WooCommerce or Squarespace: Which is Better for Your Online Store

WooCommerce and Squarespace are both popular content management systems (CMSs) for building online stores. However, it’s not easy to choose between the two since both platforms work differently.

WooCommerce is an open-source plugin that runs on WordPress, which is the ultimate CMS and dominates the market. Squarespace, on the other hand, is a closed system with a user-friendly drag-and-drop dashboard.

Choosing the right CMS decides how much control you have over your website and its scalability. If you’re struggling with the decision between these two, this article will help.

We’ll compare WooCommerce vs Squarespace in the areas of pricing, features, design, e-commerce, and more.

A Sneak Peek into Both Platforms

WooCommerce is based on WordPress, which is used by 43.3% of all websites. Of those, 20.5% use WooCommerce to display and sell products.

It’s open-source and self-hosted, which gives you greater control than most other CMSs out there.

Squarespace is a website builder with built-in e-commerce tools. It’s an all-in-one closed CMS with a drag-and-drop feature.

Its biggest selling point is that you can pick a template, drag and drop what you need, and start selling. It currently powers 2.4% of all websites.

WooCommerce vs Squarespace: Development Features

Let’s compare Squarespace vs WooCommerce, starting with features. As an owner, you would want to build your e-commerce site on a platform with as many user-friendly features as possible.

Here’s how these two compare:

WooCommerce

• Full Control Over Site Features and Structure: From setting up advanced product filters to optimizing checkout, you can build any feature you want.
• Plugin Ecosystem: WooCommerce gives you access to over 59,000 free and paid plugins in the WordPress ecosystem. There’s a plugin for almost every part your website, including SEO, chatbots, checkouts, and payment gateways.
• Developer Flexibility: Flexibility is probably the #1 reason 4,533,716 stores around the globe chose WooCommerce. Being open-source, WooCommerce is customizable.

If you know coding (or hire a team of WooCommerce developers), there’s virtually no limit to what you can build.

It could be a customized theme, checkout flow, or product display. You’re only limited by your creativity and coding skills.

Squarespace

• Drag-and-Drop Builder: You can select a template and drag and drop whichever element (text, product grids, and other features) you want to create your website. You don’t need coding skills.
• Pre-Built Designs: You get access to a library of sleek, responsive pre-built templates. These templates are a great starting point if your store is small and doesn’t require too much customization.
• Integrated Tools for Beginners: An all-in-one ecosystem with tools for everything, including SEO, email marketing, payment gateways, and more. You don’t need to install extras, which is great for beginners but limits customization.

WooCommerce vs Squarespace: Pricing

Pricing is another important factor to consider when comparing WooCommerce with Squarespace. But keep in mind that both platforms use different cost structures.

Here’s how they’re different:

WooCommerce Pricing Structure

• Free Core Plugin: The WooCommerce plugin is 100% FREE, so you can start building your store without major upfront investment. But running an online store comes with several other expenses.
• Add-Ons: You’ll need to pay for hosting, themes, and extra features. A decent hosting plan starts around $200 a year or $20 a month. The cost of themes, plugins, and other add-ons will depend on what you choose..

There are no fixed WooCommerce pricing plans. You can add new features as you need or as your budget improves. If you’re on a budget, start small with shared hosting and a free theme.

It’s a perfect solution if you want control over your budget.

But as your store grows, so does your overall WooCommerce maintenance cost. That’s a trade-off for full control and customization.

Squarespace Pricing Structure

• Tiered Monthly Plans: The basic plan starts at $16/mo (paid annually) or $25/mo (paid monthly).
  • The most expensive plan currently is $99/mo (paid annually) or $139/mo (paid monthly).
  • Every plan includes hosting, templates, and varying levels of built-in tools.
• Built-In Features Included in Cost: With Squarespace, you get templates, email marketing, and SEO tools built in.
  • Unlike WooCommerce, you don’t need extra plugins for adding simple features.
  • The cost remains fixed and predictable.
• Limitations On Customization: While the cost is predictable, it’s not flexible. Customization is limited to built-in features and tools.

Which is More Cost-Effective?

Squarespace is a good starting point for small stores with simple needs.

But even if you’re willing to pay more, customization remains limited to built-in features. That can be a red flag for rapidly growing online stores.

WooCommerce may cost more upfront, but given its inherent flexibility, it’s an excellent long-term solution for a growing e-commerce website.

WooCommerce vs Squarespace: Design Features

Design affects how your online store looks and hooks your target audience. A sleek, responsive, and intuitive design will boost your conversions.

