Last Updated | March 27, 2023
Online businesses have become more crucial than ever before. In this age of digital transformation, it is imperative for businesses to have a strong online presence. This is where eCommerce platforms come into play. Among the most popular eCommerce platforms in the market, BigCommerce and Squarespace are two big names that businesses are considering launching online stores.
BigCommerce and Squarespace are powerful eCommerce platforms offering various features and tools to help businesses create and manage their online stores. While they share some similarities, they have unique strengths and weaknesses.
- BigCommerce powers over 60,000 online stores in over 120 countries worldwide, making it one of the market’s most popular and trusted eCommerce platforms.
- Squarespace is a website builder offering various templates and designs for creating visually stunning websites, making it a popular choice among creative business owners.
- BigCommerce and Squarespace are well-liked platforms, but both cater to the needs of businesses of different dynamics owing to their distinguishing features.
In this blog, we will compare features of Squarespace vs BigCommerce to determine which is the best solution for your business in 2023. So if you are a business owner looking for the best solution, this blog is for you. Go through this blog to determine the right solution!
Squarespace
Squarespace is a website builder that allows users to create websites and online stores without coding skills. Squarespace offers a range of customizable templates, a drag-and-drop interface, eCommerce features, and 24/7 customer support via email and live chat.
Squarespace is well-liked for its beautiful templates and mobile-responsive designs, making it easy to create a professional-looking website for eCommerce stores. It can be a good choice for small to medium-sized businesses looking for an easy-to-use and visually appealing eCommerce platform.
Let’s have a look at its pros and cons to evaluate the platform in a better way:
Pros
- Squarespace offers a wide range of beautifully designed templates that are suitable for various types of websites, making it easy for users to create a professional-looking site.
- The platform has an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, which makes it easy to create and customize website pages, add content, and manage your site.
- All Squarespace templates are optimized for mobile devices, ensuring your site looks great on all screen sizes.
- The platform offers all the essential e-commerce features, including product management, payment processing, and shipping options, making it easy for users to create an online store.
Cons
- Squarespace provides four payment options, which may limit the payment methods available to your customers.
- There is a limited set of e-commerce features, which may not be sufficient for businesses with more extensive inventories or more complex sales processes.
- The platform’s built-in features result in a smaller app store, providing fewer options to customize your store’s functionality.
- Squarespace has less scalability than larger e-commerce platforms, which may restrict your store’s growth potential in the long run.
BigCommerce
This powerful cloud-based eCommerce platform enables businesses to create and manage online stores easily. It offers many features and tools, including customizable templates, payment gateway integration, shipping and tax management, inventory management, marketing tools, and more.
BigCommerce is known for its scalability, reliability, and security, making it a popular choice for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises. It is easy to use and offers a user-friendly interface that allows store owners to manage their online stores without requiring extensive technical knowledge.
Pros
- BigCommerce offers comprehensive features and tools, making it a powerful eCommerce platform.
- It can handle stores of all sizes and large volumes of traffic and transactions.
- The platform’s user-friendly interface makes it easy for store owners to manage their online stores without requiring extensive technical knowledge.
- BigCommerce offers a wide range of integrations with third-party systems and applications.
Cons
- BigCommerce’s pricing can be relatively high compared to other eCommerce platforms, particularly for larger businesses.
- While BigCommerce offers a wide range of templates and themes, customization options can be limited for creating a completely unique design.
- Some users may find the platform’s robust feature set overwhelming and may require time to learn how to use it effectively.
Comparing Squarespace vs BigCommerce
While both platforms offer a range of features and tools to help businesses create an effective online presence, there are some key differences between the two. Let’s compare Squarespace vs BigCommerce to gain a better understanding.
Pricing Plans
Squarespace and BigCommerce offer different pricing plans that can suit businesses with different needs.
Squarespace has a total of four pricing plans to choose from.
- The personal plan costs $19 per month.
- The business plan costs $33 per month.
- The basic commerce plan costs $36 per month.
- The advanced commerce plan costs $65 per month.
Only the basic commerce and advanced commerce plans are intended for eCommerce. The other two plans are very affordable, but there is a catch, the personal plan does not allow selling anything, and the Business Plan has a high transaction fee for selling unlimited products.
On the other hand, BigCommerce also offers four different pricing plans, which are as follows:
- The standard plan costs $29.95 per month.
- The plus plan costs $79.95 per month.
- The pro plan costs $299.95 per month.
- The enterprise plan doesn’t have a fixed price and can vary as per the needs of businesses.
