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Screaming Frog SEO Spider review
4:05 pm | March 9, 2020

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro | Tags: | Comments: Off

Screaming Frog SEO Spider is designed to crawl websites and gather crucial SEO data efficiently. This powerful software simulates how search engines crawl a site and lets you identify key SEO elements that impact website visibility and performance. It further enables the analysis of meta tags, response codes, keyword elements, and much more. Whether it's finding broken links, generating XML sitemaps, or analyzing page titles and meta descriptions, Screaming Frog offers a detailed insight into the website's architecture from an SEO perspective.

Ideal for SEO experts and digital marketers, Screaming Frog is a critical tool for enhancing website searchability and performance. In this review, we will be covering the detailed features, specifications, and offerings of Screaming Frog SEO Spider. From its advanced crawling capabilities to its integration options and reporting features, we will explore how this tool can be leveraged to conduct comprehensive SEO audits, improve website performance, and ultimately drive better search engine rankings.

Screaming Frog: Plans and pricing

Screaming Frog SEO Spider pricing

(Image credit: Screaming Frog SEO Spider)

The Free Plan is ideal for small-scale SEO tasks that allow up to 500 URL crawls. It includes basic features like finding broken links, errors, redirects, analyzing page titles, meta data, and generating XML sitemaps. This plan is a great starting point for beginners or small websites.

Priced at £199 /year per license, the Paid Plan offers unlimited URL crawls, subject to available memory and storage. It builds upon the Free Plan with advanced features such as JavaScript rendering for crawling complex websites, custom extraction using CSS Path, XPath, or regex, and integration with Google Analytics, Search Console, and PageSpeed Insights for deeper insights. This plan also includes AMP crawling and validation, structured data analysis, spelling and grammar checks, and the ability to crawl password-protected areas. It's designed for SEO professionals and larger websites needing comprehensive analysis and reporting tools.

Licenses are individual, meaning each user needs a separate one. Screaming Frog offers discounts for bulk purchases, making it cost-effective for teams. The licenses are valid for one year, requiring renewal thereafter. The Paid Plan is particularly beneficial for agencies and larger teams due to its advanced features and scalability.

Screaming Frog: Features

Website Crawling and Analysis

Screaming Frog SEO Spider website crawling and analysis

(Image credit: Screaming Frog SEO Spider)

Screaming Frog SEO Spider stands out for its ability to efficiently crawl websites of any size, from small blogs to large e-commerce sites, and provides real-time analysis of your results. This feature is crucial for identifying broken links, server errors, redirects, and security vulnerabilities, thus ensuring the site’s integrity and performance. The tool goes beyond simple error detection and offers deep insights into page titles and metadata that help spot issues, such as duplicate content or poorly optimized tags. Additionally, Screaming Frog extracts specific site data using CSS Path, XPath, or regex. This comprehensive approach to website crawling and analysis lets you pinpoint and address issues efficiently and further optimizes the site for both search engines and users.

SEO Auditing and Optimization

Screaming Frog SEO Spider SEO auditing and optimization

(Image credit: Screaming Frog SEO Spider)

We found that Screaming Frog’s auditing capabilities are equally robust and focus on redirects, robots.txt, and meta-robots directives, among other elements. It can audit temporary and permanent redirects and identify complex redirect chains and loops that can harm search engine visibility and user experience. Screaming Frog also reviews robots.txt, meta robots, or X-Robots-Tag directives and delivers insights into how search engines are directed to crawl and index pages or not. This includes identifying pages blocked from indexing, which could inadvertently hide valuable content from search engines. Another key feature is the validation of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) which makes sure that these pages are free from issues and optimized for performance in mobile search results.

Integration with Google Services

Screaming Frog SEO Spider boosts its capabilities through integration with various Google services, including Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and PageSpeed Insights. This synergy improves the crawl data with crucial user behavior insights, search query data, and vital performance metrics. By combining these datasets, the tool allows for a holistic analysis that spans visibility, speed, and usability. This integration helps SEO professionals access a comprehensive overview of how users interact with their site, identify performance bottlenecks, and understand the site's presence in search results, all within a single platform. This feature underscores the importance of leveraging Google's vast data resources to inform and refine SEO strategies.

