For enterprise-level ecommerce brands to be successful, they need a robust and stable platform that offers advanced features and functionalities designed to meet their needs and scale with their business.
Let’s look at some of today's best enterprise ecommerce platforms to determine which software may be right for your business.
Leading enterprise ecommerce solutions
BigCommerce.
Long a popular solution in the small-to-medium business space, BigCommerce has evolved into a leading choice for mid-market and enterprise businesses.
The platform is based on an Open SaaS model, offering customers all the benefits of a SaaS platform with the flexibility of an open-source software so they can create their ideal online store.
With this architecture, brands have the freedom to design their dream tech stack. BigCommerce offers a wide selection of native tools and third-party applications, allowing businesses to create a robust site all within the platform, as seen by Coco Republic, which enjoys the variety of out-of-the-box features. However, the software also enables brands to incorporate best-in-breed technologies and customizations designed to set their site up for success, which brands like MKM take advantage of through their headless build.
To help enterprise brands effortlessly scale, BigCommerce strives to stay at the forefront of ecommerce innovation with features like Multi-Storefront, B2B Edition, and Buy Online, Pick Up In Store. With these different functionalities, customers can power multiple storefronts from the same back-end, better support the B2B market segment, and enable shoppers to pick up online orders at their preferred location.
The platform also allows customers to build a solid omnichannel strategy through its partnership with Feedonomics. Businesses like LA Police Gear use Feedonomics to efficiently manage their different channels and feeds, enabling them to reach consumers more effectively.
In addition to its features and functionalities, BigCommerce is known for providing top-tier security, its world-class customer service, and offering a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) compared to any other platform.
Pros
Highly flexible APIs and composable architecture
Advanced ecommerce functionality like Multi-Storefront, BOPIS, and B2B Edition
Lower TCO than any other platform, with the average customer breaking even just eight months after launch and seeing a 211% ROI by their third year on the platform
Highly secure platform that undergoes regular audits and equips all stores with Level 1 PCI compliance
Ability to manage multiple advertising feeds with tools like Channel Manager and Fedonomics
Direct access to a team of dedicated professionals who can assist with your site’s build, launch, and growth
99.99% annual uptime and 100% cyber week uptime since 2016
Cons
Limited theme options compared to competing platforms
Users may find the platform to be too complicated if they have basic needs
Brands can experience vendor lock-in and find it difficult to move platforms if they choose to leave BigCommerce
Pricing plans
Standard: $39 per month
Plus: $105 per month
Pro: $399 per month
Enterprise: Custom pricing options dependent on company
Shopify Plus.
Shopify has a strong market presence in the ecommerce space. In 2014, they launched Shopify Plus as their solution for enterprise clients.
As a SaaS software, the Shopify Plus platform offers the benefits of handling PCI compliance and security as well as solid uptime stats. The platform also offers ease-of-use, mobile optimization, and a customizable checkout.
Shopify serves as an all-in-one solution for customers by acting as a payment gateway, email marketing tool, and shipping provider, in addition to being an ecommerce platform. While this can add to the ease and convenience of the software, it can also present challenges due to the lack of flexibility, especially for enterprise-level customers. The platform limits brands from incorporating best-in-breed technology and even penalizes them by charging a fee if they opt out of using tools like Shopify Payments.
In addition to its limited customizability, the platform lacks certain features specifically designed to scale mid-market and enterprise businesses, like Multi-Storefront. The tool also offers a small selection of B2B features, making it difficult for brands to cater to this market.
To make up for the lack of native functionality, Shopify Plus offers a wide range of third-party apps. However, this can significantly increase your total cost of ownership, so make sure to factor these costs into your decision-making process. Additionally, you will need to pass data between your platform and third-party systems using APIs. Unfortunately, Shopify Plus has rigid API call-per-second limits.
It’s important to note that the platform recently adjusted their pricing and customer support, increasing the monthly fee for Shopify Plus by 25%. The software also downgraded the level of one-on-one customer service for Plus customers with an annual gross merchandise value (GMV) under $10 million.
