BigCommerce is an Open SaaS e-commerce solution. Created in 2009 in Australia, the solution is now present in more than 150 countries. One of the best e-commerce solutions on the market, BigCommerce recently arrived in France.
Smotly has also become the first BigCommerce partner in France. So, to teach you a little more about the solution and its characteristics, we invite you to discover its different advantages!
Recognized for its low total cost of ownership, powerful performance and scalability, discover 10 good reasons to choose BigCommerce for your e-commerce project!
1. The Open SaaS e-commerce platform
First of all, the first advantage of BigCommerce is in its Open SaaS model. The e-commerce solution combines the freedom and flexibility of an open source solution with the reliability of a SaaS interface.
SaaS platform, hosting, maintenance, 24/7 support, updates, security are fully integrated into the subscriptions. You pay a fixed price each month. The SaaS format allows you to get your site online in record time and at lower cost, compared to a classic open source platform.
Open, the platform leaves room for great flexibility.This element allows you to personalize and monitor the evolution of your online store. So you won't be limited by out-of-the-box features.
Thus, the platform combines the best of open source and SaaS!
It is in particular this model, combining innovation, flexibility and reliability, which made us at Smotly want to join the partner program of the BigCommerce solution!
The support for infrastructure management by the BigCommerce publisher regardless of traffic peaks and transaction volumes, while allowing the solution to be adapted according to the needs of each company, is a major advantage for our customers.
2. BigCommerce’s customization capabilities
The Headless model
The Open SaaS BigCommerce platform offers the possibility of a so-called “Headless” architectural model.
In this architecture, its back office is not connected to any front office system. Instead, content is made available via an API or “Application Programming Interface”.
This API will allow data exchanges between the back office (BigCommerce) and the front office (the one of your choice). This is an essential advantage because one and the same content can be distributed at the same time on a website, an application or any other service. This offers its users unlimited creative possibilities. BigCommerce also allows you to interface with other software or CMS like WordPress for example.
Choosing headless will present many advantages such as:
- Supply several stores via different platforms: the headless architecture allows you to manage several stores on different front-ends from a single back office.
- Improve the user experience: you can create a front end with your own solutions, in Progressive Web App or even with WordPress.
- Reconciling experience, content and commerce: the Headless format will allow you to combine the best possible user experience (content and design) with efficient e-commerce management.
A powerful API
Additionally, BigCommerce has an API that is over 90% open. The API is documented at: https://developer.bigcommerce.com/api-reference. This site aims to allow developers (both professionals and amateurs) to learn how to develop applications through the BigCommerce platform. Thus, by sharing its data for free, it has chosen to encourage developers to innovate while improving the use of its own products.
You should know that APIs are used much more than you might think. Indeed, they are present everywhere and facilitate the exchange of information with your logistician, your CRM solution or your ERP, your cash register system (POS). You will therefore use APIs in different situations. For example:
- The Catalog, Orders and Customers routes which will allow data exchange concerning products, orders and customers. So, in real time, data such as product stock, new customer orders or order status will be updated automatically everywhere.
- The Connection API which offers your customers and prospects the possibility of connecting directly to your sites and applications using a single account.
BigCommerce themes
The BigCommerce platform also offers many pre-built themes. Whether free or paid, its catalog of fully customizable themes optimizes your chances of visibility and performance. Plus, theme updates are included in your subscription.
Thanks to its Open SaaS format, it will also be possible to create a personalized theme. At Smotly, we create completely personalized and customized themes. In order to offer you an original web design and a real identity visual, we carry out UX/UI services in collaboration with your teams during creative workshops.
3. L’approche omnicanale de BigCommerce
The BigCommerce platform helps you develop a strategy across different sales channels. It integrates with multiple channels both online and offline. Among these, we can cite eBay, Amazon, Google, BuyNow, Instagram, Square, Facebook, but also points of sale (POS) for physical stores.
However, you have to be careful, omnichannel does not simply mean selling on several channels! It’s about offering a consistent brand experience between the different places where your customers are (online or offline).
The omnichannel approach allows for a merger of offline and online sales, inventory and your company's accounting.
This type of operation is all the more important since the Covid-19 crisis. In fact, the crisis has led to a change in consumption habits. 46% of retail executives say they want to increase their investments in omnichannel in the future, compared to their pre-pandemic investment plans.
4. Optimisation du SEO
BigCommerce is an e-commerce solution that offers high-performance natural SEO functionalities. The solution first of all includes basic SEO functionalities: modification of titles, meta description and headers. It is also possible to modify the URLs, especially those of the product pages in order to have short URLs.
