Shopify vs Squarespace (for musicians and creatives)
This month I spoke to three different double reed players (two oboists and a bassoonist) about what website platform to host their reed business e-commerce stores. They asked, what is better for an e-commerce store, Shopify or Squarespace? And for musicians, what are the pros and cons when choosing between Shopify vs Squarespace?
I have to do a shoutout to Becca from Inside the Square. On the day I posted this blog, she came out with a podcast episode talking about Squarespace vs WordPress vs Shopify vs Showit. It’s amazing, and I highly recommend listening to that too!
I specialize in designing websites for musicians. This article is going to cover the pros and cons of the Shopify and Squarespace platforms for creatives and musicians looking to sell e-commerce products on their website. I’ll also discuss my recommendations and when you should consider one platform over the other.
Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
The breakdown of why Squarespace is better than Shopify (for creatives)
In a brief look, what about Shopify doesn’t work as well for musicians, creatives, and entrepreneurs:
The design options are extremely limited (unless you are a full-stack developer)
Shopify charges an additional $40/month + processing fees to install a plugin for subscriptions
Shopify isn’t built to host digital products, courses, memberships, email marketing, invoicing, etc.
The Recap:
Most musicians, creatives, and entrepreneurs are focused on multiple areas in addition to e-commerce—digital products, courses, events, about pages, student resources, etc.
Shopify is a better choice if you have a big e-commerce store focused on selling physical products online and in-person. It is built to help you manage a large amount of inventory. In this arena, it does much better the Squarespace.
Here is a list of reasons why Squarespace is a great e-commerce platform for musicians, creatives, and entrepreneurs looking to feature an small online store:
Unlimited design options (without a full-stack developer)
Subscriptions are built in at the Advanced E-commerce level
Create unlimited pages and landing pages
Sell courses and memberships on the same platform
Sell physical and digital goods from the same product manager
No additional plugins needed for subscriptions
Built-in email marketing
The Cons of Squarespace E-Commerce
At the time of writing this article, there is one feature some business owners miss: incentive program. You can price your subscribe and save as an incentive, but there currently isn’t a way for customers to accumulate “points”.
As mentioned above, Shopify was built to for inventory management, so it has some helpful features on the backend that a large e-commerce store might find helpful.
And like most platforms out there, some additional functionality requires plugins. Most Squarespace plugins are a one-time purchases (unlike some of the pricy monthly fees for Shopify). Continue reading this blog for all of my favorite e-commerce templates and plugins!
Squarespace vs Shopify Cost
For musicians, creatives, and entrepreneurs Squarespace is more affordable in the long run. Let’s break it down.
Squarespace Pricing
Start for Free: Squarespace comes with a 2-week trial where you get access to everything for free (including advanced e-commerce). If you purchase a template from a designer, you’ll get an extended 6-month free trial and 20% off the first year of hosting. If you want to start with a free Squarespace template (from Squarespace), contact me and I’ll install that for free so you get the extended trial too!
Occasional sales: Technically you can sell products on the Business Plan, which is $23/month. However, there is a small Squarespace fee (in addition to the credit card fee), so this is best for people who want to sell physical or digital products on the side.
E-Commerce Plan: Sell as much as you’d like without any additional fees from Squarespace on their e-commerce plan which runs at $27/month. For $3 more per month (as compared to the Business Plan), you will save a ton on processing fees. If you plan on selling more then one or two items a year, this plan is well worth it! This plan includes selling memberships and courses without any additional fees.
Advanced E-Commerce: Most people upgrade to this hosting plan for the subscriptions. Squarespace requires the Advanced E-commerce plan to sell subscription products. This plan is $49/month. While that may seem pricy, keep in mind it includes everything. You get all of the features from all of their plans, including membership sites, courses, 0% fees (from Squarespace) and more.
View the Squarespace pricing plans ⟶
Shopify Pricing
Start for $1/month: Shopify offers a trial period for 3 months at $1/month.
Lite option: If you just need a basic template and basic sales, you can start at $5/month. This is great for A/B testing a new business, but you’ll quickly need to upgrade or switch to Squarespace.
Basic Option (for Entrepreneurs): If you are a musician or creative you won’t need more then the basic plan. This runs at $29/month. However, most plugins are billed monthly. For example, in order to sell subscriptions, you’ll need to pay an extra $40/month and an additional processing fee. This is on top of the Shopify hosting fee. The $23/month does not include any additional features such as courses, memberships, flexible design, or extra pre-built integrations such as Soundcloud or Bandsintown blocks.
Recommended Squarespace E-Commerce Templates
I have to admit, at the time of writing this article, I was a little surprised by the limited number of Squarespace e-commerce templates. However, I chose my favorite templates based on the following criteria:
Must have a good user experience (layout/design)
Must come with video tutorials
Must come from a designer I trust
Must be built for the new 7.1 framework and Fluid Engine
Some quick tips on how to choose a template
The great thing about Squarespace is everything is built on the 7.1 framework. This means, every single template comes with the same Squarespace features and design options. From a functionality and design standpoint—it doesn’t matter which template you choose.
