Friday, July 3, 2026

The Woes of Ecommerce Replatforming | BigCommerce

Key highlights:

  • Many manufacturers hesitate to alter ecommerce platforms, as migration is commonly seen as a big endeavor that ends in important downtime.

  • Frequent causes for hesitation to replatform embrace problem discovering the precise options, issues round downtime, and potential developer necessities.

  • BigCommerce gives each self-service and premium guided migration companies, making it simpler to replatform.

Overcoming ecommerce migration hesitation

Ecommerce replatforming is an enormous deal. A lot so, the ecommerce replatforming trade itself is price roughly $445 million.

Ecommerce replatforming is very similar to any information migration, in that you simply’re shifting your information and operations from one place to a different. Due to this, there’s usually a whole lot of worry round it.

Even the place information migration is anxious, virtually 70% say they’ve delayed internet hosting migrations over fears round value, complexity, and web site downtime.

Slightly hesitation could be a good factor, particularly in case you’re on the verge of getting that further slice of pizza earlier than bedtime. However, it shouldn’t hold you from wholesome development, particularly the place your ecommerce enterprise is anxious.

Let’s check out why some corporations hesitated to alter ecommerce platforms, and the way issues labored out after they did. (Spoiler alert: Approach higher than that late evening slice of pepperoni did.)

Why corporations hesitate to alter ecommerce platforms

Shifting from one ecommerce platform to a different is an enormous choice. This isn’t a mere shirt change, however a complete architectural repositioning of your on-line enterprise.

It’s solely pure that corporations hesitate, whether or not on account of prior expertise, tales of fellow enterprise house owners, or a easy intestine feeling. To place issues in perspective, let’s take a look at just a few causes actual corporations pumped the brakes, and why they moved ahead.

Hassle placing the precise steadiness of options, usability, and compliance.

Each enterprise has distinctive wants. Generally discovering an ecommerce platform that meets these wants can really feel unimaginable. Few corporations know this higher than the staff at The Crab Place.

“Imagine it or not, we had been replatforming for 10 years.”

— Greg Cain, CEO, The Crab Place

The Crab Place, supplier of top quality crab and different seafood, can solely succeed when deliveries are made in a well timed method. In any other case, prospects are sure to get spoiled items and wind up crabby themselves.

For ten years, the staff behind The Crab Place struggled to discover a platform that would get issues proper. Their in-house, customized answer was unwieldy. Magento and Shopify each fell wanting their expectations. In the meantime, additional makes an attempt at coding solely exacerbated issues round safety.

“We launched Magento and rolled it again,” Cain mentioned. “We tried constructing it ourselves, however you may’t write code quick sufficient, and then you definately’re apprehensive about safety and compliance. Shopify managed checkout too tightly. We couldn’t get what we would have liked.”

Discovering Goldilocks.

After ten years of being caught in replatforming purgatory, the staff discovered the safety, customizability, and options they wanted.

With the API-first structure of BigCommerce, the staff at The Crab Place had been capable of construct the checkout flows they wanted, and ship them in a mobile-friendly format.

In the long run, they achieved:

  • 60% enhance in checkout velocity

  • 12% lower in buyer transport errors

  • 40 hours of operational time saved every month

“We lastly acquired a profitable launch,” Cain mentioned. “After 10 years of making an attempt to replatform, BigCommerce gave us the pliability we would have liked, and now we’re positioned to develop.”

A pricey interruption to enterprise.

If you’re promoting on-line, anytime offline is cash left on the desk. It’s comprehensible that potential downtime causes hesitation for companies considering any kind of migration. However, as WNC CBD can attest to, generally downtime finds you regardless.

WNC CBD had been working on Shopify for a while. That’s, till Shopify applied new THC rules, which noticed WNC CBD’s ecommerce web site go down with out warning.

“It was actually essential — for us, our enterprise, and our employees — to get again on-line as shortly as potential.”

— Sav Jack, Technical Operations Supervisor, WNC CBD

As a high-risk model, the staff at WNC CBD was properly conscious of the challenges of their area. This already restricted which platforms they might use. Additionally they wanted an answer that would serve each their retail and wholesale operations.

Low-risk, excessive rewards with BigCommerce.

The staff at WNC CBD shortly discovered BigCommerce throughout their scramble. They labored hand-in-hand with the BigCommerce staff, making certain the platform may:

  • Help greater than 400+ complicated SKUs.

  • Scale throughout DTC and B2B verticals.

  • Supply a self-serve portal for B2B prospects.

  • Adjust to shifting THC rules.

In the long run, the staff was capable of rebuild their complete ecommerce expertise on BigCommerce in solely two weeks. Now, they’ve a constant platform to name residence, and an answer that scales proper together with their enterprise.

WNC CBD ecommerce homepage displayed on a laptop, featuring a storewide sale banner and product imagery.

Inside a 12 months they noticed a 19.47% enhance in DTC income and added 200 wholesale accounts.

Developer calls for required for replatforming.

