Why is BigCommerce checkout not working even though the status page shows operational?

Status pages can lag behind real incidents by 10-30 minutes. If BigCommerce checkout is broken, first check your payment gateway status independently (PayPal, Stripe, Braintree, or your configured gateway) — BigCommerce processes payments through external gateways, and a gateway outage breaks checkout even when BigCommerce itself is operational. Also test checkout in an incognito window to rule out browser extensions or cached scripts.

How do I get alerts when BigCommerce goes down?

Subscribe to status.bigcommerce.com email or SMS notifications for instant outage alerts. Set up an independent uptime monitor on your storefront URL to catch issues faster than status page acknowledgments — particularly important during peak sales periods like BFCM.

Does BigCommerce have a status API I can query programmatically?

Yes. status.bigcommerce.com runs on Statuspage.io, which provides a public API at https://status.bigcommerce.com/api/v2/status.json. You can poll this endpoint to programmatically check BigCommerce's current status. The response includes an indicator field (none/minor/major/critical) and a description.

BigCommerce / E-Commerce Platform

BigCommerce Status: How to Check If BigCommerce Is Down Right Now (2026)

Q: Is BigCommerce down or is it just my store?

Check status.bigcommerce.com first. If BigCommerce shows operational but your store is down, the issue may be store-specific: a theme error, a conflicting app, a CDN misconfiguration, or a custom script causing JavaScript errors. Try loading your store in a fresh incognito window. If the default BigCommerce theme works but your custom theme doesn't, the issue is your theme, not BigCommerce.

Updated June 2026 · 6 min read · API Status Check

Quick Answer

Check BigCommerce status at status.bigcommerce.com (official) for real-time status, or try loading your storefront directly to see if the issue is platform-wide or store-specific. For checkout failures, also check your payment gateway status separately.

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The Official BigCommerce Status Page

BigCommerce maintains an official status page at status.bigcommerce.com, built on Statuspage.io. It tracks status across all major BigCommerce services:

Storefront: Customer-facing store pages — product listings, category pages, search, and cart. Storefront outages directly impact customer experience and sales conversion.

Checkout: The checkout flow including cart, address entry, shipping calculation, and order completion. Checkout outages are the highest-severity event for revenue impact.

Control Panel: The BigCommerce merchant dashboard used to manage products, orders, customers, promotions, and store settings. Control panel issues affect merchant operations but not necessarily storefronts.

API: BigCommerce REST and GraphQL APIs used by headless storefronts, integrations, inventory management systems, and third-party apps. API outages affect custom integrations and headless commerce setups.

Apps & Integrations: Third-party apps installed from the BigCommerce App Marketplace, including shipping apps, marketing tools, ERP integrations, and fulfillment connectors.

Email Notifications: Order confirmation emails, shipping notifications, and abandoned cart recovery emails sent to customers. Email delivery issues affect post-purchase communication.

What Each BigCommerce Status Means

All Systems Operational: BigCommerce is fully functional. Storefront, checkout, API, and control panel are all working normally. If your store still has issues, they're likely store-specific — check your theme, installed apps, or custom scripts.

Degraded Performance: BigCommerce is accessible but experiencing slowness — slow page loads, slower checkout completion, or delayed order processing. Sales can continue but conversion rates may be impacted by increased load times.

Partial Outage: Specific BigCommerce components are affected. A common pattern: control panel is down while storefronts continue working, or the API is degraded while native checkout is fine. Determine which component is affected to assess your specific impact.

Major Outage: BigCommerce is broadly unavailable. Storefronts may not load, checkout is inaccessible, and orders cannot be placed. This is a revenue-impacting event — activate your incident response plan and notify your team.

Under Maintenance: Scheduled maintenance window. BigCommerce announces planned maintenance in advance at status.bigcommerce.com. Storefronts typically remain available during most maintenance, but the control panel may be restricted.

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Why “BigCommerce Is Down” Might Be Store-Specific

Many BigCommerce issues affect only specific stores, not the entire platform. Before assuming a global outage, check these common store-level culprits:

Broken Theme or Custom Scripts

Theme JavaScript errors are one of the most common causes of a 'BigCommerce store is down' report. A broken Stencil theme update, a JavaScript error in a custom script, or a conflicting app widget can make your storefront appear broken while the BigCommerce platform is fine. Test by switching to a default BigCommerce theme temporarily in the Control Panel > Storefront > Themes.

Payment Gateway Is Down (for Checkout Failures)

BigCommerce processes payments through external gateways (PayPal Powered by Braintree, Stripe, Square, Authorize.net, etc.). A gateway outage causes checkout failures even when BigCommerce is 100% operational. Always check your gateway's status page simultaneously: status.braintreepayments.com, status.stripe.com, etc.

Conflicting App Causing JavaScript Errors

BigCommerce apps inject scripts into your storefront. A buggy app update can break the entire storefront experience. Temporarily disable recently updated apps from the Control Panel > Apps to identify the culprit. Check your browser console for JavaScript errors that name specific app scripts.

