Tooltester is supported by readers like yourself. We may earn an affiliate commission when you purchase through our links, which enables us to offer our research for free.
BigCommerce is an ecommerce platform that provides a cloud based solution for selling physical and digital products online.
As an ecommerce platform, BigCommerce is an “all-in-one” solution, which provides everything you need to build and run an online store: domain name, web hosting, design tools, product inventory and management, payment integration, shipping and tax settings, marketing and SEO tools and the most up-to-date security and performance features.
As a cloud based solution, BigCommerce uses a “software as a service” (SaaS) model, which means that you pay a monthly subscription to use the software, which is accessed through your computer browser or mobile device.
A brief history of BigCommerce
BigCommerce was founded in 2009, in Sydney, Australia, by Mitchell Harper and Eddie Machaalani. In the same year, they opened their first United States office in Austin, Texas. And by 2014 they had opened up a second US office, this time in San Francisco.
In 2020, BigCommerce filed for IPO and went public, and BigCommerce stock is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market. In the same year, the company generated over $152 million in revenue.
BigCommerce has been traded on the NASDAQ since 2020
Today, BigCommerce, Inc. remains headquartered in Austin, Texas. It employs over 600 people and powers over 60,000 online stores, which together turnover billions of dollars in sales.
Who are BigCommerce’s Customers?
Of the 60,000 online stores created with BigCommerce, there are many household names including Ben & Jerry’s, Harvey Nicols, Skullcandy, Sony, Vodafone and Molton Brown. However, BigCommere also supports many small and medium-sized businesses that you’ve probably never heard of!
Who are BigCommerce’s Competitors?
BigCommerce’s main competitor as an ecommerce platform is Shopify. That’s because BigCommerce and Shopify are very similar products, with very similar functionality and target markets, and broadly similar pricing.
Find out more in our Shopify vs BigCommerce comparison or our full Shopify review.
Shopify is BigCommerce’s main competitor
However, BigCommerce also has other rivals in the ecommerce platform industry. Magento, WooCommerce, Volusion compete with BigCommerce as big store solutions. While Wix Ecommerce and Ecwid could also be considered competitors for smaller stores.
How does BigCommerce work?
BigCommerce works on a subscription based model. There are four pricing plans to choose from, each offering different levels of ecommerce features. So, you select a plan according to your business needs and budget, and then you pay a monthly fee to use the service.
Once you’ve signed up, you can log in through the BigCommerce website and start to build your online store!
The BigCommerce store interface
You can add products one by one or import them in bulk. You’ll then need to design the front end of your store using BigCommerce themes and their drag and drop Page Builder. Then, once you’ve connected to a payment gateway (so you can accept credit cards), and set up your taxes and shipping, you’re pretty much good to go!
Simply connect your store to a domain name (which can be purchased directly through BigCommerce or through an external domain registrar), launch your store, and start selling!
Is BigCommerce a CMS?
Yes, BigCommerce is an ecommerce CMS (Content Management System), as it enables online store owners to create, edit and publish digital content to their website, without the need for any specialized technical knowledge.
BigCommerce Page Builder: No technical knowledge needed!
However, BigCommerce is also much more than just a CMS. It is also a fully featured ecommerce platform, which enables store owners to manage every aspect of selling their products online.
What is BigCommerce written in?
The BigCommerce control panel is written in React, using their own BigDesign component system. However, the BigCommerce APIs integrate with a whole load of programming languages including Python, PHP, Ruby and JavaScript.
Is BigCommerce open source?
No, BigCommerce is not open source. You don’t get full access to the source code, and you’re not able to modify and customize the platform itself to meet your specific needs. Instead, you pay a monthly subscription to use the BigCommerce software to build your store.
Is BigCommerce legit?
Yes, BigCommerce is legit. It’s a publicly traded company with a solid reputation. You can try BigCommerce for free for 14 days before you commit to a specific pricing plan. Be aware that BigCommerce doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee once you do commit to a plan though.
Is BigCommerce safe?
Yes, BigCommerce is very safe. For store owners, BigCommerce has a dedicated security team that ensures the platform is always protected by multiple levels of security, including firewalls, file integrity scanners and intrusion detection.
BigCommerce also ensures a secure shopping experience for customers by being certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant, and meeting all six categories of the PCI standards to protect their shoppers’ accounts and payment details.
Is BigCommerce good?
Yes, BigCommerce is one of the best ecommerce solutions currently available. It provides an unrivalled breadth and depth of ecommerce features, on a stable, secure and speedy platform. It is very scalable and will have no problem supporting any online store as it grows.
However, this doesn’t mean it’s automatically the best choice for your online store. Depending on your business needs, you may find that other platforms can fulfill all your needs for a lower price than BigCommerce. Or for smaller stores, you may find that you don’t need all the features that BigCommerce offers.
Before you make a decision, you should read our full BigCommerce review and also see how it compares to other ecommerce platforms in our best ecommerce website builders article.
The author
Learn more about us
THE BEHIND THE SCENES OF THIS BLOG
This article has been written and researched following a precise methodology.
Our methodology