Ecommerce is the wave of the shopping future. Помисли за това: even before the COVID-19 pandemic changed our lives and how we do business, where and how often did you shop for and purchase things online? What sorts of things were you buying — only bare necessities? Splurge purchases? Luxury items?
The breadth of ecommerce — the fact that we can now buy almost anything online and have it sent to our door — underscores just how pervasive online shopping has become in our world. And it’s not just big retailers like Amazon. Smaller, niche shops are growing too: small retailers saw 104 percent growth in online sales during the 2020 holiday season, compared to the same time period in 2019.
Сега, while there’ll always be a place for in-person shopping at физически магазини, it certainly isn’t going to overtake online shopping anytime soon. And as a prospective Ecwid merchant or ecommerce platform provider, you no doubt know this — which is why you’re shopping around for the best ecommerce platform out there.
Ecommerce platforms typically have two types of users: merchants (individual sellers, small businesses and retailers, и т.н.) and partners (агенции, филиали, resellers, и т.н.). Първо, let’s focus on specific benefits for merchants, and then we’ll dive into what makes Ecwid great for our partners.
So let’s cut right to the chase: what sets Ecwid apart from competitors like BigCommerce?
For Merchants
Reason#1: Ecwid is designed for everyone
This first reason is a big one because it cuts to the very core of what we believe here at Ecwid: ecommerce is for everyone. That simple phrase has guided how we’ve built our platform from the very start. We think that anyone who wants to продавайте онлайн should be able to do so without running into massive fees or revenue restrictions or anything else that’s designed to block small businesses from digital selling.
BigCommerce has taken a different tack. Its platform is meant for large enterprise companies that have the time and resources to spend on development. The company’s ecommerce plans are limited by revenue, which forces businesses to upgrade plans as they grow and means only a limited number of businesses would be able to utilize them.
Reason #2: Ecwid’s mobile app has more functionality
Building off our mindset that ecommerce should be available to anyone, we’ve designed the Ecwid store management app to give our merchants as much functionality as possible. For the merchants, that means the ability to manage not only their online stores on the go, but their sales as well, giving them more data to make informed decisions about their business and greater control over how to run it.
BigCommerce’s app, от друга страна, is far less robust. The ecommerce platform’s mobile app is very basic and can be difficult for merchants to navigate at times. More importantly, BigCommerce’s app functions are limited to store management, giving merchants less flexibility to run their businesses as they see fit.
Reason #3: Ecwid can be integrated into any existing site
Perhaps the clearest indication that we believe ecommerce should be open to all is the fact that Ecwid can be seamlessly integrated into literally any existing merchant website. And we mean any. (Не ни вярвайте? Get in touch and we’ll show you how.) So merchants can simply plug the Ecwid ecommerce platform into their website and start reaching a whole world of new customers, allowing them to retain their SEO and investment.
Merchants looking to use BigCommerce’s platform face a steeper hill to selling online, за жалост. They’ll be forced to restart the process of building up and launching their online business, and that’s because BigCommerce just doesn’t play as nice with others as we at Ecwid do. Any merchant with an existing website is required to use the BigCommerce platform ecosystem — that’s a lot of wasted time, money and effort.
Reason #4: Ecwid enables merchants to launch an online store in minutes
The ability to integrate Ecwid ecommerce into any existing merchant website is a big feature, but what about merchants that don’t yet have a business website? For them, we created Ecwid’s Instant Site option, which gives them a quick and easy way to build and launch an online shop in mere minutes. Най-добър от всички, no developer skills or advanced technical knowledge is required, freeing up merchants to focus on their business and substantially reducing their stress.
Building an online store on BigCommerce’s platform, meanwhile, is not a pleasant process. Creating and launching an online store through BigCommerce is typically a long and tedious process and quite user-unприятелски. Any type of customization or individualization usually requires the skills of a developer, costing merchants even more time and money on top of BigCommerce’s already-high fees.
Reason #5: Ecwid has more built-in integrations
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again until we’re blue in the face: ecommerce is for everyone. In addition to guiding how we’ve designed the Ecwid ecommerce platform, that mantra has also led us to focus on strong functionality with integrations that we know are critical to the success of our merchants and partners. So we’ve created rock-solid, built-in integrations for a wide range of other platforms and software, including sales channels, ad tools, шлюзове за плащане, point-of-sale systems, и още много.
Like we’ve said before — BigCommerce doesn’t really play well with others. The ecommerce platform only has a few built-in sales channels and very little else in terms of third-party integrations. And the integrations it does have are clunky and rough, which is not exactly great for merchants or business partners.
