When you sign up for a BigCommerce plan and create your store, it comes with a single, native storefront included (called the default storefront). If you create an additional storefront, some necessary changes are made to your control panel experience so you can effectively manage multiple storefronts.
- Some existing settings for the default storefront are moved to Channel Manager.
- Some existing settings for the default storefront also become the “global” settings for additional storefronts. You can manage these settings either globally (for all storefronts) or per specific storefront.
- Some control panel tools are updated to accommodate multiple storefronts.
For users who are familiar with our single storefront control panel experience, but might be new to multi-storefront (MSF), we’ve created this guide to compare the differences between the two.
Settings Moved to Channel Manager
This table shows settings that are moved after enabling MSF.
| In Single-Storefront | In Multi-Storefront |
Storefront
| Channel Manager › [Storefront Name]
|
Global and Storefront-specific Settings
For some settings, when you create an additional storefront, it can use your default storefront’s settings (Global) or have its own unique settings.
The domain name, storefront status (active/inactive), and the message for visitors for inactive storefronts is always storefront-specific.
This table shows the location of settings that can be Global or storefront-specific.
Note: In Channel Manager, some settings may be grouped or named slightly differently than the default storefront (global settings).
| Default Storefront / Global Setting | Channel Manager › [Storefront Name] › |
| Settings › Currencies | Currencies |
| Settings › Checkout | Checkout |
| Settings › Data Solutions | Data Solutions |
| Settings › Date & Timezone | Storefront Settings › Date and timezones |
| Settings › Display › Auto Approve Reviews Settings › Display › Enable Product Comparisons | Storefront Settings › Catalog Preferences |
| Settings › Display › Category Settings | Storefront Settings › Category display |
| Settings › Display › Display Settings | Storefront Settings › Product display |
| Settings › Display › Enable Search Suggest | Storefront Settings › Search |
| Settings › Domain name | Domains |
| Settings › Miscellaneous › Advanced Store Settings › Allow Purchasing | Storefront Settings › Storefront status |
| Settings › Order notifications Settings › Inventory › Email notifications Settings › Miscellaneous › Email settings › Abandoned Cart Emails | Notifications |
| Settings › Search | Storefront Settings › Search |
| Settings › Security & Privacy › Your customers’ privacy | Storefront Settings › Customers’ privacy |
| Settings › Store Profile | Storefront Settings › Contact information |
| Settings › Website › Search Engine Optimization | Storefront Settings › Search engine optimization |
| Settings › Website › Search Engine Robots | Storefront Settings › Search engine robots |
| Storefront › Logo | Storefront Settings › Logo and favicon |
Changes to Control Panel Tools
Before you can enable MSF, your store must be using the latest version of certain control panel features. If you’re using an older version of any of these features, you’ll need to upgrade them or opt in to the most recent version.
Note: If you are only familiar with the older versions of these features, updating them may change the way they look and feel in the control panel.
Once you have confirmed you are using the latest version of these features, you can create your first additional storefront. When that happens, some tools in the control panel are automatically updated.
Product List
The Product List experience (Products › View) is updated so you can quickly and easily assign products to channels (storefronts), both individually and in bulk.
Note: In Multi-Storefront, a product must be assigned to a channel before it will appear on your storefront. For Single-Storefront, this is not a requirement, as products will be added automatically to the storefront's channel.
The updated list also introduces a Channels column for identifying and making channel assignments directly.
See Product List for more details and all of its features, including how to assign and manage channels.
Add/Edit Products
After enabling MSF, you will see a new section at the top of the Add/Edit Product page.
- The Channels dropdown in the top left shows which storefronts this product is currently available in, and how many categories it is assigned to within that storefront. Clicking on a storefront name will open the category selector for that storefront.
- The Manage/Assign to Channels button in the top right shows how many channels this product is currently available in, or alerts you that it has yet to be assigned to any channels. Clicking Manage allows you to select which storefronts the product is assigned to.
See Adding Products (v3) for more information.
Category Manager
The category management experience and the Categories page in your control panel will be updated when you enable MSF.
In places where you interact with categories, you will see their storefront assignment, such as:
- when adding, editing, or managing categories
- when adding or editing a product
- when using the Bulk Edit experience in the Product List
The Categories page has an updated look and feel, and storefronts are represented in the list.
The new categories experience also includes a Search bar, so you can find and jump to specific categories. This can be particularly useful if you have several categories across several storefronts.
See Product Categories for more information.
Import/Export Products
The import/export products experience is updated so you are using the latest version of our import/export tool. In addition to other benefits, this updated version allows for assigning channels via import.
See our Modern Product Import/Export guide for more information.
Shipping Methods
A Storefronts tab is added to the shipping method settings of real-time shipping quotes and static shipping quotes, excluding free shipping. Storefront channels can be toggled on or off from this tab, allowing you to control the methods that display on each storefront.
See Shipping Methods in our Multi-Storefront guide for more information.
