Built on BigCommerce? It is one of the industry’s best eCommerce platforms, and a software-as-a-service version that is scalable and easy to customize.
Well, relatively easy to customize, at least. While you can make basic customizations to the theme, appearance, and functionality of any BigCommerce store, making advanced customizations will require more in-depth development experience.
There are also over 1000 apps that are compatible with the platform, but when you want to go beyond the basic functionality of any BigCommerce store, you’ll need to go beyond the templated apps.
These are situations in which you might find you want to work with a BigCommerce developer. Here are some of the top questions from the web rounded up and answered.
What Is a BigCommerce Developer?
According to BigCommerce itself, a BigCommerce developer is a “skilled professional proficient in utilizing [BigCommerce] to engineer and develop tailored solutions for eCommerce businesses.”
While that is technically true, it’s also a word-salad if we ever saw one. Speak straight, people.
In layman’s terms, a BigCommerce developer is a web developer with specific experience in the BigCommerce platform.
Developers are basically coders that change the appearance or functionality of a website. They can create custom themes, build apps, execute integrations, and more, but that will be covered below.
What Does a BigCommerce Developer Do?
To keep it plain and simple, a BigCommerce developer does what you need them to do. Do you want to change your BigCommerce theme or engage in a redesign? Do you need to integrate a custom app? Make changes to mobile optimization? These are all things that a developer can execute for your business. In addition, they can:
● Improve the accessibility of a website
● Optimize for mobile users
● Remove barriers to conversion
● Customize the checkout process
● Code and integrate custom apps
● Execute other API integrations
● Address and rectify bugs
● And use code in other ways
In essence, a developer can address any aspect of your website that deals with code, whether it has to do with look, feel, or functionality.
Can a BigCommerce Developer Create Custom Apps?
While there are over 1000 existing apps that are expressly compatible with BigCommerce, thanks to the large support network it maintains (what might be called the BigCommerce ecosystem), sometimes you need to take the functionality of an eCommerce website beyond the basic.
A BigCommerce developer that specializes in app development and integration can do such a thing. You’ll need to collaborate with them to explain what your vision is if you expect them to execute on it, though.
How Much Does a BigCommerce Developer Cost?
How much a BigCommerce developer will cost really depends on the scope of your project and how long it will take to execute, from conception to implementation. This question requires more information on the specifics of your project, but your BigCommerce representative may be able to help you out. Get in touch with them and talk about your goal and see if there are any existing solutions. Whether there are or not, and your rep needs to point you in the direction of a developer, your rep should be able to help you get off on the right foot.
Is BigCommerce Worth It in the First Place?
It really depends on what you expect to get out of the platform. As a SaaS platform, hosting and security will largely be taken care of for you by BigCommerce. If you’re looking to completely customize the website from the ground up, and own the hosting, that’s a different story and an open-source software might be better. BigCommerce is generally a good idea if your goal is to get a website up and running quickly, you don’t want to worry too much about website maintenance, and you want to focus on other areas of your business.
