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The Ultimate Guide to Set Upwardly an Online Store on Squarespace

Setting up an online store on Squarespace tin can seem complicated, but it doesn't have to be.

Having gone through this process many times, I've gathered the tips and resources to assist y'all set up a Squarespace online store without frustration.

Past post-obit the steps in this mail service, yous can launch your online store in only a few days (or hours if y'all take a small store!).

To brand following along easier, y'all can grab the Squarespace Ecommerce Checklist. It has every step in this post plus a loads more ecommerce best practices.

Know Squarespace Ecommerce Limitations

There are many website platforms that tin be home to your online store. Earlier taking any further pace, let's make sure Squarespace is right for you and your business.

Squarespace's force is in creating beautiful spider web pages without coding. Information technology is the ideal option if you need a website that does both selling and providing marketing information, equally you tin customize the layouts adequately freely without the constraints of templates.

Squarespace'southward ease of use and reasonable prices likewise brand it a great choice for new or small online stores. Yous don't need coding experience or rent a programmer to build the site. The everyman pricing plan for a fully functional online store on Squarespace is $18/calendar month.

That existence said, Squarespace is not for everyone. Here are the limitations of Squarespace ecommerce:

• Payment gateway options are limited to PayPal, Stripe, and Foursquare only (though you can integrate Squarespace with Shopify purchase button quite easily)

• Cannot sell in multi-currency

• POS/Square integration is only available in the US

• Automated shipping price calculation is only bachelor in the US

• Automatic tax calculation is only bachelor in the United states of america

• Limited 3rd-party app integrations (to exist off-white, the important features are all built-in; but, if yous have a large store and want to streamline processes like inventory or accounting, there aren't many options in Squarespace)

Additionally, there are 2 current versions of Squarespace: 7.1 and seven.0. If you've been with Squarespace prior to 2020 and yet have the 7.0 version, in that location's a limit of 200 items/shop. Squarespace 7.one offers a much more generous 10,000 items and likewise the ability to filter products with subcategories.

If you're still unsure about Squarespace, check out this Squarespace pros and cons article.

Squarespace Ecommerce Pricing Plans

Squarespace has three pricing plans with e-commerce functions:

Business organization Plan ($18/mo)

This plan is great for businesses with depression-volume sales or has a limited budget to set up an online store. However, information technology comes with a iii% transaction fee, which makes it a bad choice compared to the next plan if you sell more than $3200/year.

• • Sell unlimited products or services

  • Ability to take donation

  • 3% transaction fees

  • Checkout on Squarespace URL

Basic Commerce Plan ($26/mo)

With no transaction fees and a fuller set of features, this plan is great for established businesses or any shops that want to provide a high-quality client experience. Information technology is also the ideal choice for businesses that sell services or digital products.

• • Sell unlimited products or services

  • No transaction fees

  • Checkout on your domain

  • Ability to display related products

  • Ability to brandish limited availability labels (eg. "only three left")

  • Allow users to join product waitlists

  • Allow users to create accounts

  • Full access to e-commerce analytics

  • Sell on Instagram

Advanced Commerce Program ($40/mo)

This plan is ideal for large e-commerce businesses who want robust features such as abandoned cart recovery and custom integrations to optimize conversion & streamline processes. It is also the just Squarespace plan that allows selling subscriptions.

• • Everything in Basic Commerce

  • Ability to sell subscription

  • Automated, real-time calculation of shipping fees from USPS, FedEx, and UPS (The states only)

  • Control aircraft rules using ZIP code (US, Canada)

  • Apply discounts automatically

  • Abandoned cart recovery

  • API access for custom integrations

Add a Store Page to Squarespace Site

From Squarespace dwelling menu, go to Pages. Here you will create a new folio, specifically a Store folio that will firm all your products.

Once you've created the Shop page, you tin can outset customizing the page layout and style before adding products. A few notes:

• Layout and styling options for Store page and Production folio are limited compared to regular pages. This is because ecommerce interfaces are quite standardized beyond the Web and Squarespace applies the best practices for you when building their templates.

• If yous have multiple Store pages, changes in i Store might affect the other (e.g. if you set the image ratio in one store to be 1:ane, the other will prove the same). See this post for a workaround.

• If yous need some inspiration to design your shop folio, check out 15 Squarespace ecommerce examples.

