Before embarking on the journey to open and run an online store, you first need to find a good eCommerce platform that can fulfill your requirements, scale your business, and offers you unparalleled support and flexibility. You will find many eCommerce platforms upon your search, but deciding which one will be the best for your business will be a tough decision. Thus, we have come to help solve one comparison once and for all, WooCommerce vs Squarespace.
A good eCommerce platform is one that can cover all aspects of your business with ease. From product management, payment gateways, to handling logistical operations and creating an attractive storefront.
Let’s find out how WooCommerce and Squarespace manage all these aspects crucial to run your business in this detailed WooCommerce vs Squarespace comparison.
Check out our detailed comparison WooCommerce vs Shopify and choose the best yourself
WooCommerce vs Squarespace: Overview
WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce platform that is built upon WordPress and is available for free. You can convert any WordPress site into an online store with the help of WooCommerce. WooCommerce is one of the best eCommerce platforms because it provides unlimited customization and flexibility. It has an extensive library for themes, plugins, and extensions, available for free and paid. It also has a vast community of developers and experts available for support.
Squarespace is a website builder with attractive and intuitive templates. It now offers an eCommerce plan which enables you to open and run an online store. Since it’s new, there are few options for plugins and extensions and all features are built-in. But it is a fully-hosted platform and manages all operations for you. Such as adding unlimited products, POS, creating a booking site, etc. Due to its limitation, it is suitable for small to mid-sized businesses. Moreover, it is a paid eCommerce platform and charges monthly fees for its plans.
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Pros And Cons
WooCommerce
Pros
- Open-source and free eCommerce platform.
- Provides unlimited customization and flexibility.
- Has an extensive library for themes, plugins, and extensions.
- Easily scales with your business.
- Beginner and developer-friendly.
- Built upon WordPress.
Cons
- Need to find a hosting solution to take care of management and backend operations.
- Needs to have WordPress installed.
- Steep learning curve.
Squarespace
Pros
- Easy to use.
- Unlimited theme options.
- Provides a hosting service and free domain in their plans.
- SSL certificate and basic security are provided.
- Suitable for beginners.
Cons
- Theme quantity is less.
- Functionality and customization are limited.
- Customization can only be done in the higher plans.
- Not suitable for growing businesses.
Learn to create a Custom WooCommerce Cart Page without any coding
WooCommerce vs Squarespace: Let’s Compare Everything
To find out which one is the best in the WooCommerce vs Squarespace debate, we have compared both platforms on multiple essential criteria to make the decision easier.
1. Ease of Use
Getting started with WooCommerce is very easy if you already have a WordPress site. If not, then first you need to install WordPress, find a hosting solution and a domain, then install WooCommerce. WooCommerce’s Setup Wizard takes you on a step-by-step process of configuring your store, making the whole process easy and fast. Moreover, adding products, managing inventory, applying coupons are all straightforward operations in WooCommerce.
With Squarespace, getting started is relatively easier. Since it is a site-builder, you start by choosing a template from the available options, migrating your domain or getting a new one, and then changing the logo and color scheme, which might take some getting used to. Moreover, adding products, payment gateways, POS, is very easy and manageable.
In terms of ease of use, Squarespace wins due to the easy setup process.
Read our guide on How to Customize the WooCommerce Thank You Page
2. Pricing
One of the most important factors of determining the eCommerce platform is pricing. Let’s see which platform keeps things within a budget for you.
WooCommerce is available for free download. This means you get to benefit from features like order management, coupons and discounts, unlimited payment gateways, and much more for free. The only cost will come from your hosting service, for which you can opt for Bluehost for cheap and reliable service, domain, and SSL certificate. Other costs include plugins and extensions, some of which are available for free as well and the paid ones are reasonable.
Squarespace, on the other hand, is pricier as compared to WooCommerce. Squarespace offers 2 pricing plans for commerce. The Basic plan is for $26/mo in which you can benefit from features like selling gift cards, physical and digital products, POS, customer accounts, etc. But for features like adding discounts, selling subscriptions, cart recovery, you need to buy the Advanced plan for $40/mo.
