WooCommerce vs BigCommerce: Which one Offers Best SEO and eCommerce Features?

When starting an eCommerce business, many owners face the dilemma of choosing a platform for their website. WooCommerce is a widely-used open-source WordPress plugin, while BigCommerce works mostly as a SaaS platform.

Do you want to build your website yourself? It’s not as difficult as it seems, even though some eCommerce platforms have perks you’ll need more time to overcome. That’s why this WooCommerce vs BigCommerce comparison makes sense because we compare different platforms for the same purpose.

Using this guide, you will get a great insight into how these services serve as complete business solutions, including features like eCommerce SEO and marketing tools, pricing plans, convenience, usability, scalability, and so on. Even though WooCommerce and BigCommerce are quite different, they serve business owners who need a stable companion to grow together.

Understanding WooCommerce

As many of you know already, WooCommerce is a convenient eCommerce plugin that goes together with a WordPress website. Or, we can say that the usual WordPress site can’t become eCommerce without this plugin, or WooCommerce itself won’t work without a WordPress site as support.

It’s one of the most popular eCommerce solutions worldwide, used by about 5 million websites already.

Understanding BigCommerce

BigCommerce was founded in Australia, but it’s now available worldwide. The first physical office was opened in Austin, Texas. This platform helps businesses to manage their online stores while implementing advanced eCommerce tools and features.

According to BigCommerce, they have nearly one million active users, but other resources show that less than 50,000 BigCommerce stores are currently running.

Surely, this number is growing, even though it’s pretty far from WooCommerce’s success. But, it doesn’t make BigCommerce a bad eCommerce platform. On the contrary, many business owners find it convenient and easy to use.

So, let’s see how the WooCommerce vs BigCommerce comparison goes:

Customizable and Manageable eCommerce Solutions

When you use WordPress and WooCommerce, you have to find a reliable hosting service, or you can use the shared hosting option until you find a more convenient solution. The best thing is that once you integrate your website with the eCommerce plugin, you own the service and don’t depend on the native company. You can migrate your hosting, change the template, or adjust the functionalities as needed.

BigCommerce depends on its hosting, which means you don’t have the freedom to choose where to host your site. Also, BigCommerce, as a company, owns a significant part of your store, and you are using it as a service. You don’t have the option to choose the hosting plan since you are obligated to share it with other BigCommerce users.

The silver lining? BigCommerce is a practical solution, and the server is not overcrowded. So, if you find it an excellent fit for your current business, you don’t need to worry about server speed.

Regarding BigCommerce vs WooCommerce site customization and design, the first one is pretty limited, while WooCommerce offers thousands of free and paid themes for your online business.

Ease of Use and Flexibility

In this part of our WordPress WooCommerce vs BigCommerce overview, we will talk about the main features of both platforms, starting with some pros and cons:

BigCommerce Pros and Cons

BigCommerce easily integrates with social media and marketplaces, making it pretty competitive. At the same time, it requires more technical knowledge to set up the store and integrate the needed eCommerce tools.

WooCommerce Pros and Cons

WooCommerce is very easy to use, and it offers many customization options. Still, you have to install additional plugins and extensions to make it completely eCommerce-friendly.

Also, we must note that BigCommerce is a complete website builder, while WooCommerce is a plugin that relies on the WordPress website. But if you think you know the winner in this WooCommerce vs BigCommerce battle, wait until you see how convenient and flexible both platforms are.

In general, both are easy to use for those who manage the website, while the user experience is better with WooCommerce. Customers need more time to get used to BigCommerce, while they find WooCommerce pretty familiar. Knowing how many WooCommerce sites there are, it’s understandable why users find it easier to grasp, no matter their technical knowledge.

Useful Features for Your eCommerce Business

Both BigCommerce and WooCommerce are packed with plenty of eCommerce features. We must note that BigCommerce offers quite an impressive package of features such as website analytics, SSL protocol, shortcuts for promotions and discounts, abandoned cart recovery, social media integration, etc.