Pro-tip i: Don't forget to edit the settings of Store page for search engine optimization. Modify the page title to something descriptive (east.thousand. don't call it Store, use a keyword like British Online Shoe Store). Add together a meta clarification also while you're at it.

Pro-tip ii: While you're at the Store folio settings, too go to Advanced > Quick View and toggle Enable Quick View on. This allows customers to preview the product description page without leaving the store page.

Add Products to Shop

On your Shop page, click the "+" or "Add Product" push button to start adding products. Brand absolutely sure y'all cull the correct product type because the only way to change the product blazon later on is to redo the unabridged folio.

With the product page pop-upwards opened, y'all can start adding product details. In that location are quite a few input fields here, so make sure you go through each and every one of them.

Once you have 1 product page, yous can duplicate it as a template to reduce editing time on other products (granted yous have the same product type).

Best Practices

The production folio is often where users decide whether to purchase your product. As such, here are some all-time practices to keep in listen as you edit the product info:

• Aim for a curt Product Description so that the telephone call-to-activity button is visible without scrolling. If you lot discover it hard to keep the Product Description brusque, try using accordions.

• In the Product Description, include important features related to the product (due east.thousand. materials, size, capacity) besides equally shipping fees. Hidden aircraft fee is a major cause of cart abandonment, while showing gratis aircraft increases sales.

• Mostly speaking, the higher the cost, the more information you volition demand to provide to aid users feel secure and justified earlier purchase. Use the Additional Info department to elaborate on the product benefits, feel, materials, origins, passion, anything to position your product for the high price point.

• In that location'due south no built-in customer reviews feature, but you lot can use a code block to integrate with wiremo.

• Don't go clever with the call-to-action button characterization. Brand it articulate and elementary, such as "add to cart" or "buy now".  If you want jazz up information technology, make sure you practise A/B test and know the affect it has on conversion.

• When possible, use a video every bit videos take shown to increment conversion rates.

Variants/Customization

One issue y'all might come across is with providing personalization options.

• If y'all have just 1 customization option, employ a production variant or a custom production form.

• If you accept more than one simply still a small number of customization options, you tin apply either complex production variant and/or custom production form.

• The issue with complex production variants is the full number of options to fix up can apace become out of mitt. In this case, you will need to use a smart variant workaround similar here.

Once you're done setting upwards products, give yourself a pat on the back. The hardest/near time-consuming step is done!

Additional Resources

• If you lot need a scrap of writing inspiration, check out product copywriting best practices with examples.

• As with the Store page, there are limited styling options on the product pages, though y'all have more than freedom within the Additional Info section. If you need pattern inspiration for production page, bank check out 15 Squarespace ecommerce examples.

Connect a Payment Processor

From the domicile menu, go to Commerce > Payments. Hither'south where you can connect your Squarespace site with Stripe, PayPal and Square. Squarespace will automatically modify the shop currency to match your Stripe/PayPal business relationship currency.

This process is pretty straightforward, with a few notes:

• You lot need to use a PayPal Business organisation business relationship; a personal account won't piece of work.

• Y'all tin't list multiple currencies.

• If yous desire to add a different payment gateway (e.yard. PayPal and Stripe aren't supported in your land), you can add together Shopify'south Purchase Push for an addition al $ix/month which volition give you access to many more options.

Fix Up Shipping Rules

If you lot're non selling physical products, you can move to next step.

To prepare upward shipping rules, from the dwelling house menu, get to Commerce > Shipping > Add Shipping Options. Here y'all can set different shipping rules based on countries. If you're selling in U.Southward. and Canada, you can set up shipping rules for each metropolis or state/province.

At that place are 4 shipping options available in Squarespace:

• Flat Charge per unit: Apply a fixed rate per guild and/or per item. E.m. $25 per lodge regardless of how many items, or $25 plus 10¢ for each boosted product after the first one.

• Charge per unit past Weight: Fee get calculated based on the total weight of all items. Yous will add together the weight for each product and Squarespace volition do the calculation.

• Carrier Calculated: Fee calculated by FedEx, UPS and USPS based on the weight, distance, and dimensions. This's the near accurate pick but it's simply available in US and information technology requires Commerce Advance Plan.

