We know that design and storefront customization is very important to our merchants, and it should come as no surprise that it’s the most popular topic for both questions and discussions in the Community. With that in mind, we’ve streamlined our Community design resources to make sure you’re able to find the type of help that you want quickly.

While every store is unique, we’ve found that that there are 2 major factors that come into play when determining the best resource for a particular design question or need:

  • the size of the request
  • the technical ability or desire of the requester

Based on this information, we’ll recommend one of the following resources:

 
 

Community Q&A - Themes & Design

If you’re unfamiliar, the Q&A portion of the Community is for specific questions about the platform. Here, fellow users with experience and expertise in the platform - along with BigCommerce-approved partners - offer advice, recommendations, and direction. The Themes & Design area is dedicated to questions about themes, customization, code, and basically anything design-related.

This area is best for small-to-medium scope questions/requests where the asker is looking to do the customization themselves and needs directions or advice. Often, the solution may require template customization or some other technical action. The expectation here is one of “do-it-yourself” while crowdsourcing solutions and best practices. Since this is a peer-to-peer space, getting a response isn’t guaranteed, but following best practices when asking questions or seeking advice will increase your chances of getting feedback.

Tips for Posting in Q&A

  • Include your store URL. Other members can offer higher-quality advice and answers if they can actually see the issue/request you’re posting about. If your store isn’t launched yet, you can include your store’s preview code so other members can access it.
  • Be as descriptive as possible. The more details you include, the easier you’ll make it for others to offer suggestions and solutions. Include important details like the theme you’re using, the exact result/change you’re trying to accomplish, and any customizations or apps you may have installed that could be affecting the storefront, like chatbots or pop-up promotions/notifications.
  • Share what you’ve already tried. Be sure to mention any solutions or troubleshooting you’ve already done to avoid duplicated suggestions or efforts. If you tried implementing code, share the code in your post so other users can assist with debugging.
 
 

Agency Design Request

The Agency Design Request program is designed to provide you with solutions to optimize your store by recommending Certified BigCommerce Agency Partners for smaller to medium-sized design projects such as:

  • image resizing
  • WordPress integration setup
  • carousel resizing and optimization
  • product page configuration
  • mouseover on images
  • custom homepage
  • custom header and footer creation

This may be the preferred method of getting design help for several reasons:

  • The change is time-critical. While there are several design changes that can be done without the need for expert-level knowledge, if the task needs to be done sooner than later, you may not be interested in taking the time to learn about and perform the update yourself.
  • The change is complex. Some more involved design customizations may require intricate template workarounds, or involve aspects of the platform you aren’t familiar with (such as the API). For these tasks, working with a partner is likely the best path to take.
  • The change is risky. Using Agency Design Request may be preferable for merchants who are not comfortable updating code. Any time you attempt to manipulate theme or template code directly (especially the checkout page), there is an inherent risk of making an error that could potentially prevent shoppers from being able to check out or effectively use the store.

To locate a Certified Agency Partner through the Agency Design Request program, complete the form located on the Agency Design Request page, and you will be contacted within 48 hours. While you are speaking with the partner, you will be able to describe your project and business needs in further detail.

 
 

BigCommerce Partner Directory

The BigCommerce Partner Directory is a listing of partners that have been certified by BigCommerce and are experts at working with the platform and our themes. This is the recommended path for large theme or store customizations. Partners provide support for their own services and are your primary point of contact if a customization stops working or isn’t working as intended.

  • Partners in the directory can be filtered by expertise, services offered, regions served, budget, and more to help you find the partners that are a good fit.
  • Partner pages include a built-in contact form and a link to the partner's website for more information.