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We’re big fans of BigCommerce here at Agency51 – so much so that we’ve recently become partners, helping us to enhance our development solutions for E-commerce site owners.

What is BigCommerce?

If you’re not familiar with it, BigCommerce is an E-commerce software and shopping cart platform, which is ideal for those who are new to selling online or who perhaps want to move away from bespoke E-commerce solutions which leave them beholden to any one company’s support. It currently serves over 155,000 customers and this is a figure which is growing every day.

Understandably, setup costs are a concern for any E-commerce business, whether you’re just starting out or wish to migrate your current site across to a new platform. Thankfully, BigCommerce provides an incredibly easy-to-use CMS which allows for easy transmission of product data and content upload, all whilst allowing you to maintain the look and feel of your current website.

Previously, the cost of such an efficient service was understandably high. However, after feedback from BigCommerce’s partners and merchants, pricing plans have been changed as of 1st February. Both current and prospective clients will now benefit from a whole new host of features, making it a far more cost-effective solution.

What’s new?

Pricing plans for BigCommerce use GMV-based tiers. GMV stands for “gross merchandising value” which means the total value of your sales. BigCommerce is ideal for small to medium sized businesses as it has a total sales cap on certain plans. Merchants are charged by BigCommerce based on how much their site makes – the more your site makes, the higher your price plan will be, and at times you may have to upgrade whenever you reach the next sales milestone.

BigCommerce features four pricing plans: the Standard, Plus, Pro and Enterprise. The core changes to these plans are as follows:
• The GMV cap for the Plus plan has increased
• The Pro Plan has been reduced from nine tiers to four, simple GMV-based tiers
• Each pricing plan has a whole new list of features, increasing value for money across all four

Customers will benefit from the ability to purchase site-wide SSL certificates (which is becoming increasingly important for SEO if we’re to consider Google’s latest changes) and the ability to bring their own SSL for Pro and Enterprise plans. In March, there will also be a basic domain validation certificate called Encrypt Everywhere, provided by Symantec.

Changes by plan

Standard Plan

There will be no pricing updates to BigCommerce’s Standard Plan, though customers will benefit from the aforementioned SSL options.

Plus Plan

The GMV cap on the Plus Plan will increase from $125k per year to $150k for all customers. New features include the SSL benefits, plus all merchants who choose to upgrade to the Pro Plan will benefit from the new GMV Pro Plan, which costs $249.95 per month for sites making <$400k.

Pro Plan

The Pro Plan offers a new GMV-based plan which comprises four tiers. Every time your site exceeds a certain limit, you will be upgraded to the subsequent tier. The tiers are as follows:
• Tier 1: $249.95 per month for up to $400k in sales, + $150 for each additional $200k in sales, up to $1million
• Tier 2: $399.95 per month up to $600k
• Tier 3: $549.95 per month up to $800k
• Tier 4: $699.95 per month up to $1million

Within this, customers can enjoy the SSL benefits plus faceted search, which is instrumental in increasing conversions.

Enterprise Plan

At this stage, the Enterprise Plan, which is for merchants making more than $1 million or above per year, remains unchanged. However, the SSL benefits, including Encrypt Everywhere, are also available.

How does this compare with competitors?

One of the main competitors you may have heard about is Shopify. The pricing model on this is different – instead, Shopify charges a monthly fee and a percentage of the transaction revenue. To keep costs down in Shopify, sellers will have to commit to a higher plan which has no revenue limits. At Agency51 we are happy to provide both options, but here’s a brief comparison between the two:

BigCommerce price comparison

Get in touch!

If you’re already using the BigCommerce platform, then good for you! You will soon start to enjoy a wide range of features. If you’re looking for an easy-to-use E-commerce platform without hosting issues, then get in touch with the Agency51 team today.

We can offer BigCommerce website development solutions for you at competitive rates, helping you to customise the look and feel of your brand whilst managing your products without hassle. For a variety of fantastic features including promotions and discounts, abandoned cart savers and advanced security options, we recommend BigCommerce for your next project.

Get in touch with us at hello@agency51.com or give us a call on 01904 215151!

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Jo Coates

Jo is the Client Services Director at Agency51 focusing on client delivery and strategy. With over 13 years' experience, Jo has worked across multiple global campaigns in a wide range of industries and has seen impressive results using a variety of marketing techniques.

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