Are you thinking about starting an online store? Maybe you’re tired of the nine-to-five grind and want to be your own boss. Or maybe you already have a brick-and-mortar store, and you’re ready to expand your business. Whatever the reason, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about getting started with e-commerce using BigCommerce.
Table of Contents
What is BigCommerce?
BigCommerce is a software platform that allows you to create and manage an online store. It’s a powerful, all-in-one solution that handles everything from website design to product listing to payment processing. With BigCommerce, you don’t need any technical skills to get started – you can create a professional-looking online store in just a few clicks.
Setting Up Your BigCommerce Store
Step 1: Sign up for an account
To create a store on BigCommerce, go to www.bigcommerce.com and click the "Start Your Free Trial" button. You’ll need to provide some basic information – your name, email address, and password – to sign up for an account.
Step 2: Pick a plan
BigCommerce offers several different pricing plans, depending on the size of your store and the features you need. The cheapest plan, "Standard", costs $29.95 per month and includes everything you need to get started, such as unlimited products, bandwidth, and storage. If you need more advanced features like abandoned cart recovery, you can upgrade to the "Plus" or "Pro" plans.
Step 3: Choose a template
BigCommerce offers a variety of pre-designed templates that you can use for your store. These templates are customizable, so you can change colors, fonts, and images to match your brand. You can also add your logo and other branding elements to make your store unique. If you have design skills, you can create your own custom template using BigCommerce’s template language.
Step 4: Set up your products
Once you’ve chosen a template, it’s time to start adding products to your store. BigCommerce makes it easy to create and manage your products using its intuitive interface. You can add product descriptions, images, and prices, and organize your products into categories. You can also set up product options like size or color, and track inventory levels.
Step 5: Configure your payment options
Now that you have products listed in your store, you’ll need to set up payment processing. BigCommerce offers several built-in payment methods, including PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net. You can also set up offline payment methods like check or money order. Be sure to configure your tax settings, too – BigCommerce can calculate and collect taxes for you based on your location.
Step 6: Launch your store
Once you’ve set up your products and payment options, it’s time to launch your store! BigCommerce offers a wide range of marketing tools, including email campaigns, social media integrations, and search engine optimization (SEO) features, to help you promote your store and reach new customers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, creating an online store with BigCommerce is a great way to get started with e-commerce. With its easy-to-use interface, customizable templates, and built-in marketing tools, you can create a professional-looking store with ease. If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, sign up for a free trial of BigCommerce today!