Is bigcommerce down? Here’s How to Find Out

September 14, 2024

If you’re experiencing issues with your BigCommerce store and wondering if the platform is down, you’re not alone. Sometimes, store owners encounter problems and assume it’s a BigCommerce outage, but there could be other reasons—like SSL certificate issues—that are causing the trouble.

In this short video, I walk you through exactly how to check if BigCommerce is down and provide insights on common issues that might be affecting your store. As a developer and store owner myself, I know the frustration of a site not working as expected, so I created this simple guide to help you resolve potential issues quickly.

What You’ll Learn in This Video

By watching the video below, you’ll discover:

How to check BigCommerce’s server status at any given time using their official status page.
Why not every server issue affects your store and what to look for when diagnosing a problem.
How SSL certificate issues are commonly mistaken for outages and why they could be causing your site to fail.
An easy way to test your SSL certificate using a free tool to see if it’s causing your site problems.
Steps to update your SSL certificate if needed, to quickly get your store back online.

Quick Video Summary (Timestamps)

(00:00) – Introduction to checking if BigCommerce is down, and the link to their real-time status page: status.bigcommerce.com.
(00:24) – Explanation of BigCommerce’s server status and how issues may not always impact your storefront directly.
(00:43) – SSL certificate issues are a common cause of site problems, and why third-party certificates are more problematic.
(01:15) – Use whynopadlock.com to test SSL certificates for potential issues affecting site performance.
(01:52) – How to update an expired SSL certificate by contacting BigCommerce and why it’s an easy fix.

Why You Should Watch

This video gives you practical tips to solve your site issues faster and understand what’s really going on when BigCommerce seems down. With the steps outlined, you’ll be able to troubleshoot common problems without wasting time or money.

Check out the video and make sure to bookmark it for when you need a quick reference!

Full Transcript

(00:00)
“Is BigCommerce down? Yikes, I hate that you’re asking this question, but let me show you where to find the answer. Obviously, this is a live video, but I’ll show you where to get an up-to-date answer.
Before we get started, my name is Kal. I’m a developer and a store owner, just like you. Let me share my screen. BigCommerce has a website that they keep up-to-date minute by minute called status.bigcommerce.com.”
(00:24)
“This is where they show you all the different pieces of their servers and what’s up or what’s down. Now, there are times when something is down, but it doesn’t affect your storefront. So, just because a piece of this is having an issue doesn’t mean that’s what’s causing your issue.
As you can see at the time of this video, everything’s looking great, and BigCommerce does maintain 99.9% uptime. So it doesn’t happen very often. But I wanted to make this video to show you guys where to get that answer.”
(00:43)
“One of the biggest reasons I hear people asking, ‘Is it down?’ is usually not because BigCommerce is down but because they’re having an SSL issue—your security certificate.
BigCommerce provides one for free, and if you’re having an issue with it, you can have them update it. If you’re using a third-party one, those are usually a lot more problematic and costly, so I don’t recommend it.”
(01:15)
“But you can test your SSL certificate by going to this other site, whynopadlock.com, and typing in your address. Prove to them that you’re not a robot, and click ‘Test Page.’ If everything’s working right or if something is wrong with your certificate, you’ll see it pass maybe a couple of these tests, but not all of them. That’s a dead ringer for ‘I have an SSL problem.'”
(01:52)
“If you need to get your SSL updated, all you have to do is call BigCommerce and have them reapply the SSL certificate. That usually fixes it. Certificates do expire every year, so it’s something that happens.”
(02:16)
“Anyway, I hope this helps you out! If you’re new to BigCommerce or eCommerce, be sure to check out my course—I’ll put the link below. Also, join our free community at joinecommercegrowth.com.
If you found this helpful, give me a like, and I hope your store is back up very soon. Thank you!”

About The Author

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Kal Wiggins is the CEO of Epic Design Labs, specializing in ecommerce design and development. As an ecommerce store owner and seasoned developer, Kal shares practical tips and strategies to help fellow store owners grow their businesses.

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