If you're thinking about a Squarespace to Shopify migration then this article is for you!!
With over 2 billion people shopping online regularly, there's never been a better time to run an eCommerce store. But it's not enough to build an online store and expect sales. To stand out from the competition, you need a high-performance website that is easy to use and built to convert. Many platforms, such as Squarespace and Shopify, integrate eCommerce solutions into your website.
Squarespace is a versatile online website builder with eCommerce capabilities, while Shopify is a dedicated platform designed specifically for eCommerce. Both are strong contenders, each with its own set of advantages and limitations. In this guide, we'll look closer at Squarespace vs Shopify to help you decide which platform best suits your needs.
Squarespace vs. Shopify: A quick overview
Squarespace is a beginner-friendly website builder designed for users who want everything in one place. Subscriptions include templates, site management, and plugins. Squarespace offers eCommerce integrations at three different levels.
Shopify was created specifically as an eCommerce store solution. Each plan offers ways to grow an eCommerce site with unlimited products and multiple sales channels. Store owners can choose from various templates and themes to customise an online store site.
Squarespace and Shopify offer the ability to build, manage, and grow online stores. Both platforms offer various designs and options so users can create professional online stores. Neither Squarespace nor Shopify require any coding knowledge or programming expertise. Your choice depends on the features you need and how you want to connect with your customers.
5 Benefits of a Squarespace to shopify migration
#1. You can focus more on eCommerce
Squarespace started as a website-building platform that later introduced eCommerce functionalities to serve their customer's additional needs.
On the other hand, Shopify was built entirely for eCommerce only. So, every feature you see here was built with the needs of an eCommerce store in mind.
- Features like abandoned cart recovery and advanced discount options help you increase sales and optimise promotions.
- You get in-depth inventory tracking, stock level alerts, and features to handle complex product variations.
- Shopify seamlessly integrates with various sales channels, allowing you to sell across different platforms.
#2. Shopify has more (and better) apps than Squarespace
Shopify and Squarespace offer add-ons or apps to enhance your store's functionality and design.
Shopify boasts a vast ecosystem of over 4,000 third-party apps, covering everything from marketing and sales to fulfilment and design. This flexibility allows you to tailor your store to your needs and continuously improve the customer experience. From implementing advanced sales strategies to streamlining your operations, Shopify's app store offers countless possibilities.
Squarespace, on the other hand, provides a more limited range of integrations. While you can still customise your store to some extent, Shopify's extensive app library offers greater flexibility and customisation.
So if you're looking at continually and easily improving the shopping experience you offer to your audience, Shopify is who you should be going with.
Don't believe us? Check out the app store here. See our article Top 5 BEST Shopify Apps To Increase Sales
#3. Shopify offers robust marketing features
Shopify's built-in marketing toolkit provides a solid foundation, and you can significantly expand your capabilities for more tremendous success:
- The Email Marketing tool lets you create newsletters, abandoned cart emails, and promotions.
- To drive sales, you can easily promote and set up various discount types (percentage, fixed amount, free shipping).
- Shopify provides a clear overview of your store's performance by reporting traffic, sales, and customer behaviour.
- Shopify's TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) is up to 33% better than its competitors. With Shopify, you'll Spend on Growth, not Overhead Costs.
The Shopify App Store offers a wealth of specialised marketing apps for advanced email campaigns, loyalty programs, SMS marketing, and more.
#4. Shopify offers more payment options
Shopify integrates with over 100 payment gateways worldwide. This means you can offer a wide range of popular and localised payment options to ensure a smooth checkout experience tailored to your customer's preferences.
Shopify Payments by Shopify
Shopify has its in-house payment gateway, Shopify Payments. Shopify Payments delivers a streamlined experience with no external transaction fees (within supported countries).
#5. Search Engine Optimisation
SEO (search engine optimisation) helps your online store reach a wider audience by using targeted keywords and high-quality content, potentially attracting buyers from around the globe.
Maximising your SEO is crucial for business success but can be difficult without the right tools. Both Shopify and Squarespace offer integrated SEO features, though they approach it differently.
Shopify is designed to align with Google's Core Web Vitals, focusing on three key metrics: page load speed, responsiveness, and visual stability. It also helps streamline the process by automatically generating suggested titles and meta descriptions based on your content, saving you time. Shopify also provides best practice prompts and built-in marketing tools to improve your SEO further.
Squarespace allows users to manage meta titles, descriptions, and custom URLs. Google Analytics is included with all plans, although some older templates may cause issues, limiting the customisation of page titles. However, a third-party plugin called SEOSpace can be downloaded to provide additional SEO tools for Squarespace users.
#A Bonus Reason! Shopify is now "officially" the best-converting checkout in the World
A recent study shows that Shopify Checkout outperforms Salesforce, Magento, and BigCommerce, with up to 15% higher conversion rates on average. Shopify continuously innovates the checkout process with a dedicated checkout engineering team, which is larger than all engineering teams in other eCommerce platforms. One of the most exciting innovations is the One-page Checkout, which improves the conversion even more.
Final Thoughts
Shopify leads the way in most eCommerce categories, such as POS systems, customer support, and SEO tools. This is mainly because it was explicitly built to power online stores and has had the time to refine many of its features. By contrast, Squarespace focuses more on general website building, with added eCommerce functionality for selling products.
Ultimately, the best platform for you depends on what you need from your online presence.
So, if you're looking at continually and quickly improving the shopping experience you offer your users, Shopify is who you should be going with.
FAQ
Should I consider using expert Shopify data migration services?
Despite the fact that Squarespace and Shopify are both very popular in the eCommerce industry, their underlying technologies and business methods are very different. For many, this complicates the Squarespace to Shopify migration and makes transferring store data difficult.
Our team of experts can help you if you are unfamiliar with the platforms or have concerns about moving so much data.
How long does it take to migrate from Squarespace to Shopify?
The timeline depends on the number of products in your store and the customisations you'd like to apply to your Shopify storefront. It’s best to consult with a Shopify expert to get a clear estimate and plan your migration timeline more accurately.
When should you switch from Squarespace to Shopify?
Squarespace is a good starting point for online businesses, but we recommend migrating to Shopify when you're ready to scale. Shopify simplifies the process of growing your business, allowing you to focus on scaling. Start your migration from Squarespace to Shopify with Fourmeta today!
