Starting an online store from scratch can be a challenge, particularly for people with little or no eCommerce and web design experience.

Using an online store builder to set up and manage your store allows you to focus on running it while the eCommerce platform service provider takes care of the tricky technical stuff.

Shopify and Bigcommerce are two of the industry’s leading online store builders. I’ve put together a list of pros and cons in a Bigcommerce vs Shopify throwdown to help you choose the platform that’s best for your business.

Bigcommerce vs Shopify Round 1: Shopify

The Pros:

• Beautiful shop themes. You can make your online store look really professional without hiring a graphic designer or a web developer. there are lots of different templates to choose from that will complement your product image. Faucetface, Tattly, Hard Graft and Camila Prada are some great examples; be sure to check them out!

• 24/7 support. Shopify has a huge database of FAQs and great chat/email/phone customer service. You can relax because Shopify has your back if anything goes wrong!

• Shopify has its own payment gateway. Your store will process payments securely and quickly. Waiting more than five seconds for a page to load seems like years in ‘internet time’ and you don’t want your potential customers to have to wait.

The Cons:

• Advanced tools have to be bought separately… which can be pricey. However they are great tools and if you commit to Shopify I would recommend using them. You can find them in the App Store.

• If you cancel, your store isn’t saved. If you cancel your account, all your data is deleted, which can become a problem when you want to move your store to another online eCommerce platform.

• The blog platform could be better. At the moment, the blogging software isn’t the best, which becomes an issue when it comes to content marketing. However, the fact that Shopify even has blogging software puts it ahead of many other online store builders.

Bigcommerce vs Shopify Round 2: Bigcommerce

The Pros:

• It’s super affordable. Small online retailers with fewer than 100 products pay only $24.95/month.

• Awesome search engine optimisation. This is a huge plus for new online retailers who want to generate traffic to their stores.

• More built-in tools. Bigcommerce includes essential business tools as part of your package. These tools help with marketing, inventory management and accounting.

• Plays well with others. It’s easy to integrate your Bigcommerce store with other platforms such as eBay and Facebook, and using a variety of platforms can help create a sense of community between you and your customers.

The Cons:

• Needs higher-quality themes. The templates aren’t the greatest, despite the large variety. However, I heard Bigcommerce is working on launching new ones soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

• Hard to personalise. It’s tricky to extensively customise or tweak your website due to the templates’ simplicity, so if you only have a basic understanding of web design and want to really personalise the templates, this might not be the best option for you. However, I’m sure if you ask a code-savvy developer then they will be able to help you!

Decision time: What’s best for your business?

I hope this helped you narrow down your decision on which eCommerce platform to choose. Both Shopify and Bigcommerce are excellent platforms, but one might appeal to you more than the other.

Whichever one you choose, make sure to not spend too much time mulling over your decision. After all, the best entrepreneurs are decisive and you want to get to selling as quick as possible!

Once you’ve settled the Bigcommerce vs Shopify decision for your business, get your customers excited with stunning, high-quality product photos. Pixc can help! See what we can do with a free 24-hour photo edit.

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