Dropshipping

Wix vs. BigCommerce: Features, Pricing, Design, Hosting, and Support

Nedina Gjorgjieva

Nedina Gjorgjieva

Feb 02, 2024 · 11 minutes

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Choosing an eCommerce platform for your dropshipping business can be a daunting task, especially when faced with two powerhouses like Wix and BigCommerce.

With each platform having its strengths and weaknesses, making such a decision shouldn’t be rushed but rather well thought out.

Today, we get to compare their features, pricing plans, design capabilities, hosting services, and support systems as well as their SEO tools and app markets.

In this way, hopefully, we provide you with a clear picture of what Wix and BigCommerce can offer your dropshipping store.

What is Wix?

Wix is a versatile and user-friendly platform widely used for creating and managing online stores, particularly suitable for small to medium-sized businesses. 

It offers a drag-and-drop website builder, allowing users to design and customize their stores without the need for advanced technical skills. 

Wix supports an extensive range of features including various design templates, eCommerce tools, and integrations, making it an appealing choice for those looking to establish an online presence quickly and effectively.

Check out: How to start dropshipping with Wix?

What is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is another all-inclusive eCommerce platform offering a suite of tools for building and managing online stores. 

It’s tailored for a range of businesses, including dropshipping stores. The platform makes setting up an online store quite simple and straightforward, equipping users with design customization tools, easy integration with suppliers, and a wide range of third-party plugins.

Check out: How to start dropshipping with BigCommerce?

Main eCommerce features

Wix

• Rich theme library: Choose from over 500 versatile and customizable themes.
• Drag-and-drop builder: A user-friendly tool to easily design your store.
• Great app market diversity: Over 300 apps for a variety of purposes including SEO, marketing, email, analytics, and customer support.
• Mobile optimization: Create s store with a design that is fully responsive on all kinds of devices.
• Blog integration: Launch a blog on your store to boost your eCommerce marketing.
• Integrated hosting: Convenient hosting servicesare included within the platform.
• SEO tools: Built-in SEO features to enhance your online visibility and traffic.
• Customizable tax settings: Adjust tax and shipping for different locations.
• Various payment methods: Supports major payment options such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, Klarna, and more.

BigCommerce

• Unlimited staff accounts: Your store is accessible to an unlimited number of your employees regardless of the pricing plan you choose.
• Customizable design: Completely personalize your store’s design based on your preferences for a unique customer experience.
• Mobile-friendly design: Responsive layouts for seamless shopping on any device.
• Domain and hosting: Direct domain name purchase options, eliminating the need to look for external hosting solutions.
• Built-in blogging feature: The option to publish high-quality content directly on your store’s website.
• Third-party app integration: Instal helpful apps about email marketing, financing, security, data transfer, analytics, CRM, and other software.
• Marketing and SEO: Offers tools for promotion and search engine optimization.
• Multicurrency support: Accommodates transactions in a large number of currencies.
• Secure payment gateways: Over 60 payment options that ensure secure transactions.

Pricing plans

Wix

Wix offers three subscription plan categories:

Website Plans: These are ideal for smaller online businesses and dropshipping stores that are just starting out in the field. Their prices range from $4.50 to $24.50 per month.

• Connect domain plan – $4.50/month
• Combo plan – $8.50/month
• Unlimited plan – $12.50/month
• VIP plan – $24.50/month

Business & eCommerce Plans: These plans are targeted at eCommerce businesses and dropshippers that are in the growing phase and are in need of slightly more features. Prices go from $17 to $35 per month.

• Business basic plan – $17/month
• Business unlimited plan – $25/month
• Business VIP plan – $35/month

Enterprise Plans: These types of plans have strict customized pricing as they’re intended for large-scale enterprises. You get a quoted price depending on the support you need to be provided with.

