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Migrating from BigCommerce to Swell - A Complete Guide

A complete guide to migrating from BigCommerce to Swell, covering unlimited product flexibility, native subscriptions, custom checkout options, and a step-by-step migration process.

Swell Team | December 03, 2025

For merchants outgrowing BigCommerce's architectural constraints or seeking true headless flexibility, headless commerce platforms offer a path forward. BigCommerce's retrofitted headless capabilities, product modeling limitations, and checkout customization restrictions drive growing brands toward API-first solutions purpose-built for flexibility. Swell addresses these pain points with unlimited product variants, native subscription billing, and full checkout API access at every tier.

The migration process demands systematic planning, but delivers measurable returns: 50-70% faster page loads, eliminated third-party app dependencies, and infrastructure that scales without re-platforming. With headless commerce attracting $1.6 billion in funding and 67% of retailers citing outdated platforms as drivers for new ecommerce investments, the momentum toward API-first architectures continues accelerating.

Key Takeaways

  • BigCommerce's limitations around headless architecture, product customization, and checkout control create concrete friction points that Swell eliminates through unlimited flexibility and full API access
  • Migration follows a dependency-based sequence: products→customers→orders→shipments→subscriptions, with proper planning preventing 43% of migrations that experience disruptions or data loss
  • Swell's native subscription engine eliminates third-party app fees while providing tighter integration with checkout, payments, and customer data management
  • Properly implemented 301 redirects preserve 90-99% of SEO value, making URL mapping essential before cutover
  • Custom headless storefronts enable 60-75% faster feature development compared to monolithic platforms, with sub-second page loads driving measurable conversion improvements

Why Consider Migrating from BigCommerce to Swell?

BigCommerce serves many merchants well, but certain business models strain against its architectural limitations. Understanding where these constraints create friction helps determine whether migration makes strategic sense.

Addressing BigCommerce's Constraints

BigCommerce wasn't originally designed as a headless platform. While the company has added headless capabilities, these remain retrofitted onto existing architecture rather than built from the ground up. For brands requiring complete frontend control—like THE RAYY's fine jewelry brand—this limitation drove their migration to Swell.

Product modeling restrictions hit merchants selling customizable goods hardest. Complex product configurations with multiple personalization options require workarounds that create inventory management challenges and customer experience friction.

Checkout customization sits behind significant barriers. Merchants wanting granular control over payment flows face limitations that prevent optimization for conversion or implementation of unique checkout experiences.

Swell's Core Philosophy: Data-Centric, Flexible, Future-Proof

Swell operates on three principles that directly address BigCommerce pain points:

  • Data-centric: Merchants control data modeling and access through custom fields on all standard models
  • Flexible: The platform adapts to new technologies and business models without forcing workarounds
  • Future-proof: Scale from product validation to millions in revenue without re-platforming

The same Backend API powering Swell's dashboard and checkout is available to developers. Anything possible in the admin interface can be replicated, customized, or extended through code—a fundamental architectural difference from platforms with separated internal and external APIs.

Swell's Headless Commerce Advantage: Beyond BigCommerce's Limitations

Headless architecture separates the customer-facing frontend from the commerce backend, enabling complete control over both layers independently. This separation provides advantages impossible with monolithic platforms.

Unlocking True Customization with Swell's APIs

Swell provides two primary APIs serving different purposes:

Backend API offers full CRUD access to all data models with secret key authentication. Use it for server-side operations, data migrations, webhook handlers, and admin tools where secret keys remain protected.

Frontend API provides partial CRUD for browser-based usage with public key authentication. It handles customer-facing operations—product catalogs, cart management, checkout flows—without exposing sensitive backend access.

The developer console built into the dashboard enables testing API calls, viewing request/response logs, and troubleshooting integration issues without leaving the browser.

Developer Flexibility: Build with Any Framework

Swell enables building storefronts in any JavaScript framework—React, Vue, Svelte, Next.js—or any programming language that can make HTTP requests. This flexibility contrasts with BigCommerce's more opinionated frontend approach.

For custom headless implementations, storefronts can deploy anywhere: Vercel, Netlify, AWS, or custom infrastructure. This enables advanced performance optimization including edge rendering, progressive web app features, and framework-specific optimizations that deliver incredible CDN performance.

Bridging the Gap: Hosted Storefronts and Headless Implementations

Not every migration requires custom development. Swell offers hosted storefronts with a visual theme editor and modular content blocks for merchants wanting speed without coding.

