Dropshipping

BigCommerce Dropshipping: 10-Step Guide for Beginners

Nedina Gjorgjieva

Nedina Gjorgjieva

Dec 01, 2023 · 8 minutes

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Dropshipping is an exciting business opportunity that has caught the attention of many aspiring entrepreneurs and BigCommerce stands out as one of the best eCommerce platforms for building a dropshipping store.

We’ve designed this guide specifically for beginners to provide insight into all the basics of starting a dropshipping business on BigCommerce.

We’ll break down the process of creating a BigCommerce dropshipping store in 10 simple steps that will teach you how to get your business off the ground fast and easily.

What is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is an eCommerce platform that provides businesses with web-building tools that allow them to create and run online stores. It provides merchants, including dropshippers, with the tools and functionality to sell products online.

With BigCommerce, you can easily set up your dropshipping store, customize the design, add products, and manage orders. It offers a user-friendly interface, robust features, and seamless integrations with various applications.

What services does BigCommerce offer?

We start off our guide by going over the services BigCommerce offers. As a user of this platform, you get to use a comprehensive set of features:

• Online storefront: BigCommerce provides an intuitive interface and step-by-step guidance to help you set up an attractive online storefront quickly and easily.
• Staff accounts: Regardless of the pricing plan you choose, you get unlimited access to staff accounts.
• Design customization: You can customize the look and feel of your store, play with your web design, and create a unique shopping experience for your customers.
• Built-in hosting solution: BigCommerce allows you to buy a domain directly from the platform, saving you from the trouble of finding a hosting provider yourself.
• Built-in blog: You get to provide your customers with high-quality content via the platform’s built-in blog.
• Multi-currency: BigCommerce supports payments in over 100 different currencies.
• Payment gateways and security: BigCommerce offers over 60 secure payment gateways.
• Mobile-friendly: With their mobile-responsive designs, BigCommerce ensures that your customers can easily browse and purchase products from any device.
• App integrations: BigCommerce integrates with various third-party applications, such as email marketing tools, CRM systems, and accounting software.
• Marketing and SEO: BigCommerce offers a range of marketing tools and built-in SEO features to help you promote your store and drive traffic.

What pricing plans BigCommerce offers?

BigCommerce offers different pricing plans to cater to businesses of all sizes:

Standard plan 

• Price: $29/month for annual billing and $39/month for monthly billing
• Suitable for: small businesses

Plus plan

• Price: $79/month for annual billing and $105/month for monthly billing
• Suitable for: growing businesses

Pro plan

• Price: $299/month for annual billing and $399/month for monthly billing
• Suitable for: growing businesses

Enterprise plan

• Price: customized pricing upon request
• Suitable for: high-volume businesses

NOTE: If you are unsure which plan will best suit your dropshipping business, BigCommerce also offers a generous 15-day free trial.

How to start dropshipping on BigCommerce?

To help you understand how BigCommerce works, we’ll guide you through 10 easy steps on how to create and launch your eCommerce store:

STEP 1: Create your BigCommerce account

Sign up for a BigCommerce account and choose a pricing plan that suits your business needs.

• Go to https://www.bigcommerce.com/essentials/.
• Fill out your name, surname, email address, phone number, and store name (which you can change later).
• Click on ‘Create your store.’
• You will then be asked to state your niche and the channel you use to sell your products.
• Click on ‘Proceed to store.’

STEP 2: Customize your store’s design

Once you’ve signed up, you will be redirected to your store’s dashboard from where you can start designing your storefront. 

BigCommerce offers an extensive range of professionally designed templates to choose from and you can even customize your store’s appearance to match your brand identity. 

Here’s how you can choose and customize your store’s design:

• On the left-side menu, click on ‘Storefront.’
• Select ‘Theme Marketplace’ to choose from the abundance of free and paid templates available.

STEP 3: Set up your domain

As we previously mentioned, BigCommerce allows you to set up your domain name directly from your dashboard.

• Go to ‘Settings.’
• Click on ‘Domain name.’
• You have the option to either buy a new domain or simply add an existing one you wish to use.

STEP 4: Set up your store’s profile

To give an impression that your store is reliable, you have to set up your store’s profile by filling out some basic information:

• Display name
• Address
• Support email
• Phone number
• Default country.

STEP 5: Set up your currencies, payment options, shipping, and policies

The next step is to configure your payment gateways and choose the currencies you’re planning on working with.

Here, you’ll also want to get your store policies sorted out.

