Shopify and BigCommerce are two of the most effective e-commerce platforms currently on the market. They make the process simple so that anybody can create, market, grow, and run a highly successful company from a single website. Depending on your goals, each platform has pros and cons, but they both have user-friendly interfaces for newcomers, a wide range of intuitive features, and responsive, mobile-friendly templates. Look no further—you’ve found the perfect place if you’re looking for a detailed comparison of Shopify and Squarespace.
Bigcommerce vs Shopify
Both Shopify and BigCommerce are subscription-based e-commerce platforms that help organizations of all sizes, from tiny local businesses to enormous international consortia. Both platforms offer unlimited access to all of the features included in their plans, including online stores, physical locations, online sales channels, customer support, and gift cards. They also both offer unlimited file storage and bandwidth.
Both give customers access to basic shipping tools, a secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate to protect online transactions and the ability to advertise products on various social media platforms. Although both platforms are inexpensive, BigCommerce has more built-in features than Shopify, which has an app store with more than 8,000 paid and free third-party apps.
BigCommerce has a higher feature density, which boosts scalability and makes feature learning more difficult. In contrast, Shopify provides a more straightforward starting point that can develop by integrating some of the tens of thousands of apps located in its app store.
Along with the same three paid plans, Shopify additionally provides a Shopify Lite plan for those who wish to sell goods online but do not wish to maintain an online store. Customers of the $9 per month plan can conduct in-person sales of goods by using a card reader and the Shopify Point of Sale app. They can incorporate a Buy Button into their website as well.
#1. Themes
Both Shopify and BigCommerce offer mobile-friendly themes. BigCommerce offers twelve free themes, while Shopify offers eight. Everyone can be modified to fit different industries. Shopify offers more than 70 themes with prices ranging from $150 to $350. Between $150 and $300, there are 150 themes available for BigCommerce. Although both platforms provide responsive, mobile-friendly themes, Shopify has a reputation for consistently outperforming the competition in terms of theme design and usability.
#2. Shopping Cart
Online buyers are susceptible to distraction. The shopping cart function in a store needs to be seamless because if the checkout process is not quick and simple, store owners can easily lose potential customers. For a variety of discount features, such as cart-level discounts, quantity breaks or tiered pricing, and automatic discounts for particular customer groups, Shopify depends on third-party apps. Without the aid of a third-party app, users of BigCommerce can create cart-level discounts, coupon codes, and automatic discounts for customers associated with customer groups.
BigCommerce has 65 pre-integrated online payment options, compared to Shopify’s more than 100, which support customers’ preferred payment methods.
#3. SEO
For websites to rank higher in searches, search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial. Numerous SEO features are available out of the box with BigCommerce, including optimized URLs, one-of-a-kind URLs, embedded microdata on product pages, and URL rewrites that automatically modify the URL whenever a product is given a new name. Users of Shopify can add keywords, edit meta descriptions and titles, and change blog post URLs.
Each of big commerce’s plans also includes professional reporting tools, whereas Shopify only includes basic reporting with its mid-tier plan and advanced reporting tools with its most expensive plan. Users of BigCommerce and Shopify can integrate Google Analytics to get more detailed reports on how visitors use their websites. BigCommerce excels at providing out-of-the-box SEO features, but Shopify offers a greater variety of third-party apps that can be used for SEO.
Reasons to Choose Shopify
- Shopify has additional design themes and templates available.
- The ecosystem of third-party apps on Shopify is significantly bigger.
- Shopify provides greater support for outside developers.
- Shopify’s collections-based system for organizing products is more adaptable.
- Much more users have downloaded Shopify.
- Compared to BigCommerce, Shopify has a much greater number of plugins for dropshipping.
Reasons to Choose Bigcommerce
- Compared to Shopify, BigCommerce has a lot more features available right away. BigCommerce will therefore typically be less expensive.
- BigCommerce provides an enhanced WordPress integration choice that enables you to run a store and a blog on the same domain for SEO purposes.
- BigCommerce provides superior analytics and reporting right out of the gate.
- More product choices are possible with BigCommerce.
- There are no transaction fees associated with using BigCommerce.
- Because BigCommerce allows you to use any payment gateway you choose, you can save money.
- BigCommerce offers superior international assistance.
- BigCommerce has better discounting features available right out of the box.
- A more effective abandoned cart feature available on BigCommerce allows for multiple emails.
Shopify vs Squarespace
One of the top website builders on the market is a contest between Shopify and Squarespace. Amazingly, you don’t need any technical knowledge to use them to create and manage websites.
Shopify Pricing
Shopify offers three different pricing tiers: Basic Shopify, Shopify, and Advanced Shopify. All Shopify plans are discounted by 25% when purchased on an annual basis. You could accomplish this by registering for a free Shopify account and selecting one of these plans once your trial period has ended.
The most cost-effective way to begin your eCommerce journey is unquestionable with Shopify, something Squarespace does not currently offer. Shopify also provides the Shopify Starter plan, which costs just $5 per month, in addition to these three plans.