Pros
User-friendly interface that doesn’t require the assistance of a developer or agency
Market recognition as a leader in the ecommerce space
Diverse selection of 8,000 applications and features designed to amplify your ecommerce presence
Ability to handle PCI compliance and security
Cons
Recently raised their prices
Lack of B2B features designed to target this customer market
Limited freedom to customize and incorporate best-in-breed technology
Limited customer support available for enterprise-level customers
No Multi-Storefront feature that enables customers to manage different shops from the same back-end
Penalizes customers by charging a fee for opting out of Shopify solutions like Shopify Payments
Pricing plans
Standard: $39 per month
Plus: $105 per month
Pro: $399 per month
For Shopify Plus, the price starts at $2,300 per month or a variable fee for high-volume businesses
Salesforce Commerce Cloud.
Salesforce Commerce Cloud (previously Demandware) is a SaaS option for businesses looking to streamline their omnichannel retail.
This platform allows customers to manage their digital and sales channels through one centralized tool. Salesforce Commerce Cloud is intended for B2C, B2B, and B2B2C businesses, making it a scalable solution designed to cater to different customer markets.
While the company may market itself as a unified platform solution, many of the products in its portfolio, such as Salesforce Commerce Cloud B2C (Demandware), are acquired software built outside of the Salesforce ecosystem and remain a separate product today. As a result, Salesforce’s feature development has focused on brand acquisitions rather than core commerce innovation.
Since Commerce Cloud has a different underlying architecture than other Salesforce products, developers may run into problems.
With this platform, customers are encouraged to incorporate different Salesforce products into their ecommerce site. Similar to Shopify, Salesforce aims to serve as an all-in-one solution. However, this push to stay within the Salesforce ecosystem can create limitations that keep enterprise brands from meeting their ecommerce goals.
In addition, Salesforce Commerce Cloud has a high total cost of ownership compared to other platforms, like BigCommerce. With expensive licensing fees (1-3% GMV take rate annually), limited integrations, and high development costs, merchants may find it difficult to improve and optimize their sites without first paying a hefty fee.
Pros
Offers omnichannel integrations
Native support for multi-storefront, currency, language, and location
Global brand recognition
Offers options for B2B, B2C, and both B2B and DTC
Cons
High TCO due to licensing fees accounting for 1-3% of annual GMV, limited integrations, and high development costs
Customers are encouraged to stay within the Salesforce ecosystem and may experience limitations incorporating outside technology
Monolithic platform that provides limitations for brands looking to build a composable site
Acquired software built with varying architectures can present challenges for developers
Small pool of agency partners
Pricing plans
B2B Commerce
Starter: 1% gross merchandise value
Growth: 2% gross merchandise value
B2C Commerce
Starter: 1% gross merchandise value
Growth: 2% gross merchandise value
Plus: 3% gross merchandise value
DTC Commerce
1% gross merchandise value
Connected Commerce (launch across both B2B and DTC channels)
1% gross merchandise value
Order Management
Order visibility: .25% gross merchandise value
Growth: 1% gross merchandise value
Adobe Commerce (Magento).
Formerly known as Magento Commerce, Adobe Commerce is an open-source tool that can be hosted on-premise or through the cloud.
The platform’s open-source architecture allows users to fully customize their site to meet their business needs. Because of this, brands will likely be heavily dependent on designers and developers as well as expensive maintenance and support teams, which can make it difficult to calculate the total cost of ownership.
Adobe’s open-source framework also means that customers are in charge of ensuring their platform remains secure. Over time, you'll likely spend significant money on things like upgrades and security.
With this platform, users can take advantage of advanced functionality like creating a headless framework. However, while headless deployments are possible with Adobe Commerce, it was not built composably. There are relatively few pre-built Adobe Commerce integrations with other front-ends or DXPs. Outside of the existing integrations, a customer would need to thoroughly research and probably build an integration between their front end of choice should they wish to depart from Magento’s legacy built-in system.
It’s also important to note that Adobe lacks a robust technical support team to assist with any issues brands run into with their site. Instead, they rely on their developer community, in-house IT team, or agency partners to provide this assistance. This can lead those on the platform to feel unsupported and uninformed.
