Shopify VS Squarespace | The BEST eCommerce Platform For Your Brand

this video is sponsored by no no no this video  is not sponsored by squarespace or shopify   instead this is a complete and honest head-to-head  comparison of shopify versus squarespace now for   years you've seen ads and i often get questions  from our community on which platform they should   consider using to launch their ecommerce store  the reality is that both shopify and squarespace   have the ability to be great platforms for  your brand and business so in this video   we're going to cover seven things you need to  know before choosing shopify or squarespace   and at the end i will give my opinion on which  platform is best for your brand and business   so if you're a new visitor to this channel hit  that subscribe button right down below and turn   on post notifications to be alerted of our latest  video drops on this channel we help entrepreneurs   build brands that impact the world from the ground  up first off let's begin by talking about design   now both platforms have the ability for you to  create an elegant looking website however one   thing squarespace themes do a phenomenal job at is  that they are tailored for creative entrepreneurs   whether you're a band looking to sell merch or  promote your tour or you're a maker who is making   their products by hand the themes help you tell  your story and share the journey while allowing   you to sell it's a great out-of-the-box solution  allowing you to focus on marketing and driving   loyal customers to your brand now when it comes  to fashion and boutique brands shopify has five   free theme options but also has numerous themes  from third party sellers and you can expect to   pay around 140 bucks and up although the amount of  choices can be overwhelming so for someone who is   just getting started and wants to begin as quickly  as possible squarespace wins this comparison as   you can customize it to your liking quickly and  easy and elegant from their positioning in the   market they are definitely tailored into creatives  by making their brand shine with the layouts they   offer for this reason web design and functionality  goes to squarespace now the next thing you need to   know about both platforms is the transaction fees  in this comparison we are only going to compare   shopify's entry level price with the cheapest  business package that squarespace has to offer   we will discuss more on plan pricing at the  end of the video but one thing shopify has   up its sleeve is the fact that they have their  own payment processor built into the platform   where with squarespace you will need to integrate  stripe square or paypal when selling your products   on your website but the thing you need to know is  that let's say you go with shopify and a customer   purchase a product from your site as of the  shooting of this video they will charge you 2.9   percent plus 30 cents for every online transaction  this means if you guys are buying somebody buy   something for 100 bucks you're essentially gonna  pay two dollars like three dollars and 20 cents on   that transaction now if you go with squarespace  and integrate stripe as your payment processor   you will actually be paying more since the  most popular business package that squarespace   offers charges a three percent fee on top of that  transaction so in order to get around that extra   fee to make it comparable with shopify you would  actually need to upgrade to the basic ecommerce   package which is more expensive but more on that  later when we compare both of these plans side by   side both platforms tie but one thing to keep in  mind is that shopify has the edge since they have   built their platform with e-commerce in mind where  squarespace is just getting into the e-commerce   game now one of the most important things to  consider when choosing either platform is which   one is better to optimize for search engine  optimization kind of sounds redundant but this   means how likely is your store or product going  to be coming up online as a search result when   somebody goes to like google or something when it  comes to all things google in order for a site to   be seo friendly you need to be able to modify and  describe as many things as you can on the site   this is where shopify is king the ability to add  more metadata to the site means that google and   other search engines like bing or duckduckgo  can crawl through your site for your products   or your services to show up in search squarespace  currently does have some seo capabilities but is   not up to par with shopify so if you're looking  for the best seo capabilities the clear winner   here is shopify now when it comes to managing  inventory with shopify you have the ability to   manage four to eight different locations where  you store your products so whether you have a   warehouse full of items or a storefront open to  the public you can easily manage your inventory   across all channels you have an instant snapshot  of the items that are in stock and those that you   need to place new orders for now when it comes  to squarespace in order to have the same level   of control that shopify comes pre-loaded with you  will have to install a third-party plug-in which   is an additional cost so if you're looking for the  best way to manage your inventory without having   to purchase plugins shopify is a clear winner here  now this leads us into the next big point which is   actually a big deal for online stores which is  plugins and extensions whether you're looking to   drop ship or add an automated messaging plugin  to your site being able to add plugins to your   website is key to growing your empire shopify  offers over 1200 plugins to