Dropshipping

WooCommerce Vs. BigCommerce: Which One Outperforms the Other?

Nedina Gjorgjieva

Nedina Gjorgjieva

Jan 18, 2024 · 9 minutes

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Launching a dropshipping store requires choosing a reliable and efficient web-building platform.

Enter WooCommerce and BigCommerce, two titans in the world of eCommerce platforms, each with a robust set of features tailored to facilitate online selling.

Having a significant number of users, WooCommerce with 6 million and BigCommerce with 40,000, both platforms can be considered as a great option for setting the foundation of your online business. 

This article compares the most important aspects of both platforms, including features, pricing, themes, hosting, SEO tools, plugins, ease of use, and customer support, to help you decide which one aligns best with your dropshipping business goals and preferences.

Main features 

WooCommerce

• No limits on product listings: Enables you to sell a vast array of products.
• Inventory management tools: Help keep track of stock levels.
• Rich theme library: Over 1,000 themes to customize your store’s appearance.
• Mobile-friendly design: Ensures a great user experience on mobile devices.
• Extensive customization options: Personalize your store to enhance the customer experience.
• Diverse payment options: Multiple payment gateways including PayPal, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, Stripe, and WooCommerce Payments.
• Shipping and tax configurations: Can be adjusted manually.
• Third-party extensions: More than 300 plugins are available for installation.

BigCommerce

• User-friendly platform: Comprehensive guidance for setting up an aesthetically pleasing and functional online store.
• No limit on the number of staff accounts: Facilitates effective team collaboration.
• Integrated hosting services: Streamlines the process of setting up your store’s domain.
• Mobile optimization: Ensures a seamless shopping experience across all devices.
• Multiple payment methods: Support for over 60 secure payment gateways to process transactions safely.
• Multi-currency support: making it easier to handle international transactions.
• Integration with third-party apps: Rich app market that includes tools for email marketing, customer service, finance, SEO, and more.

Pricing

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a free plugin used for launching an online store on WordPress. However, you’ll still have to endure some costs, mainly those related: 

• purchasing a website theme;
• acquiring a domain name;
• installing additional plugins;
• other expenses related to stock purchasing, product shipping, and payment fees.

BigCommerce

When deciding to dropship on BigCommerce, the platform offers a variety of plan options to fit diverse business requirements. Here’s a breakdown of their pricing models:

Standard Plan:

• Price: $39/month
• Ideal for: Newcomers to dropshipping and smaller enterprises

Plus Plan:

• Price:  $105/month
• Targeted at: Small to mid-sized dropshipping enterprises

Pro Plan:

• Price: $399/month
• Ideal for: Growing dropshipping businesses with significant sales and traffic

Enterprise Plan:

• Price: Custom pricing
• Ideal for: Large-scale dropshipping enterprises 

Themes and design

WooCommerce 

WooCommerce provides a robust set of customization tools for enhancing your dropshipping store’s design and functionality. Here are some notable features:

• Users can select from over 1,000 WooCommerce templates.
• Theme options include both free and premium ones, with premium themes priced between $20 to $300 annually, the majority of which are fully customizable.
• The plugin is also compatible with most of the WordPress themes.

BigCommerce 

BigCommerce presents a variety of user-friendly themes that require no technical knowledge for customization. Here are some key features:

• A selection of over 100 templates, both free and premium.
• Premium themes start at approximately $200.
• For those adept in HTML and CSS, you can use direct code editing to customize the design.
• BigCommerce also caters to those with less technical expertise, offering a drag-and-drop editor for easy template customization.

Hosting

WooCommerce

Since it’s a WordPress plugin, WooCommerce doesn’t provide direct hosting services. This means users need to independently source a hosting provider and purchase a domain name. 

The market, however, is abundant with hosting providers like HostGator, GoDaddy, DreamHost, Hostinger, WP Engine, and BlueHost that can help get your website online fairly easily and quickly.

These platforms offer reliable hosting solutions and include SSL certificates for secure internet connections.

BigCommerce

On the contrary, BigCommerce offers hosting services with SSL certificates within its platform. 

When getting your domain name from BigCommerce, you have two options:

• the platform offers the flexibility to either set up a new domain directly through the BigCommerce dashboard
• use an existing domain you have purchased from an external provider.

SEO tools

WooCommerce

WooCommerce offers several avenues to optimize your website’s search engine visibility:

• Extensive range of SEO extensions including popular ones like Yoast SEO.
• Access to beginner-friendly guides to understand the basics of SEO.
• Educational articles that cover key SEO strategies, tips, and best practices.
• Integration with WordPress SEO tools

Check out: How to use ChatGPT for SEO?

BigCommerce 

BigCommerce also equips you with a great set of tools to maximize your store’s SEO potential:

• Explore the BigCommerce Help Center for detailed guides on implementing effective SEO strategies.
• Choose from a variety of SEO apps in the marketplace like SEOKart and FavSEO integration.
• Ability to tailor your URLs with relevant keywords to improve product and category page visibility and easy meta-tag editing.

App market

WooCommerce

WooCommerce offers an impressive collection of over 50,000 extensions in its WooCommerce Extension store, both free and paid, with premium options generally ranging from $0 to $100, catering to various budgetary needs.