WooCommerce vs Squarespace in pricing? WooCommerce is the clear winner because it helps you manage your budget and only pay for the functionality you need.
Check out our list of the best WooCommerce POS plugins
3. Customer Service
Customer service is a crucial aspect you need to look for before choosing an eCommerce platform because you are bound to face some problems throughout the journey, and you need strong and available support to tackle that.
WooCommerce is a free eCommerce platform and thus does not provide live chat and call support. But it does provide extensive documentation on each of its themes, plugins, and extensions so customers can handle the problem themselves. But since not all are tech-savvy, WooCommerce labels trusted developers as “WooExperts”, which you can hire. Moreover, WooCommerce also has multiple forums and communities available where you can ask your query.
Squarespace is a paid platform, and thus 24/7 customer support is available in the form of email and Twitter. They also provide live chat and call support for their paid plans. Moreover, there are also Squarespace communities and forums available for support.
WooCommerce vs Squarespace in terms of customer service? Squarespace wins due to live support but it will cost you money.
Find the 30 Best WooCommerce Storefront theme alternatives in our list.
4. Payment Options
Out-of-the-box, WooCommerce provides multiple checkout and payment options. Customers have the convenience of paying offline such as checks, bank transfers, and cash on delivery. It also accepts payments from major credit and debit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc. Moreover, WooCommerce provides 100+ options for payment gateways, most of which are available for free, such as PayPal and Stripe.
Squarespace enables you to collect in-person payments using Square hardware. It also accepts online payments through PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, and AfterPay. You can also customize the checkout page by adding customer surveys and gift cards.
In payment options, WooCommerce takes the lead due to accepting multiple offline and online transactions and giving unlimited payment gateway options.
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5. Integrations
One of the reasons why WooCommerce is so popular is because of its flexibility towards integrations and customizations. WooCommerce provides unlimited plugins and extensions options for increased functionality. You can use the WordPress repository, WooCommerce Marketplace, and third-party sources for plugins. You can find multiple options for each functionality and all of them are easy to install and configure and do not affect your website’s speed and performance. Moreover, if you cannot find a suitable plugin, you can always hire a developer and customize the code easily.
Squarespace, on the other hand, lacks in this criteria. Squarespace although does offer extensions, they are very limited in their quantity and functionality. For example, you can only find plugins for order management, marketing, reporting, payment, and shipping, and even those are limited. And lastly, you cannot customize the code as well.
WooCommerce vs Squarespace in integrations? WooCommerce is the obvious winner due to its unlimited options and customization.
Check out our list of the Best WooCommerce Plugins for your store
6. Design
Having an attractive storefront is a must if you want to entice customers into exploring more on your site. Let’s see how WooCommerce and Squarespace do here.
WooCommerce provides multiple options in themes as well. And most of them are free. And the paid themes are reasonable and advanced. The WooCommerce official Storefront theme is available for free and consists of 14 child themes, suitable for different business types. Besides this, WooCommerce enables you to customize the theme however you like or hire a developer to do the job for you. Since its an open-source platform, imagination is the limit.
Squarespace has some beautiful and advanced themes available but the options are very limited. Squarespace offers only 10 templates, all of which can be customized and have advanced eCommerce features.
In terms of design, it’s hard to beat Squarespace as the themes are beautiful, advanced, and unique, but WooCommerce wins due to the multiple options available and SEO-friendly optimization.
Use this ultimate checklist to Choose the best Theme for your WooCommerce Store
Conclusion: WooCommerce vs Squarespace – Who’s The Winner?
So who wins the WooCommerce vs Squarespace debate? For us, WooCommerce is the clear winner. For businesses looking to expand and scale and create a site that is completely unique and customizable, WooCommerce is the right choice for them. Not only do you stay within budget, but you can also create an advanced and feature-filled site according to your preferences.
But that doesn’t mean Squarespace lacks in any department. It’s true that it has lesser options for integrations and themes. But its advanced plan provides customers with all features built-in, which is preferable for people who don’t want to go into the hassle of setting up and customizing a site.
So the final decision depends on what are your business requirements and needs and which platform performs best in those particular requirements. We hope this helped!
