The establishment of online stores has dramatically changed the way business is done. The presence of a physical, brick-and-mortar store is no longer a prerequisite for selling products. As more and more people switch to online shopping, it’s important to know the best e-commerce platform to give your business an online presence. Shopify and Squarespace are two of the big players when it comes to e-commerce solutions. So, which is the best platform? We’re breaking it down here for you to make the right choice.
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Shopify vs. Squarespace: What’s The Difference?
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When you look at both Shopify and Squarespace, both look quite similar as they both offer users the opportunity to build a website and sell products online without prior knowledge of coding or design. But the two platforms have a number of features that set them apart. We’ve listed the aspects where the two platforms differ from each other and which of the two provides users with great value for money.
Creating A Website Or An Online Store
Squarespace is a good choice for content-driven websites
Firstly, you need to decide if you want to create a content-driven website or an online store. While an online store is also a website, selling products is the main aim here. For those looking to simply create a website, Squarespace may seem like a better option with its templates, inbuilt CMS features, and good blogging capabilities. However, there isn’t much room for customization of templates, and technical support can be limited.
When it comes to creating an online store, Shopify comes on top as the best e-commerce platform it is exclusively built to provide e-commerce solutions to users. Shopify’s features are more extensive than Squarespace such as point of sale technology, dropshipping capabilities, third-party app integration, better reporting features and access to a higher number of payment gateways.
Pricing Matters
Both platforms offer different plans with varied prices. The cheapest plan by Squarespace is the ‘Personal’ plan at $16 a month, but it doesn’t let you make any sales. To start selling on your website, the ‘Business’ plan at $26 is a better option. On the other hand, according to 3dcart, the cheapest Shopify plan is ‘Shopify Lite” at $9 a month and provides you with the ability to sell products on your Facebook page or existing website.
Shopify offers great payment plans to suit your e-commerce requirements
For those using Shopify to sell products, the integration of Shopify Payments as a payment processor makes it easier. While Shopify payments are limited to a few countries at present, they are linked with over 100 third-party payment gateways so that transactions are smooth and hassle-free. Squarespace integrates with only 2 payment gateways which limit payment options.
So, what platform has the best pricing? While Squarespace provides the ability to sell products on their ‘Business’ plan, it’s higher transaction fees, and lesser payment processing options add to the overall expense. Shopify provides users with an entire online store on a $29 ‘Basic’ plan, which is more cheaper and value for money in the long run.
Important Features Of Shopify And Squarespace
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As mentioned before, Shopify’s history of being a platform that is predominantly set up for e-commerce makes it a great solution for businesses setting up an online store. Let’s take a quick look at the differences between the two platforms on each of the aspects below.
User-Friendly Interface
The interfaces of both these platforms are quite similar. Squarespace may have a better-looking and easy to use interface, but it has the ability to lag and crash often. Shopify’s responsiveness rate is good, making the platform stronger and more consistent.
Themes And Visuals
Squarespace has a large number of templates – 70 to Shopify’s free 10. However, not all of these templates can be easily used for an online store. Shopify has a number of styles or variants built in those 10 templates, giving users a wider choice. Shopify also has 55 paid themes from third-party developers.
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Importing And Exporting Product Data
While both platforms offer to import and exporting of product data, Squarespace is a better platform for importing products while Shopify comes on top for exporting products.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Shopify provides better SEO capabilities than Squarespace due to the automatic generation of the title of the page and meta description, and improved URL redirection.
Point Of Sale (POS)
Shopify offers businesses with a ‘Point of Sale’ kit that includes devices such as a barcode scanner, cash drawer, card reader, and receipt printer. This enables businesses to set up Shopify in a retail store or pop-up stall. This feature is not offered by Squarespace.
Shopify Or Squarespace: Which Is The Better Choice?
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When it comes to features such a higher number of payment gateways, better analytics reporting, third-party app integration, widespread coding control of your website, strong email, phone, and chat support, Shopify is sure to rate higher than Squarespace, making it the best e-commerce platform.
With additional features such as easy store navigation, large inventory storage, and great overall store functionality, Shopify provides users with excellent value for money. After all, it is exclusively built to serve all your e-commerce requirements.
