Squarespace vs Shopify: Which One Is The Best And Which One To Choose?
Today is all about Squarespace vs Shopify!
With so many website-building platforms out there deciding which platform to choose for your website can be overwhelming. Today we’re sharing our thoughts on two great platforms - Squarespace and Shopify!
When you search online you find very good recommendations for both platforms, you see stunning websites designed on Squarespace, you find really powerful and outstanding shops on Shopify…. But the most important thing to consider when choosing a platform for your website is which one is the best fit for your business.
So let’s find out more about the two platforms and make an informed decision when choosing between them!
Squarespace vs Shopify: Which One Is The Best And Which One To Choose?
What is Squarespace?
Squarespace is an all-in-one content management system (CMS). In the most simple terms, Squarespace is no more than a website-building platform, well known for being an all-in-one system, easy-to-use, and accessible to anyone.
You can sign up for a free trial of Squarespace here, and because we are Squarespace Circle Members you can get 20% off your first year - send us an email!
What is Shopify?
Shopify is an e-commerce platform where you can build an online store for your business. If your business focus is on selling products and you want to expand online, Shopify is an excellent tool to get to the masses.
You can sign up for a free trial of Shopify here.
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Squarespace vs Shopify
CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
SQUARESPACE: Squarespace allows using pre-built website templates and drag-and-drop elements to create and modify websites. The platform has all the modern features used in web design, including security, mobile responsiveness, and miscellaneous optimizations. If you’re a solopreneur, creative entrepreneur, or small-to-medium-sized business owner that hasn’t an IT team to rely on, Squarespace is the perfect choice for you!
SHOPIFY: Shopify provides everything that you need to create a website that has all the functionalities that will need to make sales online. Everything can be managed under the same roof because Shopify offers services like marketing, payment methods, shipping, and customer engagement tools that will help you start and grow your business online. If you’re a business owner that wants to set up an advanced e-commerce shop and want to sell products online, Shopify is the perfect choice for you!
E-COMMERCE TOOLS
SQUARESPACE: Squarespace has now an e-commerce option, and the tools are pretty decent. Although we only recommend Squarespace e-commerce for small shops with up to 20 products. Squarespace e-commerce still has some limitations when it comes to filtering products, advanced search, wish list, or waitlist, for example.
SHOPIFY: Shopify is definitely the best choice for medium-to-large size shops. The platform is one of the best platforms out there in the e-commerce space. It has all the features and functionalities necessary to run a powerful online store.
CUSTOMIZATION
SQUARESPACE: Squarespace is without a question the most hands-on, intuitive, easy-to-use, and user-friendly website design platform out there. The platform offers a range of design features, where you can easily add, remove, and move blocks on a web page, add images & videos, edit font & styles, etc. If you’re a new user you can achieve a pretty decent design with very little knowledge of web design. And if you’re a more advanced user, the platform allows you to customize the templates as you see fit. You can add custom CSS code to style the design to perfectly fit your brand.
SHOPIFY: We confess that Shopify is a little bit more complicated to customize. Shopify offers pre-designed templates that you can customize but in most cases, they lack key features or the design doesn’t really fit your brand. Shopify offers the option to upgrade to a more comprehensive template but you have to pay for that upgrade. Or you can buy a template that someone else designed.
PAYMENT PROVIDERS
SQUARESPACE: Squarespace has only three payment provider options, Paypal, Stripe, and Square. More info on Squarespace payment providers here.
SHOPIFY: Shopify offers over 100 payment providers around the world. So you’ll be able to sell anything, anywhere! More info on Shopify payment providers here.
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Final Thoughts
That’s it - Our thoughts on Squarespace and Shopify!
So, there is actually no right or wrong answer for the question “Which platform is the best?” because they serve very different purposes.
But after explaining the main features, and differences between the two platforms you should be able to identify which one is the best for your business and make the right choice.
Now it's your turn to tell us, after reading this article are you thinking about switching to Squarespace or Shopify? Do you have any questions that we didn’t answer in this article? Send us your answers, and any other questions you might have, and we’ll do our best to answer them.
If you want to start working on your online presence, and learn the 5 steps on how to do it, be sure to check out and sign-up for our free training!