• Free Aircraft: Apply gratuitous shipping for all orders or for orders that match criteria (eastward.yard. gratuitous aircraft for orders over $fifty)

If y'all find it hard to determine what aircraft options to apply, have a read at this Squarespace back up folio, this article, and this article, which all contains different suggestions on this topic.

Below are a couple of other Qs that may pop up when you lot set up aircraft on Squarespace.

• Technically you can't add shipping rate based on products in Squarespace. Just, a workaround to accomplish this is using charge per unit per weight. Essentially, you will be using the weight number equally a "tag" to associate a product with a certain cost, regardless of what the product's true weight is. For example, you can take a 1-lb product group that is $10 shipping, and some other 2-lb product grouping that is $15 aircraft.

• First, follow the usual step from the home menu, go to Commerce > Shipping > Add together Aircraft Options. Choose Flat Rate. You lot will detect the first tab for entering the fee, and the second tab to choose the shipping zone the fee will exist applied to. Echo this process for all countries you desire to ship products to.

• Ah, such a trick question considering the measurement standard is shown on product pages but information technology actually isn't office of commerce settings. To modify from lbs to kgs, from the home carte, go to Settings > Linguistic communication & Region. Scroll downward to Measurement Standard and change the option from the drop-down (imperial is pounds and metric is kilograms).

• Offering free shipping is a great way to incentivize users to purchase more (like Amazon does!). To ready up free shipping with a criterion on Squarespace, from the dwelling house menu become to Commerce > Discount. Click the + button. Y'all can cull either to give users a disbelieve lawmaking or have it automatically applied on orders that encounter the requirement (though automated discounts volition require Commerce Advanced program).

• To create an option for in-store or curbside pickup, first, navigate to the shipping section (from Domicile menu get to Commerce > Shipping). Click Add Shipping Selection then choose Apartment Rate. Enter the data equally beneath:

  • Option name: In-store pickup

  • Per order & per particular fee: $0

  • In the aircraft zone tab, limit the option to only your local areas

  Click salve and yous're done!

• Squarespace has integration with ShipStation which can aid you generate labels. You tin can see more details hither and preview the setup procedure hither. ShipStation might exist the most pop option, but if yous don't want to utilise ShipStation, there are also other alternatives. Take a expect at this Squarespace shipping extensions mail service which shows a range of options and who each pick is all-time for.

Set Up Tax Rules*

If you're selling in the US, you can add automatic tax rates using TaxJar extension. See a guide for it here.

For other countries, y'all will demand to set up taxation rules manually. To practise this, head to Commerce > Taxes. Here you can hitting Get Started and click + button to start adding taxation rates for each country or state/province.

If you need assist setting taxes manually, have a look at the Squarespace back up folio for adding taxes and collecting VAT or GST.

*Disclaimer: The info hither does non substitute legal or professional tax advice. Please refer to our Terms & Weather to understand your responsibility with any and all information presented to you by u.s..

Customize Store Settings

Your store is technically functional by now, but in that location are quite a few more things to ameliorate your store efficiency and customer experience. Starting time, let's look at the checkout experience.

1) Squarespace Checkout Experience

A standard shopping experience allows a customer to add an item to the cart with whatever quantity they wish to purchase, and then go on browsing until ready to checkout. If your shop has different needs, here are options to modify these default settings:

• Enable express checkout: This bypasses the add to cart step and accept the customer directly to the checkout screen. If yous only take one product, this is the ideal path. To activate this characteristic, get to Commerce > Checkout, coil down to the Express Checkout and check that option.

• Minimum order amount: If you want to set a minimum lodge corporeality, become to Commerce > Checkout. Discover the Minimum Order Amount field, check that pick and enter the required amount.

• Service product limit: If you sell services and want to disable the quantity selection selection, get to Commerce > Checkout. Observe the Service Product Limits field and uncheck that option.

Store Policy

You should too include store policies in the checkout process, even if you already have a carve up folio about it on your site and/or already include this information in the production pages.

To add store policies to the checkout process, go to Commerce > Checkout. Whorl all the way downwardly to the lesser and click the Checkout Page: Store Policies push. You can enter the well-nigh important policies here and give a link to the full policy page.