Reason #6: Ecwid’s premium features are way cheaper
You’ve probably heard the saying, “Cash is king” — meaning that it’s important to have the financial resources on hand to keep the business operating and hopefully expanding. Nowhere is that more true than in working with small businesses, where startup cash can be limited. And that’s why we’ve reasonably priced access to Ecwid’s advanced features, като възстановяване на изоставена количка, well below that of our competitors. We believe in leveling the playing field and helping every type and size of business sell online.
For users of BigCommerce’s platform, access to premium features unfortunately costs a premium price. Merchants can only gain access to BigCommerce’s premium features by upgrading to the platform’s top-tier, most-expensive plans, which cost nearly $80 на месец. Екуид, meanwhile, only charges $45 месец ($39 a month if billed annualy) for access to those features — essentially two months’ worth of access for only one month at BigCommerce. For small businesses, that’s a big difference.
For Partners
Reason #7: Ecwid has adjustable branding
Ecwid is a white label platform, so partners have the option to rebrand it as their own, allowing them to expand their brand voice and suite of services. And if partners would prefer to showcase their partnership with Ecwid, they also have the ability to co-brand the platform, which can help build merchant and shopper trust.
BigCommerce does not allow co-branding solutions or white label partnerships of any kind.
Reason #8: Ecwid is embeddable
Ecwid can be integrated into just about any partner’s platform. If a site builder wants to offer ecommerce websites, например, they can add Ecwid right into their builder software. This enables their customers to manage their websites and stores all from a single location, making it a great way for partners to expand their offerings and attract new business.
BigCommerce does not integrate well with partners and can’t be used to build out a partner’s suite of products.
Reason #9: Ecwid offers a flexible reseller program
Ecwid provides a unique reseller program option that can be scaled to any partner’s needs. This includes unique perks and tweaks to the platform or the way it’s delivered to shoppers.
BigCommerce doesn’t offer this level of partnership or customization.
Reason #10: Ecwid uses an advanced monetization model
Our reseller program charges a small membership fee, but partners aren’t limited to basic commission payments as their only way to generate revenue like with other ecommerce platforms. Вместо, Ecwid partners also get wholesale discounts on Ecwid ecommerce plans and can charge their merchants whatever price they’d like — either standalone or bundled with their other services. The ability to set their own prices and manage their own customer billing enables partners to scale their business while maintaining control of their services.
BigCommerce does not offer this type of revenue sharing and incentivization.
Reason #11: Ecwid has a high average ROI
Since they have the ability to set their own prices for their merchants, our partners have significantly greater control over their return on investment. The ability to change their prices and influence revenue streams by integrating with Ecwid also facilitates opportunities to increase profit margins as well as scale rapidly and securely.
BigCommerce doesn’t offer this to their partners at all.
Reason #12: Ecwid charges no processing/transaction fees
В Екуид, we work with a wide range of payment gateways without charging any fees because, again — we really do believe that ecommerce should be for everyone. To that end, we’ve tried to make Ecwid as payment-agnostic as possible, meaning we aren’t reliant on a few systems that our partners and merchants are then forced to use. And we’ve done this by integrating with as many payment gateways and systems as possible so that:
- Partners’ merchants can use their preferred payment methods,
- Partners can integrate their own payment system, и
- Additional payment gateways are constantly being integrated into the platform for all merchants.
И най-доброто от всичко? Има no processing fees for partners и no transaction fees for merchants. We mentioned this as a plus for merchants, but it’s an important feature for our partners, също. What other ecommerce platform — BigCommerce or otherwise — can beat that?
Reason #13: Ecwid can look and feel the way you want it to
Partners have the ability to customize plans and features for their clients. Например, if a partner only wants to offer certain payment gateways or apps on their platform, we can customize their merchants’ store control panels to do so.
BigCommerce doesn’t have the ability to do this, plain and simple.
* * * * *
With all of these things in mind, it’s easy to see why Ecwid is the better ecommerce platform and the better partnership opportunity.
When compared with BigCommerce, Екуид:
- is easier to use;
- has a more robust mobile app;
- integrates with existing merchant sites quickly;
- helps merchants sell online faster;
- has more built-in integrations;
- is less expensive;
- offers adjustable branding;
- is embeddable;
- provides a flexible reseller program;
- uses an advanced monetization model;
- offers a high average ROI;
- doesn’t charge processing or transaction fees;
- can look and feel the way you want.
Seems pretty clear to us! But if you’d like to learn more about what makes Ecwid awesome for merchants, dig into the Ecwid blog and get inspired by tales of real-world success and outside-of-the-box creativity.
Or if you’re more interested in partnership opportunities, check out the Ecwid Partner Hub blog and see examples of partner successes. Or respond in the comments and tell us why you love Ecwid!