Content and Structure Analysis

If you wish to explore the structural aspects of your site, Screaming Frog offers powerful tools for site architecture analysis. It provides detailed visualizations of a site's architecture, internal linking patterns, and URL structure, making assessing and optimizing the site hierarchy easier. These visual tools help in identifying areas for improvement in site navigation, deliver a seamless user experience, and facilitate search engines' understanding of site content and relevance. You can make informed decisions to enhance the site's navigational efficiency and SEO performance by spotlighting how content is interconnected and how authority flows through internal links. This aspect of Screaming Frog is instrumental in developing a site structure that supports both user engagement and search engine indexing.

Advanced Features and Customization

Screaming Frog SEO Spider goes beyond standard SEO tools by offering advanced features and customization options. During our tests, we noticed that it generated XML Sitemaps and Image XML Sitemaps with detailed configurations that help search engines efficiently discover and index website content. Additionally, the custom source code search feature gives the precise location of specific elements or code snippets across a website which is a boon for technical SEO audits and site maintenance. Plus, Screaming Frog is available as a desktop application for Windows, macOS, and Ubuntu.

Screaming Frog: Interface and in-use

Screaming Frog SEO Spider is renowned for its comprehensive suite of features, user-friendly interface, and ease of use. This is what makes it accessible to experts and novices alike. The interface is designed to be intuitive, with a clear and organized layout that lets you easily navigate through its various features and toolset. Upon launching the tool, you see a dashboard that presents all critical functionalities at a glance, which lets you quick access to start new crawls, view reports, and analyze data.

The tool's main window displays a wealth of information in a tabulated format and categorizes data into easily digestible sections such as response codes, page titles, meta descriptions, and more. This helps you to identify areas of interest or concern swiftly and facilitates a streamlined workflow for auditing and optimization tasks. Additionally, Screaming Frog offers extensive customization options. This lets you tailor your crawl sessions based on specific needs or objectives. Even the settings can be adjusted to focus on particular aspects of a site, such as link depth, subdomains, or specific file types, giving users complete control over the scope of the analysis.

Screaming Frog: Support

Screaming Frog SEO Spider support

(Image credit: Screaming Frog SEO Spider )

Screaming Frog has a well-structured support system to assist you in resolving any type of technical issue. You can start by utilizing self-support resources. These guides include the latest version of the SEO Spider, a starter guide, FAQs, and a user guide, available for addressing common problems and queries.

For more complex or specific issues, Screaming Frog has direct technical support. For this, you are advised to save your log files through the app ('Help > Debug > Save logs') and include detailed information about the site, the issue at hand, and any relevant screenshots or videos. This can be done by emailing support@screamingfrog.co.uk or using the 'open a support ticket' option on their website. The support team at Screaming Frog is committed to responding to queries within 24 hours during standard business hours. This dual approach to support paired with self-help resources reflects Screaming Frog's dedication to user satisfaction and problem resolution.

Screaming Frog: The competition

Priced at £149 annually, it is a cost-effective option compared to other tools. For example, SerpStat starts at $69/month, which totals over $800 annually, and it makes Screaming Frog a more budget-friendly choice. However, Screaming Frong’s alternate competitor, Yoast SEO is known for its user-friendly interface and integration with WordPress and it might turn out to be a better option for those who prioritize ease of use and immediate feedback.

However, Screaming Frog's manual configuration for tracking changes in page rankings may be a drawback for some users. This is because tools like Ahrefs offer automated alerts. It starts at $99/month and provides a range of tools in a user-friendly interface. Furthermore, its other competitor Semrush offers a variety of SEO, content marketing, competitor analysis, and PPC tools and starts at $119.95/month.

Screaming Frog: Final verdict

The Screaming Frog SEO Spider stands out in the market because of its thorough analysis and cost-effectiveness. It costs £149/year and provides a wide range of features for detailed SEO audits. This makes it a valuable asset for in-depth website analysis as it can crawl large sites and identify various issues like broken links, duplicate content, and security issues.