WooCommerce Design Capabilities

• Themes (Free and Paid): While free themes are available, paid ones offer more design flexibility and uniqueness. But you’ll need to hire professional designers to customize your theme.
• Unlimited Customization with Code: If you know how to code or hire a team of pros, the sky is the limit. You can customize everything, from the theme to plugins, giving your store a unique look.
• Developer Support for Branding: With the help of the right developers, you can design a fully customized website. This unique, on-brand look can help you boost conversions and stand out.

Squarespace Design Capabilities

• User-Friendly Templates: With Squarespace, you get sleek, user-friendly, responsive templates. They have a polished look and are suitable for small stores with limited inventory.
• Limited Customization: Although beautifully designed, pre-built templates are not on-brand. You can fully customize your template in the developer mode. But even then, you’re restricted by the built-in ecosystem.
• Easier for Beginners: Squarespace is built for users with no coding experience. You drag and drop to design simple but effective online stores.

WooCommerce vs Squarespace: E-Commerce Features

In the end, it all comes down to how your store sells. Whether it’s Squarespace or WooCommerce, you want a store with optimized checkout flows, multiple payments, and custom product grids.

WooCommerce eCommerce Functionality

• Product Types: Whether you sell products, services, or subscriptions, WooCommerce makes it easy to set up your store. With the right plugin, you can sell whatever you want. For instance, WooCommerce Subscriptions is a great add-on for selling subscription-based services.
• Shipping and Tax Flexibility: WooCommerce lets you set flat-rate shipping and calculated shipping rates based on the size, weight, dimension, and delivery location. It also supports automated tax calculations using plugins like TaxJar or Avalara. You can set the rules based on your requirements and local regulations.
• Shopping Cart & Checkout Customization: You can change every step of the shopping and checkout experience. You can add or remove fields, create upsell opportunities, and even provide a single-page checkout to help boost your conversions.
• Easy Automation: WordPress has thousands of plugins/extensions available, from marketing automation tools to shipping calculators and currency switchers.
• Made for Complex Setups: It supports complex workflows like custom checkout fields, user roles, dynamic pricing, and automation via tools like Zapier or n8n.
• Easy Integrations: It easily integrates with third-party systems such as CRMs, accounting tools, and inventory management platforms.

Squarespace eCommerce Functionality

• Simple Product Management: Squarespace makes it easy to add and manage products. You get simple but effective built-in product display options. Plus, you can track orders, inventory, update products, and set prices without coding skills.
• Limited Extensions: As simple as product management is, Squarespace offers limited customization. You may not be able to do much if you want subscriptions, custom checkouts, or complex shipping. WooCommerce might be the right choice here.
• More Streamlined Setup: Setup is smooth and intuitive as everything comes built-in. But this simplicity comes with one major drawback – a lack of customization.

WooCommerce Vs Squarespace: Payment Options

Payment should be simple and flexible. One out of every ten customers (10%) will abandon their carts if there aren’t enough payment methods. This means you want an e-commerce platform with as much payment flexibility as possible.

WooCommerce Payment Gateways

WooCommerce works with over 100 payment integrations. You can use Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, and many other payment gateways, depending on your requirements.

But most importantly, WooCommerce supports regional payment providers like Razorpay, PayFast, and Alipay.

You can offer a payment method that’s popular in the region you serve. It’s a critical factor in converting those clicks into conversions.

Squarespace Payment Gateways

Compared to WooCommerce, Squarespace offers limited payment options. It supports Stripe, PayPal, and Apple Pay, which is good enough for stores in North America and the EU.

Another downside is that you can’t deeply customize any payment options. Squarespace is good only for small stores with a limited target audience.

WooCommerce Vs Squarespace: POS, ERP & Business Operations

Most online stores also run brick-and-mortar outlets. If your store has one, or you plan to set up one, you need to think about POS, ERP, and business operations.

WooCommerce POS & ERP

WooCommerce readily integrates with third-party POS and ERP tools like Lightspeed, Square, and QuickBooks.

This helps you manage both your online and offline stores using a single dashboard and with minimal manual intervention.

You can track orders, update inventory, and set up discounts or gift cards across channels without mix-ups or delays.

Squarespace POS & ERP

Squarespace offers POS integration via Square. It lets you process in-person payments and sync inventory with your online store.

It’s a simple setup for small businesses, not for large ones or those with complex inventory.

Its ERP toolset is also limited compared to WooCommerce. Squarespace may not be the right solution if you need an advanced supply chain.

Marketing and SEO are crucial for visibility and growth. Both WooCommerce and Squarespace offer tools, but WooCommerce gives you more flexibility to scale and customize.

