BigCommerce Store Not Performing? Here’s Why Hiring a Developer Can Help

BigCommerce is a leading Saas-based eCommerce platform that supports thousands of online stores across industries. It offers built-in tools for scalability, but many merchants still face BigCommerce performance issues that hurt growth.

Slow site speed, poor UX, and integration glitches are common pain points affecting conversion rates. These issues often stem from template limitations, unoptimized assets, or a lack of customization.

Knowing how to hire a perfect BigCommerce developer is essential. A skilled developer ensures tailored performance improvements, technical fixes, and ongoing BigCommerce store optimization aligned with business goals.

Common Reasons Your BigCommerce Store Isn’t Performing

A well-designed BigCommerce store should deliver fast performance, seamless navigation, and strong search visibility. However, many store owners encounter friction points that require technical expertise to address. 

Here’s where a skilled developer plays a pivotal role:

1. Slow Loading Speed

Site speed is directly linked to user satisfaction and revenue. A delay of even one second can drop conversion rates by 7%. In BigCommerce, slow speeds often stem from unoptimized images, redundant JavaScript, or inefficient Liquid templates.

Developers tackle these issues by implementing lazy loading, compressing media files, optimizing theme code, and enabling CDN support. They also review server response times and third-party script loads.

By fine-tuning these aspects, they significantly improve load time, reduce bounce rates, and enhance the overall shopping experience across desktop and mobile.

2. Poor User Experience (UX) & Design Issues

Bad navigation, broken links, or cluttered design frustrate users and lead to abandonment. Many BigCommerce themes aren’t optimized for modern UX principles or mobile responsiveness.

A developer audits the customer journey, from homepage to checkout, and addresses layout issues, poor CTA placements, and inconsistent branding. They implement responsive design techniques, intuitive navigation menus, and accessibility standards like ARIA labels. This creates a seamless and professional experience, ensuring users stay longer, browse more products, and feel confident completing purchases on any device.

3. SEO & Organic Traffic Issues

Search visibility is often compromised by structural SEO errors like duplicate content, unoptimized URLs, or missing metadata. While BigCommerce provides SEO tools, many stores underutilize them.

Developers improve technical SEO by optimizing headings, cleaning up canonical tags, and enabling structured data (schema) for better product visibility. They also fix mobile usability issues and broken links, which negatively impact rankings.

Combined with improved load speed and content hierarchy, these changes help boost organic traffic and improve search engine performance.

4. Customization Limitations

Out-of-the-box BigCommerce themes may lack the flexibility to meet growing business demands. Whether it’s multi-step product configuration, advanced filters, or custom shipping logic, limitations in default setups can hinder performance.

Developers work beyond templates to build dynamic, interactive elements using JavaScript and the Stencil framework. They also create custom scripts and backend integrations to automate workflows. This level of customization supports unique business models and improves UX, helping you deliver a differentiated shopping experience that drives customer loyalty and higher average order value.

5. Checkout & Payment Issues

The checkout phase is often where most users drop off. Default BigCommerce flows may lack flexibility, such as dynamic tax calculation, address validation, or support for localized payment methods.

Payment gateway failures or lag during checkout can also result in abandoned carts. A skilled developer can audit your checkout pipeline, fix load-related delays, and integrate preferred gateways like Razorpay, Klarna, or Apple Pay. They also ensure PCI compliance and build in retry logic and error-handling for frictionless transactions.

6. Third-Party App & API Integration Challenges

As your store scales, third-party integrations become essential, but poorly implemented ones can create security gaps, slow down performance, or trigger unexpected behavior.

Whether it’s syncing inventory with ERP systems or linking email automation tools, a developer ensures each app integrates seamlessly with BigCommerce’s API. They can optimize API calls, implement webhooks for real-time updates, and clean up conflicting scripts. This results in smoother automation, better backend control, and a faster, bug-free front-end experience.

Benefits of Hiring a BigCommerce Developer

Hiring remote BigCommerce developer ensures your store looks great and functions efficiently across all critical touchpoints.

