Squarespace and Big Cartel are two popular eCommerce platforms that provide options for businesses to sell goods and services online. While both platforms are well-known and have much to offer, they differ in many ways. Based on the details provided in our ultimate comparison of Big Cartel vs Squarespace, you will know which will suit your needs.
Here's what LitExtension – #1 Shopping Cart Migration Expert will go through in this article:
- An overview of Squarespace vs Big Cartel
- Big Cartel vs Squarespace with all key features compared
- Some frequently asked questions about Big Cartel and Squarespace
Don’t wait anymore; let’s get started!
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Overview of Big Cartel and Squarespace
What is Big Cartel?
Founded in 2005, up to now, Big Cartel is home to over 60,000 live websites (Source: BuiltWith). This eCommerce platform is designed specifically for artists and creatives, providing a simple and affordable solution for selling their products online. The platform is known for its simplicity, ease of use, and affordability.
Let's read an extensive Big Cartel review from our team here.
What is Squarespace?
Founded in 2004, Squarespace is home to over 3 million businesses worldwide (Source: BuiltWith). Squarespace caters to a wider audience, including companies and people who want to create websites with a professional appearance and conduct online sales. This eCommerce platform is renowned for its aesthetically pleasing designs, usability, and all-in-one website development and hosting solution.
If you need a full analysis of Squarespace, don't miss out on our article on Squarespace review – All Pros & cons reveal.
Below, let’s together find out all the differences between the two platforms to decide which platform will be right for your business’s needs.
Big Cartel vs Squarespace: Key Features Compared
1. Ease of use
Big Cartel vs Squarespace, both offer user-friendly interfaces, but the level of ease of use may vary depending on the user's technical skills and familiarity with website building.
Big Cartel ease of use
This platform has a minimalist interface and a simple setup process, and it is straightforward to add products, manage orders, and customize the store.
Squarespace ease of use
On the other hand, Squarespace is designed to be a more comprehensive platform that offers a wide range of features and customization options.
While this can make Squarespace more powerful and flexible, it can make the platform more complex and difficult to use for some users.
However, Squarespace offers a range of support options, including video tutorials and live chat support, to help users navigate the platform. For that reason, you may feel at ease in customizing your Squarespace website with the ultimate support.
The verdict: When comparing Big Cartel vs Squarespace in terms of user-friendliness, Big Cartel is definitely the winner one with a minimal and straightforward dashboard.
2. Pricing
Big Cartel and Squarespace offer different pricing structures. The pricing of Big Cartel and Squarespace will depend on the user's specific needs and the features required for their online store.
Big Cartel pricing
Currently, it has 3 pricing plans that differ in terms of the number of products that can be sold and the level of customization available.
- Big Cartel Gold plan is a free plan. With this plan, you can sell 5 products.
- Big Cartel Platinum plan costs $9.99/month, and you can sell 50 products.
- Diamond plan is $19.99/month, and what you get is to sell up to 500 products.
One of the most impressive features of Big Cartel is that this eCommerce platform does not charge any transaction fees, which can make it an attractive option for sellers who want to keep their costs low.
Squarespace pricing
Squarespace offers 4 pricing plans that range from $23 to $65 per month. The plans differ in terms of the features and functionality available, such as the number of products that can be sold and the level of customization offered.
- Personal is $23/month; you cannot sell in this plan.
- Business costs $33/month, and you may get access to unlimited selling products with fully eCommerce featured integration.
- $36/month is what you need to pay for Commerce Basic. You may get access to advanced website features with analytics and powerful eCommerce metrics.
- Commerce Advanced costs $65/month, and you may get advanced shipping, advanced discounts, and Commerce APIs.
Currently, Squarespace charges a transaction fee of 3% for the Business Plan. You can remove the transaction fee when you upgrade your plan to Commerce Basic or Commerce Advanced.
Besides, Squarespace also offers an Enterprise plan made for the unique needs of big-sized businesses. You may find out more here.
The verdict: When it comes to the pricing of Big Cartel vs Squarespace, Big Cartel is way more reasonable. However, if you need more eCommerce functions, Squarespace will be the optimal one.
3. Themes & Templates
Both Big Cartel and Squarespace provide themes and templates, but the choices and levels of customization may differ.
Big Cartel themes
Big Cartel provides a limited selection of customized themes designed for online stores. However, the level of Big Cartel theme customization available may be limited compared to other platforms.
