You probably think of Squarespace (opens in new tab) as the website builder for those with an eye for design – it allows anyone to easily and quickly create particularly beautiful sites by customising ready-made templates. But did you also know it’s a massive ecommerce platform (opens in new tab)? Since 2013 Squarespace users have sold over $1 billion worth of products through their stores; good design sells, it seems. Here are 9 reasons why you might want to join their ranks.
01. Take advantage of a global marketplace
If you sell products locally through stores in your area or even have a bricks-and-mortar shop of your own, why not expand your market by selling online? What was once a tricky task has been made cheap and easy by platforms like Squarespace (opens in new tab); there’s no need to employ a web developer. An online shop enables you to grow your customer base beyond your geographical region, giving you a chance to increase revenue. Your increased customer base also makes more niche products financially viable, so you can expand the range of your offering should you wish.
02. Your store will look great
Squarespace (opens in new tab) has always been a design-centric organisation, making it easy for anyone to build a beautiful site or store that works on any device. Browse the online store templates (opens in new tab)to get a feel for how your store could look – no design skills needed!
03. It’s an all-in-one platform
Selling products online with Squarespace (opens in new tab) is simple because all of the technical side is taken care of for you – there’s no need to worry about things like installing software, applying security patches, or bandwidth limitations. All of the security around credit card information is handled by Squarespace, so you and your customers can feel confident that their data is safe. You can even buy your domain name through Squarespace, so it really does take care of everything.
04. No need to touch SEO
The platform deals with SEO for you so that customers can find your store through search engines, and there’s a built-in analytics tool so you can see how much traffic you’re getting.
05. They’ve won awards for their customer service
Squarespace (opens in new tab) has been winning Stevie awards (opens in new tab) (also known as the American Business Awards) for their customer care since 2013, so you can be sure you’ll be in safe hands. Even if you’re stuck on something at 3am, Squarespace customer care (opens in new tab) will help you out via email and livechat; it’s a 24/7 service.
06. One simple interface manages everything
Manage your inventory, process orders, print packing slips, customise emails and more from within one easy interface.
07. You’ll like the pricing
You can set up an online store for just $26 per month. And you'll get a free domain (opens in new tab) for a year when you sign up for the annual plan. After that, the domain is $20-70 per year depending on the TLD (that's the ending of the web address: .com, .co,uk, .photo, etc.) Domains renew at the same price, so you'll never pay more than that. Also, Squarespace (opens in new tab) domains come with built-in Whois privacy (opens in new tab). That means your address/contact info won't become public record (aka, less spam and you can run your business from your basement without having to give out your address).
08. Experienced users get special services
If you’re a web designer using Squarespace (opens in new tab) to make sites for you customers, you can take advantage of Squarespace Circle (opens in new tab), a community for experienced users. There’s a forum where you can meet other professionals to share tips and tricks, get peer-to-peer product support and provide feedback on each other’s work. You also get access to members-only material including advanced guides, product release notes and other special perks. If you contact customer support, the advisors will recognised you as an experienced user so they’ll be able to deal with your query more efficiently. To qualify as a member, you’ll need to have access to at least three active Squarespace (opens in new tab) sites.
09. Try before you buy
If you want to see if Squarespace is right for you, you can try it out for free without having to hand over your credit card details. Go here (opens in new tab) and click Get Started. Use coupon 'CREATIVEBLOQ' at checkout for 10 per cent off your first purchase.