However, its technical interface may be challenging for those who prefer simpler, more automated tools. Competitors like Serpstat, Yoast SEO, Ahrefs, and Semrush deliver more user-friendly interfaces and a wider range of marketing tools. However, the cost of these tools is comparatively higher than Screaming Frog. In conclusion, Screaming Frog is ideal for you if you need detailed data and thorough site audits. Overall, it is particularly suitable for individuals, small teams, and agencies who want multi-functional SEO tools without a high investment.

BigCommerce review
9:00 pm | June 4, 2018

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro Software & Services | Tags: | Comments: Off

BigCommerce is a leading ecommerce platform designed to help you create, launch, and grow your online store—no coding needed. Our team at Techradar has spent thousands of hours testing over 140 website builders, so we know what makes a platform stand out. For anyone wanting to weigh their options, don’t miss our expert guides to the best website builders and the best ecommerce platforms.

We’ve seen BigCommerce land high on both lists, offering rich commerce features for ambitious stores. Still, if pure website building is your focus, our top pick for 2025 is Wix. See our latest Wix review to find out why it’s the best all-round builder for most people.

Put simply: BigCommerce excels at advanced store management. But, it’s not the most user-friendly if you crave simple design tweaks or unlimited styling options.

BigCommerce: 2-minute review

BigCommerce is a heavyweight in the ecommerce world. Its platform blends flexible store management with built-in tools for SEO, multi-currency selling, product variants, and sales analytics. Over the years, BigCommerce has become a favorite for fast-growing brands who want more power and customization than entry-level platforms.

BigCommerce’s standout feature is its ability to manage multiple storefronts under a single account. This, plus its deep native features and lack of hidden fees, mean you get a lot of bang for your buck. However, its website editor feels more basic than the drag-and-drop wizards you’ll find elsewhere. If your priority is deep commerce tools, though, BigCommerce delivers where it counts.

What is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is an online store builder that lets anyone, even total beginners, launch a shop, list products, and sell to the world. As with most other tools in this category, you don’t need to know a line of code. The dashboard is straightforward: you add products, set up payments, and choose a design template. With guided setup and support at every step, you’re never lost.

But, BigCommerce isn’t only for beginners. As your business grows, you can add more advanced features: custom discounts, shipping rates, and even multiple stores, all managed from one place. If you want to focus on selling, BigCommerce handles the technical side for you. That means security, hosting, and updates happen automatically behind the scenes.

Features

BigCommerce features

(Image credit: BigCommerce)

With multiple storefronts, you can have different versions of your store for different customer segments or locations. For example, if you have an international presence, each country can have its own version of the store in its native language and currency. This makes it easier to target customers in specific countries and regions without them needing to search through multiple languages or convert currencies. It also allows you to keep track of customer data and sales more easily since everything is segmented by storefronts. 

BigCommerce enables you to create unique, seamless customer experiences that span multiple channels with its Headless Commerce feature. During our test, we were able to leverage external content management systems (CMS) such as WordPress or Adobe Experience Manager, while still leveraging the powerful API-driven B2B and B2C commerce capabilities of BigCommerce. This allows for greater flexibility when creating custom digital experiences for customers across all devices and channels. 

BigCommerce offers B2B and wholesale solutions that allow businesses to provide special pricing and discounts on large orders or special deals for select customers. This helps make it easier for you to expand your customer base and reach new markets without having to put extra effort or resources into managing different pricing models. 

With omnichannel capabilities, you can create a seamless experience across all channels (online, in-store, mobile). This includes providing customers with the ability to make purchases from any device or location, as well as offering them access to unique experiences both online and offline. Additionally, this feature makes it easy for customers who are shopping online or in-store to convert their purchase into an online order if they need further assistance or information before completing a purchase. 

International Commerce-as-a-Service (CaaS) feature allows you to easily expand your business into new markets with localized checkout flows and currencies. With this feature, you can accept payments from customers in different countries without having to manage multiple stores or currency conversions. This feature provides tools such as automated tax calculations and support for the localization of product listings across multiple markets. 

