Squarespace vs Shopify: Which is better for your business?
Choosing a website platform, also known as a website builder, is akin to selecting the foundation when building a home. It’s important to get it right.
There are many platforms and solutions out there to help you build and manage your business's digital home. But you don’t want to pick just any old platform; you want to ensure your website looks and performs optimally and offers your visitors the best user experience.
Shopify and Squarespace are two of the biggest (and most popular) website builders on the market today. But which is the right platform for your business?
While both are solid options, they each have distinct advantages and drawbacks. In this guide, I’ll provide an honest deep dive and a side-by-side comparison to help you choose the right platform for your business.
Overview of Squarespace
According to internet statistics company, Builtwith, researchers estimate a total of 2.8 million Squarespace sites in 2022. But is it the right fit for your business? Here’s everything you need to know:
What is Squarespace?
Squarespace is a Content Management System (CMS) for creating and managing websites, blogs, portfolios, and online stores. It’s best known as a drag-and-drop, beginner-friendly website builder that makes it easy to build professional sites without hassle or any coding skills. Although it initially gained popularity as a “website builder for creatives”, Squarespace has steadily become a solid “all-rounder” option in the website platform space. It’s recommended for business owners, freelancers and creatives across industries who need a digital landing pad but not necessarily a fully-fledged online store.
Squarespace is a ‘hosted’ solution. This means that it runs on its own servers, and you don’t have to pay for a hosting service or install software anywhere to use it.
Squarespace | Key Features and FAQ
Design & Usability
Regarding design and usability, Squarespace always wins in my books. Their new drag-and-drop feature allows you to edit quickly and add content to your site without coding know-how. Beauty is subjective, but in my opinion, no other website builder matches Squarespace’s clean, modern templates. Their ready-to-use templates definitely have a look: bold typography, white space and plenty of room to showcase photography, but if that isn’t your style, don’t let that put you off. Working alongside your trusty Squarespace website designer (hi!), we can edit existing templates or start from scratch to create a custom stand-out website for your brand.
Do Squarespace sites look good on Mobile?
All Squarespace templates are fully responsive, meaning your site design will resize itself automatically to appear correctly on tablets, mobile devices and desktops. Not only does this improve your site's usability and accessibility, but responsive design can also provide some SEO benefits.
What about Squarespace and SEO?
There have been many myths about Squarespace’s SEO capabilities; however, with the proper guidance & know-how, you can optimise your Squarespace site to deliver some pretty powerful search engine results and, ultimately, drive more traffic to your site. While there is no option to install a third-party SEO app like Yoast, Squarespace offers built-in SEO tools that allow you to configure meta titles, descriptions and custom URLs.
Bonus Tip: Already using Squarespace and want to optimise your site for increased search engine results? Check out my Squarespace on-page listing tips.
Does Squarespace have its own email app?
Squarespace recently introduced a new add-on feature called Email Campaigns, which does what it says on the tin. This feature allows users to manage their website and mailing list in one place. You can sign up for a free trial which allows up to 50,000 sends per campaign; after that, you can choose between four payment plans available starting from €5 per month.
Is it easy to Blog on Squarespace?
Undoubtedly, Squarespace offers outstanding & easy-to-use blogging features. With its built-in blog page, you can easily create blog posts and excerpts, tag and categorises posts, enable comments, push the content to prominent social media platforms, and more. In addition, you can download the Squarespace App to update your blog on the go. They have a feature-rich commenting feature, multi-author functionality, the ability to schedule posts, and AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) support; you name it!
Bonus Tip: Why not repurpose your blog content into a value-packed audio experience for your audience with Squarespace’s new podcast hosting feature?! Its’ built-in RSS feed lets you publish to Apple Podcasts and other podcast services. More information on Squarespace podcasts here.
Is Squarespace Good for E-Commerce?
While I wouldn’t recommend Squarespace for an e-commerce business, it provides enough e-commerce features to power a small online store with a small catalogue of products. With Squarespace’s e-Commerce plans, you’ll have access to some key features such as:
User-friendly shopping cart system
Unlimited product options
Shipping integrations
Ability to sell physical and digital products
Automated abandoned cart recovery
Gift cards & discounts
Custom notifications
Subscription payments
That said, Squarespace is not as powerful as Shopify.
Does Squarespace offer Analytics on the activity on my website?
You’ll want to link your site to Google Analytics for the most accurate & detailed information. But until you do, Squarespace has built-in analytics software that will still be helpful for you to collect this kind of info. You can track revenue, total orders, conversion, and your customers' behaviour. Some notable reports include Commerce Analytics (revenue, order volume, and conversion rates), Traffic Sources and Activity Log.
Apps & Plugins for Squarespace
Squarespace plugins enhance the design and functionality of your website without the hassle and headache of learning how to code. Squarespace’s app store is called Squarespace Extensions, which offers a range of paid-for add-ons that provide extra functionality for your website. The number of extensions is currently limited ( at the time of writing, there are only 31 add-ons available); however, they provide an excellent starting point for businesses that need extra support.