Important to mention that Wix does offer a 14-day free trial period on all of their premium plans.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce allows you to choose from four different pricing plans:

• Standard Plan: Starts at $29/month (annual) or $39/month (monthly), best for small businesses.
• Plus Plan: Priced at $79/month (annual) or $105/month (monthly), suitable for growing businesses.
• Pro Plan: For established businesses, costs $299/month (annual) or $399/month (monthly).
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing based on business needs.

Important to note that BigCommerce offers a 15-day free trial to help businesses decide on the most suitable plan for their needs.

Design settings

Wix

Wix’s web design abilities can cater to the needs of all types of dropshipping businesses, offering intuitive features for creating a visually appealing dropshipping store. 

Some of their most prominent tools include an extensive template library of over 900 customizable Wix templates, all of which are completely free to use. 

With Wix’s drag-and-drop editor, you have total creative freedom over all of these templates. You can modify layouts, change colors and fonts, insert slideshows, incorporate videos, use animations, and much more.

What’s more, Wix’s ADI technology simplifies the website creation process on the platform even more. The algorithm automates a large portion of the web design process, allowing you to create a website without coding a thing.

Check out: Best Wix templates

BigCommerce

Just like Wix, BigCommerce distinguishes itself with a variety of adaptable themes. Users have a choice of over 100 themes, both free and premium, with the paid options beginning around $200. 

For those proficient in HTML and CSS, BigCommerce allows further customization through direct code editing. Meanwhile, it also caters to users without coding experience by providing a drag-and-drop editor for easy template modifications. 

This feature set enhances the platform’s appeal to a broad range of users, from beginners to more tech-savvy store owners. 

Additionally, BigCommerce’s theme offerings are known for their responsive design, ensuring compatibility and optimal viewing across various devices, a crucial factor in today’s mobile-first shopping environment.

Check out: Best BigCommerce themes

Third-party integration options

Wix

Wix offers its users a splendid variety of plugins in the Wix App Market – more precisely, over 250 options – to enhance your store’s functionality and create a more convenient shopping experience for your customers.

A lot of plugins can be used for free, while the premium options start from $7-10/month and upwards depending on what types of subscription plans the apps offer.

The WIx plugins cater to diverse eCommerce needs including marketing, SEO, customer service, and social media integration to name a few.

A few well-known apps available in the Wix App Market include Klaviyo (email marketing), SEOly (SEO optimization), LiveChat (customer support), and Photo Editor (editing visual elements).

BigCommerce

BigCommerce’s App Marketplace also provides users with both free and premium add-ons.

These include plugins that cover finance, accounting, payment processing, CRM, innovative marketing tools, and more.

The prices can vary depending on the app – from a few dollars to a $100.

Popular BigCommerce apps among dropshippers include Sellbrite (sales channels), Mailchimp (email marketing), FavSEO (SEO optimization), and ChatGPT AI Product Descriptions (AI-generated content).

Help for SEO optimization

Wix

Wix assists in users optimizing their dropshipping stores for search engine ranking by offering customizable meta descriptions, image alt texts, and URLs, all of which are crucial for product page optimization. 

Wix further simplifies this process with its “Wix SEO Wiz,” a comprehensive guide offering a detailed checklist of all the things to cover when optimizing your store.

Additionally, Wix also supports dropshippers by giving them access to free tutorials on SEO that cover anything from site visibility and data markup to using Google Search Console and Google Analytics.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce ensures that your website is optimized for search engines by providing you with an informative Help Center that offers guides on effective SEO tactics.

Guides like Intro to SEO, SEO Fundamentals, and SEO Fields can help you educate yourself on all the steps you need to take in order to get your site ranking on the SERPs.

Moreover, BigCommerce’s SEO capabilities extend to helping with sitemap generation, editing meta-tags, and customizing URLs to boost the visibility of product and category pages.

Check out: How to improve SEO with ChatGPT?

Security and hosting

Wix

To establish your online presence with Wix, it’s crucial to connect your store to a domain unique to your dropshipping store. 