Squarespace Pricing
Squarespace offers four different pricing tiers: Personal, Business, Basic Commerce, and Advanced Commerce. The cost ranges from $16 to $49 per year, and the higher you pay, the more feature-rich your website will be. Before deciding if Squarespace meets your needs for your business, you can also take advantage of a free trial to test it out for yourself. Please be aware that neither the eCommerce nor the marketing features are part of the Personal plan.
This means that if you want to launch a website using Squarespace, you must buy one of the other three options. However, keep in mind that while the other two plans don’t, the Business plan does. It does so at a 3% premium per transaction. As a result, the cost may significantly increase.
Squarespace is a significantly less expensive choice when comparing prices. You already have access to Squarespace’s most cutting-edge features for just $49 per month. The best features of Shopify, along with additional apps and add-ons for growing your business, are available for a minimum cost of $299. Squarespace or Shopify are excellent options for small businesses, regardless of price.
Shopify vs Squarespace Verdict
Both Shopify and Squarespace are, in general, user-friendly in this comparison, but Shopify is a little bit simpler to use than Squarespace. It provides a good balance between basic design elements and sophisticated business tools. Since Shopify has a drag-and-drop interface, it’s easy to add, remove, or move sections on your own with a few mouse clicks. Additionally, it has an easy-to-use interface with visual cues and shortcuts for adding products, customizing themes, and adding a domain to the home page.
As a result, designing your website online never feels confusing. Even though Squarespace is a hosted cart as well, you might find it to be a little more challenging to use than other platforms. It’s simple for beginners because Squarespace uses drag-and-drop sections with some content blocks. However, the editor’s homepage is a little challenging to navigate and lacks any visual cues.
Shopify is without a doubt the ideal choice for business owners who want to manage an online store with cutting-edge eCommerce features. When you integrate your Shopify website with reputable online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and more, you can even increase sales with Shopify. Conversely, Squarespace would be the best choice for those looking to create a website with stunning photos and images to display their creativity. Or, Squarespace is probably your best option if you want to create a website or blog that focuses on the content while also allowing you to sell a few items on it.
Is Bigcommerce Good for Beginners?
BigCommerce is a fantastic choice for new shop owners and small businesses because it offers an affordable entry-level plan that is crammed with features. It’s a great option for those who want to keep their current third-party payment processor. BigCommerce is the best option for new and small businesses alike because of its user-friendly interface and feature-rich but affordable pricing options. The company’s Standard plan, which has no monthly fees and starts at $29, includes a wide range of essential features.
How Much Does Bigcommerce Take Per Sale?
BigCommerce retains a portion of every transaction that occurs on its platform. Depending on the pricing option you select, the exact percentage will vary. Simply put, depending on the volume of sales, BigCommerce retains a percentage of the sale price, a fixed sum, or a fixed percentage of the sale price and a fixed sum.
Shopify vs. Bigcommerce: Which Is More Expensive?
Although the prices of the two platforms are comparable, BigCommerce has more built-in features and Shopify has access to more than 8,000 paid and free third-party apps.
Similar features are offered by the BigCommerce Standard plan, which is priced similarly to the other platforms, except for unlimited staff accounts. BigCommerce does not have a transaction fee, unlike Shopify, which levies a 2% fee when customers don’t use Shopify Payments.
Is Bigcommerce Good or Bad for E-commerce Websites?
Overall rating. One of the top e-commerce builders, BigCommerce, offers extremely flexible scalability for online stores. It combines these features with excellent multi-channel integration and advanced SEO to have more built-in sales tools than any of its rivals.
Does Shopify Take Fees?
All online purchases made under this plan are subject to a transaction fee from Shopify of 2.9% + $0.30. However, there is a 2.7% transaction fee for physical purchases. Each transaction will be subject to a 2% fee if you choose a payment gateway other than Shopify Payments.
The Shopify standard plan’s fees, which are 2.6% plus 30 cents per transaction, are less than those for the Basic plan. 2.5% is also the fee for in-person card transactions; there is no additional surcharge.
The least expensive plan is Shopify Advanced, with online fees of 2.4% plus 30 cents per transaction. There is no surcharge applied to the 2.4% in-person transaction fee.
Conclusion
Both platforms make it possible for new users to create stunning online shops. Since Shopify is simpler to use, it is a popular option for beginners who are truly inexperienced in website building. The fact that BigCommerce has built-in tools that have a learning curve is one of the factors that makes it such a potent e-commerce builder. Contrarily, Shopify relies heavily on its app store, which makes its foundational platform easier for new users to use. Free trials are available on both platforms, so test them both out to see which one is best for your business.
Both Shopify and Squarespace are excellent website builders for online stores. Squarespace is better suited for blogging and showcasing beautiful images, even though Shopify has the best sales features. As a result, the answer to the question “Shopify vs. Squarespace: Which is better?” depends on your needs and preferences.
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