Some of my favourite apps & plugins include
Google Analytics: Free - great for in-depth visitor tracking & reporting
Dark mode Plugin: $29 - great for accessibility and user experience
SquareCertify: From $19 per month - great e-commerce social proof plugin
Does Squarespace Offer Good Support?
While Squarespace does not offer phone support, users can seek support and answers via email (24/7) live chat (Monday to Friday) or via Twitter or Facebook Messenger. However, most issues can be resolved by visiting their value-packed forum & help centre, which I think is one of the best and most trustworthy. Here you’ll find a robust library of videos and articles to help you understand how Squarespace works and find quick answers.
Squarespace Pricing
Like most site builders, you don’t ‘own’ your website on Squarespace but rather pay an ongoing hosting fee for your site to live on their platform. Squarespace offers four core service tiers with monthly and annual payment plans and a 14-day free trial.
All Squarespace plans provide unlimited storage (meaning that you can add as much content as you like) and unlimited bandwidth (meaning that there are no restrictions on site traffic levels).
More information on Squarespace Pricing & Features available here
Pros & Cons of Squarespace
Pros:
All-in-one platform - no need for add-ons, plugins or widgets
Multi-channel selling across Facebook and Instagram
In-built Email Campaigns app for branded newsletters, lead magnet automation and post-purchase automated emails
Abandoned Cart Email functionality
Unlimited storage on all plans - perfect for extensive media libraries
Great in-built analytics system for a good overview of your site activity
Brilliant blogging features with built-in media library
Generous page limits (currently up to 1,000 pages)
Intuitive drag and drop editing tools
Single sub-navigation option- not ideal for e-commerce sites with complex menu structures
Integrations with offline selling options
Free WHOIS privacy and SSL certificate built into your purchase
Great blogging tools for your content marketing strategy
Easy to use app for quick edits on-the-go
Robust content creation tools, including their Video Studio App
Member Areas functionality for gated content and membership areas
Excellent resource hub with webinars & help guides
24/7 support via email tickets & very helpful live chat
Cons
Higher price point to alternatives
Editor doesn’t autosave changes
Not as many options as Shopify for selling (although there are plugins available to improve product sorting and categorisation)
Upgrading from Squarespace version 7.0 to 7.1 requires some heavy-lifting but can be facilitated through a third-party app
Support & live chat only available during standard business hours
More questions about Squarespace? Check out my Squarespace FAQ blog
Overview of Shopify
According to internet statistics company, Builtwith, an estimated 4 million e-commerce sites have been built with Shopify to date and possess 10% of the global eCommerce platform market. But is it the right platform for your business? Here’s everything you need to know:
What is Shopify?
Shopify is a powerful cloud-based eCommerce platform built specifically for online merchants, making it easy for anyone to create and manage an online store. The platform was created specifically as an online store solution and has subsequently added a website-building component. With this in mind, it's best used by individuals or businesses looking to sell physical products or services.
Shopify, like Squarespace, is a ‘hosted’ solution, meaning it runs on its own servers, and you don’t have to buy web hosting or install any software to use it. You build and manage your Shopify store in a web browser — so as long as you have access to the Internet, you can run a Shopify business from any location.
Shopify | Key Features & FAQ
Design & Usability
Shopify provides 9 free e-commerce templates (or ‘themes’) for beginners to use as a starting point for their online store design. And, if the free templates don’t appeal or you have a specific design or layout in mind, you can use a paid-for or ‘premium’ theme — of which there are now approximately 93 available. In terms of usability, Shopify uses a drag-and-drop design, which means you simply click, move, and drop media elements anywhere on the page. It also has a straightforward interface with visual cues, so you never feel lost when designing your online store. Shopify has a more significant learning curve than other website builders.
SEO
Like Squarespace, Shopify offers users a decent range of SEO tools. The nuts and bolts of on-page SEO are relatively easy to manage — changing page titles and meta descriptions is very easy, as is adding headings and alt text. Shopify is set up to meet the objectives of Google’s Core Web Vitals requirements, which include three key metrics: page loading time, responsiveness and visual stability.
Bonus tip: I recommend using the paid-for SEO tool Yoast for sense-checking the quality of your on-page SEO.
What are Shopify sites like on Mobile?
Shopify is a fantastic platform as far as smooth mobile user experience. Every theme on the Shopify theme store is fully responsive out of the box – meaning it auto-adapts to the screen size of the device on which it is rendered. Why does this matter? Well, whether your customers view your site from a tablet, smartphone, desktop or laptop, your website displays perfectly & delivers a consistent experience across the board– exactly as it should.
What’s Shopify like for Blogging?
Shopify has a built-in blogging tool, allowing users to create and publish value-packed content that complements their product offerings. While Shopify’s blog tool covers all the basics to get started, it’s worth mentioning that its functionality is not as sophisticated or powerful as that you’d find on some other platforms (such s Squarespace). There is a lack of blogging analytics, social bookmarking, categories (you have to stick to tags), and other advanced blogging features that you may need to deliver a high-quality content experience.
Does Shopify have an Email app?
