Wix vs Shopify vs Squarespace: Which Platform is Best for Your Online Store?

Whether setting up or revamping your online business, you must have heard of Wix, Shopify, and Squarespace as top options among the website builders category. The three platforms were started to let users build a website without needing any technical or coding skills.

But which platform among these is best for you?

In this guide, we will comprehensively compare Wix vs. Shopify vs. Squarespace. We’ll discuss their key features and advantages to help you decide which suits your online business requirements best.

Wix vs. Shopify vs. Squarespace: A Quick Comparison

Let’s discuss each of the platforms in brief, along with their key features and highlights-

1. Wix

Wix is among the most widely used cloud-based websites that provide the facility to create and develop websites using a simple, user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.

Following are some of the major highlights of Wix:

• Primarily built for those who want to develop a website without any knowledge of coding or technical skills
  
• Ideal for personal sites, small businesses, portfolios, blogs, and other e-commerce requirements
• Includes an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop editor where you can create your website visually

2. Shopify

Shopify is another leading eCommerce platform that users can leverage to create and manage their online stores.

Among the key features of Shopify are:

• Allows people to build customised and easily scalable online stores with a range of interesting in-built features
• Can be used to sell your goods directly on your website, in online marketplaces, and on social media 
• Has a straightforward and user-friendly interface that makes it simple for even non-technical people to set up and manage their online businesses swiftly

3. Squarespace

Squarespace stands out as a well-liked platform for building and hosting websites. It has an easy-to-use interface, looks great, and offers top-notch design templates. If you want to create high-quality websites but don’t have tech skills, find this platform helpful.

Among the key features of Squarespace are:

• Ideal for blogs, portfolios, business websites, and eCommerce stores
• Comes with a wide range of well-designed, responsive templates

Wix vs Shopify vs Squarespace: A Comprehensive Comparison

When choosing between Wix, Shopify, and Squarespace, you must understand what each offers. Here are some of the factors to help you compare these platforms before making the right choice:

Ease-of-use

When it comes to website builders, most users expect to launch and manage a website or online store as quickly and easily as possible. Here is how Shopify vs Wix vs Squarespace stands in terms of ease of use-

Wix: If you’re a new Wix user, the Wix dashboard offers a detailed guide on setting up your business. It guides you on aspects such as updating your site type, adding the first product to the store, setting up payments & shipping and more.

Shopify: Shopify is one of the most easy-to-use platforms, and it allows you to create a whole new Shopify website in a few simple steps.

Squarespace: The dashboard of Squarespace is quite simple for beginners and non-coders. Like Wix, this website builder offers a detailed guide for a fresh start.

Pricing

Each of these three platforms comes with distinct pricing and trial offerings. Here is how the pricing stands against each other-

Wix: Wix offers a 14-day free trial period along with the following plans:

• Core: $29/month (best for small online businesses)
• Business: $36/month (best for growing businesses)
• Business Elite: $159/month (best for large companies with fast growth)

Shopify: Shopify also provides a three-day free trial to get started and comes with below pricing plans:

• Shopify Lite Plan: Starts at $5/month (for selling on social media with a limited set of features)
• Shopify Basic Plan: Starts at $39/month
• Enterprise: Starts from $2,000/month

The platform also offers discounts of up to 25% if you choose annual subscriptions.

Squarespace: Squarespace offers unlimited storage subscriptions and a 14-day free trial. The pricing for the platform is as follows:

• Business: Starts at $23/month
• Commerce: Starts at $28/month
• Commerce Advanced: Starts at $52/month

The platform also offers discounts of up to 27% to 36% for annual subscriptions.

Online Stores

Choosing the best eCommerce platform among Wix vs. Shopify vs. Squarespace is vital for the success of your online store.

• Wix offers a few of the essential features for eCommerce businesses that are best mainly for smaller online stores.
• Shopify, on the contrary, offers robust eCommerce options such as inventory management, extensive payment options, shipping, and more.
• Squarespace also offers a decent range of eCommerce features, but it primarily focuses on design. This makes the platform most suitable for online businesses that prioritise aesthetics.

Customisation and Flexibility

In terms of customisation and flexibility:

• Wix’s editor offers a high level of flexibility, thus allowing you to create virtually any layout.
• Shopify comes with the best app library, so it’s a topmost choice for customisation.
• Squarespace is comparatively more restrictive in terms of customisation but comes with high-quality design templates.

Shopify Wix vs. Shopify vs. Squarespace: Which One is the Best?

Even though all three website builders, Wix, Shopify and Squarespace, are excellent, it can be safely argued that:

• Wix is ideal for small businesses and offers easy and convenient development of accessible websites.
• Shopify facilitates eCommerce businesses across all sizes.
• Squarespace is particularly perfect for companies that emphasise website design and appeal.

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