For some companies, Squarespace is an excellent website-building platform. From graphic designer to lawyer, we’ve recommended Squarespace for its simplicity of use, efficiency, and pricing.
But for eCommerce, we always prefer Shopify. Squarespace is a good place to start for smaller businesses, but you will run into constraints as your firm grows. If you want to migrate Squarespace to Shopify, this post is for you.
The benefits of Shopify versus Squarespace for eCommerce
Purpose
Shopify was created for eCommerce. Squarespace began as a generic website construction tool and eventually included eCommerce to meet consumer demand.
Apps
Shopify’s third-party app marketplace is full of valuable apps that may help you enhance your shop. Apps may enhance sales, solve complex fulfillment challenges, or improve your website’s look. Squarespace features minimal connectivity, but not as many third-party applications as Shopify.
Customizations
With liquid code, you can customize practically any Shopify feature. You may utilize a Shopify theme, alter it, or create a unique website. With Shopify, the options are unlimited, and you can even employ a certified Shopify Expert to assist you. Squarespace is designed for non-developers therefore customization of the front and back ends might be tough.
Marketing
As a result, Shopify is the obvious option for bigger retailers with a marketing budget, as well as smaller retailers that want to be prepared for future marketing initiatives. With Shopify’s built-in marketing channels, you can conduct campaigns without an agency.
Gateways
Shopify accepts over 100 payment methods. Squarespace has two. You can now accept Google Pay, Apple Pay, and PayPal directly on your product pages.
SEO
We’ll get into this more later, but Shopify was developed with SEO in mind. Shopify automatically adds basic SEO to product listings, with additional options available. 301 redirects and URL mapping prevent search engines from scanning the erroneous sites on Shopify.
How to Migrate?
- EXPORTING YOUR GOODS
- DON’T FORGET TO EXPORT YOUR CONTENT
- A DEVELOPMENT STORE ON SHOPIFY
Now that you have the data from Squarespace, you can join Shopify and create a development shop. You may plan your new website here so that when the time comes to go live, you know precisely how it will appear and perform.
Sign up for a 14-day trial here. If you require extra time, a Shopify Expert may provide you access to an unlimited development shop. If you join up for the trial, be advised that you’ll be charged after 14 days, and the migration may take longer depending on the intricacy.
Once your development shop is up and running, spend some time going through the options and configuring it appropriately.
- IMPORTING TO SHOPIFY
- SHOPIFY CONTENT IMPORT
Now that you’ve exported your Squarespace blogs and content to an XML file, you can import them into Shopify. Using the Excelify app might help speed up the process. To begin, convert your XML file to a CSV using an internet tool like here.
To import your blog posts and material from a CSV file, follow these steps:
- SELECTING A THEME
- DOMAIN SWITCHING
- SEO THOUGHTS
What does 404 mean?
An Internet address cannot be discovered, the error message is shown by a web browser. Because of this, you’ll get a low ranking on Google’s search results.
What does a 301 mean?
There is a permanent redirection from one URL to another using a 301 redirect. Google’s ranking algorithm, which aims to direct visitors to the proper site, skips through these.
CONCLUSION
It’s clear to see why Squarespace is such a popular choice for professional services and artist portfolios. Shopify, on the other hand, may be the greatest solution for most firms in terms of eCommerce. Step-by-step instructions for migrating your company from Squarespace to Shopify are provided in this article. We’d be happy to help you with Shopify website speed optimization if you run across any issues when making the transition.