from scratch.
Performance
Since Shopify takes care of hosting
and infrastructure, the performance remains constant even under load
conditions.
Quick Time to Market
A Shopify Development Company in India
can develop a store faster than other ecommerce systems.
BigCommerce: Built for Flexibility and Growth
However, BigCommerce usually attracts
firms which require more functional features.
Although BigCommerce is not as
recognizable a brand as Shopify, there are some strong features that make it
attractive to growing ecommerce platforms.
One reason why many businesses use a
BigCommerce development company in India is because they need more control
without much reliance on apps.
Where BigCommerce Excels
Additional Built-in Features
BigCommerce provides numerous features
that are commonly installed as apps in Shopify.
Some of them are:
·
Advanced product customization
·
Customer segmentation
·
Multiple currencies
·
B2B capabilities
·
Less Need for External Tools
Because of the availability of
features within the platform, companies do not have to pay for additional apps.
Good SEO Tools
BigCommerce gives more freedom to
manage specific SEO aspects, which might be helpful for those brands that focus
on organic traffic.
Enterprise-Level Scalability
Large-scale ecommerce companies prefer
BigCommerce due to its scalability.
Customization Comparison
Customization will be required in most
cases as the company evolves.
Even though standard templates will
work initially, as the business expands, custom functionalities will be
required.
Shopify Customization
There is an abundance of options to
customize Shopify using themes, apps, APIs, and custom code.
Why businesses require Shopify developers in India include:
Customized checkout page
Customer experience customization
paths
Custom integration
Customized functionalities
The positive aspect of Shopify is that
it offers high flexibility despite some functionalities requiring more apps or
custom code.
BigCommerce Customization
There is an abundance of
customizations available in BigCommerce and sometimes more functionalities
compared to Shopify.
Professional BigCommerce development
agency in India will be able to offer customized eCommerce solutions using
fewer third party apps.
If companies have complicated business
processes, then this makes them easy to handle.
Cost Considerations for Growing Businesses
Costs are not limited to the monthly
subscription charges.
The costs associated with the platform
will increase with the growing business as follows:
·
Development
·
Applications
·
Plugins
·
Maintenance
·
Integration
·
Customization
Shopify Costs
It looks like Shopify's cost structure
is quite simple at first glance.
Nevertheless, app subscriptions might
pile up depending on the feature set that companies decide to incorporate into
their business.
BigCommerce Costs
BigCommerce may also have more
features incorporated into their pricing packages, possibly resulting in lower
dependency on third-party extensions.
This is something that might work well
for some organizations.
Which Platform Is Better for International Growth?
Development of the international
e-commerce market proceeds constantly.
In case when businesses want to
operate on an international level, the following features should be taken into
consideration:
·
Compatibility of currencies
·
Local languages support
·
Various payments systems according to
different regions
BigCommerce could have more such
features than Shopify, however, Shopify possesses really effective
international trade tools.
However, everything is dependent on
the needs of businesses.
Performance and Reliability
Both Shopify and BigCommerce have
cloud-based technology stack.
For practical purposes, companies can
expect high performance from both of these platforms when implemented
effectively.
It all depends on how well the store
has been created and optimized.
It doesn’t matter whether a Shopify
ecommerce development agency in India or a BigCommerce development company in
India does the development; development is more important than the platform
used.
Which Platform Supports Growth Better?
The honest answer is that they can
both help facilitate significant growth.
But they are usually designed to cater
to two different business models.
Shopify Is the Way to Go When You Need:
·
Fast deployment
·
Easy administration
·
Large ecosystem of apps
·
User-friendly interface
·
Quick market penetration
BigCommerce Is the Way to Go When You Need:
·
Built-in functionalities
·
Less reliance on applications
·
Flexibility for more complicated
processes
·
Good B2B functionality
·
Customization
Neither solution works better.
It all comes down to where your
business stands at the moment and where you want it to stand in the future.
Conclusion
There is not often a simple and
straightforward answer to the discussion between Shopify vs. BigCommerce.
Shopify does very well when it comes
to simplicity and quick deployment. On the other hand, BigCommerce offers
powerful native functionality and flexibility for more advanced ecommerce
needs.
Companies that have made the most
successful choices regarding platforms are not always those which pick the most
widely used platform. Rather, they are companies that chose a platform based on
their growth strategy.
Where speed and simplicity are
important, Shopify should be the preferred choice.
Where flexibility and native ecommerce
functionality are important, then BigCommerce becomes a very real possibility.
At the end of the day, success depends
on the implementation and optimization of the platform.