Pros
Open-source architecture gives brands the freedom to build a fully custom site
Ability to integrate with other Adobe Products
Access to a large ecosystem of partners and marketplace extensions
Can support multi-storefront, currency, language, and inventory
Cons
Customers responsible for installing security patch
Open-source framework means brands will likely need to spend money on resources like developers and designers, resulting in a high TCO
Lack of technical support, leaving customers to depend on community forums, agency partners, or in-house IT teams
Managing and installing updates can often break customizations
Pricing plans
Pricing for Adobe Commerce (on prem) starts at $22,000, while Adobe Commerce Cloud starts around $40,000
SAP Hybris Commerce and Commerce Cloud.
SAP’s original ecommerce offering was SAP Hybris Commerce, an on-premise hosting tool. Over time, SAP Hybris Commerce evolved into SAP Commerce Cloud, their cloud-based ecommerce solution.
SAP Commerce Cloud offers native functionality that appeals to businesses with a large international presence, including multi-site, multi-language, and multiple currencies.
They also offer complex data management tools, subscription order management, options for multiple product catalogs, and omnichannel capabilities.
While the platform provides an array of advanced functionality, it does present challenges to brands who decide to host their site on this tool.
For one, the software is known to have a steep learning curve. This requires intensive training before building on the platform or the help of a developer to create and maintain the site. Not to mention, the site is known to have some features that feel outdated compared to competing platforms.
Another potential challenge is the software’s TCO. Many customers feel the platform is quite expensive. The tool's cost and the expense of hiring developers to build and maintain the site can spike the platform’s TCO, making it not a suitable solution.
Pros
Offers advanced features like multi-site, multi-language, and multi-currency
Offers complex data management tools
Offers omnichannel capabilities
Cons
Unintuitive platform that requires intense training
Certain features are considered outdated
Expensive ecommerce platform
May require the help of a developer to build and maintain
Pricing plans
Contact SAP directly for pricing information
Oracle CX Commerce.
Oracle CX Commerce, formerly Oracle Commerce Cloud, is the cloud-hosted product spin-off from Oracle Commerce on-premise. It supports B2B and B2C customers in several verticals on a single SaaS platform.
Oracle CX Commerce was built with an API-first architecture that lends itself to flexibility in development. It also has AI features and supports multi-channel strategies, making it a platform designed to help enterprise businesses scale.
However, a few factors must be considered before choosing Oracle CX Commerce as your ecommerce solution. Like SAP Commerce Cloud, the platform has a heavy learning curve. Becoming comfortable with the tool can take a great deal of time that some businesses may not have — especially if they're up against a tight launch timeline.
A solution to this is to hire a developer team, but understand that this can significantly raise your TCO.
In addition, the platform encourages customers to integrate tools with the Oracle ecosystem. This can limit brands who wish to incorporate outside technology into their site. If you decide to incorporate Oracle’s suite of tools, know that this could cause potential challenges down the road by making it difficult and more costly to re-platform to another tool.
Pros
API-first architecture allows for site customization
Allows brands to create a headless framework
Supports both B2C and B2B markets
Cons
Program can be slow and lag at times
Can result in high overhead and maintenance costs
Encourages users to incorporate tools within the Oracle ecosystem
Pricing plans
Contact Oracle directly for pricing information
Explore our case studies to see how brands have seen success on BigCommerce.
Types of enterprise ecommerce solutions available
Before selecting your ecommerce tool, you should understand which type of solution it is and what that means for your business.
We’ll go over the three types of ecommerce solutions below and their potential advantages and disadvantages so you can see which option is right for you.
SaaS (software as a service, cloud-hosted by a third-party)
Composable tech stack
Open-source (self-hosted or cloud-hosted)
SaaS.
SaaS platforms simplify the process of building and maintaining an ecommerce store. With this solution, brands essentially rent the software, leaving the platform responsible for everything from security features to hosting to IT support.
With a SaaS solution, the brand’s sole responsibility is creating and updating their site. With most costs already factored in and the interface designed to not require a developer, SaaS software often results in a lower TCO.
This makes them a more affordable and user-friendly alternative to open-source platforms that leave customers responsible for all aspects of their ecommerce site. Because of this, SaaS platforms have grown in popularity among enterprise brands, and we’re seeing more large-scale businesses gravitate towards this type of solution.
In fact, Statista reported the global SaaS industry accumulated 197 billion in revenue in 2023 and will generate 232 billion in 2024.
Despite its growing popularity, this user-friendly solution still has drawbacks. The biggest disadvantage is that it offers limited back-end and code-level control.
