From the design builder to your own shop
Squarespace stands for designed websites that can also sell. When the website becomes a larger shop, many hit limits. This guide shows when the switch from Squarespace to Magento pays off and how it runs.
Table of contents
- 1. Why operators switch from Squarespace to Magento
- 2. When the switch from Squarespace to Magento pays off and when not
- 3. Which data comes along from Squarespace to Magento
- 4. SEO and addresses when switching from Squarespace to Magento
- 5. Extensions and functions: what becomes of them in Magento
- 6. The process: how you switch from Squarespace to Magento
- 7. Effort and costs when switching from Squarespace
- 8. How we support you with the switch
- 9. Summary
- 10. FAQ
1. Why operators switch from Squarespace to Magento
Squarespace is a site builder that convinces above all by designed templates. Many brands, creatives and service providers start with it and sell products on the side. As long as the catalog is small and the processes are simple, that works very well, and the provider takes care of operation and technology.
When trade grows, other questions arise: how do we connect merchandise management? How do we design shipping methods and price rules that go beyond the standard offer? How do we manage many variants, several languages or business customers? A site builder sets fixed limits here, and you cannot change the source code.
The switch from Squarespace to Magento is therefore usually the step from the designed website with a shop to a full shop platform. The brand image can be kept if design, imagery and texts are deliberately carried over.
2. When the switch from Squarespace to Magento pays off and when not
| Criterion | Squarespace | Magento |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Designed templates, quickly adaptable | Freely designable, with development effort |
| Operation | Hosted, maintenance by the provider | Own hosting, maintenance with you or your agency |
| Adaptability | Within the limits of the builder | Access to the source code |
| Large catalog, variants | Limited by the platform | Designed for large catalogs |
| Connection to other systems | Through available extensions | Through interfaces, modules or individual development |
| B2B and customer prices | Restricted | Through customer groups, B2B functions or extensions |
The switch pays off if the builder slows your sales processes and you want to invest in an own shop. It does not pay off if your website with few products runs well and you want little operating effort. For small appearances a site builder is often the more economical solution.
An own shop causes running costs for hosting, updates and security. Calculate these honestly against the added value you expect from the switch.
3. Which data comes along from Squarespace to Magento
| Data | Way out of Squarespace | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Products and variants | Export as a table | Map options to variants in Magento |
| Categories | Part of the product export | Define the structure anew |
| Customers | Export of the customer list as a table | Passwords are not transferred, customers set them anew |
| Orders | Export as a table | Clarify history, define the number range |
| Images | Through the image addresses | Download files and assign anew |
| Pages and blog posts | Content export in an exchange format, not complete | Take over texts, redesign the structure |
For products and orders Squarespace offers an export as a table, and part of the content can be output in a common exchange format. Design and page structure cannot be taken along, they are rebuilt in the new shop. That is also an opportunity to refresh the brand.
Check early which content you really need. Additional services that you integrated through extensions have their own data that must be checked separately.
4. SEO and addresses when switching from Squarespace to Magento
Squarespace creates addresses according to fixed patterns for shop pages, blog and pages. These patterns are not taken over in the new shop. So that no link runs into nothing, every relevant old address is redirected to the new one by a 301 redirect.
Especially important are the blog posts, which often bring many visitors. Take over titles, texts and images as unchanged as possible, and redirect every address to the post in the new system. The domain must also be pointed to the new shop in time, so clarify early where it is registered.
In the move from Squarespace to Magento you also check titles, meta descriptions, structured data, sitemaps and canonical tags. What we do for this is described on the page on SEO optimization.
5. Extensions and functions: what becomes of them in Magento
A Squarespace shop consists of functions of the builder and integrated services for newsletter, booking, reviews or invoices. In the switch you go through each one: is it still needed? Is there a basic function, a module or an individual development in Magento for it?
We implement the frontend with Hyvä, see Hyvä theme. For the connection to merchandise management and shipping read the guide to ERP integration, for B2B functions the guide to the [B2B shop](b2bshop).
Define early which functions must run on day one. Payment, shipping and legal texts are mandatory, additional functions can follow. This keeps the move from Squarespace to Magento manageable.
6. The process: how you switch from Squarespace to Magento
A switch from Squarespace to Magento runs in five steps. First the inventory: which products, customers, orders and content exist, which functions do you really use and which addresses bring visitors? Then the test migration, in which part of the data is transferred and checked. After that the build of the shop with design, payment methods, shipping and legal texts.
In the fourth step you check the shop with us on a test system that search engines cannot see and place trial orders. In the fifth step the switch happens: the data is compared one last time, the redirects are activated and the domain is pointed to the new shop. In the first weeks afterwards we check errors and rankings. You keep the previous shop for a while until everything runs safely.
Seven points for an orderly switch
- ✓Record data, functions and addresses of the previous shop.
- ✓Clean up the data stock before the migration.
- ✓Run a test migration and check samples.
- ✓Create and test the table of 301 redirects.
- ✓Check payment methods, shipping and legal texts in the new shop.
- ✓Place trial orders on the test system.
- ✓Plan the switch and afterwards check errors and rankings.
How you protect your ranking in the process is described in the guide to shop relaunch without SEO loss.
7. Effort and costs when switching from Squarespace
When moving from Squarespace to Magento the effort depends above all on the fact that design and pages have to be rebuilt, and on the number and quality of the product data. In addition come the running costs for hosting and care, which are included in the plan with the builder and arise separately with Magento.
A flat figure would be unreliable. After the inventory we estimate in writing, the hourly rate is 30 euros net, see pricing. General hints on costs are in the guide Magento costs.
8. How we support you with the switch
We are a web agency in which fixed freelancers work together, all from home offices. We take over the data migration, build the shop with the fast Hyvä frontend and take care of redirects and start. Source code and access stay with you, and ongoing care can be regulated through a maintenance contract.
This guide gives general orientation and does not replace a check of your shop. For a first conversation a short message through our contact page is enough.
9. Summary
The switch from Squarespace to Magento is the step from the designed website with a shop to the shop platform and pays off if the builder slows the sales processes. Products, customers and orders can be taken over by export, the design is rebuilt, and with 301 redirects the ranking is largely kept.
Switching from Squarespace to Magento at a glance
Decision
Switch if the builder slows sales and care is possible
Data
Products, customers and orders by export, rebuild the design
Assign fixed addresses by 301, blog posts first
Brand
Deliberately carry imagery and texts into the new shop
Note: This article offers general orientation. Statements about Squarespace can change with new versions, check them in the individual case.