WooCommerce offers advanced options for customization, blogging, and refund requests. For any other eCommerce feature, you will have to download additional extensions. BigCommerce is pretty neat from this aspect and less risky. So, sorry WooCommerce enthusiasts, but it seems like we have the winner in this BigCommerce vs WooCommerce battle, and that would be BigCommerce.

WooCommerce vs BigCommerce Search Engine Optimization

BigCommerce is packed with marketing tools, too, including SEO functionalities. You can integrate your BigCommerce store with social media marketplaces and enable product reviews. WooCommerce holds onto WordPress popularity and plugins.

When it comes to BigCommerce vs WooCommerce SEO features, both are pretty functional and optimized, which helps you grow and attract organic traffic with your unmistakable SEO approaches.

As you suppose, WooCommerce needs several extensions to meet SEO needs, while BigCommerce comes with pre-packed tools for optimization.

You can use Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or All in One SEO plugins for your WooCommerce store or ReloadSEO and SEO Rich Snippets for BigCommerce. Keep in mind that BigCommerce may load slower than WooCommerce because of the hosting plan. Even though the loading speed is not an essential SEO signal, it can affect the ranking if not taken care of on time.

Inventory, Security, Support, and Pricing

Understanding these aspects of WooCommerce vs BigCommerce comparison is easy, so we will briefly explain what it means for the users.

Inventory Management

WooCommerce requires installing additional plugins so you can manage your business better. The offer is enormous, so you can choose between solutions like WP Inventory, Smart Manager, or PlainInventory.

At the same time, BigCommerce has built-in inventory management tools, so you won’t need third-party integrations to manage your store better.

Security Aspects

BigCommerce is pretty secure because it’s an enclosed ecosystem that directly serves the users. WooCommerce comes with some risks because of third-party integration, so you must research the plugins well before installing them.

Customer Support

BigCommerce will once again win the WooCommerce vs BigCommerce battle because of the 24/7 available customer support. All users can use channels like phone, email, and live chat to report and resolve their issues.

WooCommerce users rely on available online Documentation, which requires a bit of technical knowledge, especially if you manage your website alone. If you work with an outsourcing company or agency, or you have an in-house team, they will take care of you anytime an issue appears.

Pricing Plans

BigCommerce has a few pricing plans, but the best thing is that you have a 15 days period to try it for free and then decide if it’s worth investing in. The cheapest option is $29.95, but you can ask for a custom offer according to your needs.

WooCommerce is free as a plugin, but some extensions, themes, security protocols, and hosting increase the cost. Sometimes, it may come more expensive than you initially planned.

Bigcommerce vs Woocommerce Final Verdict

The WooCommerce vs BigCommerce comparison makes sense when we compare the eCommerce and SEO features, which are essential for every online business to run. Both platforms are quite simple and offer more or less limited customization, exceptional eCommerce features, and third-party integration.

Finally, BigCommerce is perfect for those who want to quickly start an online business, while WooCommerce is great for users who prefer WordPress as their primary web platform.

FAQs

Is BigCommerce popular just like WooCommerce?

BigCommerce is a practical eCommerce platform packed with useful features, including SEO tools and intuitive navigation. Still, it’s not as popular as the combination of WordPress and WooCommerce. Compared to the millions who use WP+WooCommerce, BigCommerce has less than 100,000 active stores.

Can I run a successful BigCommerce store?

If you choose BigCommerce, you are getting a completely reliable and convenient solution which is easy to use and maintain. The whole concept is intuitive, while the eCommerce features are pretty obvious and intuitive. It’s great for those who don’t want to invest a lot of time setting up their online store.

Why is WooCommerce so popular?

WooCommerce it pretty similar to WordPress content editor and managing system, and people find it familiar. That makes Woo so easy to use and quite convenient, especially if the eCommerce business owner has some previous experience in managing a WordPress website.