Each ecommerce platform comes with its personal studying curve and potential developer necessities. Relying in your in-house assets, this will make replatforming intimidating, particularly in case you think about the potential prices and downtime that include it.

For some corporations, like Ship It Home equipmenta kitchen equipment provider, this hesitation comes from private expertise.

Ship It Home equipment first ran on Advansys, after which WooCommerce. The staff quickly realized they usually wanted developer assist to handle all the things from updates to tackling ongoing velocity points. Magento 2 appeared interesting, however even that had the staff questioning in the event that they’d nonetheless want in depth developer assist.

They had been at a standstill.

Discovering long-term development, sans developer pitfalls.

Regardless of prior ecommerce experiences requiring in depth developer assist, the staff at Ship It Home equipment knew they wanted to make the transfer to a brand new platform.

Ship It Appliances website displaying single ovens category page with product listings and filter options on the left.

Just a few elements went into serving to the staff at Ship It Home equipment overcome any hesitations, all of them stemming from the capabilities of BigCommerce:

  • API connectivity with their buyer information platform

  • Finish-to-end tech stack assist

  • Enterprise-grade structure

  • A complete roadmap from the BigCommerce staff

Following their migration to BigCommerce, the Ship It Home equipment staff have taken full benefit of the headless method provided by our platform. This permits them to make use of the instruments they’re snug with, whereas nonetheless uniting them on the backend. A developer-driven endeavor they’ve discovered properly worthwhile.

“From the precise back-end system facet of BigCommerce, we noticed a rise in productiveness. Due to the structure we had been capable of automate our book-out course of. Our warehouse is now a completely operational warehouse administration system with scanners.”

— Nick Eaton, Managing Director, Ship It Home equipment

Why migrate to BigCommerce?

Whether or not you’re coming from WooCommerce or Magento or some other ecommerce platform, there are a variety of causes emigrate to BigCommerce.

Much less reliance on plugins.

Plugins are a good way to broaden the capabilities of a platform. Even BigCommerce has a library of greater than 1,200 apps and integrations. However, plugins shouldn’t be important to doing the stuff you need to do:

No plugins, simply BigCommerce.

GourmetFuel was utilizing 67 plugins after they had been on WooCommerce. After migration to BigCommerce? They’re utilizing barely any.

Extra predictable pricing.

Many platforms will tout being free or get you hooked with a low worth. This will shortly flip into higher-priced plans or a pricey reliance on premium plugins, a necessity for additional developer assist, or costly internet hosting.

BigCommerce comes with a transparent pricing plan, making certain you don’t have any ugly surprises on the finish of every billing cycle. Not solely does this make for a happier pocketbook, nevertheless it additionally allows you to plan forward.

Scalable and constant efficiency.

A necessity for numerous plugins could make for a messy, inconsistent expertise. When one wants an replace, it would cease taking part in properly with others, too. To not point out, having to depend on a third-party host leaves you at their mercy.

BigCommerce offers a platform that’s as constant as it’s scalable. Visitors wants growing? Concern not. BigCommerce can deal with it.

“On BigCommerce, our platform downtime has gone from what may have been as excessive as 10%, right down to lower than 1%.”

— Rob Buckley, Managing Director, GourmetFuel

Progress-ready capabilities, proper out of the field.

Whether or not you’re new in your ecommerce journey or working at an enterprise stage, BigCommerce is right here to foster development — not inhibit it.

How? With native assist for:

  • Multi-storefront administration

  • Omnichannel promoting and syncing

  • Worldwide currencies and languages

  • Headless commerce and low/no-code growth

  • Sturdy analytics

BigCommerce isn’t simply right here to host your retailer, it’s right here that can assist you develop it.

24/7/365 assist.

If a brick-and-mortar retailer loses energy, you may name for utility assist instantly. Why ought to ecommerce be any totally different?

BigCommerce offers around-the-clock assist for all the things from technical points to billing assist to development assist.

With a thriving neighborhood assist base of greater than 177,000 members and an in-depth information middle filled with useful content material, there’s loads of self-guided assist, too.

Skilled migration assist.

Not everyone seems to be a fan of the DIY method, particularly the place ecommerce migration is anxious. Don’t fear, we’ve acquired loads of premium migration assist obtainable for individuals who need it.

With our migration companies, you may breathe simple realizing a trusted skilled is dealing with the method for you, based mostly on agreed upon specs you identify.

The ultimate phrase

Migration IS an enormous deal. However that doesn’t should imply large stress. With assist on the prepared and premium migration companies obtainable, BigCommerce makes migration as stress-free as potential.

Migration may be particularly intimidating for these working on a plugin-based platform, like WooCommerce. With so many shifting components and options to shift, it’s loads to deal with. For those who’re one of many four-million companies working on WooCommerce, worry not.

With our WooCommerce to BigCommerce step-by-step migration information, you may see how different WooCommerce prospects discovered large wins with BigCommerce. And, you may get an in depth breakdown of each single step, together with tips about getting essentially the most out of our platform after migration.

Right now’s the proper day to make the massive transfer.

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