However…. if you are doing a DIY website, choosing a template that looks about 80% perfect will save you a ton of time. Keep in mind you can put in your own fonts, colors, logo, images, content, etc. You can also add a store to a template that doesn’t already have one!
Applet Studio Templates
These templates are beautifully designed and flow well. They are fun, but still easy for users to navigate. The price ranges from $149-$189, making them incredibly affordable. Every template comes with video tutorials to help you customize your site.
I’ve been following Applet Studios for a while. I’ve seen Olga present at Squarespace summits and have taken her AI Branding course (which is also great, by the way!).
View Applet Studio Squarespace E-Commerce templates ⟶
Big Cat Creative Michi Template
This one is for business owners and creatives looking for a fun website with lots of personality. Big Cat Creative is well-known in the Squarespace community. This template comes with video instructions and features e-Commerce products and blogs right on the homepage.
View the Michi Squarespace Template ⟶
Free Squarespace Templates
Squarespace offers almost 200 free templates in their library. I have gone through and picked out my top three based on user experience, navigation, and style. These templates felt like the best choice for creatives, musicians, and small business owners wanting to sell e-commerce products online (as one of their primary website objectives).
Zaatar Squarespace Template
A light-weight classic e-commerce template that is ready to go with featured products and a blog.
Anise Squarespace Template
For those looking for a modern, light, and neutral e-commerce theme, this one is great. It is super easy to navigate, has clean lines, and a lot of space to grow.
Hales Squarespace Template
The hales template is great for those looking for a more classic look. It has a nice top navigation and clean blocks. It can easily be customized to look more corporate or playful, depending on your preference. The homepage features products, but also some personalized blocks for other services.
Crosby Squarespace Template
Crosby is great if you are looking for something in dark mode. However, the colors could easily be changed to make the whole website bright and light. This template is boxy and very straight forward with featured products and blogs ready to go on the homepage.
Get an extended 6-month trial and 20% off of hosting your first year!
If you want to go with one of the free Squarespace templates, contact me and I’ll install it for free. As a circle member, I can pass along an extended 6-month trial and 20% off hosting (for the first year). Plus, it’s one less thing for you to do! You can simply log in and hit the ground running!
Reccomended Squarespace E-Commerce Plugins
Ok, by now you might be wondering what additional e-commerce features we can add to Squaresapce. After developing e-commerce WordPress websites and (some) Shopify websites for over a decade, I switched exclusively to Squarespace. Here is a collection of recommended plugins that will give your Squarespace store and edge with the same common e-commerce features many customers expect.
Related Products
By SQSP Themes
Show customers similar products that they might like will help you sell more. This is a traditional (and expected) feature of e-commerce sites. This is especially helpful if you have a large store and want to help customers navigate to similar products.
Buy the Related Products plugin ⟶
Add a review widget to your products
By SQSP Themes
There is nothing like social proof to boost e-commerce sales. This plugin adds a review widget to every single product. Customers can come back to the page and review their purchase. Install this plugin and then be sure to integrate a review request as part of your sales sequence!
Buy the Product Review plugin ⟶
Sync product images with variants
By SQSP Themes
If you are selling items that have different colors or options, you can sync the images (of those variants) with their associated dropdown option. This is a go-to feature for stores with clothing, but can be useful in a number of cases.
Buy the Sync Product Variant plugin ⟶
Show color/size/fabric swatch instead of the regular dropdown
By SQSP Themes
Squarespace offers the ability to add a number of variant. By default these display as a dropdown. If you want to show a swatch instead, get this plugin!
Buy the Product Swatch Variant plugin ⟶
Show how much inventory you have left
By SQSP Themes
Create some urgency, or just keep your customers up-to-date on current inventory. Use this plugin to display remaining inventory on your product pages.
Buy the Inventory Indicator plugin ⟶
Add a size chart or additional pop-up information
By SQSP Themes
The Lightbox Anything plugin is amazing. I’ve used it for a number of reasons over the years. It works great for allowing customers to view quick information about sizing, shipping, disclaimers, and more. This plugin creates a lightbox (popup) that customers can interact with right from the page—without ever leaving!
Buy the Lightbox Anything plugin ⟶
Product Video Plugin
By SQSP Themes
Nothing converts like video. This plugin allows you to add video content to your product pages. Enough said.
Buy the Product Video Gallery plugin ⟶
Countdown Timer
By SQSP Themes
Have a sale? Put a deadline on it. Nothing sells like a deadline. This countdown timer plugin by SQSP Themes will do just that!
Buy the Countdown Timer plugin ⟶
Get ALL of these plugins by SQSP Themes
The plugins I’ve shared so far are all by SQSP Themes. If you think you might like to buy more then one, be sure to check out their whole bundle. You get lifetime access to updates, which means you get more plugins later down the road as they grow this bundle too!
Buy the SQSP Store Plugin bundle ⟶
Buy the SQSP Business Bundle (everything!) ⟶
Sync List Sections with Products
By Will Myers
Squarespace offers a very cool carousel effect for testimonials. This plugin allows you to use those List Sections to also feature products! If you are looking for a smooth product carousel effect for your landing pages, check out this awesome plugin by Will Myers.