BigCommerce offers a 15-day trial period for users to explore its platform before selecting a plan that suits their business needs. Regardless of the chosen package, your store will have a fully responsive website, support for digital wallets, basic SEO tools, and comprehensive analytics.
You can also get a 10% discount on your chosen plan by opting for annual payment instead of monthly.
Squarespace may seem like the more affordable option for small businesses, with its lowest plan starting at a lower price point than BigCommerce’s Standard plan. However, it’s important to consider the transaction fees and the given features.
BigCommerce offers eCommerce features in all of its plans, making it a better option for businesses of all sizes.
Ease of Use
Users with limited technical expertise often prioritize ease of use when selecting an eCommerce platform. Let’s discuss the interface of Squarespace vs BigCommerce in more detail.
BigCommerce’s new app allows you to access the template files for your theme and make changes to your website using. With this application, adding content straight to your website is simple. Although the program is user-friendly, new users may need to get accustomed to the technical jargon.
BigCommerce offers a thorough beginner’s guide to help you use the platform effectively and get the most out of its capabilities.
While for Squarespace, it is one of the easy-to-use platforms. It offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop platform, empowering users to effortlessly add and modify various elements on their web pages without requiring any coding expertise.
With the intuitive builder, customizing your website’s logo, theme, font, and color is a breeze, and your online store will accurately reflect the changes made during the editing process. However, the absence of visual cues on the editor’s site may be challenging for novice users.
BigCommerce may require some time to get used to its terminology, but it is easy to use once you familiarize yourself. On the other hand, Squarespace’s intuitive features make it easy to use once you get the hang of it. Ultimately, both platforms offer a great user experience and tools to help you efficiently create and manage your online store.
Website Design
The web design of your store is the essential aspect of your business, as this is what is presented to the customers. Both platforms offer great design and templates but have several differences that distinguish one from the other.
Squarespace is known for its stunning, modern designs and easy-to-use design tools. They offer a range of customizable templates to suit your needs, and their drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to create a professional-looking website without any coding knowledge. BigCommerce, on the other hand, offers a more functional approach to design. While they offer a range of templates, they focus on providing a solid foundation for e-commerce functionality.
Squarespace offers more flexibility in design, with a wider range of templates and a more user-friendly interface for making changes; while BigCommerce website design is also very intuitive, it has limited customization.
To sum it up, Squarespace may be the better choice if you prioritize design aesthetics. In comparison, BigCommerce may be better if you prioritize e-commerce functionality and scalability.
Third-Party Integrations
Apps and plugins come in handy when the business grows to meet its exceeding demands for processing payments, customizations, etc. Both platforms are quite different in terms of integration.
Squarespace has a limited number of third-party integrations available. While they do offer integrations with popular tools, there are fewer options available compared to BigCommerce. BigCommerce offers a wide range of integrations with third-party apps and services. They have a dedicated app store with over 600 apps available, making it easy to customize your online store and add new features as your business grows.
Squarespace may have fewer third-party integrations available, but they have a solid set of built-in features that may be sufficient for smaller businesses. However, Squarespace may not suffice for the bigger business due to limitations. So in this category, BigCommerce app development is the winner with its wide range of integrations and a dedicated app store.
Inventory Management
Inventory management is crucial for businesses with a large number of products, as it involves organizing and monitoring their goods. BigCommerce offers various applications and software solutions to help manage inventory. It leads to increased accuracy, efficient restocking of low-stock products, and automatic updates on the eCommerce platform.
Additionally, BigCommerce integrates with third-party apps, allowing businesses to centralize all aspects of inventory management.
On the other hand, Squarespace provides a user-friendly interface for managing inventory through its Product Inventory panel, which includes features for adding, changing, managing inventory levels, and editing products. However, it is not as effective as BigCommerce due to limited integrations and may not be suitable for businesses with large inventories.
So, again BigCommerce is the winner in this case.
Payment Gateways
Payment gateways are important for the stores as they ensure reliable payment processing. BigCommerce provides over 65 payment gateway integrations and more than 250 local payment methods in over 100 countries, making it easy for users to conduct business globally. It also integrates with popular mobile and digital wallets such as Paypal, Apple Pay, and Amazon Pay.
Squarespace offers only a few payment methods, including Square, Stripe, and Paypal, which may limit payment options for customers. Therefore, in terms of payment options, BigCommerce is the better choice for businesses looking to cater to a wide range of customers.
SEO
SEO is essential for the success of every eCommerce store as it enhances the visibility of your store on the internet resulting in increased traffic.
BigCommerce offers a range of SEO tools, such as customizing meta titles and descriptions, creating user-friendly URLs, and optimizing images with alt text. BigCommerce includes an SSL certificate, which enhances website security and search engine ranking.