1. Performance Optimization

A skilled developer analyzes and resolves performance bottlenecks impacting store speed. They implement lazy loading, compress assets, and remove redundant code. Developers also fine-tune caching layers and database queries, ensuring smoother navigation and reduced load times. This results in better user experience and improved conversion rates.

2. Custom Development & Feature Enhancement

Every business has unique needs. Developers build custom features such as advanced search filters, personalized product recommendations, and multi-step product configuration tools. They also modify themes beyond BigCommerce’s default capabilities, enabling tailored layouts that reflect your brand identity and improve UX.

3. SEO & Marketing Improvements

Developers implement technical SEO best practices, including optimized URL structures, alt tags, and semantic headings. They also add schema markup and structured data to enhance your visibility in search engine results. This helps attract high-intent traffic and improves your store’s organic discoverability.

4. Security & Maintenance

A developer ensures your store follows best security practices, including HTTPS enforcement, PCI compliance, and secure API handling. They offer continuous monitoring and maintenance to minimize vulnerabilities, patch issues quickly, and maintain store uptime.

5. Scalability for Business Growth

As traffic increases, developers ensure the backend infrastructure remains stable. They optimize code and resources to prevent crashes or slowdowns during peak periods. This future-proofs your store, allowing you to scale seamlessly without performance drops.

How to Choose the Right BigCommerce Developer

Choosing the right BigCommerce developer ensures your store runs efficiently and supports long-term business goals. Their expertise should align with your technical needs, growth plans, and performance expectations.

Here are the key skills and experience to look for:

• Proficiency in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and BigCommerce’s Stencil framework
• Experience with store performance tuning and BigCommerce site speed improvements
• Familiarity with responsive design, cross-browser testing, and database optimization
• Ability to fix BigCommerce performance issues and implement scalable eCommerce solutions

Hiring options:

• Full-time developers are ideal if you need regular updates, complex customizations, or plan to scale quickly
• Freelancers work well for one-off projects, urgent fixes, or limited-scope redesigns

Questions to ask before hiring and ideal responses

Here are some crucial questions to ask when hiring a BigCommerce developer:

Have you improved site speed for a BigCommerce store before?

Ideal response: Should explain caching, image compression, or JS/CSS minification used in past projects

How do you handle BigCommerce SEO issues?

Ideal response: Should mention structured data, canonical tags, or schema markup implementation

Can you integrate third-party tools or CRMs with BigCommerce?

Ideal response: Should include examples like Klaviyo or custom API connections

What’s your approach to responsive and mobile-first design?

Ideal response: Should highlight testing across devices and optimizing UX for mobile shoppers

Do you have experience with custom checkout or payment gateways?

Ideal response: Should mention modifying checkout.js or integrating PayPal, Stripe, or regional providers

How do you ensure store security and compliance?

Ideal response: Should touch on PCI compliance, data encryption, and regular update practices

Wrapping Up

A slow or underperforming BigCommerce store affects everything from conversions to customer trust. Identifying the root cause, whether it’s poor site speed, limited customization, or technical SEO issues, is the first step.

Knowing how to hire a perfect BigCommerce developer ensures you get targeted support tailored to your store’s needs. A qualified developer solves immediate performance issues and sets the foundation for long-term scalability.

At Uplers, we specialize in connecting you with expert developers who can optimize your store’s performance, improve user experience, and implement custom features that drive growth.

Ready to take your store to the next level? Connect with us and hire the perfect developer today!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much does it cost to hire a BigCommerce developer?

Rates vary by experience and location. Freelancers may charge $20 to $50 per hour, or they may quote project-based fees.

2. What’s the difference between a BigCommerce developer and a designer?

A developer focuses on coding, performance, and integrations. A designer handles visual layout and user interface, and both are essential.

3. How long does it take to see improvements after hiring a developer?

Depending on the scope, improvements may be visible within 2 to 4 weeks. Speed and usability enhancements show the fastest results.

4. Will a developer help with third-party integrations?

Yes, an experienced developer can integrate CRMs, payment gateways, and automation tools while maintaining store performance.

5. How do I ensure my developer follows best security practices?

Check for experience with PCI compliance, data encryption, regular updates, and past work on secure payment setups and backups.