Buy the Sync List Sections plugin ⟶
Accordion Dropdown Plugin
By Will Myers
The built-in area for Squarespace products only allows for text. However, sometimes it is nice to add an accordion block so customers can show and hide various product information. This plugin will allow you to do just that (and more!).
Buy the Accordion Dropdown plugin ⟶
Universal Filter
By Square Websites
You can create some filters using the built in filter buttons. However, if you have a large store, or just want more options, the Universal Filter plugin by Square Websites is a go-to option for Squarespace designers. It also works across your blogs and other collection pages.
Buy the Universal Filter plugin ⟶
Mini Cart
By Square Refresh
This plugin brings the traditional “quick cart view” to Squarespace. It creates a mini cart when viewers click the cart icon so they can easily see what is in their cart. This mini cart comes with a “continue shopping” button, discounts and offers, and much more.
Slide Out Cart
By Square Refresh
If you prefer the traditional slide-out option when users click on their shopping cart, check out this plugin! This plugin offers all the same features as the mini cart plugin, but as a slide-out instead.
Buy the Slide Out Cart plugin ⟶
Notifications Plugin
By Square Refresh
This plugin is great for creating engaging and eye-catching notficiations while a visitor uses your site. Keep them posted on news, promotions, deals and more.
Buy the Notifications plugin ⟶
Mega Menu
If you have a medium or large e-commerce store, a mega menu is a must. Even if you have a smaller store, you may want this feature. It as become commonplace on e-commerce websites. Mega menu’s allow you to create a large drop-down menu that features a “block” of content. This might include links, images, or more.
Luckily, there are two great options! Will Myers and SQSP Themes both have an option. The mega menu comes as part of the SQSP Themes bundle, if you decide to purchase that for the other e-commerce plugins (as mentioned above).
Buy the Mega Menu plugin by Will Myers ⟶
Buy the Mega Menu plugin by SQSP Themes ⟶
Buy the Mega Menu plugin by Square Refresh ⟶
Custom Order Confirmation Page
By Ghost Plugins
Create a thank you page on your website and then use this free plugin to direct customers after they have purchased. This is great for upsells!
Get the Custom Order Confirmation Page plugin ⟶
Add an Upsell Page (after cart add)
By Ghost Plugins
If you want to upsell to customers after they add a product (before they checkout or purchase), use this free plugin by Ghost Plugins.
Done! Go to cart Button
By Ghost Plugins
This plugin adds a Go to Cart Button after someone adds something to the cart. This helps streamline the process for customers and can improve checkout conversions!
Buy the Go to Cart Button plugin ⟶
Add Breadcrumbs to Product Pages
By SF Digital
Missing breadcrumbs on your store? Breadcrumbs are the navigation links at the top of a page that shows the page you came from and the page you are on now. It can help users keep track of where they are and easily navigate back. This plugin extension adds that feature into your Squarespace e-commerce website!
Buy the Product Breadcrumbs plugin ⟶
Goaff Pro Affiliate Program
One of the best ways to build your sales is to let your customers sell for you! I’ve you’ve been considering an affiliate program, Goaff Pro is a free affiliate software built for small businesses selling in smaller quantities. Set up an affiliate program and reward your customers for sharing your products!
Learn more about Goaff Pro Affiliate ⟶
Squarespace SEO
By SEOSpace
What good is an e-commerce store if no one can find it on Google? SEOSpace is an SEO plugin built specifically for Squarespace. It is like the “Yoast” plugin, but for Squarespace. Except, it is WAY better!
This plugin will help you run SEO audits, give you tailored suggestions, help you find blog posts and keywords, and more. The features are absolutely incredible and growing every month.
Frequently Asked Questions About Shopify vs Squarespace
What is best Shopify or Squarespace?
Squarespace is best for musicians, creatives, and entrepreneurs. One hosting fee gives you access to a full e-commerce store plus memberships, courses, and flexible design options. You can also sell digital or physical products under one store.
Shopify is best for medium to large small businesses or corporations that are have a large catalogue of physical goods. With a budget of 10k or more, you can hire a full-stack developer to customize your website and pay for monthly plugin fees.
Should I switch from Squarespace to Shopify?
If you should switch from Squarespace to Shopify if you are ready go scale your business and scale a large amount of physical goods online and in-person. Shopify is better with inventory management. You will need a website budget in order to customize your website and pay monthly premiums for plugins. If you are selling a large quantity of physical goods and don’t need to sell digital goods, courses, or memberships, switching to Shopify may help you grow your business.
Why is Shopify better than Squarespace?
Shopify is better than Squarespace for small businesses with a medium to large catalogue of physical goods. Shopify is an e-commerce platform built for e-commerce. Therefore, it makes it a good choice for small businesses with a website budget who want to grow and scale their sales. Squarespace offers a great e-commerce solution, but the core value of the platform is centered around building beautiful websites.
Is it worth it to sell on Squarespace?
If you aren’t needing to manage inventory and sell a large quantity of physical goods, it is absolutely worth it to sell on Squarespace. Squarespace offers a user friendly e-commerce platform where you can sell physical goods, digital products, courses, memberships, and more. Plus it is very easy to customize your website and create a beautiful, modern design.
