One thing they don’t let you do, oddly, is access the Big Cartel template editor. (This is indicated by some of the theme names - ‘Roadie,’ ‘Setlist,’ ‘Foundry,’ etc.) Given Big Cartel’s history of being focused at artistic merchants, a lot of the themes are geared towards creative projects. They are all fully responsive - meaning they’ll adapt themselves to display appropriately on the device they’re being viewed on (mobile, tablet, desktop etc.) - and there is reasonable variety across the 18 themes provided. Qualityīig Cartel themes are, on the whole, pretty good.
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On the plus side, all of Big Cartel’s templates are entirely free, which isn’t the case with those offered by competing platforms - some online store builders ( notably BigCommerce and Shopify) charge you to use certain themes. For example, Shopify comes with 80+ templates Wix gives you 800+ BigCommerce offers over 170 Squarespace offers around 140. This selection is a lot smaller than what’s available from other well-established ecommerce platforms.
There are 18 Big Cartel templates or ‘themes’ to choose from, which form the basic design of your store. Pricing, of course, is just one part of the ecommerce picture - and not necessarily the most important part! So, let’s take a look at something that’s pretty key to a successful online store: visuals. (And, as we’ll see later, Big Cartel’s limitations are not just restricted to the number of products you can sell.)īut for small enterprises with basic needs, Big Cartel’s pricing structure is very attractive. However, if you have more than 500 products in your inventory (or if you plan on having an inventory larger than 500 products),you will definitely need to look elsewhere for an online store builder.
If you are offering a limited range of products, and you have a very low budget to play with, Big Cartel is certainly worth your consideration. So all in all, the Big Cartel pricing plans offer access to an ecommerce platform at very competitive prices. This plan increases your product inventory limit to 500 products but otherwise, all of its features are the same as those of the ‘Platinum’ plan. The most expensive plan, ‘ Diamond’, costs $19.99. It also gives you access to inventory tracking, the ability to edit your store theme’s code, and, importantly, the option to add Google Analytics. Turning now to the premium plans, the ‘ Platinum’ plan, at $9.99 per month, allows you to sell a maximum of 50 products in your store.
The platform is a ‘software as a service’ product, which means that you don’t own it, but instead pay a monthly fee to use it. As long as you have access to a computer, a web browser and the internet, you can build and maintain a Big Cartel store from anywhere.
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Big Cartelįast forward to 2022 and Big Cartel has generated over $2.5 billion in sales and, according to internet statistics company, now powers 77,000+ online stores.īig Cartel is a ‘hosted solution,’ which means that it runs on its own servers, and you don’t need to worry about installing software anywhere, or buying web hosting. This isn’t surprising really, given its origins - it was founded in 2005 by a musician, Matt Wigham, as a way to sell his band’s merchandise online.Īlthough it started out as a platform aimed at ‘creative’ merchants, Big Cartel can technically be used to sell pretty much anything - so its userbase has expanded to include lots of other business types. Is it a good option for building your online store - or should you go for a tool that comes with more advanced ecommerce features?īig Cartel is an online store builder that has traditionally focused on serving the needs of creative and artistic sellers. In this Big Cartel review, I’m going to take a look at one of the more ‘cheap and cheerful’ ecommerce platforms out there.