• Open the ‘Settings’ tap again.
• In the ‘Setup’ window, you’ll find the currency, payment, shipping, and tax sections.

• Scroll down to ‘Orders’ to set up your order notifications and return policy.

STEP 6: Add products to your store

Once you’ve partnered with the right supplier, you can go ahead and import the products you wish to sell.

When the products are in your store, you can go ahead and start adding descriptions, images, and pricing unless your dropshipping supplier doesn’t already provide all of that information.

STEP 7: Install third-party apps

Third-party app integrations aren’t necessarily a ‘must,’ however, they can certainly ease up your job and even automate a part of your tasks.

• Open the BigCommerce App Marketplace.
• Search through the apps.
• Once you find something you want to install, simply click ‘Get this app.’

STEP 8: Optimize your store for SEO

Optimizing your dropshipping store is crucial for improving your ranking on the search results. You can optimize your BigCommerce store for SEO in a few ways:

• Optimize your product listings: Use relevant keywords, compelling product descriptions, and attractive images.
• Optimize your blog posts: If you have a blog, it’s essential to write content that targets the right topics, keywords, and search intent.
• Optimize your copy: Don’t forget about the copy throughout your websites. This too needs to be optimized for the keywords you’re targeting.
• Optimize your URLs: Keep your URLs short and precise. Navigate to the settings tab in your BigCommerce store where you can improve your product, catalog, and website URLs. 

STEP 9: Get your store live

Once you’re sure everything is set up, you can go ahead and launch your store. 

To change your store’s status from private to public, you’ll have to update your plan if your free trial is still running by the time you’ve finished creating your store.

STEP 10: Build a killer marketing campaign

Getting your dropshipping store live won’t mean anything if your potential customers don’t know that you exist. 

So, what do you have to do to put your store on the map? The answer is marketing, marketing, and only marketing.

The bulletproof way to go is by promoting your store through various channels, including:

• Social media: Get on social media now! Social network apps have become the most effective way to get people to discover you and start shopping from your store.
• Email campaigns: People still are and will continue to subscribe by using their emails. Don’t let anyone else convince you otherwise. Rumors that email marketing is dead couldn’t be further from the truth. 
• Content marketing: Generating high-quality content is a great way to engage your audience and inform them about your products. That way, they’ll have your store on top of their minds.
• Paid advertising: Yes, you’ll need a budget for this one, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be expensive. Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, TikTok Ads, and Google Ads – all of these allow you to pay as much as you can afford on ads.
• SEO optimization: The good old SEO optimization will always be an effective marketing strategy. The higher your store ranks, the more traffic you get, and the more traffic you get, the bigger the chances of conversion.

Dropshipping with BigCommerce and BrandsGateway

The equation of running a successful dropshipping business won’t be completed by only choosing a robust web-building platform like BigCommerce. What’s missing is your dropshipping supplier.

BrandsGateway is a luxury clothing dropshipping and wholesale supplier that offers seamless integration for your BigCommerce store by providing you with:

• high-quality products
• profit margins of up to 250%
• automatic inventory updates
• automatic order placement
• fast worldwide shipping to over 170 countries
• 14-day return policy
• premium marketing materials
• dedicated customer support.

Integrating your BigCommerce store with BrandsGateway is exceptionally easy and can be done within a few steps:

1. Sign up for a free account at https://brandsgateway.com/register/.
2. Open the BigCommerce BrandsGateway App.
3. Select Get this app.’
4. Choose a dropshipping package.
5. Import BrandsGateway’s product catalog.

Chase your entrepreneurial dreams with BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a great platform for beginners to start their dropshipping journey. With its user-friendly interface, powerful features, and reliable services, it offers a solid foundation to build a successful online store.

By following this 10-step guide, you’ll be well-equipped with the necessary knowledge to start dropshipping on BigCommerce and take advantage of the opportunities it presents. 

Now, get out there and launch your dream dropshipping store.

FAQ

Continue reading

• The Ultimate Shopify Dropshipping Guide
• The Ultimate Guide to Dropshipping with WordPress
• How to Start Dropshipping with Wix?
• Beginner’s Guide to Dropshipping with Shift4Shop
• Dropshipping on Shopify vs. WooCommerce
• Dropshipping on Shopify vs. Shift4Shop

About the Author

Nedina Gjorgjieva

Proud bookworm, passionate content writer and devoted Arctic Monkeys fan. Always in the mood for travel and sightseeing.

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