Is Squarespace Good for e-Commerce in 2023? A Business Guide
As an entrepreneur, building an online store is a significant milestone. You want a platform that’s easy to use but also has the features you need to start selling. And if you understand the simplicity of Squarespace for managing websites, you may wonder: “Is Squarespace good for e-commerce?”
As an expert Squarespace website design team that has worked on 300+ projects for many years, we’re here to tell you that Squarespace checks all the boxes. The platform simplifies creating a stylish store and selling your products without coding, as you’ll get to see in this in-depth guide.
5 Robust Squarespace e-Commerce Features
As an e-commerce store owner, choosing the right platform can make or break your business. Here are a few features that qualify Squarespace as ideal for e-commerce:
Powerful e-commerce features right out of the box: You get a fully integrated shopping cart, the ability to sell physical and digital goods, inventory management, coupons and discounts, abandoned cart recovery, and more — no need for third-party plugins or add-ons.
Gorgeous designer templates optimized for e-commerce: You can quickly set up your online store with a style matching your brand. Squarespace templates are highly customizable, so you can tweak the design and layout to suit your needs.
Built-in marketing and SEO tools: As a small business owner, driving traffic to your site is essential. With Squarespace, you can easily create email campaigns, promote your products on social media, and optimize your store for search engines like Google.
Secure hosting and a trusted brand: Squarespace handles all the hosting for your site and has enterprise-level security measures to protect stores and customer data. They’re also a recognized brand, so customers feel at ease purchasing from stores built on their platform.
Around-the-clock support: If there’s ever an issue with your store, Squarespace customer service can help 24/7. They have a helpful knowledge base, Facebook groups, as well as phone, email, and chat support.
For a small monthly fee, Squarespace gives entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes the tools to create a professional e-commerce store. If you’re looking to sell online, we highly recommend the platform — you won’t be disappointed!
Squarespace vs. Shopify for e-Commerce
As leading e-commerce designers, we always get asked whether Squarespace or Shopify is better for online stores. After building many online shops on both platforms, we can say Squarespace is an excellent choice for e-commerce.
Why?
For starters, Squarespace has simple, stylish templates that are easy to customize. You don’t need any coding experience to create a gorgeous store. Their drag-and-drop interface lets you add products, change layouts, and tweak designs with just a few clicks.
Squarespace also has powerful e-commerce features, so you have everything you need in one platform. You get access to detailed reports and analytics to gain insights into how your store is performing. They offer a free trial and competitive pricing, with monthly e-commerce plans starting at only $23.
In comparison, Shopify does have a few more advanced capabilities for large enterprises, but for most small businesses, Squarespace’s features are more than enough. Shopify’s monthly fees are also typically higher, especially if you want access to certain functionalities.
While it’s difficult to go wrong with either platform, if you’re looking for an all-in-one, easy-to-use solution to build a stunning online store without breaking the bank, Squarespace is a winning option. You get the power and flexibility of a robust e-commerce platform with the simplicity of an intuitive website builder. For startups and small businesses, that’s all you need to get up and running — contact us today to build a winning e-commerce website on Squarespace.
Squarespace e-Commerce Pricing and Plans: A Breakdown
The Square Agency is a leading e-commerce design firm — we’ve built numerous Squarespace stores and can vouch for the affordability of the platform’s e-commerce plans. You can select from three e-commerce plans: Business, Basic Commerce, and Advanced Commerce.
When paid yearly, the Business plan starts at $23 per month and allows you to sell unlimited products and accept credit card payments. Although there’s a 3% transaction fee, you have access to promotional pop-ups and banners and a professional email from Google. This is perfect for someone just getting started with a small product catalog.
The Basic Commerce plan is $27 per month, offering premium features like product reviews, a 0% transaction fee, customer accounts, and the feature to sell on Instagram and Facebook. Most of our clients opt for this plan as it has the features most growing stores need.
Finally, the Advanced Commerce plan is $49 monthly and ideal for established stores. It provides advanced shipping, abandoned cart recovery, advanced discounts, sell subscriptions, and more powerful merchandising.
In summary, Squarespace e-commerce plans are very affordable, especially considering the beautiful, professional designs you get access to. The low monthly cost and no added transaction fees* make it easy to get started, even on a tight budget. As your store grows, you can always upgrade to a higher plan to access more advanced features.
The scalability of Squarespace’s e-commerce, paired with their all-in-one platform, including hosting, analytics, and marketing tools, is why we recommend them for any size store. You should check out our portfolio for some Squarespace e-commerce examples.
Squarespace: The Best Option for a Mobile-First Design
In today’s digital age, more and more people are using their mobile devices to browse and shop online, with projections that the US alone will have over 187 million shoppers by 2024. As an e-commerce store owner, ensuring your website is optimized for mobile devices is crucial; this is where Squarespace shines.
Squarespace provides responsive templates that automatically adjust and optimize your website for different screen sizes. This means that whether a customer is browsing your store on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone, they’ll have a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience.
Mobile optimization is not just about aesthetics; it also directly impacts your sales. Mobile-friendly websites have higher conversion rates and lower bounce rates. Potential customers may abandon their shopping carts and look elsewhere if your website is challenging to navigate or slow to load on a mobile device.
With Squarespace, you can trust that your e-commerce store will look and perform beautifully on any device. The platform’s templates are designed with mobile in mind, ensuring that your products are showcased effectively, and your checkout process is smooth and user-friendly.
In addition to mobile-friendly design, Squarespace provides built-in tools to optimize your website for search engines, including mobile search. This means your store has a better chance of ranking higher in mobile search results, increasing your visibility, and attracting more potential customers.
