Bigcommerce App and Web Development

Bigcommerce has been a strong online store platform for many years now, and while it used to be a hosted platform, it has transformed itself into a cloud-based system. Like competitive cloud-based eCommerce store builders, they provide a base-level functionality, have a 3-tier pricing model (with a 14-day free trial), and have a Bigcommerce App store. Additionally, if you need to do theme development, or have a web application packaged into an App, a Bigcommerce Expert can come to the rescue.

Web Development - Front-End

An eCommerce website has two main human interfaces - The User Interface (UI) and the User Experience (UX) and in today's world, they are delivered inside a "content management systems" (CMS). Front-end developers focus on the website design with a greater focus on the UI, the brand, and part of the UX. The programming languages involved are HTML5 and Javascript. The Bicommerce platform offers hundreds of Themes to chose from, some designed for marketing techniques, some more B2B - a large variety of web design choices are available.

Web Development - Back-End

Bigcommerce partners are grouped in the Experts category and have a varied set of skills to satisfy different capabilities ranging from system integrations (talking to other platforms), tying into an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system such as Vequo or a 3rd Party Logistics (3PL) partner. In this space, working with the Bigcommerce API reference and interface bridging the other systems requires a Back-end developer that can implement a Bigcommerce App that will communicate and deliver the experience desired.

Bigcommerce Development

Like all development, there is process and procedures to follow in being able to deliver quality code and code that can be easily maintained. Agile development is popular among developers and when developing with the Bigcommerce platform it would be regarded as the default. From requirements gathering to prototyping, reviews, and approvals, Agile covers all aspects and ensures that an idea can be made into a real Bigcommerce App.

Online Shopowner Requirements

A lot of shop owners look for an edge to get ahead of their competition. When a product or service is being introduced, if unique it provides the business with differentiation. If it is a commodity, then the brand and experience need accentuating to be different. This is where App development comes into place - by having a unique experience in getting the product or service you need that gives satisfaction to a particular need, then it is memorable, adds brand equity, grows more viral into that particular industry. Business owners hone into the mindset of their clients, see what they are looking to expect from their business, they work with their partners to provide that expected experience - anything from on-the-fly shipping rates, offering payments with the right credit cards, and voicing great reviews on social media.

Selling products and Bigcommerce Apps

In some industries, there are particular products that have complexity in regards to dependencies to other products, installation experts/schedules or require particular shipping options (refrigerated, hazardous, etc.). The ability to sell online has become commonplace for most industries and being able to ensure the business models are translated to the online experience usually take form in a Bigcommerce App. B2B Apps for example is a common implementation where there is retail pricing for the world wide web to capture, but an affiliate login later, the same products carry a discount. Some B2B Apps can have different tiers of wholesale products, depending on purchase volume and production runs for an order. The B2B App can be custom to your business, and how it handles clients - never compromise your business around a generic tool if you can help it, make the tool map your business processes and culture.

Conclusion

It is important to note that the right team partnering with your business must have synergy and has to deliver the experience to your customers. By no means this is an easy task - much like interviewing an employee, finding the right fit is a must-have for a successful project. We at TheGenieLab understand the challenge in the Web Development space, business models, and the requirements that are common. The advantage we have is having been exposed to a large pool of best practices, it puts us in a position where we can advise on solutions for particular challenges. If you have a particular challenge in mind - feel free to reach out to us at wish@thegenielab.com