Shopify Vs Squarespace

In this comparison we take a look at two big players in the ecommerce platform market- Shopify Vs Squarespace. Hopefully this article will give you a better insight into each of the platforms and help you decide which one is right for your online business.

Shopify

Shopify is a commerce platform that allows anyone to build an online store. It has customisable templates available, an easy to navigate interface and a range of additional features to make selling possible. Merchants can sell products online or in person with the integrated Shopify point of sale (POS) system. 

Squarespace

Squarespace is an all in one solution for website building and hosting. It enables users to create an online store using pre-built templates with drag and drop elements. It lets businesses of all kinds easily create a professional looking website.

Shopify vs Squarespace: Pros and Cons

The best way to make any decision is to draw up a list of pros and cons. So, what better way to start the comparison than by highlighting the main pros and cons of Shopify Vs Squarespace. Hopefully, this comparison will give you a better insight into these two platforms and help you decide which one is best for your online business. 

Shopify Pros

• 24/7 support
• Range of customisable themes available
• Integrated payment processing
• Marketing tools
• Different payment plans available
• Supports over 100 payment gateways
• Quick and easy to set up and use

Shopify Cons

• Adding extra apps can be complex
• There is a price tag attached to some templates
• There is a fee for each transaction on top of the monthly subscription

Sqaurespace Pros

• Stunning templates available
• Ability to restore deleted posts and pages for up to 30 days
• Mobile app allows you to edit on the go
• All in one platform
• Different subscriptions available

Squarespace Cons

• Not that simple for beginners
• Does not autosave changes on its own
• Lacks advanced marketing tools

Shopify Vs Squarespace: feature comparison

Store functionality

All of Squarespace’s templates are fully responsive on mobile devices meaning they automatically adjust so that it appears correctly on tablets, mobiles and desktops. Not only does this make your site more appealing to users, it can provide search engine optimisation (SEO) benefits too. Shopify too has particularly responsive themes with a quick load time. This is important as 45% of consumers claim to shop using their mobile. 

Payment system

Shopify is hard to beat when it comes to payment gateways. Offering 100 different payment gateways Shopify makes online payments accessible for all. This opens your store to as many customers as possible. Squarespace on the other hand is particularly limited when it comes to payment gateways, only allowing you to use PayPal or stripe. This can be off putting particularly for high-risk merchants. Often, those using Squarespace for ecommerce end up purchasing the Shopify Lite plan to integrate alternative payment gateways. This is where it is important to consider whether or not it is cheaper to build your whole ecommerce site on Shopify in the first place. 

Apps and add ons

Apps are a great way to improve your website’s performance, that’s why it’s important to investigate whether an ecommerce platform offers a range of apps. Apps can cover anything from analytics to marketing to shipping and finance. Squarespace offers a high quality range of apps, although Shopify has one of the most comprehensive app stores around. It also provides third party integration for almost anything ecommerce related. 

Customisation

Shopify has a good choice of customisable themes, with 10 free templates available and 50+ premium templates. We recommend Shopify for those wanting to sell products online such as clothing, gadgets, cosmetics and more. The templates offered by Squarespace are all modern and sleek, although we think it is best used for those in the creative industry who have access to a large selection of high resolution images.

Blogging

Squarespace is a leader in sleek and professional design but it also scores top marks for its blogging features. IT offers built in analytics and a search feature. Shopify also provides excellent blogging features with a blog built into your website from the offset that comes with SEO specific features which are crucial to performing well in search engine results. 

It’s important to consider that whilst having an aesthetically pleasing blog is great, if it does not meet the requirements for effective SEO, the chances are, your blog may not even get any visitors. As digital marketing experts, we suggest optimising every blog post with search engine optimisation in mind. SEO is a great way to become more visible in search engines to your target audience which has a knock on effect, increasing conversions and ultimately improving your sales.

Shopify Vs Squarespace: Ease of use

Shopify is one of the top rated ecommerce builders because of its range of easy to use features. It has a clear interface that is easy to navigate, even those with the most basic digital skills should be able to set up a Shopify site. Squarespace is also exceptionally easy to use with a clean template editor and beginner friendly interface, however it is better suited to those in the creative industry.

Shopify Vs Squarespace: Cost

Shopify Cost

Shopify offers a range of plans, Shopify Lite, Basic Shopify, Shopify, Advanced Shopify and Shopify plus. The bigger your business, the more expensive the subscription, this makes it cost effective for your business. It allows you to upgrade your subscription as your business grows. 

Shopify Lite– $9, best for merchants looking to sell in person, or those looking to add a buy button to their existing site.

Basic Shopify– $29, best for startups and small businesses

Shopify– $79, best for growing businesses who sell both in person and online

Advanced Shopify– $229, best for scaling businesses

Shopify plus–  $2000+, best for high growth merchants and brands

Please note that Shopify does take a small cut from each sale you make on top of the monthly subscription fee. Shopify does however, offer a handy 14 day free trial allowing you to test out the platform to see if it is right for your business.

Squarespace cost

Similarly to Shopify, Squarespace offers a range of plans, personal, business, basic commerce and advanced commerce. You have the additional option to pay monthly, or you can pay annually at a discounted rate. 

Personal– £13, includes all the basics to set up a site

Business– £21, comes with all of the features of a personal subscription with the added benefit of a professional google email, advanced marketing features, complete customisation and fully integrated ecommerce. 

Basic commerce– £24, this includes all of the above features and more. Such as products on Instagram, merchandising tools and powerful analytics.

Advanced commerce– £37, this includes all of the other features, plus abandoned cart recovery, advanced shipping and discounts and more. 

It’s important to remember that whilst overall, Squarespace appears a lot more affordable, it only offers two payment getaways. This means that you may end up having to pay extra to integrate Shopify Lite in order to become more accessible and provide a variety of payment gateways.

Overview

Hopefully this article has improved your understanding of what Shopify Vs Squarespace has to offer from the pros and cons, to the costs and features. To find out more about other ecommerce solutions, check out our previous article Shopify Vs Wix or Shopify Vs Magento. Our Digital Team is an official Shopify Partner and we want to share our ecommerce knowledge to help you make the best decision for your business.

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