Businesses looking for the freedom to incorporate custom integrations into their ecommerce site will find it challenging to accomplish this with a true SaaS platform.
Thankfully, platforms like BigCommerce offer a solution for brands that want the affordability and simplicity of a SaaS platform while also having the freedom to incorporate custom solutions.
This model is referred to as “Open SaaS” and combines the best features of a SaaS platform with the flexibility of an open-source platform, allowing customers to build their dream site at a lower TCO.
Composable tech stack.
Composability means breaking an entity into various modules, all of which combine to form the whole. Therefore, according to Gartner, a composable enterprise creates its organization out of interchangeable building blocks.
By breaking up into smaller, more autonomous teams, an organization can more easily identify which activities are working and eliminate those that are not. As a result, the business can better align its teams and processes to support digital transformation and better respond to digital disruptions.
However, for platforms using a monolith technology, the front-end layer and the back-end are packaged together into an all-in-one solution. While this does simplify setting up your online store, it might present some complications for enterprise-level businesses.
This is why many businesses are shifting from a monolith approach to MACH. MACH is a type of composable architecture that stands for microservices, API-first, cloud-native SaaS, and headless. Contrary to a monolithic architecture, which lacks the flexibility to adapt quickly to digital change, the MACH architecture allows you to choose the best technology for your business and future goals.
BigCommerce is a member of the MACH alliance and empowers customers to build a composable ecommerce site. Because of this, brands have the freedom to make a tech stack with best-in-breed technology, incorporate customizations with APIs, and create a headless framework.
By going headless, brands can decouple their ecommerce site's front-end and back-end systems. This microservices approach enables brands to replace their front-end with a content management system (CMS), like WordPress or Contentful.
Decoupled approaches like headless commerce are a potential advantage to enterprise businesses because they allow for greater freedom and control.
Open source.
Unlike a SaaS ecommerce platform, open-source solutions are typically managed by the brand. With this software, businesses have complete control over their ecommerce platform, allowing them to build their ideal online store.
However, this complete control means the user is fully responsible for all aspects of their ecommerce site, including everything from hosting to security to updates. Open-source also means the platform must be custom-built, which requires hiring a developer responsible for the building and maintenance. In addition to a developer, you’ll likely need to hire an agency and IT team who can ensure the site remains successfully up and running.
While having total access to modify your code is a huge upside to open-source, the resources required to run the site can spike the TCO, making it a cost-prohibitive solution.
In addition, a site becomes more complex with each modification. This makes it more prone to breaking, presenting challenges and limitations. It’s also important to note that when hosting a site on an open-source platform like WooCommerce, the code is publicly available for anyone to modify, creating a major security risk.
Because of these factors, many businesses have gravitated towards SaaS or composable ecommerce platforms over the years.
How to pick the optimal ecommerce platform
Now that you’ve seen an overview of the biggest players in digital commerce, it’s time to go over key considerations that can help you decide which platform is right for you.
Ask other ecommerce owners.
When evaluating ecommerce platforms, it’s a good idea to communicate with other customers to get an unbiased review.
Talk to similar businesses, in terms of factors like size or sales volume, who already use the platform you are considering, and find out what they like and dislike.
Another piece of advice is to see if the platform has a case study library available. Reviewing customer success stories can help you better understand what the platform offers.
Speak to ecommerce consultants and agencies.
An additional way to learn about a platform's challenges and benefits is to talk with an ecommerce consultant who specializes in re-platforming.
From conversion optimization to marketing strategy to business development, these consultants can offer firsthand knowledge and years of experience to help you find the right enterprise ecommerce platform for your business.
Although there are a variety of ecommerce consultants to choose from, you can check out our BigCommerce Partner Directory to find the ones we recommend.
Talk to the platform provider.
Once you have an idea of platforms you’d like to consider using, it’s time to take the next step and talk with their sales teams.
The platform provider is the greatest expert on their tool, its native features, and what it can accomplish through third-party plugins and partnerships — so take time to have real conversations with them rather than relying solely on their webpage.
Be sure to come to the table with questions designed to help you fully understand the platform's pros and cons. Also, be very clear about your business requirements and where you can’t afford to compromise.
Key features in an enterprise ecommerce solution
For enterprise brands to be successful, they need access to a robust set of features designed to scale their business.
