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:

Extract Option Names: From optionValue.getOptionDisplayName()
Create Variant Structure: Group option values by option name
Handle Pricing Modifiers: Apply option-specific price adjustments
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:

Identify Legacy Components:
- BigcommerceOrderComposer (instance-based)
- BigCommerceProductDecomposer (instance-based)

Create Static Equivalents:

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

Extract Utility Methods:
- Move complex logic to utility classes
- Create focused helper methods for option mapping
- Remove instance variable dependencies
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

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