Table of Contents
Introduction
In today's rapidly evolving digital marketplace, choosing the right ecommerce platform can be a make-or-break decision for your business. Whether you're a solo entrepreneur or managing a growing enterprise, your choice of platform impacts everything from your website's functionality to customer experience and scalability. This article aims to provide an in-depth comparison of two popular ecommerce platforms, Weebly and BigCommerce, to help you make an informed decision.
By the end of this post, you'll understand the key differences in pricing, features, user experience, and overall value of Weebly and BigCommerce. This guide is tailored to meet the needs of various business types and sizes, helping you determine which platform is the best fit for your unique requirements.
Pricing and Fees
When it comes to pricing, the main divide between Weebly and BigCommerce is their target market.
Weebly Pricing and Fees
Weebly is known for its accessible pricing structure, which is especially appealing to small businesses and individual entrepreneurs. It offers a "free forever" plan that includes basic ecommerce functionality like a shopping basket and the ability to sell unlimited items. Paid plans range from approximately $10 to $26 per month. The most expensive plan includes features like abandoned cart emails and advanced ecommerce insights. However, for ecommerce functionalities like selling both digital and physical products, you will need to be on at least the entry-level paid plan.
BigCommerce Pricing and Fees
BigCommerce, on the other hand, does not offer a free plan but does provide a 15-day free trial. Its pricing starts at $39 per month for the Standard plan and goes up to $399 per month for the Pro plan. Additionally, there's an enterprise plan available with custom pricing for larger organizations. BigCommerce does not charge transaction fees on any plan, which can be a significant cost-saving feature for high-volume sellers. However, each plan does impose a sales limit—for instance, the Standard plan restricts you to $50k in sales per year.
Overall, while BigCommerce is more expensive, it offers robust features that may provide more value for larger businesses.
Core Features
Both Weebly and BigCommerce offer a suite of tools designed to help you build and manage your online store, but the depth and complexity of these tools vary significantly.
Website Building and Design
Weebly stands out for its ease of use, especially with its intuitive drag-and-drop editor that requires no coding knowledge. It offers a variety of templates suited for different kinds of websites, including portfolios and blogs.
BigCommerce also provides hundreds of customizable templates focused primarily on ecommerce. While its editor has improved in user-friendliness over time, it still has a steeper learning curve compared to Weebly. That said, it offers more granular control over design elements for those who are comfortable delving into CSS and HTML files.
Ecommerce and Selling Features
Weebly offers a solid foundation for small-scale ecommerce operations. Its features include inventory management tools, automatic tax calculation, and various delivery options. However, to access advanced ecommerce features like abandoned cart emails or support for PayPal payments, you'll need to be on a higher-tier plan.
BigCommerce excels in its comprehensive ecommerce functionalities, including partnership-based discounted transaction rates with PayPal and extensive payment gateway integrations. It also supports omnichannel selling by integrating with marketplaces and social media platforms. Furthermore, BigCommerce offers detailed product page customization, real-time shipping quotes, and multi-currency selling capabilities, making it a better fit for more complex ecommerce needs.
Marketing Tools and Analytics
Weebly provides a robust blogging feature, pop-up notifications, and integraated experiences for social media feeds and lead capture forms. However, it falls short when it comes to SEO capabilities compared to BigCommerce. Both platforms offer tools for abandoned cart emails and basic email marketing, though it is advisable to use third-party integrations for more advanced email marketing campaigns.
BigCommerce shines in its reporting capabilities, offering customizable dashboards that track various metrics, from inventory to customer behavior. This depth of analytics can provide crucial insights into your business performance, helping you make data-driven decisions.
AI Capabilities
AI is an increasingly important feature in ecommerce, and BigCommerce is leading the way with its "BigAI" toolkit. This includes solutions for AI content generation, predictive analytics, and personalized product recommendations, among other features.
Weebly, unfortunately, lacks native AI capabilities. While you can integrate some third-party AI tools, this still lags behind the advanced AI features offered by BigCommerce.
Integrations and Apps
BigCommerce has a distinct edge when it comes to integrations and apps, boasting over 850 options compared to Weebly's approximately 100 apps. These include solutions for point-of-sale management, marketing, dropshipping, fulfillment, and analytics. The platform also offers open API options, allowing you to create automated workflows that connect different business applications seamlessly.
Weebly's more limited selection might be sufficient for small businesses, but those looking for extensive customization and scalability may find BigCommerce's offerings more appealing.
Ease of Use and Customer Support
Ease of Use
Weebly takes the crown for ease of use with its simple, drag-and-drop editor that allows you to get up and running with minimal setup or technical knowledge. BigCommerce, while more intuitive than it used to be, still requires a bit more effort to master—especially if you're looking to take advantage of its advanced features.
Customer Support
BigCommerce delivers exceptional customer support, offering chat, email, and phone support on all plans. Their extensive learning resources, including tutorials, guides, and an active online community, provide ample support for users at all levels.
Weebly also offers 24/7 support, but this is somewhat limited on its lower-tier plans to forum, chat, and email support. This could be a deciding factor if comprehensive support is crucial for your business.
Final Verdict
Ultimately, the choice between Weebly and BigCommerce should reflect your business's specific needs and future growth plans.
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Weebly: Best suited for small businesses or individual entrepreneurs looking for a user-friendly and affordable platform. Its basic ecommerce features and ease of use make it an excellent starting point for those new to online selling.
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BigCommerce: Ideal for larger businesses or those planning to scale. Its advanced ecommerce tools, expansive integrations, and robust AI capabilities provide a powerful platform for growing enterprises.
FAQs
Can I switch from Weebly to BigCommerce if my business grows?
Yes, both platforms offer tools for migrating your store, though it might require some technical assistance or third-party services.
Is BigCommerce suitable for dropshipping?
Absolutely, BigCommerce offers extensive integrations with dropshipping services, making it a strong choice for businesses looking to enter or expand in this market.
Does Weebly support digital product sales?
Yes, but you need to be on a paid plan. The free plan does not support selling digital products.
Are there any transaction fees for using these platforms?
Weebly charges transaction fees unless you're on a higher-tier plan, while BigCommerce does not charge transaction fees on any of its plans.
How do both platforms handle SEO?
BigCommerce offers more advanced SEO capabilities, allowing you to edit various aspects of your site for better search engine rankings. Weebly has some SEO features but is relatively limited in this area.
In conclusion, both Weebly and BigCommerce offer compelling features, each catering to different business needs. By evaluating your current requirements and future growth plans, you can choose the platform that provides the best value and functionality for your ecommerce journey.