Don’t overlook the importance of mobile optimization when building your e-commerce store. This is one reason Squarespace is good for e-commerce; you can rest assured that your website will provide a seamless and engaging experience for mobile users, helping you drive more sales and grow your business.
Getting Started With Squarespace for E-Commerce in 4 Steps
Getting started with Squarespace for e-commerce is pretty straightforward. As an experienced Squarespace designer and founder of a thriving website design agency, I’ve built many online stores on the platform and have summarised the processes into these five steps:
Select an e-commerce template.
Set up your store’s inventory.
Design/style your store.
Advertise/market your store.
First, choose an e-commerce template. Squarespace has templates specifically designed for selling products online. We recommend starting with Alameda, Hesta, or MACA. They provide ample space for products, photos, and descriptions.
Then, set up your store from the “Commerce” tab. Here, you can access selling tools, inventory, and discounts, as well as manage your customers and memberships.
You can quickly set up your inventory by adding products to your Squarespace site. Give each product a name, photo, price, and description. You can also add product options like size and color. Squarespace automatically generates a product page for each item.
After that, design your store. Use Squarespace’s visual editor to style product pages, the cart, and checkout. Include large images, straightforward pricing, and strong calls to action to encourage people to buy.
You can create product categories, bundles, and promotions to boost sales. This is where you’ll need some help if you want a unique store built for SEO. You can contact the expert team at The Square Agency for help.
Finally, market your store. Once your e-commerce store is set up, spread the word on social media, email newsletters, advertising, and SEO. Blog about your products, share user-generated content, and run promotions to increase traffic and conversions.
With a few simple steps, you can have a fully functioning e-commerce website on Squarespace. The platform’s e-commerce features provide a slick way to sell products and services online without needing a developer to update your inventory. If you get stuck, Squarespace has helpful support articles and video tutorials to walk you through the process. You can also hire an expert Squarespace designer for more complex stores to help bring your store to the next level.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Squarespace have e-commerce?
Yes, Squarespace has e-commerce capabilities. The platform offers a comprehensive e-commerce platform that allows users to create and manage online stores. With Squarespace, you can showcase and sell products, manage inventory, process payments securely, and even integrate with popular payment gateways. Additionally, Squarespace provides various e-commerce templates and customization options to help you create a visually appealing and functional online store for your business.
Is Squarespace an e-commerce platform?
Yes, Squarespace is an e-commerce platform. While primarily known as a website builder, Squarespace offers robust e-commerce functionality that allows users to create and manage online stores. With features such as product listings, inventory management, secure payment processing, and integration with popular payment gateways, Squarespace provides a comprehensive solution for businesses selling products or services online.
What are the benefits of Squarespace e-commerce?
There are several benefits to using Squarespace for e-commerce, including its modern templates, user-friendly interface, seamless integration with other tools, SEO-friendliness, reliable hosting, etc.
User-Friendly Interface: Squarespace offers a user-friendly interface that makes creating and managing your online store easy. You can customize your store’s design, add products, and handle orders and inventory with ease, even if you don’t have technical expertise.
Professional and Visually Appealing Templates: Squarespace provides a wide range of professionally designed templates that can give your e-commerce store a polished and attractive look. These templates are the foundation of several Squarespace e-commerce examples out there and are mobile-responsive, ensuring your store looks great on different devices.
Built-in Features: Squarespace offers a range of built-in features for e-commerce, including product variants, inventory management, shipping options, tax calculations, and secure payment processing. These features help streamline your e-commerce operations and provide a seamless shopping experience for your customers.
Integration with Third-Party Tools: Squarespace integrates with various third-party tools and services to enhance your e-commerce capabilities. You can connect with popular payment gateways like Stripe or PayPal, marketing tools, and analytics platforms to optimize your online store.
SEO-Friendly: Squarespace provides built-in SEO features that can help improve the visibility of your e-commerce store in search engine results. You can optimize product descriptions, meta tags, and URLs to attract more organic traffic and potential customers.
Reliable Hosting and Security: When using Squarespace for e-commerce, you benefit from excellent hosting and security features. Squarespace handles website security and ensures your store is always accessible to customers.
These benefits make Squarespace a popular choice for businesses looking to establish and manage an e-commerce presence effectively.
Is Squarespace good for digital products?
Yes, Squarespace is a good platform for selling digital products. It provides features and tools that enable easy management and distribution of digital goods, making it suitable for creators and businesses selling digital products online.
These features are as follows:
Easy file management: The platform provides a user-friendly interface for managing digital files, including uploading, organizing, and editing them as needed.
Secure digital delivery: Squarespace ensures secure delivery of digital products to customers upon purchase, preventing unauthorized access to your digital files.
Customizable product pages: You can create attractive and customizable pages to showcase your digital products, including images, descriptions, and pricing details.
Integrated payment gateways: Squarespace integrates with various payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe, allowing customers to make secure online transactions when purchasing digital products.
Automated email delivery: The platform can automatically send download links or access instructions to customers via email after a successful purchase.
Conclusion
So, is Squarespace good for e-commerce?
Yes. Squarespace is an excellent solution for e-commerce websites. As the leader of an expert design team who has built hundreds of Squarespace stores, I highly recommend the platform. It has everything you need to start selling products online, and the designs look incredibly professional.
The easy-to-use interface means you don’t need technical experience to manage your product listings and inventory. And with powerful features like abandoned cart recovery, inventory management, and shipping integrations, you’ll have all the tools to run a successful online business.
What are you waiting for?
Give Squarespace a try today and see why so many people choose it to power their e-commerce dreams. And if you need a unique website, don’t hesitate to reach out to us with your requirements.