The hosted solution provides:

  • Pre-built responsive themes optimized for conversion
  • Drag-and-drop components for pages and layouts
  • Multi-level navigation menus (built-in, no app needed)
  • Automatic CDN deployment and image optimization

Merchants can even upload and customize Shopify themes within Swell's hosted environment, providing migration flexibility for those invested in existing designs.

Seamless Product Management & Pricing on Swell

Product modeling flexibility represents one of Swell's strongest differentiators against traditional ecommerce platforms.

Unlimited Product Options for Complex Catalogs

Swell removes product modeling restrictions entirely. There's no cap on variants, options, or custom attributes. A merchant can offer unlimited combinations with personalized text, custom measurements, and product-specific attributes—all managed through a single product record.

The model editor accessible through dashboard or API enables creating entirely custom data structures. A B2B wholesaler might add custom fields for net payment terms; a subscription box company could track dietary preferences; a marketplace could manage vendor-specific metadata—all native to the platform.

Product types span physical goods, digital downloads, services, bundles, and gift cards with individual inventory tracking per bundle component.

Strategic Pricing: Multi-Currency, Custom Groups, and International Price Lists

Swell's pricing capabilities extend far beyond simple price fields:

  • Multi-currency functionality includes explicit pricing rules per currency or automatic exchange rate conversions across 230 currencies
  • Customer-group-based pricing enables B2B pricing tiers, wholesale discounts, and member-exclusive rates without third-party apps
  • Purchase options allow selling the same product as one-time purchase or subscription with different pricing

For businesses like Velobici—running 17 currencies across global markets—this native functionality eliminates the complexity and cost of third-party solutions.

Revolutionizing Recurring Revenue: Native Subscriptions in Swell

Swell's native subscription billing works with any connected payment gateway through the platform's encrypted card vault, eliminating dependencies on third-party subscription apps.

Bypassing Third-Party App Reliance

BigCommerce subscription solutions require third-party apps that add monthly fees and create integration complexity. Swell's native subscription engine provides:

  • Dashboard-based subscription plan creation with flexible billing intervals
  • Separate invoicing from fulfillment schedules (bill monthly, ship quarterly)
  • Mixed cart support combining subscription and one-time products
  • Automatic payment retry with configurable dunning rules
  • Card expiration notifications to reduce involuntary churn

The subscription engine saves merchants substantial annual fees compared to running third-party subscription apps—savings that compound annually.

End-to-End Subscription Management for Customer Retention

Customer self-service features work out of the box:

  • Pause/resume subscriptions without contacting support
  • Update payment methods and shipping addresses
  • Modify billing frequency and quantities
  • Upgrade/downgrade plans with prorated invoicing

These capabilities reduce support burden while improving customer satisfaction. Subscription notifications keep customers informed of upcoming charges, failed payments, and subscription changes.

Optimizing Transactions: Custom Checkouts & Payment Flexibility

Checkout represents the critical conversion point where platform limitations directly impact revenue.

Tailoring the Checkout Experience for Conversion

Swell provides two checkout paths at all pricing tiers:

Hosted Swell Checkout handles payment processing, tax calculation, and PCI compliance while offering customization through dashboard settings. Guest checkout, abandoned cart recovery, and saved payment methods come standard.

Checkout API enables building completely custom payment flows in any framework. This access isn't restricted to enterprise plans—it's available across all tiers, unlike BigCommerce's limited SDK approach.

Diverse Payment Options and Security

Payment gateway setup connects existing processor accounts with Swell's competitive fee structure:

Primary gateways:

Buy Now Pay Later:

Split payment functionality per order item supports multi-vendor marketplaces and complex fulfillment models—features that require expensive add-ons on traditional platforms.

Global Reach: Swell's International Commerce Capabilities

International expansion requires more than translated content. Proper multi-currency pricing and tax compliance separate successful global stores from abandoned experiments.

Effortless Multi-Currency Management

Swell supports multi-currency functionality with two pricing approaches:

  • Explicit pricing lets you set specific prices per currency—useful for psychological pricing or market-specific strategies
  • Automatic conversion uses real-time exchange rates for dynamic calculation

The feature integrates with geolocation to suggest currencies based on customer location while providing manual override options.

Breaking Language Barriers: Comprehensive Localization

Multi-language support across 170 languages handles field-level translation for all customer-facing content: products, categories, checkout, and email notifications.