Shopify recently introduced an email marketing tool: Shopify Email, allowing users to create email marketing campaigns and send them directly from their Shopify account. While it began as a basic email marketing tool, allowing limited branded e-newsletters, it’s recently evolved to offer more advanced email marketing functionalities, including list segmentation and automation. All paid subscription plans receive 10,000 free emails at the start of each month. While Shopify enables users to create and send email campaigns directly from their admin page, there are some useful apps that give further flexibility. Some of the best include Privy and Omnisend Email Marketing.
Is Shopify the best platform for E-Commerce?
Shopify is the market leader when it comes to e-commerce platforms.
Upon subscribing to Shopify, you will have access to a vast range of templates to create and customise your online web store, along with tools for selling products, integrated technology for payment processing, SEO and marketing tools, and the most convenient checkout on the internet.
The following are just some of the stand-out e-commerce features you can expect if you choose Shopify:
Seamless integration capabilities, including Google Ads & Google Merchant Centre
Multi-channel selling allowing you to sell easily on Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and eBay- all via your Shopify user dashboard
Integration with top payment providers (such as PayPal & Stripe) as well as increasingly popular “buy now, pay later” apps like Afterpay and Klarna
Coupons & Discounts & Gift Cards
“Buy button” that can be added to your Shopify blog or non-Shopify sites, using Shopify Lite
Shopify POS - currently only available in limited locations
Excellent user dashboard & customisable user profiles for your team
Live Chat integrations
Built-in cart abandonment feature that allows you to automatically send customised emails to customers once they leave your store without a purchase
Beyond these features, you can download thousands of other business-related apps on the Shopify App Store that integrate with your site.
Analytics & Shopify
When it comes to analytics, Shopify is well-equipped. As I mentioned for Squarespace, I always recommend integrating Google Analytics for more robust analytics tools; however, Shopify’s built-in analytics tool allows you to track all vital data, from customer behaviour to stock-level reports. It’s important to mention that Shopify Analytics features are based on subscription pricing plans – the higher your subscription plan, the more advanced reports you can access.
Apps & Plugins
With over 2000 apps, Shopify has one of the most comprehensive app markets. From lead generation to push notifications, Shopify’s App Store provides a third-party integration for almost anything under the eCommerce sun. Better yet, it’s super easy to integrate each app. It’s important to note that many of the most popular apps come with an additional cost, so be mindful when choosing which ones to add to your online store.
How does Shopify compare for Support?
If you run into any problems with your Shopify site, you can contact Shopify’s 24/7 customer service team (available via live chat, email & phone support), use the community discussion forums or poke around Shopify Learn resources, the platform’s digital library of literature, webinars and other informational material that covers almost everything you need to know about setting up and running your store.
Shopify Pricing
Like Squarespace, you don’t own a copy of Shopify but instead pay a monthly fee to use it. Shopify has four core service tiers and a 3-day free trial (no credit card required). If you have the budget to pay upfront, you can reduce your costs significantly by purchasing an annual subscription.
Also available: Shopify Plus with Enterprise-grade solutions for high-volume merchants and large businesses, starting at $2000 per month
More information on Shopify pricing & features here
Shopify Pros & Cons
Pros:
Multi-channel selling across Facebook and Instagram
Comprehensive sales tools
Sophisticated Abandoned Cart saving functionality
Wide range of apps, plug-ins and integrations (3,000+)
Auto tax calculation tools & multi-currency selling options
Built-in ‘Shopify Shipping’ service (currently limited to a small number of locations)
Free email marketing tool to send emails to up to 2,500 subscribers
Excellent for e-commerce with extensive online shopping features
Plenty of add-ons and extensions to integrate with your favourite tools
24/7 customer support with live chat and email
Extensive payment options (100+) as well as their own gateway, Shopify Payments
Robust user community where you can find answers to your questions
Lots of premium and free templates to choose from
Integrations with offline sales solutions
Cons of Shopify
Monthly costs can add up quickly with third-party apps & integrations
Fewer built-in features than other platforms, and therefore heavily reliant on apps
Limited free theme options
Transaction fees are required unless you’re paying with Shopify Payments
Shopify Payments, you can only sell from some countries.
Depending on the tools and apps you choose to use, the costs can add up
Steeper learning curve to navigate & get used to the platform
Squarespace vs Shopify: Making a decision
The question of “Shopify vs Squarespace: which one is better?” comes down to you and your business's specific needs and preferences. Making the right choice for your business will be a decision that boils down to your business type, the key features you need to deliver a great online experience and ultimately, how you want to connect and interact with your customers.
Throughout my experience supporting brands to design a beautiful and functional digital home for their business, I have a few final thoughts that might help provide some additional clarity (even thought I admit to being biased!)
If you’re looking for a solution that can give you high-level features for extensive e-commerce, then Shopify is likely your go-to choice. If your aim isn’t to build the world’s best online store but a website that sells (products, services, courses, memberships) looks amazing and captures your audience’s attention, then Squarespace is the better choice.
If you still have questions and are thinking about going with a Squarespace website, please book a free Discovery Call with me today.