The WooCommerce extensions cover key operational areas including marketing, social media integration, payment processing solutions, store management tools, shipping logistics, and comprehensive customer service functionalities.

Its open-source nature allows anyone with tech skills to create an extension, broadening the scope and versatility of the platform.

BigCommerce 

BigCommerce’s App Marketplace features a comprehensive range of free and paid plugins encompassing finance, payment gateways, customer relationship management (CRM), marketing tools, artificial intelligence (AI) applications, and more.

The Marketplace is constantly updated with new BigCommerce apps, ensuring businesses have access to the latest tools and technologies.

Ease of use

WooCommerce 

WooCommerce provides a flexible environment for store customization, enabling users to create unique and personalized online shopping experiences.

The platform integrates smoothly with WordPress, providing a familiar interface for users already accustomed to the WordPress ecosystem.

While some level of customization might require coding skills, the platform offers extensive educational materials and community forums for support.

BigCommerce 

Known for its straightforward and intuitive user interface, BigCommerce is particularly friendly for beginners in dropshipping.

The platform features a well-organized dashboard that simplifies store setup and management, even for those with limited technical skills.

BigCommerce even goes the extra mile to provide detailed tutorials, video guides, and step-by-step instructions, helping users fully leverage the platform’s capabilities.

Customer support

WooCommerce 

WooCommerce offers users a detailed ‘Contact Us’ page where they can find necessary contact information and articles related to a variety of topics.

Their strong community system available on several platforms, including Facebook and Slack, also ensures users have access to assistance at all times.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce provides great support available via chat, email, or phone.

Their Help Center also features a whole community of support, including a Q&A group, forums, and an updates section.

For enterprise-level customers, BigCommerce offers personalized support through dedicated account managers, ensuring tailored solutions for complex business needs and strategic guidance.

Pros and cons of WooCommerce vs. BigCommerce

When evaluating eCommerce platforms for starting a dropshipping business, understanding the pros and cons of each option can provide valuable insight. 

Let’s delve into the strengths and weaknesses of both WooCommerce and BigCommerce.

WooCommerce: Pros and Cons

Pros

• ✅ Open-source and free-to-use plugin
• ✅ Extensive customization options
• ✅ Wide range of themes and extensions
• ✅ Great flexibility
• ✅ Seamless integration with WordPress

Cons

• ❌ For beginners, there’s a learning curve involved with setting up and managing a WooCommerce store.
• ❌ Hosting is not included

BigCommerce: Pros and Cons

Pros

• ✅ Easy to use
• ✅ Built-in features
• ✅ Built-in hosting solution
• ✅ Unlimited number of staff accounts for every plan
• ✅ Great website customization
• ✅ Variety of third-party extensions  
• ✅ 24/7 customer support

Cons

• ❌ The basic plans offer restricted features. Access to more sophisticated tools requires subscribing to a higher-priced plan.

Dropshipping with BrandsGateway on WooCommerce vs. BigCommerce

To successfully build a dropshipping store on one of these platforms, you need to partner with a dropshipping supplier that offers integration for WooCommerce and BigCommerce.

Luckily, BrandsGateway saves the day, providing dropshippers with:

• An extensive collection of over 20,000 luxury fashion items from more than 100 renowned designer brands.
• A rich product catalog includes high-end clothing, footwear, bags, jewelry, accessories, watches, and sunglasses.
• The opportunity to earn profitable margins, with the potential of achieving up to 250% profit on sales.
• Access to premium materials on SEO optimization, marketing, and Facebook advertising.
• An automated dropshipping system for timely inventory updates and streamlined order processing.
• Fast global shipping, with delivery times between 1-3 days in Europe and 5-7 days globally, covering over 170 countries.
• A return policy of 14 days.
• Dedicated support for dropshippers through various communication channels, including email, phone, WhatsApp, and demo calls.

Dropshipping with WooCommerce and BrandsGateway

To integrate BrandsGateway with WooCommerce:

• STEP 1: Sign up at the BrandsGateway registration page.
• STEP 2: Select your desired dropshipping package.
• STEP 3: Install the BrandsGateway plugin for WooCommerce.
• STEP 4: Generate API keys for your store.
• STEP 5: Link your store with BrandsGateway.
• STEP 6: Import products from the BrandsGateway catalog.

Dropshipping with BigCommerce and BrandsGateway

To integrate BrandsGateway with BigCommerce:

• STEP 1: Register for free at BrandsGateway.
• STEP 2: Access the BrandsGateway BigCommerce App.
• STEP 3: Install the app in your BigCommerce store.
• STEP 4: Choose your preferred dropshipping package.
• STEP 5: Import the BrandsGateway products into your store.

Which platform wins?

WooCommerce is an excellent choice if you’re already using a WordPress website. It offers high levels of customization, a wide array of free plugins and extensions, no pricing plans, and full control over your website. Yet, remember, it demands manual setup and may present a learning curve for beginners.

On the other side, BigCommerce simplifies your journey with its built-in tools. It provides you with a simple interface, over 800 third-party apps and integrations, and affordable subscription-based pricing plans. While it’s easy to use, it may limit your customization capabilities.

So, what’s the best platform? If you value flexibility and control above all, WooCommerce is your ally. But if a hassle-free setup takes priority, BigCommerce could be more suitable.

FAQ

Continue reading other platform comparisons

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

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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