Bigcommerce
Bigcommerce is a private technology organization that develops e-commerce software for corporations. The organization was established in 2009 and comprises about 370 workers. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and has other offices in San Francisco, California, and Sydney Australia. This paper examines how Bigcommerce was started, how it is used, and how it makes money.
How Bigcommerce Began
Two innovative people, Mitchell Harper and Eddie Machaalani, founded Bigcommerce. They established the company after working with an ecommerce industry for six years and acquiring enough experience. The experience enabled them to understand the challenges involved in the industry and ways on making the business firm and competitive. The knowledge was acquired through the parent organization, Interspire, which was the brainchild of the two founders. Bigcommerce was mainly a determination by these individuals to provide a ecommerce solution that functions as an all in one solution and is easy to utilize with little intervention needed even for a beginner user (Shivar, 2016).
Nevertheless, prior to formation of Bigcommerce, there was Interspire. Interspire was formed by Mitchell Harper and Eddie Machaalani in 2003 to assist in meeting the immediate requirements of the market. Additionally, the software was successful and able to amass over 40,000 customers, including organizations, such as Virgin, Dell, Ticketmaster, and Kraft. Numerous small and medium businesses were as well involved. The product has advanced and currently serves better requirements.
The continuous evolvement of Interspire led to the release of a new product called Bigcommerce. BigCommerce is the initial SaaS supported product that the organization has created, making it to be utilized immediately after its creation. Bigcommerce has attained several awards and it is still acknowledged as the best ecommerce tool existing currently for any size business. It is set to be the prominent ecommerce solution in the future because of its faster advancement and stable market share (Shivar, 2016).
How to use Bigcommerce
Bigcommerce is among the prevalent ecommerce platforms in the world. The following procedures are involved in the utilization of Bigcommerce.
1. Signing up to Bigcommerce
The first step here is browsing Bigcommerce by visiting its website. Browse Bigcommerce features or scroll down to see included stores. The second step is signing up, which entails entering the name of the store into the form on the home page. The third step involves filling out your details, which include what will be sold, where you are based, your name, and contact information. In case you have not decided what to sell, you are supposed to choose I’m not sure yet in the What will you sell box. After filling out the details, the orange box Create my store now is selected. Creating a store implies agreement to the Bigcommerce working conditions. The fourth step involves opening your store that is done by Bigcommerce and lasts for two minutes. A large green open mark is an indication that the store is set. You are required to click on the orange button Visit your store (Masters, 2013).
2. Customizing Your Store
After creating your store, you are offered the option of using the Bigcommece Quick Start Wizard for things to be set up the way you want. The first step here involves launching the Wizard where you are required to click the blue button Let’s customize your store. The second step entails setting your store name and address, where the first step of the wizard request you to provide vital information concerning your store. You are required to click the blue button, Update your store setting to update your store name and give the address, phone number and admin email address of your store. Once done, select a blue key in the bottom left. The third step encompasses setting measurement units and SEO details. Scroll down the store name and address page to choose if you will utilize metric or US customary units to measure your products. Scroll more to complete the SEO settings for the store. Once through , click the blue save button in the bottom left. Moreover select the Bigcommerce emblem in the top right to return to a control panel for relaunching the Quick Launch Wizard. The fourth step involves choosing your theme and logo. After checking all the confirmation boxes, click Apply for the theme to be applied to your store. The fifth step entails adding your logo and the commended size is 250* by 100 pixels. Select the option of uploading a logo picture from a machineto upload an emblem. In case you do not have a logo, choose Show Text where my logo will be displayed whereby you are given the alternative of entering the text you want to use instead of your logo (Masters, 2013).
3. Adding Products
The first step involves visiting the add a product page where you relaunch the Quick Launch Wizard and click on the second stage. You are then required to click the blue button Add Products where a page is provided to add a product. The second step entails completing product details, which include whether the product is physical or digital, its name, and category. The third step involves adding the product description, which is optional but highly commended because it increases the chances of the product found in search. The fourth step involves naming your price and shipping costs. You can select whether the shipping cost depends on the size and weight, or whether it is a fixed price. The fifth step necessitates adding a product image by clicking the Images and Videos tab (Masters, 2013).
4. Setting Up Payments, Shipping And Taxes
The first step involves going to the Quick Launch Wizard and clicking on stage 3. Click Set up payment methods, which offers easy set-up for PayPal and Stripe. To select a different payment opening, select More payment methods. The second step involves configuring shipping by returning to the Quick Launch Wizard, and returning to stage three. Press Ship your products area of the wizard and select the blue button Choose shipping options. A business address is requested and you are offered the alternative of setting up shipping zones. The third step entails being tax ready where you are required to set up taxes (Masters, 2013).
5. Launching Your Store
This is done by returning to the Quick Launch Wizard and clicking the Launch button. By clicking the orange button Launch your store!, you become an ecommerce trader and all you are required to do is finding a way of pulling in the clients.
How Bigcommerce Makes Money
Individuals and businesses are inspired to start a Bigcommerce business due to several reasons. Regardless of what is sold, every ecommerce entrepreneur has a common objective of making money. Making money in Bigcommerce entails more than forming an online store and taking orders. Various factors should be taken into consideration to increase the chances of success (BIGCOMMERCE, 2015). Adhering to the following best practices assist in maximizing profits and eliminating unnecessary costs for Bigcommerce traders:
Knowing The Profit Margin
The best profit margin is among the most vital components for profitability. Failure to comprehend the amount of money the business makes per product and sale makes it hard to know where the money returning into business should be spent. Determining a profit margin is a simple role and the same method determines the amount of money being made from every item the store sells despite the variation of products. Monitoring net profit and net margin enables Bigcomerce to adjust costs while sustaining or improving profitability. It is also able to conduct profitable sales and promotions (BIGCOMMERCE, 2015).
Maintaining The Right Inventory Level
This process enhances cash flow by preventing Bigcommerce from tying up too much capital in products that may take a lot of time to sell. The money can be utilized elsewhere by investing in different areas of operation or keeping it until a need emerges. Factoring all variables together enables Bigcommerce to regulate inventory levels to obtain fewer shipments from vendors and minimize the related costs including freeing up more capital (BIGCOMMERCE, 2015).
Conclusion
Presently, the field of ecommerce would be very different without Bigcommerce. The software has been able to offer several things that have shaped the world of ecommerce. This process was effective due to a lot efforts invested in it. Bigcommerce’s development story is motivating and assists in understanding the achievement that the product has been able to attain. Several individuals are inquisitive about comprehending a lot concerning the product that has fundamentally transformed the world of small and medium businesses online.
References
BIGCOMMERCE. (2015). Making Sure An ecommerce Store Will Make Money. Retrieved from: https://www.bigcommerce.com/ecommerce-answers/making-sure-ecommerce-store-will-make-money/
Masters D. (2013). How to Set Up Your eCommerce Store with Bigcommerce. Retrieved from: https://business.tutsplus.com/articles/how-to-set-up-your-ecommerce-store-with-bigcommerce–fsw-42565
Shivar N. (2016). BigCommerce Review: Pros & Cons of Using BigCommerce For Online Stores. Retrieved from: https://www.shivarweb.com/3688/bigcommerce-review-pros-cons-using-bigcommerce-online-store/