their official shopify   app store whereas squarespace only offers a  handful of plugins that you can use you could also   use plugins that are not listed on the shopify and  squarespace marketplace but you will have to pay   an additional monthly fee and hand over your data  to companies that have not been certified by them   so if plug-ins and extensions are important  to you shopify is a clear winner here   now when it comes to shipping squarespace does  have the ability to connect to a third-party   extension but at an added cost where with shopify  not only do you have the ability to print and   ship labels for your products but you also get a  discount of up to 74 off dhl express ups and usps   there is no need to create an extra account or  sign up for a third-party service squarespace   does offer rates based on data from usps ups and  fedex but is only available in real time through   their most expensive advanced e-commerce plan also  those rates are not discounted like shopify has   for this reason shopify is a clear winner here  now finally let's talk about pricing you heard   me mention a few of the different plans that  shopify and squarespace offer so let's begin   with squarespace squarespace as of this video  offers four different plants all of these plants   come with a free 14-day trial now keep in mind  pricing differs if you choose to pay month to   month versus paying for the full year up front in  this comparison we're only going to be reviewing   the monthly plan side by side we begin with the  personal plan it comes in at 16 per month this is   not recommended for e-commerce applications since  there is no ability for you to add products rather   it is more for showing your portfolio photography  or if you're an influencer to promote your   personal brand if you're looking to do e-commerce  but want to save a couple of dollars a month and   incur an additional three percent per transaction  then the business plan from squarespace is for you   but if you want to avoid the added transaction  fee and also want more features the 30   a month basic commerce plan is a better fit now  the advanced commerce plan at 46 dollars a month   comes with features you will need to get the most  out of the platform so if you want squarespace to   have a similar function that comes with shopify  you will need to download additional plugins and   incur charges from them now for those of you  who are looking to start an ecommerce business   and have as many features as possible at an  affordable price this is where shopify has the   edge the basic shopify package will run you 29 a  month and includes everything you need and more   compared to the 46 advanced package that  squarespace has this is definitely the better deal   shopify has their own payment processor with fraud  analysis abandoned cart recovery and discounted   shipping rates as well as over 1200 apps that  you can download via the shopify app store   now the clear winner between the shopify versus  squarespace comparison is shopify however if   you're a creative that's focusing on a custom line  of handmade products or if you're a photographer   musician or artist looking to promote additional  services and events then squarespace is a great   platform to build a brand and business they have a  variety of free themes to help get you started on   and they reduce the level of anxiety and may take  a creative to launch a store by minimizing the   amount of features to the ones you need where you  are right now squarespace is a great platform for   beginners to get their start on now this is not  to say that shopify doesn't have themes that can   help creative entrepreneurs accomplish the same  you could definitely find them but this is where   the overwhelming amount of choices can sometimes  prevent creatives from actually getting started   now my biggest concern for those of you who are  considering a squarespace plan versus a shopify   one is that the 26 dollar basic e-commerce plan  that squarespace advertises as their most popular   plan is definitely a ripoff the three percent  fee on top of the 2.9 percent fee is almost six   percent you are giving away to people for every  transaction so that means out of every hundred   dollars you earn you're paying somebody six  dollars that you could have used to buy a more   expensive plan so in summary squarespace is a  great platform to test the waters of a single   product or service offering if you're on a tight  budget to establish an online presence although   there are better options available if you're on  a tight budget so comment down below if we should   create a video on how to create an e-commerce  store on the low low appreciate you guys for   watching if you decide to use any of the platforms  we mentioned in this video if you could please use   the links right down below as they'll actually  help us produce more content to help you navigate   the entrepreneur journey if you're a new viewer  of ours we welcome you to join the community   the mission of this channel is to bring clarity to  the unknown and equip you to act in return we only   ask that you pay it forward by building a brand  that impacts the world see you on the next one

Channel: John Santos

Views: 9,568

Keywords: shopify vs squarespace pound-for-pound ecommerce showdown, shopify vs squarespace, squarespace vs shopify, shopify ecommerce, squarespace ecommerce, shopify review, square space review, shopify vs squarespace commerce, best ecommerce platform, squarespace online store, ecommerce website, selling online, squarespace commerce, shopify commerce, shopify, squarespace, johnxsantos, ftgu

Id: 4-f_kINhUbg

Length: 9min 30sec (570 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 11 2020