CDN Cache Serving Stale or Broken Assets

BigCommerce uses a CDN for storefront asset delivery. Occasionally, a bad cache state serves incorrect CSS or JavaScript to customers. Hard-refresh your store (Ctrl+Shift+R) and test in an incognito window. If the problem clears in incognito, it may be a CDN caching issue — contact BigCommerce support to clear your store's CDN cache.

5 Ways to Check BigCommerce Status Right Now

Official BigCommerce Status Page

Visit status.bigcommerce.com for real-time component status and incident history. Subscribe to email or SMS notifications for instant outage alerts.

status.bigcommerce.com →

BigCommerce Status API (Statuspage.io)

Query BigCommerce's status programmatically via the Statuspage.io API. Returns current status indicator and description.

# Check BigCommerce status via Statuspage.io API
curl -s https://status.bigcommerce.com/api/v2/status.json | \
  python3 -m json.tool

# Response: {"status": {"indicator": "none", "description": "All Systems Operational"}}
# indicator: none=ok, minor=degraded, major=partial, critical=major outage

Load Your Storefront in an Incognito Window

Open your storefront URL in a private/incognito browser window with no extensions. If it loads there but not in your normal browser, the issue is extensions or browser cache. If it doesn't load in incognito either, it's likely a platform or store configuration issue.

X/Twitter Search

Search 'BigCommerce down' or 'BigCommerce not working' on X for real-time user reports from e-commerce merchants.

Search X for 'BigCommerce down' →

BigCommerce Support

Contact BigCommerce support at support.bigcommerce.com or via phone for Enterprise plans. For storefront issues, include your store URL, the affected pages, and browser console errors.

BigCommerce Support →

Common BigCommerce Errors and What They Mean

These are the errors and symptoms you'll encounter when BigCommerce or your store configuration is experiencing issues:

"BigCommerce storefront showing blank page or 500 error"This is often a theme-level JavaScript error. Open your browser DevTools (F12) console and look for red JavaScript errors. If you see errors referencing specific app scripts or theme files, temporarily revert to a default theme or disable recently installed apps to isolate the cause.

"Checkout page not loading / payment not processing"First check your payment gateway status separately. If the gateway is fine, check the Checkout component on status.bigcommerce.com. Also verify that browser extensions like ad blockers aren't blocking checkout scripts — test in incognito mode.

"BigCommerce API returning 503 errors"The BigCommerce API is down or overloaded. Check status.bigcommerce.com for the API component. Implement exponential backoff in your API integrations. BigCommerce rate limits are per store — check your API call volume isn't exceeding plan limits (429 = rate limited, 503 = platform issue).

"Products or inventory not updating in storefront"Usually a Control Panel / API issue if you're updating via API, or a cache issue on the storefront. Try triggering a catalog sync from the Control Panel. If using a headless setup, verify your storefront cache invalidation is working after catalog updates.

"Order confirmation emails not being sent"Check the Email Notifications component on status.bigcommerce.com. Also verify your store email settings under Store Setup > Store Settings > Miscellaneous. If you use a custom SMTP server, verify your email provider is operational.

"BigCommerce control panel not loading / very slow"A control panel-specific issue. Check status.bigcommerce.com for the Control Panel component. Your storefront usually continues working during control panel issues — verify your store is accessible to customers even if you can't access the merchant dashboard.

What to Do When BigCommerce Is Down

Immediate Response

Confirm on status.bigcommerce.com — distinguish platform vs. store-specific issues
Check if checkout works on mobile to rule out browser-specific issues
Enable a maintenance page or redirect if checkout is broadly broken
Post a customer notice on social media if storefront is down for >15 minutes
Take orders manually by phone or email for VIP customers during extended outages

Long-Term Resilience

Set up external uptime monitoring on your storefront and checkout URL
Subscribe to status.bigcommerce.com for email alerts
Maintain a backup payment gateway for checkout failover
Keep app installations minimal — each app adds a failure point
Test your store on a new app install or theme change before going live

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the official BigCommerce status page?

BigCommerce's official status page is at status.bigcommerce.com. It shows real-time status for the storefront, checkout, control panel, API, apps and integrations, and email notifications. Subscribe to email or SMS notifications for proactive outage alerts.

Is BigCommerce down or is it just my store?

Check status.bigcommerce.com first. If BigCommerce shows all-green but your store is down, the issue is almost certainly store-specific — a theme error, broken app, or misconfigured script. Test by switching to a default theme temporarily and disabling non-essential apps.

How often does BigCommerce go down?

BigCommerce's historical uptime is typically above 99.9%, with most incidents being brief periods of degraded performance or partial component issues rather than full platform outages. BigCommerce publishes incident history at status.bigcommerce.com.

Does BigCommerce go down on Black Friday / Cyber Monday?

BigCommerce is architected for high-traffic events and publishes BFCM readiness resources. However, traffic spikes can cause degraded performance even on robust platforms. Set up independent uptime monitoring before peak sales events so you get immediate alerts if your store slows down or goes offline.

Does BigCommerce have an SLA for uptime?

BigCommerce Enterprise plans include a 99.99% uptime SLA with service credits for qualifying downtime. Standard plans (Standard, Plus, Pro) are covered under BigCommerce's general service terms without explicit SLA credits. Contact BigCommerce sales for Enterprise SLA details.

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