In this blog post, I’ll explain the key differences between Shopify and BigCommerce. By the end of this post, you’ll be able to recognize the ideal e-commerce platform for your needs.

Have you noticed? You've been pushing sales. Your business is thriving. Suddenly, you feel that your company may outgrow your existing e-commerce platform. That's when you need to choose an enterprise platform.

You already know that Shopify and BigCommerce are among the preferred eCommerce platforms. Both service providers have subscription plans designed for enterprise-level businesses.

But the problem is: Which e-commerce solution is best for your business?

Before we dive into the BigCommerce vs Shopify analysis, let me tell you why you need such enterprise solutions.

Quick Guide

1. Why you need Shopify or BigCommerce?
2. BigCommerce Vs Shopify: Pros And Cons
3. Feature Comparison: Shopify Vs. BigCommerce
   1. Analytics
   2. Blogging
   3. Buying domains through BigCommerce and Shopify
   4. Customization
4. What will certified Shopify and BigCommerce Partners give you?
5. BigCommerce vs Shopify: Which is Ideal for You?
6. Conclusion - Which is Better, Shopify or BigCommerce?

1. Why you need Shopify or BigCommerce?

Custom-built e-commerce solutions consume enormous time and effort. Both Shopify and BigCommerce are available in the form of software-as-a-solution (SaaS). What this means is you don't have to invest in custom-built solutions.

The exciting part is you get a cloud-based solution — a cost-effective choice offering several themes, apps, and integrations through subscription pricing models.

Oh, and did I mention Toyota, Martha Stewart, Kodak, Clarion use BigCommerce Enterprise. But wait, Shopify Plus clients are big names such as Budweiser, GE, Nestle, and Kylie Cosmetics.

Now it’s time to dive into critical aspects differentiating Shopify and BigCommerce.

2. BigCommerce Vs Shopify: Pros And Cons

BigCommerce Pros:

• Real-time shipping quotes as well as gift cards available.
• They have selling limits.
• Improved cart abandonment recovery setup
• Better SEO for page optimization

BigCommerce Cons:

• Fewer apps and integrations than Shopify
• Compared to Shopify, BigCommerce has higher credit card processing charges

Shopify Pros:

• Easy to set up your store
• Lots of integrations and apps compared to BigCommerce
• Specialized low credit card processing fees
• More choice of templates and designs
• No selling limits
• Shopify Plus Partner Program and Shopify Capital can be useful for entrepreneurs

Shopify Cons:

• Like it or not, you may need third-party apps to get specific capabilities
• Transaction charges are applicable for third-party gateways unless you use Shopify Payments
• SEO is not as good as BigCommerce

3. Feature Comparison: Shopify Vs. BigCommerce

3.1 Analytics

Receive reports related to products, customers, marketing, finance and more on both platforms. Get all the information you need to take care of your store using a single dashboard.

Integration with Google analytics gives insights on search statistics related to your website.

Shopify Analytics Dashboard BigCommerce Analytics

Which platform is better?

Advanced analytics is provided by Shopify as well as BigCommerce.

3.2 Blogging

E-commerce businesses require blogs to engage with customers. Blogging is an essential part of content marketing as well.

Your e-commerce platform should allow you to create a new blog or import blog posts from another blog. Manage the blog and analytics of the entire blog.

For standalone blog management, you can integrate a popular blogging platform such as WordPress with your Shopify or BigCommerce store.

Which platform is better?

Blog creation and management features are available on Shopify as well as BigCommerce. For high-end content management functionalities, you will have to integrate the store with other CMS platforms.

3.3 Buying domains through BigCommerce and Shopify

Well, I can give you my thoughts. You can avoid the hassle of configuring DNS if you buy your domain from Shopify or BigCommerce. Which means your website can get launched sooner.

Another thing to note:

You won’t be able to choose the Domain Privacy or Domain Forwarding option on BigCommerce. WHOIS privacy is not available for specific domains on the Shopify platform as well.

So, if you need additional domain management features, you can buy it from a domain service provider. You can point the domain to your BigCommerce store.

Which platform is better?

Both Shopify and Bigcommerce allow you to buy domains from them. In case, you decide to move to another platform later; your domain ownership can get transferred to another domain service provider.

3.4 Customization

Building a custom enterprise online store with Shopify Plus is easy. You need knowledge of HTML, CSS, and Liquid — Shopify’s templating language. Shopify also gives you a massive library of themes. With these themes, you hardly need any manual page development.

BigCommerce gives merchants the capability to add logic to templates. This capability requires less use of CSS and JavaScript.
BigCommerce’s Stencil storefront design framework supports the use of Handlebars (non-proprietary popular coding language).

Which platform is better?

Ample customization options are available on both platforms.

4. What will certified Shopify and BigCommerce Partners give you?

Shopify as well as BigCommerce Partner Services support you with the following services:

• Responsive Custom Design templates
• Design Upgrades & Improvements
• Development
• Maintenance
• Migration

You may want to design a new BigCommerce or Shopify store or refresh your existing store. To do so, you can contact a trusted BigCommerce Store Designer.

After the BigCommerce vs Shopify comparison if you feel Shopify works better for you, then seek the help of Shopify Partners. --

5. BigCommerce vs Shopify: Which is Ideal for You?

Both BigCommerce and Shopify come forth as great e-commerce solutions. And honestly, several features on both the platforms overlap with each other.

Key Takeaway: Shopify can be an excellent choice for new e-commerce websites. It provides quick setup for drop shipping business models as well.

For scaling up, BigCommerce can be a good option. Why BigCommerce? Because of their personalized approach and multi-channel integration.

I think you’ll agree with me when I say, debate over Shopify Plus vs BigCommerce Enterprise comes to a tie. Enterprise solutions such as Shopify Gold/Shopify Plus or BigCommerce Enterprise are feature-rich. These solutions provide design, functionality and security features for B2B and B2C businesses.

6. Conclusion - Which is Better, Shopify or BigCommerce?

In the debate of BigCommerce vs Shopify, both are winners at various levels. If you are a beginner in the e-commerce business, then Shopify can work well for you. If you’re serious about advanced services, you can consider BigCommerce.

To assist you with your decision-making, here is a lowdown of all the points we covered in the article:

1. Why you need Shopify or BigCommerce?
2. BigCommerce Vs Shopify: Pros And Cons
3. Feature Comparison: Shopify Vs. BigCommerce
   1. Analytics
   2. Blogging
   3. Buying domains through BigCommerce and Shopify
   4. Customization
4. What will certified Shopify and BigCommerce Partners give you?
5. BigCommerce vs Shopify: Which is Ideal for You?
6. Conclusion - Which is Better, Shopify or BigCommerce?