Is there a case for Squarespace?
Squarespace lacks the expert performance, helpful support, and profound flexibility of managed WooCommerce hosting
What’s wrong with Squarespace Commerce?
Rebuild, rebuild, rebuild
Fine print tradeoffs
Help is hard to find
Mysterious hosting
Limited SEO
Compare pricing and critical features
Nexcess WooCommerce starts at $21/mo, Squarespace Commerce starts at $33/mo
Key features
Nexcess
Hosting included
Multiple ecommerce types
Abandoned cart recovery
Easy storefront updates
Advanced shipping features
No platform transaction fees
Sales trend monitoring
Renewal fees
Staging sites
Optimized ecommerce servers
Free email accounts
Product reviews
Free SSLs
Multiple sites in one plan
Ecommerce scaling
Code injection and blocks
Additional security options
30-day money-back guarantee
Squarespace
Hosting included
Multiple ecommerce types
Abandoned cart recovery
Easy storefront updates
Advanced shipping features
No platform transaction fees
Sales trend monitoring
Renewal fees
Staging sites
Optimized ecommerce servers
Free email accounts
Product reviews
Free SSLs
Multiple sites in one plan
Ecommerce scaling
Code injection and blocks
Additional security options
30-day money-back guarantee
Export, rebuild, repeat
Both Squarespace and WooCommerce have starter storefronts and site editors. One key difference is Squarespace makes you recreate your online store if you want to try something new.
Something as simple as a software update, or changing your store’s look and feel, requires a rebuild. Product descriptions, headlines, and images are gone.
With managed WooCommerce hosting, you can update without losing your hard work. Free staging allows you to safely test-drive new looks. In most cases, you won’t have to rebuild your content.
Expect sticky terms of service
There’s no denying that Squarespace creates beautiful websites, but there’s a tradeoff buried in the contract. You waive the right to sell (and reproduce) your work and the right to be credited.
Your content belongs to you — but the final product belongs to them. That includes your trademarks, logo, and product names.
Managed WooCommerce hosting, in comparison, does not own your creative work. Your code, products, and design belong to you. You have a fast-loading ecommerce store without tradeoffs.
Squarespace help is a rarity
In ecommerce, every second your site is broken is money lost. If your ecommerce platform isn’t solving problems quickly, you’re on the wrong platform. Support matters.
At Squarespace, there’s no easy way to talk to a human being. If you have an urgent issue, you’ll need a developer. And with only 14% of the ecommerce market, finding help may take time and extra cash.
That’s why WooCommerce managed hosting is a better choice. Powering nearly 40% of all online stores, it allows you to solve (and prevent) problems at a lower cost. And with Nexcess, you get free, human, helpful support 24/7/365.
Squarespace shrugs at hosting
To Squarespace, hosting is just … hosting. They don’t talk about their infrastructure at all. It’s a “secret sauce” that magically has no storage or bandwidth limits.
This is a red flag. Hosting can be the difference between a sale made and a sale lost. Knowing the ingredients is critical to scaling your business.
Nexcess WooCommerce hosting shares the recipe to ecommerce success. Expect 100% hosting transparency. And unlike Squarespace Commerce, you’ll see how your resources are scaling.
Don’t expect stellar SEO
Ecommerce SEO is a complex landscape. With multiple result types (search, shopping, videos), you need tools that adapt to your goals. Squarespace has basic SEO tools, but there are risks.
If you leave Squarespace, you have to rebuild your on-page SEO and reindex — which can crash your rankings. And if you want to optimize your web vitals, that’s not on the menu.
Managed WooCommerce hosting empowers your SEO. If you migrate providers, on-page SEO and rankings are protected. SEO plugins like Yoast can improve search, video, and shopping results. And with plenty of optimization plugins, you’re in control.
Why Squarespace customers want to escape
Useless. Don’t waste your time or money.
This is a truly appalling company. My site has never appeared in search results even after hiring an independent SEO agent. The customer service is truly atrocious. I’m not an IT technician hence why I’m using a host. If you’re not trained in tech then you’ll struggle to make sense of any of the things they tell you to do to. And they won’t do even the most basic thing for you despite their set up being the issue and despite them taking your money.
- Melissa Andrews on Trustpilot
Pay high for no service to speak of
This is the worst website company I have ever experienced. First it's a serious job to learn how to put it together, and their customer service is next to non-existent. Try getting a hold of them, is virtually next to impossible and you will waste precious time trying to get a way to communicate with them. On top of that, their fees are huge and they do nothing for them. Do yourself a favor, go with another company.
- Linda Ritlinger on Trustpilot
Squarespace is a disappointment
I have multiple sites, but when they upgrade their software, it's full of issues that make it hard to edit sites and their technical support always blames it on `your browser` etc. It's so frustrating and as a consumer, it makes you feel helpless.
- GL David on Trustpilot
Squarespace Commerce vs Nexcess WooCommerce FAQ
Squarespace Commerce refers to the set of features for selling products and services online through the Squarespace platform. Squarespace Commerce is designed to be a one-stop solution for managing orders, transactions, and store growth.
You can integrate your Squarespace store with a WooCommerce store for $12/mo using a Zapier add-on. The integration uses triggers to share information across both platforms. But because the platforms are incompatible, there is no guarantee it will work. And depending on the WooCommerce host you use, you’ll pay as much as 800% more per month to use both commerce platforms (before the $12/mo add-on).
Squarespace is a software CMS that is primarily used for content websites, such as artist portfolios, company sites, blogs, and personal CVs. While you can use it for ecommerce, the Squarespace CMS is primarily used for regular websites.
Squarespace is an attractive choice for beginners because they are a design-first platform. Their pre-made templates are aesthetically pleasing and customizable. People who use Squarespace often prefer a simple, all-in-one package for their website needs with a heavy focus on aesthetics.
Based on Squarespace’s Twitter and independent review sites, there are a few frustrating issues. Their site editor does not have an autosave feature. This means if the editor glitches or goes down, you lose all of your work. People also complain about site speed and support. Those complaints often stem from the inability to talk to an expert or get an honest response to their problem. Finally, many businesses complain about Squarespace’s transaction fees, which are added to the payment processor fee for each individual sale.
Yes, but they require a separate plan for each web store. Instead of paying for one plan with multiple sites, you have to pay double, triple, and so forth. For example, you would pay at least $66/mo if you have two small stores instead of $33/mo.
Squarespace offers a developer platform that uses HTML, LESS CSS, and JSON-T for custom site design. But, there are limitations. You can’t access any previously added content, add server-side code, modify scripts and styles, or customize code blocks. You also can’t switch back to your original site without losing everything. Overall, the Squarespace developer platform requires independent oversight and maintenance, which may require time and money. You can only develop what Squarespace allows you to develop, whereas WordPress allows you to develop anything.
WooCommerce is a free plugin on the WordPress CMS, which is free and open source. WordPress is the environment you use to build your website. Managed WooCommerce hosting gives you the support and free tools that make building on WooCommerce easier, like premium plugins, checkout optimization, and more. Similar to Squarespace, the hosting is fully managed for you.