To embark on your e-commerce journey, you’ll require an online platform to host your product offerings. In this article, I will compare three distinct solutions: Shopify, Etsy, and Squarespace.
If you’re short on time and looking for a quick overview:
- Opt for Shopify if you aim to establish a scalable online store with access to an extensive array of e-commerce functionalities.
- Choose Squarespace if you want to elegantly showcase your imagery, prioritize beautiful web design, and value customization freedom.
- Consider Etsy if you specialize in selling handmade items, whether physical or digital, and prefer to keep your business streamlined. Etsy is particularly well-suited for side hustles or assessing market potential
And now, without further delay, let’s dive into a comprehensive comparison of Shopify, Etsy, and Squarespace:
Shopify vs Etsy vs Squarespace: Features
Shopify’s Features
Out of the three options, Shopify stands as the most feature-rich and scalable e-commerce platform. It offers a comprehensive online store, enabling you to create product pages, manage inventory, process orders, and run social media ad campaigns seamlessly through its Marketing section.
Some notable features of Shopify (similar features apply to Etsy and Squarespace):
- Built-in SEO tools: Customize meta tags, alt text, meta descriptions, and URLs for website and product pages.
- App Store: Access a vast array of integrations and widgets through Shopify’s app market to enhance your store’s functionality.
- Commerce: Sell digital and physical products, provide product image zoom, display related products, manage inventory and orders, and more.
- POS (Point of Sale): Combine in-person and online sales with Shopify’s free POS app.
- Multichannel selling: Reach customers on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Google Marketplace directly from your Shopify dashboard.
- International selling: Support multi-currency sales for a global reach.
- Marketing: Create a blog, send emails (abandoned cart, upsell, welcome), run targeted ads on social media and Google, publish banners, and embed promotional videos.
- Store management: Effortlessly manage inventory, orders, fulfillment, returns, and refunds using custom automations to streamline tasks.
- Analytics: Gain insights into customer return rates, total spending, average order value, and more.
Etsy’s Features
Etsy operates as an online marketplace, focusing on unique and handcrafted items. Sellers can easily set up shop with an intuitive dashboard, creating and selling products with simplicity. It’s possible to personalize your Etsy store by adding a shop name, profile picture, bio, and product listings.
Key Etsy features include:
- Etsy’s marketplace: Connect with an existing audience actively searching for products.
- SEO: Optimize your store’s SEO for both Etsy’s search engine and Google.
- Etsy ads and marketing: Increase product visibility with Etsy ads and run offsite ads on Google, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Create sales, discounts, and automated coupons.
- Simple product management: Create product listings, upload photos and videos, categorize products, and publish listings.
- Reporting and analytics: Track store visits, engagement, performance of listings, and the effectiveness of ad campaigns.
- Integrations: Integrate with email marketing, social media tools, and apps to improve Etsy SEO. Also, integrate with POS and inventory management if you have physical inventory.
- Pattern: Etsy Pattern allows you to create a separate website with various business management tools, syncing with your Etsy shop. It offers an additional platform to sell products.
Squarespace’s Features
Squarespace’s website builder excels in design and customization, making it a preferred choice for creative professionals. It offers high-quality templates designed to showcase various creative work, including photography and graphic design.
Key features of Squarespace include:
- SEO tools: Create a blog, edit meta tags, descriptions, URLs, generate sitemaps, and customize image file names and alt tags.
- Market: Sell products on social media, create mailing lists, manage banners and promotions, review marketing analytics, and create promotional videos using the Squarespace video studio app.
- Commerce: Sell physical and digital products, manage orders and inventory, apply limited availability labels, and provide product image zoom.
- Reporting and analytics: Gain insights into site traffic, page views, revenue, orders, abandoned carts, engagement, average order value, and keyword-driven traffic.
- Store management: Handle orders, notifications, shipping settings, customer profiles, taxes, and payment options in one place.
Shopify vs Etsy vs Squarespace: Design and Templates
Shopify’s Design and Templates
Shopify offers design capabilities with 11 free customizable themes and 114 premium ones, ranging from $150 to $350. Customization options include colors, fonts, logos, and limited CSS editing. Design edits are theme-dependent, and the platform does not offer a full drag-and-drop system.
Etsy Design and Templates
Etsy’s design is relatively constrictive, especially within its marketplace, where stores share a similar layout. With Etsy Pattern, you gain more customization freedom through a selection of website templates that allow customization of fonts, colors, basket style, and search bar style.
Squarespace Design and Templates
Squarespace shines in design and customization. It offers 97 official themes designed for various creative endeavors, along with themes from third-party designers. Squarespace’s drag-and-drop editor, the Fluid Engine, allows extensive customization. Layout adjustments, image editing, text effects, animations, and more are at your disposal.
Shopify vs Etsy vs Squarespace: Pricing
Shopify Pricing Shopify offers three primary plans:
- Shopify Basic: $29/month with a 2% transaction fee.
- Shopify Plan: $79/month with a 1% transaction fee.
- Advanced Shopify: $299/month with a 0.5% transaction fee. There’s also a Shopify Starter plan for $5/month and Shopify Plus for enterprise solutions.
Etsy Pricing Creating a store on Etsy’s marketplace is free. However, there’s a $0.20 listing fee for each product and a 6.5% transaction fee on sales. Etsy Pattern costs $15/month.
Squarespace Pricing Squarespace offers several plans:
- Personal: $16/month
- Business: $23/month (with a 3% transaction fee)
- Commerce Basic: $27/month
- Commerce Advanced: $49/month Annual plans offer a 30% discount.
Final Thoughts
Each of these platforms offers unique value tailored to different types of sellers. Etsy is ideal for those selling handmade items, while Squarespace is an excellent choice for those seeking to create a visually appealing website. For serious e-commerce merchants focused on scaling their online business, Shopify stands out as the most comprehensive option. Your choice ultimately depends on your specific needs and business goals.