Big Cartel vs. Shopify: Which is Right for Your Business?
Shopify
Related: A Comprehensive Shopify Review
Big Cartel
Pros and cons
Big Cartel
Shopify
Cons:
It is easy to use Big Cartel, but unlike Shopify, it is not beginner-friendly as it is quite complicated because of coding.
Which is easy to use and which one manages the online store best?
We face many kinds of troubles and complications regularly. When we add creating an online store to that list, things get worst.
Business improvement can be made using many tactics and strategies. Creating an online store tops all of them. Beginners in the business field already have a lot to deal with. A complex store creating an app store would add to their burdens. It is essential to select the one which is suitable and comfortable to start with.
BIG CARTEL:
Big Cartel was essentially designed to make it easy for small businesses to compete with single products.
That’s why Big cartel offers a free plan that supports up to five images per product or right, while the most expensive one you can do is 300. Yes, 300 means what it means. It’s just 300 bits—nothing further, not even multiple variables in a single product. In reality, it isn’t easy to upload multiple items at a time. You need to add each object separately.
Today, the resulting sale process is pretty straightforward. You can take advantage of Major Cartel’s SEO functionality. Draw traffic on any platform and also social media. Use these incentives to raise your conversion rate. You can also order monitoring to track any single transaction during the completion.
You might also consider capitalizing on Big Cartel’s Facebook incorporation. Do this to expand the distribution capability to the social media network. The abandoned cart recovery feature is one essential item lacking here.
A few of the many features offered are:
- IOS on-the-go monitoring software
- Full-time inventory monitoring
- Digital merchandise sales
- Automated order confirmation emails
- Bulk order history export
- SEO features
- Product discount codes
- Facebook activation
- Order tracking
- Smartphone POS for brick and mortar shops
- Google Analytics service
- Customer visitor checkout
- Discount codes for goods and services.
In the end, you try to effectively turn leads into payment processing by Square, Stripe, or PayPal. These are some of the most successful payment processing methods or payment processors. Customers would not feel bad if Big Cartel added few more features to this.
The fascinating thing is that you do not have to pay Big Cartel for any purchases. It is because the transaction fees policy offered is zero. This ensures that only transaction fees are deducted for card processing from the payment portal and the purchase amount.
Big Cartel doesn’t cooperate with the Payment Card Industry (PCI). So, you might be responsible for any of the industry requirements when processing card purchases with minimal transaction fees.
SHOPIFY:
Shopify vs. Big Cartel is nothing less than a civil war. Each has its advantages and avail them in different markets.
You must choose the one which is most suitable by considering all the features offered. The main pro of Shopify is that it allows us to introduce as many items as we want without having a limit. Shopify allows us to upload them separately or import them at once as bulk, depending on our wish.
Now, at this point, you are free to edit a range of product attributes such as price, specification, title, barcode, and their distinctive SKUs. The accompanying product page allows you to install personalized or customized photos and to adjust and change shipping options.
When the retailers start selling a good number of products, they can use Shopify’s group and prioritize individual leads, drop-in integrations, auto-delivery rate calculation, guest checkout assistance, auto tax calculation, and many more.
Out of all, Shopify is excellent in allowing multi-channel sales. This helps the sales rate of businesses to grow and reach beyond. Set up secondary sales points on social media, third-party websites, and external online app store markets.
Shopify also provides a default abandoned shopping cart recovery feature. This allows retailers to follow up in case they miss any customers after the checking out process. It helps you to connect with the customers and offer customer support. By following up on the reasons for their withdrawal, you can increase the number of products you sell. It also helps in competing with a third party.
Shopify is a popular and interactive online shop management tool. Still, after facilitating it all, it strikes you with a shock at the final stage of the deal. After paying a monthly membership fee, Shopify goes ahead and deducts large transaction fees each time you make a sale.
You have a wide variety of payment providers to pick from. Always skip Shopify Payments and use other internationally open gateways. Yet, it won’t save us from Shopify’s processing costs, so it still allows exemptions from sales collected by third-party gateways.
A few of the best online shop management functionalities are:
- Automated carrier-calculated delivery rates
- Automatic tax calculator
- Abandoned cart recovery
- SEO feature
- Product promotions
- Social Media connectivity
- Various distribution platforms
- Built-in Analytics
- Own website checkout
The sales features of Big Cartel can not complement Shopify’s. Shopify blends a range of store management features with various payment gateway solutions, and of course, a massive app store. You can use third-party software to extend the e-commerce capabilities.