Squarespace also provides several SEO features, including the automatic title tag and meta tag creation, as well as sitemap generation. However, there are some SEO limitations to consider. Squarespace lacks some automatic redirects, a dedicated SEO-checking tool, and the ability to add rich snippets. Furthermore, adding alt tags to images can be challenging on this platform.
In terms of overall marketing, specifically SEO, BigCommerce is recommended.
Support
Effective customer support is crucial for users new to website building. BigCommerce offers exceptional customer service, including phone, email, and live chat assistance, as well as an extensive Help Center with user manuals for all skill levels, available 24/7. Additionally, BigCommerce provides support from its user community.
Squarespace offers excellent customer support, in-depth answers, and responsive live chat. However, it lacks phone support, and response times may be slow, especially during peak hours. Although Squarespace provides a Developer Center for creating custom sites, the lack of immediate live chat support may negatively impact user satisfaction.
Squarespace vs BigCommerce – Which Platform is the Best Choice?
Squarespace and BigCommerce are popular platforms offering a range of features and functionality to help businesses sell online. However, when choosing the one between them, BigCommerce takes the lead.
Squarespace is primarily a website builder that offers e-commerce functionality in some of its plans as one of its features. While BigCommerce is a dedicated e-commerce platform built to handle large-scale e-commerce operations.
BigCommerce is designed to handle large-scale e-commerce operations, making it the ideal choice for businesses that expect to grow quickly or have complex needs. Squarespace, on the other hand, is better suited to smaller businesses with simpler requirements.
We can conclude from the comparison that Squarespace does offer some e-commerce features, but they are more limited in scope. Therefore, BigCommerce is the winner in eCommerce functionality due to its top-notch features. While Squarespace is a great platform for smaller businesses or those with simple e-commerce needs, BigCommerce is the superior choice for larger businesses with complex requirements or high growth potential.
Now that you have gone through the comparison; you must have made up your mind to unlock the potential of your business from BigCommerce headless commerce. If you are looking for a trusted and experienced BigCommerce company, then Folio3 should be your first choice. Our team of skilled BigCommerce developers has a wealth of expertise in creating top-notch BigCommerce solutions that meet your specific business needs.
Whether you need help with designing and building a new BigCommerce store from scratch, migrating your store to BigCommerce, or you’re looking for BigCommerce integration services to integrate with other systems and platforms, we have the expertise you need to get the job done right.
At Folio3, we understand that every business is unique, which is why we take a personalized approach to every project we take on. We’ll work closely with you to understand your needs and goals and create a tailored solution that fits your specific requirements. We also offer BigCommerce support and maintenance services to help you with each step.
So why wait? Contact us today to learn more about our BigCommerce development services and find out how we can help take your online store to the next level!
FAQs
What Is The Main Difference Between BigCommerce And Squarespace?
BigCommerce is mainly an e-commerce platform with more advanced features for online businesses, such as payment processing and shipping integration. On the other hand, Squarespace is more focused on design flexibility and customization options, with a wider range of templates and the ability to code your website.
Can I Sell Products On Squarespace?
Yes, Squarespace offers a range of eCommerce features that enable individuals and businesses to sell products online, including accepting payments and managing inventory. However, eCommerce features are only available in basic and advanced commerce plans.
Is Bigcommerce A Better Choice Than Squarespace?
Yes, BigCommerce can be a better choice than Squarespace for some businesses with larger or more complex online stores. BigCommerce offers more advanced eCommerce features, such as multi-channel selling, abandoned cart recovery, and product filtering, which can help businesses increase sales and improve the customer experience. Additionally, BigCommerce offers more flexibility for customization and integration with third-party tools and services.
Can I Migrate My Store From Suqarepsace To BigCommerce?
Yes, BigCommerce migration is possible. BigCommerce offers a free migration tool to easily import your products, customers, and orders from Squarespace. Additionally, they offer migration services to assist with more complex migrations. To migrate your store from Squarespace to BigCommerce, you must export your data from Squarespace and import it into BigCommerce. You will also need to recreate your website design on the BigCommerce platform.
How Can I Set Up An E-commerce Store On BigCommerce?
Setting up an eCommerce store on BigCommerce is straightforward, but it can still be a time-consuming process. If you want to get it done quickly and effectively, it’s best to seek the help of experts like Folio3. Folio3 offers comprehensive BigCommerce development services, including store setup and customization, theme development, payment gateway integration, and more.
Source: https://ecommerce.folio3.com/blog/squarespace-vs-bigcommerce/
