Item: BigCommerce
Rating: 10
Author: Jack Bendrihem

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Big Commerce to sell our broad range of customer print products that are primarily paper-based; brochures, posters, postcards, etc. We use it as an extension of our business, and it is not our primary income generator. The biggest advantage of having BigCommerce is that when customers need pricing on a range of various products, we simply direct them to our site. For example, if a customer needs a brochure/pamphlet printed and they require folding, the system will illustrate the fold based on their choice. It's very cool.

Pros and Cons

Their live chat help is very, well, HELPFUL. They simply DO NOT re-direct us to an FAQ page....they help us solve problems. And if by chance they cannot help, then they escalate the issue to those with more technical savvy. By helping us, they are also helping themselves. Our problems are their opportunities for improvement.

Sometimes it is too difficult and too time-consuming to resolve an issue over chat. It's also frustrating. At some point during an arduous chat, the operator should offer up the option to discuss over the phone.
BigCommerce gives us a wonderful platform by which we can offer our products, and that's all good and fine, but reaching a market is another task in itself. They have gained my trust as a loyal customer, and it would be great if they could also help my business grow by offering SEO/marketing services.

Return on Investment

It has NOT had much of an impact, mainly because I have not been able to reach a market broad enough to drive traffic

Approximate Annual eCommerce Revenue

Less than $20,000

Scalability

10

I am not sure exactly to what you are referring to. If you are referring to our website, then I would have to say that the site is very well equipped to handle an immense amount of business volume.

BigCommerce Customization

We use several APIs, which have made the experience and functioning of our website more intuitive and robust. The most important integration is that with PayPal Payments with Braintree. We also have integration with JotForm and PureChat.

Alternatives Considered

We have researched many, but used only BigCommerce.

Likelihood to Recommend

BigCommerce is well suited for those selling products, but a bit more difficult when it comes to companies like mine that are trying to sell printing.

Users and Roles

3 - basically updating products. customer service. blog maintenance.

Support Headcount Required

1 - knowledge of backend programming.

Business Processes Supported

customer satisfication
customer issues with shipping

Innovative Uses

honestly, nothing.. cannot think of anything at all.

Future Planned Uses

for our new business product venture, we plan to use BC to setup our online site

Likelihood to Renew

10

we love the staff at BC ( for almost 10 years, probably, back when it was first beginning! ) . always quick to answer a question or problem..

Products Replaced

No

Key Differentiators

Price
Product Features
Product Usability
Product Reputation
Vendor Reputation

we'be been with BC since the very beginning and love them..

Evaluation Lessons Learned

I wouldn't...

Implementation Rating

10

just always ask questions and reach out to someone if you are not sure of any aspect of the setup. They will patiently walk you through everything and never rush you nor brush your questions as irrelavant or silly.. We are not millenials, hence, it was an effort for our company to setup and implement this online ordering system yet it felt easy to do with BC

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Implemented in-house

Implementation Phases

No

Change Management Lessons

Change management was minimal

Implementation Issues

maintaining the prices for all the thousands of prices that were input; shipping, etc.

Training Types Used

Online training
no training

In-Person Training

Online Training

10

we aren't computer literate as many younger people are so it was difficult at time

Ease of BigCommerce Training

you do need training..

Product Configurability

10

too complex at times

Configuration Lessons

none

UI Customization

Yes - we have customized the interface extensively - was somewhat easy

Extensibility and Customization

Yes - we have added extensive custom code - also somewhat easy

Additional Customization Considerations

none at this time

Support Rating

10

they are a great solid knowledgable staff.. worldwide,too! someone is always awake somewhere in this world to take my email and respond.. even on the phone at times! LOVE BC!

BigCommerce Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Premium Support

No

Bug Resolution

Yes - cannot remember what the issues were but there have been several occurances with bugs and such and it was resolved within hours or a couple days at most..

Exceptional Examples of BigCommerce Support

yes, it was the Christmas/New Year's week a few years ago, and our servers went down with BC.. it was a 'omg' moment in the office. But we reached out and within the day we were back up again! {whew} !

Usability

10

because it is easy to use, once it is setup.. It isn't a one day sort of thing; you don't say on Monday "hey, I"m going to start selling my widgets with a big commerce website" and expect it to be up and running by Friday! NOPE! You have to put in some time and get it done but once it is done and running, it is seamless... The best!