7 Critical Reasons Why You Should Choose Shopify Over Squarespace

Shopify

Jun 16

Written By Min

Shopify is an e-commerce platform with robust features to help businesses grow and scale. It is a perfect web solution for established companies to continue growing. But in my opinion, it is also a good option for small business owners; here is why

Localized Payment Gateways And Shipping Options

If your business is not in the USA, Shopify is a better option, as Squarespace has very limited payment gateways and shipping options.

Squarespace only supports payment gateways, such as PayPal and Stripe. If these companies do not provide services in your country, it won't be easy to receive payment.

In addition, what is the most common way of payment for your customers? As I live in the Netherlands, iDEAL is the most common payment method for the Dutch market. Squarespace does not provide this option, so Shopify is the best alternative.

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that collaborates with local payment gateways and shipping companies to deliver the best solutions for business owners.

So, it's not only about which platform is more affordable or more user-friendly. Let's get down to the basics: can your customers pay the way they want to? Or can business owners accept the payments?

Tax Calculation Is More Complete

Shopify offers extensive options for calculating taxes, mainly if you sell internationally.

If you are a business owner in Europe, one of your primary goals is to expand your sales to other European markets. Every country in Europe has different rules, and it is essential to have a comprehensive tax calculation system in place to ensure accurate tax calculations. Therefore, Shopify is your best choice.

Dynamic Blog Layout To Promote Your Products

From March 2023, you can create beautiful blog posts in Shopify, and it is also possible to recommend your own product with their easy-to-use "related products section."

Blog posts are not just about texts; a beautiful and easy-to-read layout can make your audience more engaged in your content, and it will increase their chances of buying from you with the "related product" section.

Squarespace does not have a feature specifically designed for this purpose, so you will need to use the gallery section and select the products you'd like to promote.

Overall, Shopify and Squarespace users can create blog posts. Still, for a visually appealing blog post layout, it is best to use Shopify.

Related Product Section To Increase Product Sales

On the product page, you have the option to add the related product sections. This way, you can naturally share more products that are useful to your customers and increase your order value easily. This feature is via the free app on the Shopify store.

Squarespace also offers this feature, but you cannot manually select products for this section; instead, you must set it up by category, which is a more complex process.

Product Management Is More Complete

If you have more than 15 products, Shopify can save you a significant amount of time thanks to its robust product management system. If you have less than 15 products, you should still use Shopify (please keep reading).

Product Page Design Template

You can create multiple templates for your store, enabling you to have distinct product designs for different types of products. So, selling a gift card is not the same as selling a product. So you need a different template for it.

Section Design For Your Product Page

This is the reason why I recommend Shopify.

Shopify's product page allows you to create multiple sections on a page, enabling you to apply different background colors and avoid a uniform appearance.

If a page looks the same, it is difficult to communicate with visitors, as they may easily get distracted or find the page boring. That is why all sales pages have different sections.

You cannot create sections on Squarespace, regardless of your subscription plan. I love Squarespace, but this feature is the key reason I don't recommend building an online store with Squarespace.

Bulk Product Update Is Easier

You can use the bulk product update function to easily update product information, such as changing multiple tags simultaneously in the system. This saves a lot of time.

Squarespace does not have this feature; you need first to export a CSV file and import it with a new or updated file. Lastly, verify that the information is correct.

Multiple-Language & Multi-Currency Option

If you sell internationally or accept different currencies for your products, Shopify is the solution, as Squarespace only allows one currency per site. Additionally, if you require multiple language websites for your site, Shopify is the only option.

Additionally, you can directly manage your multiple language information on Shopify, eliminating the need to export and import files.

Geo site redirection

A Shopify free app can detect the country of origin, direct the customers to the correct country site, and make your site more user-friendly.

Conclusion: Shopify is a complete online store platform

Squarespace was first known for building sites for service-based business owners; later, they had more features designed for e-commerce sites. While Shopify began as an e-commerce platform, it now offers a broader range of built-in e-commerce features and payment gateway options.

Shopify or Squarespace? You already have your answer.