Platforms like BigCommerce provide dynamic functionalities designed to strategically grow enterprise brands. The platform offers customers complete freedom and flexibility to build custom integrations designed to meet their business needs while providing diverse native features.
It’s also important to make sure the platform enables you to create a frictionless shopping experience for your customers. This means it offers solutions designed to manage your different selling channels and can provide a seamless mobile experience.
And of course, you need to ensure the platform is reliable and can accommodate peak performance periods.
Before selecting your ecommerce platform, do your research and ensure the one you’re considering offers essential components designed to help you grow, like a few of the ones below.
Integration capabilities
The integrated systems and technologies across your business link various departments, services, and software to improve operational efficiency.
Especially as a modern enterprise with numerous systems, applications, and business processes, it’s crucial that your ecommerce platform can integrate with all of your existing tools and perhaps even offer new ones. These may include your enterprise resource planning (ERP), warehouse management software (WMS), product information management (PIM), customer relationship management (CRM), and marketing automation platform (MAP).
Understand that many platforms have limitations when incorporating outside technologies. For instance, Shopify encourages its users only to use features within their ecosystem, making it difficult to build a tech stack with outside features.
One of the aspects customers enjoy most about BigCommerce is the freedom to build their tech stack to best suit their needs. Customers like Heat Transfer Warehouse have migrated to BigCommerce because their previous platform created limitations regarding the compatibility of their ERP.
Multichannel selling capabilities.
As an enterprise business, taking advantage of different selling channels is essential to reach customers more easily. Maximizing how you can establish a branded selling experience will create a frictionless customer journey, attracting more shoppers to your store.
With a robust omnichannel tool, you’ll not only be able to target more shoppers, but you’ll also save a significant amount of time when it comes to feed management.
BigCommerce offers features like Channel Manager and Feedonomics to help brands manage their different sales and advertising feeds, from social media pages to marketplaces like eBay and Amazon. These tools allow you to create new opportunities to promote your brand more easily and efficiently.
Enterprise-brand Badgley Mischka takes advantage of BigCommerce’s partnership with Feedonomics and has seen skyrocketed success since incorporating this feature.
Secure payments and data.
When evaluating platforms, be sure to consider the security of your data. An ecommerce tool that safely manages your data is essential because the alternative can cost you your company.
Your choice of a self-hosted or on-premise platform versus a SaaS platform may influence this. A self-hosted platform will often provide increased visibility of your data and an understanding of data security.
However, a SaaS option will provide security and PCI compliance as part of their monthly fees, handling these important matters while freeing up your resources for other undertakings.
With BigCommerce, you can feel comfortable knowing your customer data is in safe hands. All stores come with Level 1 PCI compliance, and the platform undergoes regular safety and security audits to receive certifications that reflect its high standards.
Scalability.
An influx in traffic can happen for a number of reasons. Perhaps it's the holiday season, or you just launched a viral campaign.
Increased traffic is a good problem to have and means your business is growing.
However, if your online store is gaining more visitors, you need to make sure that your platform can handle the influx. Your solution should not only meet your current traffic demand but also have the scalability to accommodate your projected growth.
To ensure you never miss a POS, evaluate a platform’s reliability prior to hosting your site on it to avoid potential downtime.
BigCommerce is a platform brands can trust, especially during peak performance periods. In fact, since 2016, the software has delivered 99.99% uptime during every cyber week.
Mobile optimization.
With more consumers choosing to shop on smartphones, your ecommerce platform must provide a top-tier mobile experience.
According to Statista research, mobile commerce generated 8% of all U.S. retail sales in 2023 and will account for more than 10% by 2025.
On top of this, Statista reported that in Q1 of 2024, more than three-quarters of shoppers visited an online store through their smartphone as opposed to their desktop or tablet.
This further proves the prominence of m-commerce and the importance of building a seamless mobile shopping experience.
When evaluating ecommerce platforms, consider which options allow you to create a site that translates to mobile devices. Platforms like BigCommerce offer several features designed to optimize the user experience for consumers shopping through their smartphones or tablets, allowing you to cater to this customer behavior.
Global commerce support.
When shopping for an enterprise ecommerce software, it’s important to see if your brand will be able to reach new customer markets. With tools like Multi-Storefront abilities, businesses can build stores tailored to new regions that can be managed through the same back-end account.
