Why I Love Squarespace for eCommerce

I’ve been building eCommerce sites since the early 2000s and Squarespace sites since the mid-aughts so it’s safe to say that I’ve used pretty much every web design platform and tool out there and been through plenty of updates on all of them. In the tech world, it’s pretty easy to get left in the dust; things evolve fast and you have to adapt to stay relevant.

I’ll be honest, Squarespace did go through some awkward early teenage years but it’s really turning out to be aging like fine wine. In 2020, Squarespace launched its latest version of the platform - Squarespace 7.1 - and dare I say it’s the best one yet. If you’ve been at the eCommerce game for a while you may have been convinced that Squarespace was just a mediocre option but buckle up - here’s why it’s turning out to be the best of the bunch and why I love it not just for beautiful websites but awesome eCommerce sites. 

Squarespace eCommerce Features 

If you’re starting from scratch, you’re likely comparing Squarespace to other commerce platforms such as Shopify. Here are the standout features & differences:

• You can sell literally anything. Products, services, subscriptions, appointments, digital content, memberships, and more… online, or in person.

• No need to rely on third-party apps or plugins. The features, capabilities, and tools you need are just built right in. Examples: abandoned cart recovery, discount codes, gift cards, membership areas, related products, and product merchandising tools are all just standard features on Squarespace. 

• It’s secure and stable. With secure checkout on every device, you never have to worry about your customer’s data. Squarespace is PCI compliant and SSL-enabled right out of the box.

• It’s an all-in-one platform that can handle everything you need. eCommerce life is just easier with everything under one roof including things like email marketing, SEO, order management, customer service, sales tax, and shipping tools. 

• Every single page is customizable. Other commerce platforms give you some options to personalize a home page layout but not much else without knowing how to code. With Squarespace, it’s easy to create a consistent and professional site that feels like you through and through.  

Why Squarespace 7.1 is Awesome

If you already have a site on Squarespace and it was built anytime before 2020, it was probably built on Squarespace 7.0 which is now the “old” version. (Not sure which you have? Here’s how to find out. ) Some people have been hesitant to make the leap and upgrade to Squarespace 7.1 because 1) change is hard and 2) Squarespace 7.0 works pretty well and you shouldn’t fix what’s not broken, right? But there are some key advantages to Squarespace 7.1 - especially when it comes to Commerce - that are worth a mention. A few highlights:

• You can have unlimited products per store “page”. On Squarespace 7.0, even though there’s no limit to the number of products you can add to your site overall, you’re limited to 200 products per Product page. This means that a lot of store owners had to come up with hacky ways to divide products up into lots of different shop pages, creating not just a nightmare mess on the back end but an impossible way for shoppers to fully see everything offered. On Squarespace 7.1, you only need one Store page because the limit is 10,000 products.

• Subcategories & nested menus. I mean, this feature alone is worthy of being a standalone item on this list. Being able to create nested subcategories in your online shop makes it infinitely easier for customers to shop, browse, and discover all you have to offer. This is a game-changing feature over the flat shop hierarchy on 7.0.

• Improved page editing, more flexible page layouts, and way more design freedom. Because all templates on 7.1 are just jumping-off points and include all of the exact same features, you’re not limited by the template you initially choose. In 7.0, selecting the wrong template from the start means you either have to live with its limitations or recreate your entire site when you invariably hit a roadblock. Bonus: on Squarespace 7.1, all pages are super customizable. You don’t have to choose between index pages or regular pages or gallery pages 🤷‍♀️ - they're all just pages and you can do anything and everything you want on them. You can even add additional content to store & product pages!

• Improved mobile design. On Squarespace 7.1 your design will adapt to mobile devices and smaller browser windows automatically. There’s no need to tinker with separate mobile styling or worrying that what looks good on desktop is going to look disastrous on mobile. Again, it all just magically works.

It’s time to launch or switch your eCommerce site to Squarespace 7.1 

Whether you’re just starting out or an old pro looking to make sure you’re taking advantage of the latest tools available to you, I highly recommend Squarespace - and making sure you’re on version 7.1 specifically. As I said, there’s a lot of churn and turnover that happens constantly in the e-commerce industry, but in 7.1, Squarespace has really solidified its commitment to the way modern businesses operate. It’s no longer just a “starter” platform that you’ll someday need to graduate from and has all the tools you need to launch quickly and get to work. 

Bonus: How often should you update your website? 

Trick question because I think that you should always be updating your website :) but how often should you completely overhaul your website? Like, tear it down and build it back up again? Different people will tell you different things but for me, the rules are pretty simple:

• If your products or services change? Update.

• If your branding or messaging changes? Update. 

• If it’s been 3 years since your last big overhaul? Update. 

That’s it. Pretty simple. Also, keep in mind that an update doesn’t have to be huge. If you’re on Squarespace 7.0, just moving to Squarespace 7.1 will make things feel fresh and modern even if you keep a lot of the same content and structure. And just like moving IRL, a new website is a great time to clean out old junk and start clean again!