BigCommerce vs. WooCommerce – what’s best for you?

The main difference is that WooCommerce is a Plugin to turn WordPress into an eCommerce store, while BigCommerce is a platform purpose-built to deliver an eCommerce store. However, just because the two systems have two different approaches, it does not mean one is more capable than the other.

BigCommerce – An eCommerce Web-builder to set up your ecommerce store, with over 100,000 customers.

WooCommerce – A WordPress Plugin that have been downloaded over 82 millon times for people to turn their websites into an eCommerce store. Being open-source, you control your own hosting and customisation.

Building a fresh and new store

If you are looking to start from scratch and build a new store, your options and process is quite different and will consider less legacy content and user experience norms that have been established – this is why so many people split their stores from their normal site. However, it you are looking to turn your WordPress site to have a eCommerce store, then you can consider the same path – nothing is stopping you to have a stand-alone ecommerce store incorporated into your regular store. Many use the “Menu” to select “Store” and just take the traffic to the new installation. Both platforms are fully capable in delivering this approach.

Starting with a Theme for BigCommerce vs. WooCommerce

Maybe you are just overhauling everything, or really are going to start from a store and your content architecture is going to work within the eCommerce layout. At that stage you might as well just look at your costs, your different Theme options, and look to see how much control and maintenance you will be getting yourself into. It is important to note that if you are transitioning from a WordPress Theme to a WooCommerce Theme it will be different, and thus will require to adapt your content to the new theme. Theme’s have different purposes in marketing terms when it comes to funnelling clients, dealing with complex product categories and descriptions, bundling products, recommending products, “people also bought” products, and other promotional incentives such as loyalty points, or timed promotional discounts.

BigCommerce Building

With BigCommerce you are to follow the building process in setting up your store, it is guided by the platform, has a community and a set of experts to assist you in completing your store. Within the store, you can then setup and have your payment gateway, which will then allow you to take payment for orders. The architecture is a lot more of the select and drop capability, however, when it comes to integration issues, it does require expertise to work through them – some components are better integrated than others.

WooCommerce integration

Given than WooCommerce is a plugin, you have to integrate WooCommerce into your website – it may not even have a theme yet, which is where you may start with a WooCommerce Theme. Much like BigCommerce, the support of the community and experts are present to assist you on any needs you might have. The advantage is that you have access to all areas of the source, thus can change and adapt any plugin or extension (extensions are meant for WooCommerce) that you might need.

Conclusion

It all depends if you are looking to have more control over your intellectual property, your hosting, your customer experience, and security. With BigCommerce you rely on their system’s builder to get you to your goal, while with WooCommerce, you have the full freedom to adapt, change and vary the system to fit your needs (precisely). If you are a bit more tech-savvy, WordPress with WooCommerce might be the right project for you. If you are more drag-and-drop, then BigCommerce may be worth a try first. Two very different approaches, but can deliver very similar experiences – it is what’s behind the scenes, your scalability and control that will make a big difference. If you have any questions or would like to consult with us on your project – feel free to reach out to us.