Multi-currency tools are also necessary to expand globally and create a seamless checkout experience for international customers.
Platforms like BigCommerce provide Multi-Storefront and currency features so customers can reach international markets. Brands like Hatch Embroidery take advantage of the platform’s multi-currency feature to cater to international customers. Meanwhile, customers like The Beer Bat have been able to expand into global markets with the help of its Multi-Storefront feature.
Costs of ecommerce platform re-platforming
Ecommerce platform cost.
Due to their varying functionality and features, platform pricing varies significantly. Platforms also typically offer a few packages with different pricing models based on the level of support you need.
On-premise “owned” solutions often have hefty licensing fees relating to the GMV bracket your ecommerce business falls into — with tools like Adobe Commerce starting at $22,000 per year. Other models are based on your expected usage and site traffic — like Shopify’s enterprise plan, which costs $2,300 per month. Some headless solutions may also base pricing on the number of API calls you require.
It’s important to keep in mind that there are other costs you’ll need to consider based on the platform you select.
Below are some extra expenses you’ll likely need to account for in addition to the software’s cost.
Website design and development costs.
A re-platform project is a great time to refresh your online storefront’s appearance and design.
Map out how your core users will navigate your ecommerce site and determine what templates and tools you’ll need to bring this experience to life.
Platforms like BigCommerce offer a variety of free themes to design your ecommerce site. However, many ecommerce softwares also offer premium themes for an additional cost, which can be as much as $300 per theme.
In addition to design costs, you’ll also need to consider the cost of developing your site. Along with the design, the cost of development and integration will be your largest expenditure in the re-platform process.
Some expenses to consider are build costs, third-party applications, and API integrations. The average cost of design and development varies greatly depending on how involved your site is. A typical price range for a site with 1,000 products or less is between $5,000 to $55,000.
A developer or agency partner can be an excellent resource for building your site. While it may be a higher upfront cost, their experience building on a platform can save you ample time and resources.
Data migration costs.
Maintaining the integrity of your data is a vital part of the re-platform process. During the migration, you will likely have access to sensitive, confidential corporate data, which is why strong data security should not be left to chance.
Especially as you’re moving data from one platform to another, it’s easy to miss blind spots and vulnerabilities in your system. Unfortunately, the consequences of insufficient data security can be significant, leading to a damaged company reputation and potential legal action.
Before migrating, your business should have a detailed data security plan for all sensitive information, including customer data. Verify exactly what levels of security are in place and who has access to sensitive data.
Furthermore, it’s critical that all of your product, category, transactional, and customer data successfully migrate to the new platform. Have a conversation early on with any platforms you are considering moving to about the costs and assurances around data migration. What sort of data migration services do they offer? Do they provide catalog transfer services? Do they have data security plans in place? These costs can be significant, so factoring them into your re-platform budget is important before you make a final decision on your platform.
Thankfully, platforms like BigCommerce’s Enterprise software includes data migration services, saving customers a significant amount of money and time. With this service, brands can feel safe knowing their data is in trusted hands and will be carefully migrated over to their BigCommerce store.
There are a variety of factors to account for when it comes to moving your data from one ecommerce software to another — making it difficult to calculate the average cost of switching platforms. However, Digital Commerce 360’s 2023 Ecommerce Report claims that the average business anticipates spending between $25,001 to $500,000 throughout a migration.
Costs to retain SEO.
While the successful migration of data is essential for customers to shop from your store, so is the successful migration of SEO value.
Don’t lose the valuable SEO equity you’ve built in your current ecommerce website with a poor re-platform plan.
Whether you have an internal SEO team or work with an agency of SEO specialists, you must ensure they do a thorough content audit before your site’s migration. This can cost anywhere between $650 to $14,000 depending on the amount of content and size of your website. You will also need to create a URL structure and redirection plan. Depending on whether you do this with an internal team or use an agency, your budget for this process will vary. According to a survey by Credo, the average cost of an SEO agency in the US is $147.93 per hour.
Steps to starting the re-platforming process
Identifying migration goals.
Before migrating ecommerce platforms, you should build a list of pain points with your current software and what you’re looking to gain from moving platforms. These could range from financial issues to a lack of scalable features.
