Shopify vs Squarespace

Shopify and Squarespace look like the same e-commerce website builders but they are as different as their names. 

So now the question is which is a better option for your e-commerce website?

Squarespace was built as a platform to build and maintain content-centric websites, whereas Shopify was mainly built as an online store building solution. 

When it comes to the features of both the e-commerce website builders, Shopify has come into the scene much before Squarespace. The former accepts payments in multiple currencies. 

Shopify offers extensive dropshipping facilities with a diverse range of third-party apps(such as Zendesk, Zoho, and Quickbooks)  that significantly extend your online store functionality. The platform offers advanced reporting features, cutting-edge inventory management options, all-inclusive tax calculation functionalities, various payment options, exceptional inventory management systems, and more advanced POS features that enable you to sell products in a physical location using your online store to process payments and manage stock. 

Shopify is only for e-commerce websites while Squarespace works for all types of websites. Thus, the latter helps you to build a wedding website, blog, portfolio, and more. 

Here is a comparison of Shopify vs Squarespace based on the factors below:

1. Text and Page Editor

Shopify offers a WYSIWYG editor that is quite similar to Microsoft Word. It is a text editor that enables you to place images and videos online. 

Squarespace comes with a user-friendly, visual, and drag-and-drop page editor. The Square page editor helps you to build enriching pages for your eCommerce website.

2. Themes and Templates

Shopify offers ten free themes. Besides that, you can also install third-party themes. Brooklyn is a great Shopify theme that you can use for your online store. The theme customization process can be extremely easy. You will have to edit CSS code sometimes. 

Square space is famous for wonderful templates. They offer approximately 70 wonderful and modern templates. As templates are easily customizable, you won’t need to edit code ever. Noll is a good Squarespace template.

3. E-commerce Features

Shopify is an exceptional eCommerce website builder. It supports numerous reputable online stores such as MVMT, Kylie’s Cosmetics, and All Birds. Its competitors are popular e-commerce builders such as WooCommerce, Magento, Volusion, and BigCommerce. 

According to Google Trends, Shopify has emerged to be one of the topmost e-commerce platform builders in the last decade. 

Squarespace is more user-friendly and works well with small online stores. But Shopify comprises much more advanced e-commerce features.

When Should You Go for Shopify?

As Shopify is a powerful e-commerce platform, it can always be a great option. It has an app store with over 3000 party apps that help to enhance your online store features. While Squarespace offers only 24 extensions. 

Since Shopify is made exclusively for e-commerce websites, it can be a great option for your online store. Choose Shopify over Squarespace when you build a larger and more advanced eCommerce website. As mentioned earlier, the platform supports great online stores. 

When Should You Go for Squarespace?

Squarespace is extremely user-friendly. The best part of choosing Squarespace for your online store is that you don’t need to edit CSS code. It also has a drag and drops page editor. Go for it when you build smaller online stores and want to control the design myself.

Bottomline

Now, you know the differences between Shopify vs Squarespace and why you should choose one over another when building your online store. 

Keep the discussed things above to make the right choice suited to your e-commerce development needs.