6 Reasons Ecwid is the Best BigCommerce Alternative

Ecommerce is the wave of the shopping future. Think about it: 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.

Now, while there’ll always be a place for in-person shopping at brick-and-mortar stores, 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, etc.) and partners (agencies, affiliates, etc.). First, 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?

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 sell online 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, on the other hand, 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. (Don’t believe us? 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, unfortunately. 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. Best of all, 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-unfriendly. 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, payment gateways, point-of-sale systems, and much more.

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, such as abandoned cart recovery, 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 per month. Ecwid, meanwhile, only charges $45 a month ($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.

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, Ecwid:

• 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;
• 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!

Looking for BigCommerce alternatives? See why Ecwid is trusted by thousands of users across the world.
Learn more

• 6 Reasons Ecwid is the Best BigCommerce Alternative
• BigCommerce Vs. Shopify Comparison