Below are some common goals brands have when migrating ecommerce solutions.
Reducing overall costs by moving to a platform with a lower TCO.
Hosting on a platform with a more user-friendly interface.
Having the ability to incorporate custom features and best-in-breed technologies.
Advanced features like Multi-Storefront and B2B Edition that can help scale your business.
Reliable software that can easily accommodate periods of peak volume.
Composable commerce solutions.
When it comes to why a brand chooses to migrate platforms, the possibilities are endless. Coming up with a list of goals for your new ecommerce solution is a great way to help determine which platform is right for you. However, it may not be possible for a platform to meet all of your requirements, so be sure to prioritize which aspects are most important for your business.
Selecting the right technology stack.
Different platforms provide different liberties when it comes to your tech stack.
Before selecting your ecommerce tool, you must know the type of tech stack you want to build. Some platforms only allow you to incorporate their native features or third-party offerings, while others require every feature to be custom-built.
Thankfully, brands like BigCommerce give customers the power to build their ideal tech stack, whether they want to incorporate solely native features and apps or integrate custom solutions.
Once you’ve decided on the type of tech stack you want to create, the next step is determining the basics. What are the most important items for your online store to function? Perhaps this is a payment processing app or an inventory management system like an ERP. Decide what your must-have features are since these will be the elements that get your store up and running.
Once you know the must-have components of your tech stack, assess their compatibility with your platform options. Different platforms offer varying levels of compatibility, so be sure to cross-check if your essential components can integrate with the platforms you’re considering.
After determining these features, you can look into other components to enhance your site. Below are some elements that make a robust tech stack.
Shipping software
Marketing tools
CRM tools
Shopping cart tools
Payment gateways
Inventory management
Customer service
Planning the re-platforming roadmap.
When planning your site’s re-platform, you should create a migration roadmap. This plan will help you determine your launch timeline, site goals, and which platforms are best suited to meet your requirements.
The first step of your re-platforming roadmap is determining a launch date and timeline. If your decision to re-platform is tied to a certain event — like Cyber Monday — then you have a clear date to work backward from.
From there, you can identify key goals and set expectations. It’s important to establish expectations for what daily business workflows will look like once the money and time have been spent on the new platform.
The third step is to build a list of site requirements. During this step, you’ll need to rank your requirements based on what you must-have before launch, what’s a nice-to-have, and what’s on your wishlist.
At this point, you and your team should thoroughly understand the entire commerce operational cycle, site requirements, and any stretch goals requested from various stakeholders. This is when you can combine all the information you've gathered into an RFP.
It’s typical to submit your requirements to multiple vendors and ask them to honestly evaluate their platform against your requirements, calling out native solutions, third-party solutions, and customization options.
After you’ve found a platform and agency partner that meet your requirements and timeline, you can begin your site’s implementation.
Launching and monitoring.
Before you launch your site, plan for at least a week of testing. This will help you address any issues before your launch date.
Platforms like BigCommerce offer a launch checklist that can help you determine if all your must-have components are ready for the big day. It’s important to know that some companies launch all their features in one day, while others launch only the must-have components and gradually implement new features over time.
We recommend focusing on launching your must-have features first, especially if you’re up against a timeline. This way, you can focus on the successful implementation of essential components.
After you’ve launched your store, you can monitor your store’s performance by viewing real-time reports provided by your platform or using tools like Google Analytics.
Testing for compatibility and performance.
It’s important to consistently test the compatibility of your site’s components as well as its overall performance.
Sometimes, platforms no longer support apps or make adjustments to certain features. If you don’t stay up to date with information related to your platform and tech stack, you could run into a major issue regarding your site’s functionality.
When it comes to performance, be sure to regularly check your Core Web Vitals score. This will help you understand your site’s speed and areas that may create a slower customer experience. Based on this information, you can make adjustments to your build to improve your Core Web Vitals score, enhancing the customer experience you offer.
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The final word
In 2022, enterprise companies on BigCommerce saw 30% growth. With many large brands on an enterprise platform currently seeing an influx in sales, it’s more important than ever for companies to harness the power of these ecommerce tools.
While the start of a re-platforming project can feel like a huge mountain to climb, with careful planning and a clear understanding of your business requirements, you’ll be able to choose a platform that is flexible, cost-effective, and scalable.