How to Set Up a BigCommerce Store

BigCommerce ships with a Test Payment Gateway active by default. You can place a full test order using card number 4111 1111 1111 1111, any name, any future expiration date, any CVV, and confirm your entire checkout flow before a single real card ever touches your store.

Most new stores never test this way. They connect a live gateway first and find out something is broken after a customer already tried to pay.

This guide covers the parts of BigCommerce setup that trip up new stores specifically: which checkout type your payment gateway actually requires, why shipping should start simple, and the permission settings that quietly block a second staff member from touching products.

Key Takeaways

• BigCommerce includes a Test Payment Gateway enabled from the moment your store is created. Use it to test your full checkout flow with a fake card before connecting a real payment provider.
• Not every payment gateway works with every checkout type. Optimized One-Page Checkout is required for some gateways specifically, if you use a gateway it does not support, BigCommerce automatically falls back to the legacy checkout instead, worth knowing before you assume a hard block.
• Start shipping with one option, not five. Enable a single method, flat rate or free shipping, and expand once the store is actually live.
• Only the Store Owner and Store Administrator roles have full product access by default. Anyone else needs specific permissions granted, a common source of confusion when a second employee cannot edit products.
• A product needs only a name and a price to exist. Everything else, images, descriptions, variants, can be added later.

Before You Start: Set Up the Test Gateway First

Do this before touching payments, shipping, or your theme. It costs nothing and catches problems early.

1. Confirm the Test Payment Gateway is active, it is enabled automatically when your store is created
2. Place a full test order through your storefront using card number 4111 1111 1111 1111
3. Enter any name, any future expiration date, and any CVV, no real card is required
4. Confirm the order completes and appears correctly in your control panel

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Create Your Store and Confirm Access

1. Complete BigCommerce’s signup process
2. Confirm your account role, Store Owner or Store Administrator grants full product and settings access by default
3. If you plan to add employees later, note that other roles need specific permissions granted individually, this is not automatic

Step 2: Choose and Install a Theme

1. Browse the Theme Marketplace from your control panel
2. Note which checkout type each theme supports, this matters more than it looks like it should, since your payment gateway choice can depend on it
3. Install your chosen theme
4. Adjust your store logo, colors, and homepage layout to match your brand

Step 3: Add Your First Products

1. From the control panel, go to Products
2. Create a new product, a name and a price are the only required fields
3. Add images, a description, and variants once the basic listing exists, none of this is required to save the product
4. Confirm your user role has product permissions active, only Store Owner and Store Administrator get this by default

Step 4: Choose Your Checkout Type

Do this before connecting a payment gateway, not after.

1. Go to Advanced Settings, then Checkout
2. Review your three real checkout types: Optimized one-page checkout (the current default, with digital wallets, stored cards, and multilingual support built in), single page express checkout (the legacy version), or multiple page checkout (each step happens on a separate page instead of one screen)
3. Confirm which checkout type your intended payment gateway actually requires, some gateways only work with Optimized one-page checkout specifically, if the gateway you choose is not supported, BigCommerce automatically switches your store to the legacy checkout instead rather than blocking checkout completely
4. Choose your checkout type based on that answer, not on appearance alone

Step 5: Connect a Payment Gateway

1. Go to Settings, then Payments
2. Choose a gateway supported for your store’s country and currency
3. Complete the gateway’s own account verification process, this varies by provider and can take a while
4. Once connected, place another test order, this time through the live gateway in test mode if it offers one, before accepting live transactions

Step 6: Set Up Shipping

1. Go to Settings, then Shipping
2. Enter your shipping origin address, this determines which shipping services BigCommerce can offer
3. Set up your shipping zones, the regions you actually ship to
4. Enable one shipping method to start, flat rate or free shipping, expand once the store is live rather than configuring five options before your first sale

Step 7: Set Up Tax

1. Go to Settings, then Tax
2. Choose manual tax setup if you want direct control over rates, or automatic tax setup if you want BigCommerce to calculate this for you
3. Confirm rates match your actual legal obligations, do not assume the default is correct for your specific situation

Step 8: Review Checkout Settings

1. Go back to Advanced Settings, then Checkout
2. Enable Guest Checkout if you want to reduce friction for first-time buyers
3. Consider Persistent Cart and Google Address Autocomplete, both reduce checkout abandonment
4. Confirm coupon codes and gift certificates work correctly if you plan to use either

Step 9: Test Everything Before Launch

1. Place a test order through your live checkout type and connected gateway
2. Confirm shipping calculates correctly for a specific address in your configured zones
3. Confirm tax calculates correctly for that same address
4. Confirm the order notification and confirmation email both arrive

Step 10: Go Live

1. Confirm your store is no longer showing a coming soon page
2. Publish your store
3. Monitor your first few orders closely, watching specifically for checkout errors related to shipping zones or payment gateway mismatches

Settings Most New Stores Miss

• Checkout type and payment gateway compatibility. Pick a gateway first, then discover it needs Optimized One-Page Checkout, and you may have already built your storefront around a different checkout type
• Staff permissions. A second team member added to the store does not automatically get product access, this has to be granted directly
• Shipping zone accuracy. A zone missing a state, province, or postcode range causes checkout errors for actual customers, not just a theoretical gap
• The Test Payment Gateway itself. It exists specifically to catch problems before a live gateway is connected, skipping it means your first test happens on a paying customer’s actual order

FAQ for Setting Up a BigCommerce Store