Invoice

Another thing to customize is invoices, which is of import if your countries have specific requirements for displaying toll and tax information on invoices. In the aforementioned Commerce > Checkout department, right below the Checkout Page: Store Policies button is the Invoices. Clicking here volition accept you to the options to customize invoices.

Other Checkout Settings

There are a couple of other customization options you lot will find in the checkout section:

• Abased cart recovery: This characteristic will send an automatic email reminder to customers 24 hours afterwards they add together items to the cart but not complete the checkout process.

• Mailing lists: Enabling this pick if you want to inquire customers to subscribe to a mailing list at checkout.

• Default country in accost fields: Select the country where most of your customers are located.

• Aircraft and billing address: Bank check this selection to show the aircraft accost as the billing accost past default (customers can always uncheck and enter a different billing address, so there's no reason you shouldn't give this as default)

• Shopping cart style: If your site uses a dark color scheme, you may desire to switch the shopping cart style to "apply low-cal colour scheme"

• "Go on shopping" link in cart: Squarespace's default option is homepage, just you should change this to the page where users actually browse products

• Additional Fields: You lot tin can disable the phone number question field hither, as well equally enabling a custom form if your business requires it (eastward.1000. for customizing the product)

ii) Client Notifications

Another part of the checkout feel is e-mail notification. You can customize Squarespace's default customer notifications past going to Commerce > Customer Notifications.

Hither'due south what you should customize in Squarespace customer notifications:

• In the Global Email Styles, make sure you lot use the make colors and fonts (or something very similar to information technology). You can also add a logo or company proper noun to the header.

• In the Business Settings, use a real electronic mail rather than a no-reply email for notifications. This allows customers to reply to the invoice and contact you if they have questions. You can besides include other business information here.

• In the General Orders, get through each e-mail template and modify the email copy if needed. Squarespace's default templates are written in a neutral (and a bit cold) phonation, then if this doesn't feel correct for your brand vocalism, change it.

• If you enable other features similar POS, abandoned cart recovery, etc., review other e-mail templates in the aforementioned way every bit the ones in the General Orders section.

three) Other Settings

As these aren't "required" for your store to be running functionally, I'd recommend going through all other options in the Commerce section in your gratuitous time to take advantage of the ones that tin optimize your store. In that location are honestly too many customization options to list all, so I'm just going to highlight the most useful/mutual ones hither.

• Calculation urgency is an effective mode to motivate users to accept action. In Squarespace, you can add together a limited availability label (e.one thousand. only 1 left!). Under Commerce, y'all will discover Product Condition. This's too where y'all can adjust the copy for when products are out of stock. For instance, if you sell services, you may want the label to say "sold out" rather than "out of stock".

• Yous can plough on the waitlist feature to allow customers to opt-in for notification when the product is available again. To do this, become to Commerce > Waitlists > click the "enable it in Settings" link.

• Another gem in the Commerce department is Related Products. You tin can change the product sorting here to bear witness the newest products or the ones with the highest quantity.

Test & Go Live

Your site is so, so shut to launch! But before we go live and intermission out that champagne, allow's test the site and make sure everything runs smoothly.

In that location are two ways to examination: using examination mode and testing in a real environment.

Test Fashion

You lot can enable exam style from Commerce > Payment > toggle the Test Manner to be ON.

This feature will auto-generate a fake credit card at checkout, so that you can go through the whole shopping experience almost as a real client (except that PayPal won't work).

This is a smashing option to exam all features as you tin test, edit, repeat every bit many times as y'all need without any extra action (e.g. refund yourself). Just don't forget to turn off the test mode when y'all're ready to launch the shop - I forgot it 1 fourth dimension and there was a failed transaction the next day 😭.

Test Real Checkout

The 2nd fashion is doing real-environment testing. Yous can either place an order then refund yourself, or gear up a temporary low toll on one production (e.one thousand. 10¢) and then buy it as normal. I usually do the latter to avoid the refund wait fourth dimension. If you desire to go with the purchase-then-refund route, take a await at this article for society refund instruction.

 And that'south it! After the testing step, your Squarespace online shop is prepare for launch!

Adept luck with setting upwardly your Squarespace ecommerce site! If building a website isn't your strength and you'd like to outsource or getting guidance on it, check out my Squarespace spider web pattern services!

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Source: https://taylornguyen.ca/posts/squarespace-ecommerce

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