Choosing a distinctive domain name is vital for brand visibility and search engine discoverability. A well-chosen domain can significantly enhance your store’s online identity, making it easier for customers to locate and remember your brand. 

You have the option to either purchase a new custom domain directly through Wix or use one that you already own. 

BigCommerce

Just like Wix, BigCommerce streamlines the process of setting up your dropshipping store by allowing users to either establish a new domain through its dashboard or connect an existing domain from an external source. 

This built-in hosting feature is a crucial aspect, especially for businesses prioritizing secure, reliable, and convenient online operations. 

Ease of use

Wix

Wix’s platform is designed to offer as simple as possible web-building process, featuring a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface that makes website customization easily accessible to everyone, regardless of their technical skills. 

This approach ensures a smooth website setup process, particularly beneficial for beginners. 

Moreover, Wix’s wide array of tools and widgets enables users to enhance their site’s functionality and design without the need for coding. 

This presents a significant advantage for those new to website development or who prefer a more guided and straightforward approach to building their online presence.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is another platform that is ideal for those new to dropshipping. With a well-organized dashboard and a variety of tools at your disposal, setting up and managing an eCommerce store has never been easier. 

On top of this, BigCommerce has a rich library of comprehensive tutorials and guides that cover a variety of topics accessible to you at all times at no cost.

Additionally, BigCommerce offers a great variety of subscription plans that come with all kinds of advanced features in order to cater to a broad range of business sizes.

Customer support

Wix

Wix offers a good support system to its users, which includes various channels for assistance and information:

• Direct phone support for immediate help.
• Email support for detailed inquiries and assistance.
• Help Center that provides a wealth of articles and tutorials, guiding users through various features and troubleshooting.
• The Wix Community platform, where users can engage with each other and Wix’s support staff, sharing experiences, asking questions, and obtaining advice.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce’s customer support team can be contacted via chat, email, or phone.

Their Help Center also includes different types of resources such as community forums, Q&A groups, plus a dedicated section for the latest updates. 

Moreover, for enterprise customers, the platform makes sure users have a dedicated account manager to provide them with personalized guidance and solutions.

This level of support ensures that each customer’s unique needs are met effectively. 

Check out: How to improve customer service with ChatGPT?

Pros and cons: Wix vs. BigCommerce

Wix

Pros of using Wix:

• ✅ Drag-and-drop editor
• ✅ Free templates
• ✅ Customizable designs
• ✅ Code-free
• ✅ Great flexibility
• ✅ Built-in hosting solution
• ✅ 24/7 customer support

Cons of using Wix:

• ❌ Less control over changing templates – once you’ve chosen a template, you can’t change it with another but only design the one you already have.

BigCommerce

Pros of using BigCommerce:

• ✅ User-friendly interface
• ✅ Complete web customization
• ✅ Built-in features
• ✅ Code-free
• ✅ Integrated hosting solution
• ✅ Unlimited staff accounts
• ✅ Variety of third-party extensions
• ✅ 24/7 customer support.

Cons of using BigCommerce:

• ❌ Basic plans come with limited features; advanced tools are available only with the more expensive plans.

Who is Wix best for?

Wix is ideal for:

• ✅ Small business owners and entrepreneurs. 
• ✅ Those who prioritize ease of use and design flexibility in their website creation. 
• ✅ Those that require a simple online store with basic eCommerce functionalities.
• ✅ Well-suited for users without technical skills.

Who is Bigcommerce best for?

BigCommerce is a great option for:

• ✅ Medium to large-scale stores.
• ✅ Best suited for businesses looking to scale up.
• ✅ Looking for more robust eCommerce tools.
• ✅ Businesses that require detailed analytics and reporting tools to track their growth.

FAQ

More platform comparisons

• WooCommerce vs. BigCommerce
• Shopify vs. WooCommerce
• Wix vs WooCommerce
• Shopify vs BigCommerce
• Shopify vs. eBay
• Shopify vs. Amazon
• Shopify vs. Shift4Shop
• Wix vs. Shopify

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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