The Emerging Brands feature makes it easy for startups and entrepreneurs to get their businesses off the ground quickly and affordably. With this feature, you can easily create a custom store design with pre-built templates that are optimized for mobile devices. Additionally, the Emerging Brands feature provides access to advanced marketing tools such as automatic discounts, coupons, abandoned cart reminders, Google shopping ads integration, and more. 

For small businesses that need more control over their website and store design, BigCommerce offers a range of features tailored specifically for them. These include drag-and-drop page-building capabilities for creating custom layouts, access to third-party app integrations, powerful shipping tools, real-time analytics, customer segmentation capabilities, integrated email marketing solutions, and more.  

If you’re running a large enterprise business with multiple stores or sites around the world, BigCommerce offers an enterprise solution that is tailored specifically to your needs. This includes customizable templated designs, built-in scalability options, full API access, unlimited order management capabilities, advanced merchandising tools, dedicated account managers, and much more.   

Finally, if you already have an existing website or store on another platform like Shopify or Magento 2, BigCommerce offers its migration tool which allows you to easily transfer all of your existing data over quickly and painlessly so you can get up and running on BigCommerce right away.         

Tools

BigCommerce apps

(Image credit: BigCommerce)

BigCommerce uses Google Cloud Platform infrastructure, Google AMP, and Akamai Image Manager to give your store blazing-fast speed. Customers don’t have to wait around for pages to load, plus you get unlimited customizability. Here are some of its best tools:

Product management

List unlimited products, create options and variants (like sizes or colors), and organize your catalog. Batch editing and flexible custom fields make managing large inventories easy.

Multi-storefront business

Run several storefronts — each with its own design, products, and checkout, using just one account. Perfect if you’re selling in different regions or to different audiences.

SEO and marketing

Built-in SEO tools help your shop rank on Google. You can edit page titles, descriptions, and URLs, plus take advantage of automatic image optimization and product review features. Marketing tools include coupon codes, gift certificates, and abandoned cart recovery.

International & multi-currency stores

Sell globally with automatic currency conversion, translation options, and support for the world’s top payment gateways. Real-time shipping quotes and tax calculations keep things running smoothly.

Reporting & analytics

From high-level dashboards to granular sales reports, BigCommerce’s analytics help you track growth and spot trends. Export data for more detailed analysis, or connect to third-party tools.

App marketplace

Add functionality with a range of integrations — think shipping, accounting, CRM, and more, by browsing the BigCommerce app store.

Ease of use

BigCommerce editor interface

(Image credit: BigCommerce)

BigCommerce offers a strong suite of features that make it easy to build a website from scratch. The drag-and-drop builder makes it easy for users to customize their site without needing any coding skills.

The platform also offers plenty of features to help you manage your store once it's up and running. You can easily add products, manage orders, process payments, track inventory levels, and more. It even makes it easy to create custom discounts, coupons, loyalty programs, and other promotions to attract customers. All of this requires little setup time, but you may have to spend some time with the documentation for advanced user flows.

Pricing

BigCommerce pricing

(Image credit: BigCommerce)

Plan

Starting rate (paid annually)

Renewal rate (paid annually)

Standard

$29/month

$29/month

Plus

$79/month

$79/month

Pro

$299/month

$299/month

Enterprise

Custom/Quote

Custom/Quote

BigCommerce offers four main pricing tiers: Standard, Plus, Pro, and Enterprise. Each plan is billed annually and rates don’t jump on renewal, so what you start with is what you pay going forward. The Standard plan is tailored for new or smaller stores, while Plus and Pro unlock more advanced features and higher sales limits. The high-end Enterprise tier is custom-quoted for big brands needing extra support or customization.

There are no hidden fees, bandwidth charges, or transaction costs. Every plan includes unlimited products, staff accounts, and storage. As you move up tiers, you’ll get added features like advanced marketing tools, customer segmentation, product filtering, and custom SSL certificates. BigCommerce provides strong value for growth-focused stores, though its initial pricing is higher than freelance-friendly rivals.

