The 2025 Migration Series #2: Considering Squarespace and a Move to Shopify
Intersection of E Commerce Ave. and WTF St.
From Gorgeous Start to Growth Bottleneck: Why It Might Be Time to Move from Squarespace to Shopify
Squarespace is beautiful. It’s simple. It’s a dream to use unless you’re looking to move inventory.
Squarespace is a perfect launchpad. I’ve been there, and in certain circumstances, it’s a path which will serve you well. You get stunning templates, a plug-and-play interface, and the joy of not needing to touch a single line of code.
But if sales roll in. SKUs multiply. Shipping zones expand. And suddenly, that beautiful Squarespace site starts to feel tight, restrictive, and not built for what you’re doing now.
Let’s take a look at what Squarespace does well, why it starts to struggle, and how Shopify can help your business scale, streamline, and sell smarter.
Why Squarespace Shines (Initially)
Squarespace is hands-down one of the best platforms for:
Creators, coaches, and consultants
Boutique product lines (10–15 SKUs)
Content-rich, visually stunning websites
Founders who want to launch fast with minimal technical overhead
It’s all-in-one, sleek, and SEO-friendly. And if you’re selling handcrafted lip balm, yoga classes, or enamel pins, it might be all you need, unless you want to transact and keep your world from imploding.
Where Commerce Gets Complicated on Squarespace
As your product catalog grows and your operations become more complex, Squarespace’s strengths in simplicity just begin to feel like limitations, almost every conversation with a Squarespace user who’s looking to transact goes the same way resulting in a discussion about would Shopify’s core features help improve their business. Inevitably, the answer is yes.
1. Product Logic is Basic
Limited support for advanced variants, bundles, or subscriptions
Inventory tracking gets messy with multiple fulfillment locations
No native upsell/cross-sell engine
2. Operations Get Messy
No multi-location inventory routing
Order processing is manual and inflexible
No built-in ERP or advanced inventory logic
3. Customer Experience is Flat
Checkout is rigid and non-customizable
Email marketing requires external tools with limited integrations
No dynamic product recommendations or AI search
4. Reporting Isn’t Robust
Basic dashboards, limited export options
Hard to track LTV, repurchase rate, or SKU-level performance
Shopify is the Backend Which Actually Grows With You
Shopify isn’t just a storefront, it’s a full-blown commerce engine that powers scaling brands. Let’s take a look at how it helps solve the very problems that start to pile up on Squarespace:
Shipping & Fulfillment: From Manual Chaos to Smart Automation
On Squarespace: You’re doing a lot of copy/paste, custom rule-building, or worse, fulfilling by hand.
On Shopify:
Carrier-calculated rates at checkout
Multi-location inventory logic
Native integration with 3PLs, ShipStation, ShipBob, and more
Mini Case Study:
An outdoor gear brand added a warehouse partner and watched Squarespace implode. After switching to Shopify, fulfillment logic automatically routed based on zip code and weight — no more manual spreadsheets.
Order Execution & Customer Communication: Automated, Branded, Clear
On Squarespace: Order updates are one-size-fits-all. No segmentation, no automation.
On Shopify:
Customized email flows via Klaviyo
Branded transactional updates
Automated delay notices, upsells, or thank-yous
Mini Case Study:
A wellness brand dropped their WISMO ("Where Is My Order?") emails by 60% just by integrating Shopify and Klaviyo for real-time updates.
Customer Profiles & Segmentation: Finally, Some Intelligence
On Squarespace: Customers are just email addresses. No tags, no deep filters.
On Shopify:
Rich customer data: LTV, order history, tags
Segmentation based on behaviors and preferences
Personalized flows in Klaviyo or Tidio
Mini Case Study:
A clean beauty brand saw 15% more email revenue by segmenting customers by purchase frequency and product type using Shopify + Klaviyo.
Payments, Taxes & Finance: Built to Be Bank-Ready
On Squarespace: Multi-currency is tricky. Reporting is thin. Reconciliation is manual.
On Shopify:
Shopify Payments + 100+ gateways
Multi-currency and auto tax rules
Real-time dashboards + QuickBooks/Xero sync
Mini Case Study:
An EU/US skincare brand reduced bookkeeping hours by 75% after switching to Shopify and syncing all sales/tax data directly into QuickBooks.
This is Important: Your Website Is More Valuable Than Ever in a Changing Search Landscape
Your website isn’t just a digital storefront — it’s the nerve center of your business. As traditional search evolves and generative AI tools (like ChatGPT, SGE, and Perplexity) begin reshaping how people discover and engage with brands, the ability of your site to inform, convert, and serve becomes non-negotiable.
In this shifting ecosystem, Shopify gives you a serious edge:
Structured Data = Visibility: Shopify’s clean architecture and product schema make it easier for your content to surface in AI-generated responses and modern search results.
First-Party Data = Power: As third-party cookies fade, your Shopify site becomes the most reliable source of customer behavior and preferences.
Real-Time CX = Conversion: AI chat, personalization, and smart flows make your site not just visible, but irresistible — turning browsers into buyers faster.
Backend Integration = Operational Control: Shopify acts as the operational brain of your business, tying together inventory, fulfillment, customer service, and financial reporting under one unified system.
Your website isn’t just where people land anymore. It’s where they learn, trust, and buy and increasingly, where AI tools send them while ultimately allowing you to streamline, track and harness your operations.
Shopify helps ensure that hub is fast, structured, and ready for where digital commerce is going — not just where it’s been.
Bonus: AI-Powered Edge with Shopify + Klaviyo + Chat as a Concierge
One of Shopify’s biggest advantages isn’t just what it does — it’s who it plays nicely with:
Klaviyo: AI-powered segmentation, predictive analytics, revenue-boosting flows
Chat(bot): Smart chatbots that pull real-time Shopify data to answer customer questions, recommend products, and route support tickets
Shopify Magic + Sidekick: AI tools that help you write descriptions, manage inventory, and analyze store performance
"We used to manually build each email segment. Now Klaviyo's AI builds predictive segments that outperform our best manual attempts — and it all runs off real-time Shopify data."
Why Make the Move Now?
OPEX Relief: Less time managing workarounds = more time selling
Scalability: Shopify won’t just handle your next 100 SKUs — it’s built for 10,000
Speed-to-Revenue: Automations, smarter targeting, and AI tools increase ROI fast
Future-Proofing: Shopify is investing heavily in AI and commerce-native tooling
Is It Time to Switch from Squarespace to Shopify?
If you’re encountering any of the challenges I’ve touched on above, it may well be the time to make a switch, chances are there are realized revenue sources to be found as well as savings to incur. At elev8DTC love the versatility of Squarespace’s design capability, but as someone with experience working with digital commerce and how it dovetails into sales operations, I can’t help but advocate for the benefits of realized gains in operational expense and facilitated gains on the transactional front.
Thinking About Migrating?
Let’s talk. Whether you’re weighing the pros and cons or ready to make the leap, we can help map out a migration plan that protects your SEO, your operations, and your brand.
The next level of commerce is waiting. You just need the right platform.