Tax compliance integrates with Avalara AvaTax and TaxJar for region-specific calculations, with support for creating custom tax rule groups by location and product type through tax settings.

Flexible Fulfillment & Shipping Strategies with Swell

Complex fulfillment requirements often strain traditional platforms. Swell's shipping infrastructure handles sophisticated logistics natively.

Streamlining Complex Logistics

Multi-warehouse management enables fulfillment from different locations based on inventory or customer proximity. Split fulfillment ships order items separately when needed.

Shipping zones group geographic regions with flexible pricing rules:

Real-time rate calculation integrations provide accurate carrier pricing at checkout, while local pickup options reduce costs and provide customer convenience.

Technical Deep Dive: Swell's Developer-Friendly Ecosystem

Migration success depends on understanding Swell's technical capabilities and how they map to BigCommerce data structures.

Comprehensive APIs for Total Control

The technical migration process follows a specific sequence based on data dependencies:

  1. Products (no dependencies)
  2. Customers (independent)
  3. Orders (requires product and customer IDs)
  4. Shipments (requires order IDs)
  5. Subscriptions (requires all previous data)

Swell's $migrate: true flag allows importing records while skipping validation—useful for bulk transfers but requires careful data cleanup beforehand.

await swell.post('/products', {

$migrate: true,

name: 'Product Name',

stock_tracking: true,

stock_level: 10

});

Extending Functionality with Custom Data and Webhooks

Webhooks fire real-time notifications for events—order placed, subscription renewed, payment failed. Subscribe to specific events and Swell POSTs data to your endpoint immediately.

Custom shipping and tax calculations can run via webhook, allowing complete control over these critical checkout components. The developer console logs webhook attempts, responses, and failures for debugging.

Leveraging a Growing Integration Ecosystem

Native integrations connect essential services:

Migration Considerations: Planning for Success

43% experience disruptions or data loss during migration without proper upfront work. Planning quality matters more than store complexity.

Migration Timeline

Most 2-8 week migrations complete depending on complexity:

  • Preparation: Export data, clean duplicates, create Swell account (3-5 days)
  • Products migration: Import catalog with variants and categories (2-5 days)
  • Customers: Import accounts, plan password resets (1-3 days)
  • Orders/History: Historical order import via API (2-4 days)
  • Subscriptions: Align renewal dates carefully (3-5 days)
  • Storefront build: Custom theme or hosted implementation (1-6 weeks)
  • Testing & launch: End-to-end verification, DNS cutover (3-5 days)

When to Get Help

  • DIY possible: Small catalog (<1,000 products), technical team in-house, comfortable with APIs
  • Support needed: Medium catalog, custom data fields, subscription migration
  • Migration service recommended: Large catalog (>10,000 products), complex B2B requirements, tight timeline

CodeClouds successfully migrated 500,000+ products for Venkel from Magento to Swell, demonstrating the platform handles enterprise-scale catalogs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I migrate customer payment tokens from BigCommerce to Swell?

Yes, if you're using Stripe or Braintree. Swell can import compatible payment tokens, enabling subscription continuity without requiring customers to re-enter payment information. For other gateways, customers will need to re-authorize payment methods on their next purchase.

How do I preserve SEO rankings during the migration?

Comprehensive URL mapping with 301 redirects preserves 90-99% of SEO value. Map every BigCommerce URL—products, categories, blog posts—to Swell equivalents before launch. Lower DNS TTL values 24-48 hours before migration to speed propagation. Monitor search rankings and organic traffic post-launch to identify redirect gaps.

What happens to my BigCommerce apps and integrations?

Audit each app against Swell's native features and integration ecosystem. Many apps become unnecessary: subscription billing, customer group pricing, advanced navigation, and product bundling are native to Swell. For essential third-party services, check Swell's integration directory or build custom connections via API.

Does Swell support B2B features like net terms and tiered pricing?

Yes. Native customer group-based pricing enables wholesale tiers without apps. Resolve integration provides B2B net terms and financing. Custom fields on customer records support contract pricing, payment terms, and account hierarchies. The Venkel case study demonstrates complex B2B pricing with 5-decimal precision and contract customer pricing groups.

What kind of support does Swell provide during migration?

Email and chat support is available on all plans. Priority support begins at higher tiers, with dedicated developer support on unlimited and custom plans. Swell's agency partner program connects merchants with experienced development shops for full-service migrations. Documentation includes developer guides, help center articles, and integration setup instructions.