Big Cartel is best suitable for small companies and start-ups where management is more susceptible to individual products.
Design
BIG CARTEL:
Big Cartel aces when it comes to website designs. It provides 16 optimized themes that are completely available for a free trial. Many people may wonder why this much hype when the number is just 16? The reason is that they are all available for free.
The optimized themes are especially suitable for art and creative-based online stores and can be opted for a free trial.
Another intriguing factor that attracts customers is that Big Cartel allows people to accommodate customized themes. Yet, the modifying options for the corresponding themes are slightly limited. In reality, it’s impossible to make changes to your version of your mobile site. But again, this might not be important that the interface automatically adjusts to mobile devices.
The themes offered by Big Cartel attract those users who are typical creativity lovers, like artists and photographers. They are the ones who could make the most use of the presented optimized themes. People other than these might face slight disappointment as the Big Cartel website builder seems not interested in other industries. It only provides themes suited or related to art persons.
Newbie coders who are planning to build an online store may face difficulties in using Big Cartel. Consider it, even when the themes do not demand coding and can usually be customized.
It is challenging to create a fully customized or personalized website with low technical skills in coding. You may need these skills to make changes and modifications in edits of products you can sell and images per product.
SHOPIFY:
Shopify, in many people’s views, might not be a dedicated website builder. It is different from Squarespace and Wix in terms of website designing. Yet, that does not stop it from becoming one of the topmost online site builders. Shopify allows creating unique online stores across a wide range of business categories.
The built site templates or themes offered by Shopify are far more than Big Cartel. Here we are allowed to choose themes between 71 attractive ones. Shopify professionals mainly design these templates.
The only drawback is that only 11 out of 71 can themes be chosen for a free trial. The others themes come with specific pricing plans and customizable features. One thing for sure is they are all super sophisticated, but they are not cheap.
The themes offered can be used by different businesses. The Shopify payments or pricing plans start at $140, which is the lowest, and $200, which is the highest. The pricing could make some sense when you get to the editing section. You see, Shopify’s themes go beyond the average level of editing and provide you with vast customization capabilities. This is enough to help you in creating an online site that will make your business stand out.
Shopify offers a comfortable site-building experience without any technical skills in coding. Yet, that does not mean it leaves out professional coding developers. It also suits them and allows them to create or build complex online sites and modifying themes at a much deeper level. Customization does not only refer to the online edition of the site.
Shopify’s themes are designed for mobile devices by default, and the app allows you to change the mobile versions to your preferred outlook.
Big Cartel vs Shopify
Apps and Integration
BIG CARTEL:
Big Cartel aids a few reasonable add ons and integrations of which the most famous one is Facebook. It allows users and customers to connect with touch device users quickly. You can sell can products directly from the social media platform. If you run a secondary offline brick-and-mortar shop, you can connect it to your online via Big Cartel’s mobile POS integration.
The iOS app add-on is also convenient for accepting credit card rates and card payments via iPad or iPhone.
Big Cartel offers and supports a range of application integrations for:
- domain vendors
- payment processing
- store administration
- production, distribution
- order fulfillment
- marketing
- and promotion
SHOPIFY:
The app store offered by Shopify is commendable and remarkable as it comes with a list of 1500 app integrations.
The options and functionalities Shopify offers include:
- customer support and emphasizes the store’s production
- finance administration
- security
- customer support
- inventory administration
- shipping and orders
- sales
- designing
- marketing with minimal pricing plans.
The only obstacle, though, is the cost of third-party incorporation. Because most of the premium options come at a charge, the total cost of operating and maintaining your online store will begin to rise steadily.
The debate between Shopify and Big Cartel, in this case, leans towards Shopify. This means Shopify beats Big Cartel when it comes to app integrations. Big Cartel will only suffice for a specific art industry whose interests lie in creative stuff.
You should be able to sell on Facebook and marginally boost the functionality of your online site. When it comes to customization of an online site, then the best choice is Shopify with 1500 integrations.
Big Cartel vs Shopify
Which offers better customer service?