Security

The Fortnite server status

(Image credit: Epic Games)

BigCommerce puts security first with strong encryption, PCI DSS Level 1 compliance, and automatic SSL certificates for every store. All data exchanges (from credit card info to logins) are encrypted using the latest TLS standards, plus regular security audits help keep storefronts safe from evolving threats. Robust role-based access controls ensure staff only access what they need, while two-factor authentication protects your admin account from unauthorized changes.

The platform’s security credentials mean you’re protected from the biggest headaches. There are zero manual security patches or PCI checklists to worry about. If you need extra customer trust, you can add extended validation SSLs for more prominent browser indicators.

Support

BigCommerce help center

(Image credit: BigCommerce)

Every BigCommerce customer gets 24/7 live support via chat, phone, or email. We’ve found the support team quick, knowledgeable, and proactive. There’s also an extensive self-help portal, packed with step-by-step articles, video tutorials, and troubleshooting guides.

Higher-tier plans unlock priority routing and access to ecommerce strategists, helpful for scaling businesses. But even Standard users can reach out at any hour to expect real solutions. If you prefer not to contact support directly, the searchable knowledge base often answers common questions in minutes.

A small caveat is the occasional wait times can occur during peak hours, though most users have positive experiences with both the expertise and the friendliness of the help team.

Alternatives

One of the most popular ecommerce website builders on the market is Shopify. It provides users with a comprehensive suite of tools designed to help them build their online stores quickly and easily. With Shopify, you can choose from hundreds of professionally designed themes, and customize your store's look.

WooCommerce is another popular choice for businesses looking for an e-commerce website builder. Unlike many other platforms, WooCommerce is free and open-source software that lets users customize their store however they want. You can add products from any source (including third-party sites like eBay), manage inventory levels, set up taxes and shipping costs, accept payments via PayPal or credit cards, and more, all without any coding knowledge needed! 

Magento is another great option for businesses looking for an ecommerce website builder solution. The platform offers a wide range of features including customizable templates, product catalogs with advanced sorting options, multiple payment options including credit cards and PayPal integration, detailed analytics reports to track sales performance over time, SEO optimization tools to help increase visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs), customer loyalty programs, order management tools, and more.

Is BigCommerce right for you?

BigCommerce delivers serious ecommerce power and flexibility, especially for ambitious stores with an eye on global success. Some design limitations and higher entry costs keep it from being perfect, but it's easily one of the best options for growth-focused brands in 2025.

Also, BigCommerce offers an extensive range of features that can help you customize your website exactly how you want it. From drag-and-drop page builders to integrated ecommerce options, the possibilities are nearly endless. And, BigCommerce offers great customer service that is available 24/7. 

But the one downside to using BigCommerce is its cost. If you are on a budget, consider options with cheaper starting plans. 

FAQs

Is BigCommerce suitable for beginners?

Yes, BigCommerce is user-friendly enough for beginners and provides guided setup, helpful tutorials, and 24/7 support. The dashboard is straightforward, so you can launch a store with no coding experience. As you grow, you’ll find more advanced tools available, but you aren’t forced to use them until you’re ready.

Does BigCommerce take a cut of my sales?

No, BigCommerce does not charge transaction fees on any plan, even if you use third-party payment gateways. You’ll only pay standard payment processor fees set by your chosen provider, like PayPal or Stripe.

How does BigCommerce compare to Shopify and Wix?

BigCommerce holds its own against Shopify and Wix. Generally, BigCommerce is stronger for multi-store or international selling and has more built-in features, while Shopify offers the biggest app marketplace and Wix wins for easy design. Each has strengths, so your best pick depends on your priorities.

Can I try BigCommerce before buying?

BigCommerce offers a risk-free trial with instant access, no credit card required. This lets you test core features, templates, and tools before committing to a paid plan.

What happens if my store grows too quickly?

BigCommerce’s plans scale automatically as your sales rise. Higher tiers unlock more advanced features and higher sales caps. If you hit those limits or need custom solutions, the Enterprise plan offers limitless scalability, priority support, and dedicated account management.

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