One of the great advantages of the solution in terms of SEO lies in the optimization of mobile navigation. This is a key element of SEO given that the indexing of sites on Google is done primarily on their mobile version. This is called “mobile first indexing”, implemented since March 2021.
Optimizing mobile pages is possible on BigCommerce thanks to themes that adapt to different types of screens. Additionally, many of them are compatible with AMP technology. AMP (Accelerate Mobile Page) allows you to speed up the loading time of the mobile pages of your site. The principle is to adapt the pages and their functionalities to the mobile screen. This may involve removing elements of code or features such as article comments.
Finally, all BigCommerce subscriptions include the “Akamai Image Manager” feature. This is a function that automatically optimizes images to reduce their loading time.
Loading speed is a technical element that promotes the SEO of web pages. Thus, access to AMP technology, image optimization or the development of a Progressive Web App front constitute real advantages of the BigCommerce solution in terms of natural referencing.
Smotly systematically provides SEO support so that each site put online is SEO ready and SEO friendly.
5. Le Centre d’Assistance de BigCommerce
Its help center is one of the great advantages of BigCommerce. In fact, the platform offers a help center directly on its website. Divided into different sections, many solutions will be provided to help you resolve the difficulties you may encounter when setting up your site.
In particular, within the assistance center, you will find a knowledge base which brings together a variety of articles, videos, documents and even guides in order to help you and thus improve your skills. If you do not find a satisfactory answer within this database, you can always contact the BigCommerce community via the FAQ. Do not hesitate to ask your questions, you will surely find valuable advice among the 131,500 members of the community of e-commerce experts present. You can also join the many groups of people with similar profiles in order to share your experiences or your interests in order to optimize the performance of your website.
Un support technique 24h/7j
You still can't find the solution to your problems? BigCommerce also has 24/7 technical support. In fact, you will always find someone to help you with the slightest difficulty. Whether by phone, email or via live chat, a response will be delivered to you as quickly as possible. With an average response time of two minutes and 90% of solutions given on the first call, BigCommerce will stand out to offer you the best conditions for using and improving your website.
An idea or a particular desire for functionality? BigCommerce offers members of its community the opportunity to contribute to the development of the platform by submitting their suggestions for improvement via a section within the help center called **“Ideas”.**
Of course, Smotly will be able to offer you an additional personalized assistance service for your BigCommerce solution, taking into account any specific features put in place by our teams.
6. Security of the e-commerce platform
The BigCommerce platform is considered one of the most secure e-commerce solutions. In fact, the solution has obtained certification to ISO/IEC 27001 and PCI DSS 3.2 Level 1 standards. This means that the platform meets the requirements in relation to the various information security management systems, which ensures the security of sensitive information. This includes processing banking data in a completely secure manner. They will be fully encrypted to protect the personal information of your customers and prospects.
Google Cloud Hosting
BigCommerce made the choice in 2019 to migrate to hosting via the Google Cloud platform. The latter was designed to ensure maximum performance but also the security of the IT technologies it hosts. This way, you will not need to worry about the security of your infrastructure. This will be fully supported by the BigCommerce platform as part of your subscription.
Uptime de 99.99%
BigCommerce offers the best speed in the e-commerce industry. Indeed, with an “Uptime” (or uninterrupted operating time) of 99.99% compared to only 99.5% on average for the rest of the e-commerce sector, it offers reliability and performance that is unique on the market. Indeed, by offering record operating time without restarting, the platform ensures the least crashes or administration operations that could cause harm to your website.
7. Prices for the BigCommerce solution
BigCommerce offers a wide range of prices. If you want to create your e-commerce site using this solution, you can choose from 4 subscriptions according to your needs.
Standard, Plus and Pro Plans
The first 3 levels of subscriptions called Standard, Plus or Pro can be acquired monthly or annually. For Plus and Pro subscriptions, it is more advantageous to subscribe for the year, which will lower the price when paying in one go.
No matter which subscription you choose, it will include hosting, the tool for building your e-shop but also different options to improve your chances of sales. These are the options that will vary depending on the package chosen. The basic functionalities include payment on a single page, the possibility of offering promotional codes or even gift cards, automatic calculation of shipping costs, the blog page, but also to obtain ratings and reviews online.
A move to subscription known as Plus offers additional features. For example, you will be able to create customer groups or segmentations. It will also be possible to generate a reminder for abandoned carts, cart backup and bank cards.