WooCommerce Vs Squarespace: Marketing & SEO Tools

Your online store is only as good as its visibility on search engines. Without the right marketing and SEO tools, you risk losing your traffic and sales.

You’ll need to think this through when deciding between WooCommerce and Squarespace.

WooCommerce Marketing and SEO

• Full Control of SEO Metadata: With WooCommerce, you get full control over all your SEO elements. You can edit page titles, meta descriptions, URLs, and alt text for images.
  • Additionally, you can automate SEO optimization with plugins like Yoast or Rank Math.
  • All this translates into better search rankings and higher conversions in the long run.
• Integrations with Email, CRM, and Ad Platforms: WooCommerce also integrates with many leading email marketing tools like Mailchimp and CRMs like HubSpot.
  • Google Ads and Facebook make it easier to run ad campaigns and drive more traffic to your store.
  • It also comes with built-in analytics to help you identify what’s working and what isn’t

Squarespace Marketing and SEO

• Built-in SEO Tools: Squarespace comes with basic built-in SEO tools, including XML sitemaps, automatic redirects, and editable meta descriptions and title tags. It also offers detailed built-in analytics.
• Email Marketing and Social Tools Included: With the native email marketing and social media tools, you can easily manage your campaigns. You can link your store to Facebook, Pinterest, and other social media platforms.
• Limited Third-Party Integration: Although you’ve plenty of built-in options, unlike WooCommerce, Squarespace lacks flexibility and customization.

WooCommerce Vs Squarespace: Security Features

Data breaches are the worst nightmare for online stores.

For one, it could mean hundreds of thousands in financial losses. The global average cost of a data breach in 2024 was 4.9 million.

Secondly, it’s bad press for your brand and customer trust. You could lose many of your hard-earned leads because of one security incident.

WooCommerce Security

• Depends on Hosting Environment: With WooCommerce, your hosting environment typically decides how secure your website is. Although a reputable managed hosting provider costs more, they provide secure servers and SSL certificates.
• SSL, Security Plugins, and Manual Monitoring: WooCommerce supports SSL certificates and offers various security plugins like Sucuri. You can always opt for managed maintenance like WP Autopilot.

Squarespace Security

• Built-In Security: Squarespace takes care of security for you. The platform has a secure, encrypted checkout process and also includes features like firewalls and DDoS protection.
• Automatic SSL, Updates, and Backups: Squarespace automatically includes an SSL certificate, runs updates, and backs up your store data. It’s a convenient and cost-effective option for small stores.

WooCommerce Vs Squarespace: Customer Support

Running an online store comes with everyday challenges. Sometimes, a product page stops working, or there’s an issue with your website’s loading speed.

Whatever the situation may be, you need a robust 24/7 customer support to resolve it quickly.

WooCommerce Support

WooCommerce may not have a single support system, but its vast community of developers and extensive documentation more than make up for it.

They can help you with everything from routine troubleshooting to plugin and theme customization. If you need help with WooCommerce maintenance, you can reach out to our team at CoSpark.

Squarespace Support

Squarespace offers 24/7 email and chat support. You can contact them at any time, and they typically provide fast responses.

Plus, they’ve a comprehensive set of help guides. While support is available around the clock, it may not be as technically sound as WooCommerce’s.

You’ll likely face limitations when it comes to custom coding and third-party integrations.

WooCommerce vs Squarespace: A Quick Comparison

Whether you want to go with WooCommerce or Squarespace depends on your business requirements and budget.

This quick comparison can help you decide which is a better fit for your online store:

Platform	Pros	Cons
WooCommerce	Customizable: Full control over design and features.	Requires technical knowledge: Need coding or a developer.
	Scalable: Perfect for growing stores and businesses.	Ongoing maintenance: Regular updates and monitoring are needed.
	Robust features: A wide range of plugins and integrations.	Complexity: Some features can be overwhelming to set up.
Squarespace	User-friendly: Easy to set up and manage.	Less flexibility: Limited customization options.
	All-in-one: Everything included in one platform.	Limited growth potential: Doesn’t scale well for complex needs.
	Quick setup: Launch your store fast with minimal setup.	Limited control: Easy setup comes with fewer customization options.

WooCommerce vs Squarespace: Which Is Better?

Both platforms are great, but which one works best for you depends on your requirements and budget.

Choose WooCommerce if you want more control over development and design, plan to grow, and require flexibility.

Squarespace is a good choice if you need a simple setup, plan to stay small for a while, and want minimal maintenance.

If you still can’t decide between WooCommerce and Squarespace, speak with one of our experts at CoSpark.

We can help you choose, and if you go with WooCommerce, we’ll help you with development, migration, and maintenance.

Have any questions or thoughts? Connect with us now!