BIG CARTEL:
The articles here are well classified to include a friendly and easy navigation method. So, in a matter of seconds, you should be able to work it out to find what you need. But if that doesn’t work out, you can contact Big Cartel directly to support@bigcartel.com.
Unfortunately, there is no support team available 24/7. They’re just coming back to you between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. EST from Monday to Friday. Alternatively, you would be able to use Twitter. The support team of Big Cartel typically responds to user concerns through their @bigcartel handle. Yet that’s what you’ve got. There is no live chat or phone service on the Big Cartel.
SHOPIFY:
Shopify offers a customer service system, which is iconic. This technical assistance works through almost all present platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, Email, phone, live chat, and many more.
The agents or assistance staff are available 24/7. They can help to clarify any queries like Shopify payments, credit card rates, pricing details, product details, and many more.
Though Big Cartel lags behind small service options, Shopify takes customer care very seriously. Its agents are available 24/7 via phone, social media, email, and live chat. Compare this to Big Cartel, whose squad is only available on email during regular EST operating hours. We can agree here that Shopify wins.
Big Cartel vs Shopify
Which is better value for money?
If you’re starting up a shop on the sidelines or using your shop as your main source of revenue, your e-commerce platform should be there to make money for you. It begins with not wasting the budget on-site builders.
BIG CARTEL:
Big Cartel has four paid plans, plus a free version of it. Payment options range from $9.99 to $29.99 a month, with a product cap of 300.
This is the big selling point of Big Cartel: it’s the only eCommerce builder that lets you sell online for free and is a huge plus point for businesses. You don’t have to pay a single penny to set up and make money from your Big Cartel shop. Yet, if a business person wants to sell more than five products, they will need an up-gradation to paid plans of Big Cartel.
The paid plans of Big Cartel are available at low prices for businesses that start from $9.99 a month.
Big Cartel pricing plans:
Gold Plan- Free
- Can sell up to 5 products
- Updated statistics.
- Smooth checkout.
- permits to sell on Facebook.
- Permits to sell in person.
- Digital products.
- Order administration.
- Quick setup.
Platinum Plan- $9.99 per month
- Features of gold plan.
- Can sell up to 25 products.
- Shipment tracking.
- Permits editing in bulk.
- Promos and discounts.
- Inventory tracking.
- Google Analytics.
- Code editing for themes.
- Customized domain
- Customized themes for free.
- Images of five products.
Diamond Plan- $19.99 per month
- Features of the platinum plan.
- can sell up to 100 products
Titanium Plan- $29.99 per month
- Features of the platinum plan.
- can sell up to 300 products
SHOPIFY:
Related: A Detailed Analysis of Shopify Pricing Plans 2022: Which Plan Should You Pick?
It has three pricing options ranging from $29 to $299 a month. All plans offer a free trial. Moreover, Shopify has more efficient features, even if the prices are high. Its cheapest plan begins at $29 a month.
Lite Plan – $9 per month
- Accepts credit card payments for businesses.
- Can add products to any blog or site.
- Permits to sell on Facebook.
Basic Plan- $29 per month
- POS
- Discount codes.
- Abandoned cart recovery.
- Free SSL certificate.
- Manual order setup.
- Permits to sell on a social platform.
- Permits to sell on online marketplaces
- Customer support is available24/7.
- User accounts can be managed by two.
- Can sell unlimited products.
Shopify- $79 per month
- All features of the plan are primary.
- Professional reports.
- Gift cards.
- User accounts can be managed by five.
Advanced – 299 per month
- All features.
- Advanced report builder.
- User accounts can be managed by fifteen.
Shopify Plus– It is negotiable.
Final thoughts
Shopify or Big Cartel, this sure is an infinite loop. Both have some significant and varied distinctions. That’s because they aim at different markets and focus on a different audience.
Big Cartel, in particular, is designed to sell individual products and goods. Focused on supporting small businesses, it targets art industries that involve typical artists, photographers, etc. The theme templates also focus on art stuff and that kind of industry.
Shop up attracts a much wider variety of businesses. Our analysis proves Shopify is the best all-rounder business platform on the market. It provides premium features and a high degree of customization in its designs.
Shopify is excellent for small business firms seeking to expand. Yet, it is suitable for big business corporations looking for innovative features.
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