BigCommerce Best Practices & Common Issues

Product Option Complexity

BigCommerce has a complex product option system that requires careful handling:

• Multiple option types: dropdown, radio, checkbox, etc.
• Option value dependencies and pricing modifiers
• Complex mapping from options to variants
• Variant-specific pricing and inventory
• Image associations with variants
• SKU management for variants

Common Issues & Solutions

Option Mapping Complexity

When mapping BigCommerce product options to Violet variants:

1. Extract Option Names: From optionValue.getOptionDisplayName()
2. Create Variant Structure: Group option values by option name
3. Handle Pricing Modifiers: Apply option-specific price adjustments
4. Test Edge Cases: Multiple options, option value dependencies

Webhook Signature Validation

Always validate webhook signatures:

// Validate BigCommerce webhook signatures
String expectedSignature = BigCommerceWebhookUtils.calculateSignature(payload, webhookSecret);
if (!BigCommerceWebhookUtils.isValidSignature(receivedSignature, expectedSignature)) {
  throw new InvalidWebhookSignatureException();
}

Rate Limiting

BigCommerce enforces strict rate limits:

• Rate Limit: 450 requests per 30 seconds
• Backoff Strategy: Exponential backoff with jitter
• Header Monitoring: Watch X-Rate-Limit-Remaining headers
• Bulk Operations: Consider message queues for better rate limit management

Authentication Issues

Common authentication problems:

• Store Hash: Required and unique to each store
• Access Token: Must be properly scoped for required resources
• API Path: Use correct API version (v3 recommended)
• HTTPS: All calls must use HTTPS

Testing Patterns

Test Structure

• Tests located in src/test/java/io/drizzl/platform/ecom/platforms/bigcommerce/
• Use @SpringBootTest with BigCommerce-specific mocks
• JSON fixtures in src/test/resources/platform/bigcommerce/

Mock Examples

@MockBean
private BigCommerceServiceClientFactory bcServiceClientFactory;

@MockBean
private BigCommerceCalculateCartUtils cartCalculationUtils;

@MockBean
private AsyncBcOrderEvents asyncBcOrderEvents;

// Mock BigCommerce API responses
when(bcServiceClientFactory.getApiClient(merchantId))
    .thenReturn(mockBigCommerceClient);

Test Data

• Complex product structures with variants and options
• Order responses with extensive metadata
• Webhook payloads with proper signatures
• Edge cases: null option values, missing images, complex discounts

Enterprise Features Testing

Advanced Catalog Management

• Test with multiple categories and brands
• Verify category relationships and hierarchies
• Test with product relationships (bundles, related products)

Customer Groups and Pricing Tiers

• Test with different pricing for different customer groups
• Verify tier-based pricing calculations
• Handle group-specific product restrictions

Multi-Channel Inventory

• Test inventory sync across channels
• Verify channel-specific availability
• Handle channel-specific visibility rules

Platform-Specific Considerations

Customer Management

• Comprehensive customer data structures
• Customer groups for pricing and permissions
• Custom customer fields
• Subscription/recurring customer data

Order Management

• Comprehensive order lifecycle management
• Advanced fulfillment options
• Return and exchange processing
• Order notes and communications
• Audit trail tracking

Shipping and Tax

• Advanced shipping rule system with zones
• Tax calculation with multiple rates
• Tax-inclusive vs tax-exclusive pricing
• Shipping method cost overrides

Payment Processing

• Multiple payment gateway support
• Stored payment methods
• Recurring billing capabilities
• Fraud detection integration
• Payment status tracking

Migration Guidelines

Legacy to Modern Migration

The BigCommerce integration needs significant modernization:

1. Identify Legacy Components:

   • BigcommerceOrderComposer (instance-based)
   • BigCommerceProductDecomposer (instance-based)

2. Create Static Equivalents:

   // Target modern pattern
   public class BigcommerceOrderComposer {
     public static BigCommerceOrder composeOrder(TransactableBag bag, MerchantConfiguration config) {
       // Static method implementation
     }
   }
   

3. Extract Utility Methods:

   • Move complex logic to utility classes
   • Create focused helper methods for option mapping
   • Remove instance variable dependencies

4. Update Tests:

   • Migrate to static method testing patterns
   • Update mock setup for new method signatures
   • Add edge case tests

API Version Management

• Stay current with BigCommerce API versions
• Test compatibility with API changes
• Handle deprecation warnings and sunset dates
• Update client library versions

Debugging Tools

API Testing

// Test BigCommerce API endpoints directly
String apiUrl = "https://api.bigcommerce.com/stores/{store_hash}/v3/products";
// Include proper authentication headers

Webhook Development

• Use ngrok for local webhook testing
• Verify webhook signatures in development
• Test webhook retry behavior and failure handling

Store Configuration

• Verify API credentials and permissions
• Check store-specific settings that affect API behavior
• Test with different store configurations
• Monitor store-level rate limits

Performance Optimization

Rate Limit Optimization

• Batch requests when possible
• Use filtering and pagination to reduce response size
• Cache frequently accessed data
• Monitor actual rate limit usage

Webhook Processing

• Process webhooks asynchronously (AsyncBcOrderEvents)
• Implement proper error handling and retries
• Use message queues for high-volume events

Integration Checklist

• Webhook signature validation implemented
• Rate limiting with exponential backoff
• Product option mapping tested
• Status ID mapping complete
• Metadata fields consistent with conventions
• Coupon/discount support verified
• Webhook payload processing async
• Error handling for API failures
• Payment method support verified
• Shipping and tax calculations accurate
• Authentication scopes validated
• Comprehensive test coverage