How to Create a Shopping Cart in WordPress with BigCommerce

Many online stores eventually outgrow their current eCommerce platform when they need more flexibility, control, or room to scale. That’s where BigCommerce for WordPress can make a real difference.

By combining BigCommerce’s powerful selling tools with WordPress’s easy content management, you can create a store that not only looks great but also performs well. You’ll get enterprise-level scalability, faster checkout, and built-in tools to increase sales, all while keeping the design freedom that WordPress provides.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to set up a BigCommerce shopping cart in WordPress step by step. Whether you’re starting your first store or upgrading an existing one, you’ll learn how to build a professional shopping experience that helps turn visitors into loyal customers.

Why Use BigCommerce in WordPress?

Using BigCommerce with WordPress lets you manage products, payments, and checkout in BigCommerce while controlling your site’s design and content through WordPress.

This setup gives you a faster, more scalable, and secure way to run an online store. Here’s what makes this combination so powerful:

• Seamless content-and-commerce integration: You can enjoy BigCommerce’s eCommerce features while using WordPress for creating content-rich pages and blog posts.
• Optimized performance: Since BigCommerce handles catalog management, payments, and order fulfillment, it reduces the load on your WordPress hosting server, helping your site run faster.
• High scalability: Whether you’re selling a few products or thousands, BigCommerce scales effortlessly without slowing down your site.
• Built-in security: BigCommerce provides PCI-compliant checkout and takes care of eCommerce security, so you don’t have to worry about compliance or fraud protection.
• Multiple payment options: It includes popular payment gateways like PayPal (powered by Braintree) and offers some of the lowest processing rates in the industry.
• Multi-channel selling: You can connect one BigCommerce account to multiple WordPress sites, a multisite network, or even social platforms — all from a single dashboard.
• SEO-friendly setup: BigCommerce offers built-in SEO tools like customizable URLs, meta tags, and sitemaps to help your store rank higher in search results.

If you’re still deciding between eCommerce platforms, check out our detailed comparison of BigCommerce vs. WooCommerce to see which one fits your business needs better.

With that in mind, we’ll show you how to create a shopping cart in WordPress with BigCommerce.

You can use the links below to jump to any section of the post:

• Step 1: Getting Started With BigCommerce
• Step 2: Create a Shopping Cart in WordPress Using BigCommerce
• Step 3: Manage Your Products in BigCommerce
• Step 4: Display Your BigCommerce Products on Your WordPress Site
• Frequently Asked Questions About Using BigCommerce

Ready? Let’s get started.

Step 1: Getting Started With BigCommerce

First, you need to visit the BigCommerce website and click the ‘Start Your Free Trial’ button.

This will bring up a signup form and a setup wizard.

You can simply follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

Once you’ve completed the signup wizard, your BigCommerce account is ready.

Now, let’s connect it to your WordPress website.

Step 2: Create a Shopping Cart in WordPress Using BigCommerce

In this step, the first thing you need to do is install and activate the BigCommerce for WordPress plugin.

For detailed instructions, you can see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, the plugin will add a new menu labeled ‘BigCommerce’ to your admin panel. It will also launch a setup wizard asking you to connect to an existing account or create a new one.

Connect Your BigCommerce Account

Since you already have a BigCommerce account, click the ‘Connect My Account’ button to continue.

In the popup window, you will need to log in to your BigCommerce account.

After that, you’ll be asked to confirm that you want the plugin to connect with your BigCommerce store.

Simply click the ‘Confirm’ button to proceed.

Set Up a Channel for Your WordPress Site

The popup will close, and you will see a new BigCommerce screen within your WordPress dashboard where you can set up your channel.

Enter a channel name, choose an automatic listing option, and click the ‘Continue’ button.

If you choose ‘Yes, automatically list new BigCommerce products on this channel,’ then all new products will automatically sync and appear on your WordPress website.

Choose How You Want to Use BigCommerce in WordPress

On the next screen, you can choose how you want to use BigCommerce. Select ‘Full Featured Store’ to transform your WordPress site into a complete online store.

Alternatively, you can choose ‘Simple Blogging’ if you just want to add a shopping cart page to your existing blog. This mode also lets you add individual products to posts and pages.

Configure Product Sync, Cart, And Checkout Settings

Next, you will land on the main BigCommerce Settings page in your dashboard.

The first option is ‘Product Sync,’ which lets you choose the sync frequency, automatic listing, and import batch size

Next, you can configure the ‘Cart & Checkout’ options. Check the ‘Enable Cart’ option to allow users to add products to their shopping carts.

You can also enable an embedded checkout. This creates a seamless and trustworthy experience for customers by letting them complete their purchase without leaving your site, which can help increase conversion rates.

As you can see, the cart page is selected by default.

The plugin automatically creates all the required pages during setup, which you can see by navigating to Pages » All Pages.

Check Gift Certificate And Currency Settings

Next, you can explore the ‘Gift Certificate Settings’ area.

Go ahead and enable gift certificates if you want to let your users purchase codes for store credit.

The ‘Currency Settings’ area lets you set the default currency.

It also lets you choose a price display option, including or excluding tax.

Account and Registration Settings

Next up, you might want to check out the ‘Account and Registration’ settings. Here, you can see that the login page, account profile page, order history page, and other important pages are selected by default.

If you want, you can add a support email.

There are more options for analytics settings, product reviews, API credentials, channels, and diagnostics.

You can configure them now or skip them to set them up later.

When you’ve finished configuring all of that, you are almost done.

Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button at the top right corner to store your settings.

Preview Your Products in WordPress

Now, you can go to BigCommerce » Products to view the sample products.

If you’re wondering, these menu items have been added to your website by default upon activating the plugin.

You can also preview your ‘Products’ page on the front end.

