Do you want to turn your WordPress site into a money maker by adding an online store? You can’t go wrong adding large trade for WordPress.
Competition among WordPress plugins can be intense, and as a result, plugin providers have made it easier than ever to get your store up and running.
And while WooCommerce Getting much of the plugin applause from WordPress experts, BigCommerce deserves its day in the sun.
The only problem? Choosing the Right WordPress Ecommerce Plugin for You.
If you’re just here for a quick introduction, don’t worry. We’ll explain what BigCommerce can do as your ecommerce platform, and why you might choose it over WooCommerce. Then, we’ll walk you through installing the BigCommerce WordPress plugin.
This is what you will learn:
What is BigCommerce?
As its name suggests, BigCommerce is a big player in the eCommerce industry. While it’s not as popular as Shopify or Amazon, it has come a long way in recent years.
This NASDAQ-listed company powers the online stores of well-known companies such as Ben & Jerry’s and GE Appliances through its software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform.
You can integrate BigCommerce with most websites, which means you can maintain the look and feel of your website while tapping into a new revenue stream.
After a period of substantial growth, BigCommerce created a plugin to bring its eCommerce functionality to one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) on the web: WordPress.
WordPress is used by an estimated 42.3% of all websitesSo it’s no surprise that BigCommerce wants in on the action. BigCommerce developed their plugin with help from WordPress Modern Tribe expertsand it was Gutenberg out of the box.
While the WordPress plugin was only available in 2018, it has spared no time in racking up downloads.
BigCommerce for WordPress
One of the main benefits of BigCommerce for WordPress is the fact that it has no header. AND headless trade in WordPress has great advantages, such as greater security and flexibility.
The back-end of your BigCommerce store operates completely separate from the customer-facing storefront of your WordPress website (i.e., the front-end).
But what if your WordPress front-end and BigCommerce back-end need to have a nice fireside conversation?
Well, they can do it using an open API (Application Planning Interface).
Benefits of BigCommerce over WooCommerce
A full peer-to-peer functionality comparison would not do either plugin justice. For the purposes of this article, we’ve pointed out a few areas where BigCommerce has the upper hand.
Prices for transactions with credit and debit cards
If you use WooCommerce Payments for your eCommerce store, you will be charged a standard fee of 2.9% + $0.30 for payments made with US credit and debit cards. However, for payments with US issued cards outside of the US, you will incur a hefty 4.4% + $0.30.
BigCommerce customers can use several payment options, such as PayPal powered by Braintree. The card processing fee is 2.59% + $0.49 per transaction for the BigCommerce Standard plan.
Pro and Enterprise plan customers with a certain income level can get an even better deal at 2.05% + $0.49. That is a great incentive to use the BigCommerce plugin to build your online store.
Separate e-commerce system
Because the commerce components of the WordPress admin are ported to the BigCommerce system, your WordPress site’s apps and themes have fewer performance impediments. The lack of ecommerce clutter also makes it easy to scale your website.
PCI compliance
With the increase in security threats, website visitors like to see security features like ssl certificates and PCI compliance before entering your payment information.
One benefit of BigCommerce over WooCommerce is PCI compliance.
Although WooCommerce itself is PCI compliant, it leaves customers to figure out compliance for their own eCommerce store.
Instead, BigCommerce takes on some PCI compliance responsibilities, so you can spend less time worrying about cardholder privacy and more time running your business.
How to Install BigCommerce for WordPress
For anyone still comfortable with WordPress, we’ll start with the basics. The only real prerequisite is that you already have a WordPress site and web hosting.
Like most plugins, the BigCommerce WordPress plugin is available in the WordPress plugin library, so that will be your first port of call. Navigate here from the WordPress admin panel (you can also call it your admin panel or control panel, no judgment here).
Once you’re logged in, scroll down the left panel until you see Plugins.
When you hover over Plugins, you’ll see Add New.
After clicking on it, you will see a search bar to find WordPress plugins. Search for the BigCommerce plugin for WordPress.
Now, click the Activate button next to BigCommerce for WordPress.
You will be taken to the BigCommerce WordPress plugin welcome page. The embedded YouTube video provides a quick tutorial on the BigCommerce plugin.
Let’s start from scratch and create a new account.
To create a BigCommerce account, you will need to fill in various details such as your email address, store name, phone number, and physical address.
Once you fill in all your details, you will be prompted to set up a new channel. You’ll see a brief explanation of channels and instructions for connecting your eCommerce store to other eCommerce websites or WordPress multisites.
Sales channels are typically where your BigCommerce products are sold, ordered, or traded. They can be storefronts, markets, point of sale (POS) systems to pay or marketing platforms.
Next, add a new channel name.
After adding this channel, you will be prompted to set up your store. You can set up a fully featured store or choose “simple blogging” to add products to your posts and pages.
We are going to look for a full-featured store here. Once you do this, you will be prompted to set up your navigation menus. This step is optional.
After that, you’re almost done with setup – congratulations on a successful BigCommerce WordPress integration.
Now you can organize your store. A good place to start would be the product page and catalog management. Also, don’t forget to perform a product sync from time to time.
BigCommerce also has some helpful resources, such as recommendations on WordPress themes, some of which are tailored for BigCommerce stores.
Now that you’ve installed BigCommerce for WordPress, you can focus on leveraging its features to increase conversions on your e-commerce website.
If you’re just starting your eCommerce journey, BigCommerce might take some getting used to. That being said, you’ll find plenty of helpful resources in the BigCommerce knowledge base, and plugin support is available as well.
Final Thoughts: How to Install BigCommerce for WordPress – Step by Step Guide
With your BigCommerce WordPress integration complete, you can focus on tweaking other parts of your website to improve your user experience.
If you opted for a shared hosting plan, your website engine may start crashing during high-traffic seasonal sales periods.
To make sure your website is ready to ramp up resources in no time, look for a managed hosting provider like Nexcess that looks for scalability and never fails.
With automatic scaling Included in all of our managed hosting plans, you can be sure that your website is ready to keep selling until your digital shelves are empty.
If your eCommerce website continues to grow, you may need to think about a hosting plan that sets no limits to success.
Get in touch with Nexcess today to learn more about how business hosting can drive high-growth businesses.