Unmasking the Ghost Number: A BigCommerce Guide to Eradicating Stubborn Old Phone Numbers

The Persistent Problem: Old Phone Numbers on BigCommerce

Many BigCommerce merchants have faced the frustrating issue of an outdated phone number stubbornly appearing on their storefront, even after diligently updating it in the Store Profile settings. This common scenario can confuse customers and lead to missed calls or misdirected inquiries. A recent BigCommerce forum thread highlighted this very problem, with a merchant, John Commesso, reporting that his old phone number was showing up for some users and even in the Page Builder preview, despite the correct number being set in the backend.

The core of the problem lies in how BigCommerce displays dynamic versus hard-coded content. While the Store Profile phone number is used for dynamically referenced variables, any instance where the number was manually entered into a theme file, a widget, or a script will not automatically update. This means merchants often have to dig deeper than just the basic settings.

Key Areas to Investigate for Stubborn Phone Numbers

Community experts quickly jumped in to offer solutions, pinpointing several common culprits:

• Hard-Coded Values in Theme Files: This is a frequent cause. If the phone number was directly typed into your theme's HTML, it won't update when you change the Store Profile. For Stencil themes, common files to check include:

  • templates/components/common/header.html

  • templates/layout/base.html

  • Footer templates (e.g.,

    templates/components/common/footer.html

    or similar partials)
• Page Builder Widgets and Global Regions: Even if the correct number appears when you're actively editing a page, an older version of a widget or a global region might still be serving the outdated number. Merchants should specifically check:
  • Storefront → Page Builder → Global Regions
  • Header or announcement bar sections within Page Builder
• Script Manager or Third-Party Apps: A less common but possible scenario is a script or a marketing/contact widget dynamically injecting the phone number. This could be found in your Script Manager or within the settings of an installed app.
• CDN / Edge Cache: BigCommerce utilizes Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) for faster content delivery. Sometimes, an older cached version of your store's content might be served to visitors, or even to the store owner. Clearing your theme cache or republishing your theme can often resolve these caching issues.

The consensus from the community is that most cases boil down to a hard-coded value within the theme's header or footer, or an old number lingering in a Page Builder global region. By systematically checking these areas, BigCommerce merchants can effectively track down and eradicate those stubborn, outdated phone numbers, ensuring their customers always have the correct contact information.