Just click on ‘View Products’ at the top of the screen in your admin bar.

Here’s how your BigCommerce shopping cart would look in WordPress with the Twenty Nineteen theme.

Depending on your theme, the display may look a little different, but the overall storefront will appear similar.

Step 3: Manage Your Products in BigCommerce

The account that we created above is a free trial account with sample products. So, the next step is to configure your store settings and add real products in BigCommerce.

Adding Products to Your BigCommerce Store

You can add and manage your BigCommerce products from the ‘Products’ menu.

There, you will see the sample products added to your store by default.

You can delete or replace these products with your actual product details.

To start adding new products, simply click the ‘Add’ button at the top.

In the next screen, you can add the name of your product, price, tax details, choose product categories, product type, and more information. You can also add the product description, shipping details, and availability options from the sections below.

Once done, don’t forget to save your product.

After that, you can add images and videos of your product by clicking on the ‘Images & Videos’ link.

Similarly, you can review more options like ‘Inventory,’ ‘Options & SKUs,’ ‘Custom Fields,’ and more from the options at the top. Once done, don’t forget to save your product.

The ‘Products’ menu also lets you import or export products, manage product categories, filter products, select brands, and select product SKUs, among others.

Once you add these details to your BigCommerce store, they will be automatically synced to your WordPress site.

Setting Up Payment Options

BigCommerce comes with a couple of built-in payment options. You can visit Store Setup » Payments to configure your payment settings.

In this panel, you can quickly set up PayPal, credit cards, offline payment methods like bank deposits, and other online payment methods like 2Checkout and Amazon Pay. Plus, you can set up digital wallets if you want.

Select a Plan and Upgrade Your BigCommerce Account

BigCommerce is primarily a paid platform for building online stores. The free trial version expires in 15 days, so you should upgrade your account before it expires.

To do this, let’s click the ‘Select a Plan’ button at the top right corner and click on that.

After that, you will see the available pricing options.

There are 3 base plans for BigCommerce (Standard, Plus, Pro) and 1 Enterprise plan for very large customers.

The BigCommerce Standard plan costs $29 per month and lets you earn up to $50k per month. If you make more than that, you will need to upgrade to Plus.

Step 4: Display Your BigCommerce Products on Your WordPress Site

Now that you have added products and set up the store options in BigCommerce, you can display products on your WordPress site and start selling.

There are multiple ways to add your BigCommerce products to your WordPress site. Below, we will show you two of the easiest methods.

Add Your Products Page to the Navigation Menu

The easiest way to show your BigCommerce products page in WordPress is by adding the page to your WordPress menu.

Simply visit Appearance » Menus and create a new menu.

For detailed instructions, see our beginner’s guide on how to add a navigation menu to WordPress.

Next, expand the ‘Custom Links’ option to add your Products page URL

To get the correct link, go to Pages » All Pages in your WordPress dashboard. Find the page titled ‘Products,’ hover over it, and click ‘View.’

Once the page loads, copy the full URL directly from your browser’s address bar.

Next, you’ll want to enter a link text and click the ‘Add to Menu’ button. It’s also a good idea to add the ‘Cart’ page to the menu.

After that, go ahead and select the display location for your menu. Then, click the ‘Save Menu’ button.

You can now visit your website to see new menu items in action.

Your theme may display the menu differently, but users will be able to click the links, head to your shop, and see their shopping cart regardless.

If you use a block theme, simply go to the ‘Adding Navigational Menus in Full Site Editor (FSE)’ section in our beginner’s guide on How to Add a Navigation Menu in WordPress.

Embed Your Products in Your Posts in WordPress

Another simple way to add your BigCommerce products to your WordPress blog is to embed individual products in posts and pages.

This approach is more suitable when you only have a couple of products, and you want to add them to your landing pages or blog posts.

Let’s open your WordPress content editor and click on the ‘Add New Block’ icon. After that, you can select the BigCommerce Products block.

Once done, your BigCommerce store products will appear in your post-editing area.

You can customize your block, add content, and publish your post.

BigCommerce is an excellent eCommerce platform for WordPress and a powerful alternative to WooCommerce.

Often, users ask us to compare BigCommerce with Shopify, and in our eyes, BigCommerce is a better platform because it provides a much more robust integration with WordPress than Shopify.

However, for full WordPress integration, WooCommerce is our go-to pick. You can see our step-by-step tutorial on how to start an online store in WordPress for more details.

Frequently Asked Questions About Using BigCommerce

Here are some questions that our readers usually ask about BigCommerce:

Is BigCommerce better than WooCommerce?

It really depends on your specific needs. BigCommerce uses a “headless” approach, handling the demanding eCommerce tasks on its own servers. This keeps your WordPress site fast and secure.

WooCommerce runs entirely on your own hosting, which gives you complete control but also makes you responsible for site performance and security.

For a detailed breakdown, see our BigCommerce vs WooCommerce comparison.

Does BigCommerce charge transaction fees?

No, BigCommerce does not charge any additional transaction fees on any of its plans. You will only pay the standard processing rates from your chosen payment gateway, like Stripe or PayPal.

Can I use any WordPress theme with BigCommerce?

Yes, the BigCommerce for WordPress plugin is designed to work well with most modern WordPress themes, including those built with the Full Site Editor.

The core store functions will work correctly regardless of your theme.

Why use WordPress with BigCommerce instead of just BigCommerce alone?

This combination gives you the best of both platforms. You get the powerful, secure, and scalable sales engine of BigCommerce paired with the world-class content management and SEO features of WordPress.

This is an ideal setup for businesses that rely on content marketing, like blogs that also sell products.

We hope this article helped you learn how to create a shopping cart in WordPress with BigCommerce. You may also want to see our list of the best WooCommerce plugins available and how to get a free SSL certificate to protect your eCommerce store.

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