Choosing a Pro subscription will allow you to integrate Google reviews, but also a search bar and filters to facilitate the experience of your customers and prospects within your e-commerce site. However, these additional options have a cost that can quickly become out of reach for small businesses.
The Business plan
Finally, a fourth subscription exists, the Enterprise plan, the prices of which are subject to quotation. This latter program is suitable for companies experiencing very rapid development and mid-market companies. It also makes it possible to meet the needs of a BtoB activity. Prices are personalized according to each situation, and in particular the sales volume (number of orders per year). This latest subscription promises the lowest performance/total cost of ownership ratio on the market. It allows you to accelerate the launch of your site, reduce costs while improving the user experience and back-office management.
Finally, unlike some SaaS platforms, BigCommerce does not charge any commission on sales.
8. The payment methods offered
BigCommerce offers several integrated payment options, including: PayPal, Stripe, Square or Apple Pay. As soon as your e-commerce site is installed, you will have the choice among a large number of payment gateways. We advise you to research carefully before making your final choice. They do not all accept the same payment methods.
The great thing about BigCommerce is that all of these payment options require no additional setup fees! Indeed, BigCommerce does not charge any fees from these gateways. However, typically, commissions will be charged by payment gateways.
BigCommerce offers the ability to integrate various payment processes faster and simpler than other solutions, without additional installation costs.
At Smotly, the integration of the Stripe module, for example, is free and is part of the package offered as standard.
9. A solution that adapts to all businesses
With its Business plan, the solution is perfectly suited to growing businesses. BigCommerce defines itself as “the SaaS platform adapted to all stages of the growth of your ecommerce”. Indeed, its open model allows BigCommerce to support companies in their different phases of evolution.
BigCommerce is mainly suitable for SMEs and midmarket businesses. However, with its different pricing plans, the platform is able to meet the different needs of businesses, from the smallest projects to large accounts.
For example, the first subscription is very accessible. Starting at$29.95, it offers ready-to-use features that will be perfect for launches and small e-commerce projects.
Then, you can have access to many other more in-depth features by upgrading to the other plans (Plus, Pro or Business), depending on your needs and the size of your online store.
BigCommerce is therefore the most efficient solution on the market, adapting to all companies and all economic models, whether B2C or B2B.
10. BigCommerce propose un module B2B
BigCommerce offers a B2B module, to be integrated into the Business plan and the B2B bundle. In addition to the reduced cost of the SaaS model and its automatic updates, the B2B offer allows merchants to make sales more quickly thanks to optimized themes and ready-to-use functionalities.
In this B2B edition, BigCommerce offers a real module integrating all the functionalities necessary for managing a B2B business, including:
- Price lists and customer groups: this feature allows you to personalize product prices as well as offer discounts specific to each company.
- Order renewal: in order to reduce purchasing time, this feature provides access to the company's purchasing history.
- Business account management: this functionality will allow the purchasing company to have an account dedicated to it, with several levels of buyers who can have specific roles and authorizations.
- Quotation creation: this feature allows salespeople to create a quote and offer additional discounts to customers on top of pre-established prices
- The invoicing portal: this functionality allows you to manage invoices and their payment online with different payment methods.
In this module you will find a set of features specially adapted to the needs of business-to-business commerce. In addition to this, BigCommerce offers a Direct-to-consumer approach, which aims to make B2B and B2C sales possible through a single platform.
Certain features are also very useful for a BtoB activity because buyers now expect to have the same experience as on a BtoC site. For example, the scan & go function allows you to scan a product to order it directly via the e-commerce site. This is a feature offered by Smotly, and helps improve the user experience by simplifying the purchasing process.
Conclusion
The Open SaaS model offered by BigCommerce and Smotly offers much more than open source solutions on the market for your e-commerce site. Whether it is hosting, security, updates or even maintenance of your site, openSaaS offers you the best conditions of use, while guaranteeing flexibility and possibility of evolution. Some studies have shown that the maintenance costs of Open Source solutions are ultimately much higher.
With BigCommerce, Smotly can meet the needs of all types of companies, SMEs, mid-Market or larger companies, wishing to set up or overhaul their BtoC and/or BtoB e-commerce platform.
The Smotly team, made up of seven certified people, members of the BigCommerce certified partner program, are experts in the integration of this solution.
Do not hesitate to contact us or request an interview to discuss the subject of BtoB and BtoC e-commerce!