Currently, only 18 Big Cartel themes are available for merchants to customize. These themes are optimized for mobile devices and are easy to use, even for users with no technical skills. Therefore, Big Cartel is great for artists or photographers who may want to quickly showcase their artworks.
Squarespace templates
Squarespace offers a wide selection of templates that are designed for a variety of different websites, including online stores. Currently, there are 100+ Squarespace templates and the pricing may vary with your subscription plan.
The templates are professionally designed and easily customizable, allowing users to create a unique look for their site. Squarespace also offers a range of design features, such as built-in tools for adding and editing images, text, and other elements.
The verdict: When it comes to Squarespace vs Big Cartel, Squarespace provides a broader selection of templates and offers more customization options.
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4. Apps & Extensions
Both Squarespace and Big Cartel offer apps and extensions to extend the functionality of their platforms, but the options available may vary.
Big Cartel apps
Big Cartel offers a small selection of integrations and apps but does provide options for popular payment providers, such as PayPal and Stripe. Big Cartel also provides integrations with popular marketing tools, such as Mailchimp. In addition, it provides a range of eCommerce features, such as the ability to manage products, process payments, and track orders.
Squarespace extensions
Squarespace offers a wide range of integrations and apps through its App Store, including options for social media, email marketing, and eCommerce. This platform also provides integrations with popular payment providers, such as PayPal and Stripe.
The platform also offers a range of developer-focused extensions and APIs, allowing users to customize their sites further.
The verdict: In terms of apps & extensions, Squarespace provides a broader range of integrations and developer-focused extensions.
5. eCommerce features
Both Big Cartel vs Squarespace offer eCommerce features, including product management, order fulfillment, and integration with popular payment gateways.
Big Cartel eCommerce features
This platform offers a simple and intuitive interface for managing products, including adding product descriptions, pricing, and images.
If choosing Big Cartel, you may reach an online presence closer when:
- Easy Products Adding
- Straightforward Shipping Profiles
- and Orders Management and Tracking
Besides, Big Cartel also integrates with popular payment providers, such as PayPal and Stripe, to allow for secure and seamless transactions. For example, PayPal allows your shoppers to pay using their own PayPal, or they can check out as a guest!
Squarespace eCommerce features
Squarespace, on the other hand, is a more comprehensive platform that offers a wide range of features and customization options.
While it can be more complex and challenging to use than Big Cartel, Squarespace provides broader eCommerce features, including advanced product management and order processing tools and third-party eCommerce app integrations which you can find out more about below:
- Sell Custom Merch
- Product Merchandising
- Inventory Management Feature
- and Commerce APIs
The verdict: Squarespace offers a more comprehensive solution, including website building and hosting.
6. SEO & Marketing
Both Squarespace and Big Cartel provide tools and features to support SEO and marketing efforts but let’s look closer to see the differences.
Big Cartel SEO & Marketing
Big Cartel provides basic SEO features, such as customizable page titles and meta descriptions. Still, it does not offer as many options as Squarespace (which we will discuss later below).
Big Cartel mainly focuses on add-on marketing and promotion apps to market and promote online stores and expand reach. For example, this platform offers popular marketing tools like Mailchimp and Big Cartel Google Analytics.
Squarespace SEO & Marketing
Squarespace provides built-in SEO tools to help users optimize their websites for search engines. The platform offers customizable page titles, meta descriptions, and the ability to add alt tags to images.
In terms of marketing features, Squarespace also provides built-in tools for creating sitemaps and integrating them with Google Analytics. In addition, with these
- Powerful email marketing support
- All-leading social media channel integrations
- Squarespace Video Studio app, etc.
You may reach a larger audience, generate more traffic, and boost conversion within a single platform!
The verdict: In terms of apps & extensions, Squarespace provides more functions and powerful built-in SEO & Marketing features, as compared to Big Cartel.
7. Scalability
Squarespace and Big Cartel both offer scalability to some degree, but the level of scalability may vary based on your specific needs and requirements.
Big Cartel scalability
Big Cartel is designed for small online stores and artists, and it offers a limited range of scalability options. While the platform allows users to add products, manage orders, and customize their stores, it may not be the best choice for users who need to scale their business quickly or who have large product catalogs or high volumes of traffic.
Squarespace scalability
Squarespace, on the other hand, is a more comprehensive platform that offers more scalability options. The platform allows users to add products, manage orders, and customize their stores. It also provides access to a range of third-party eCommerce apps and extensions that can help users scale their businesses.
Additionally, Squarespace provides a range of hosting and performance options, including optimized hosting for eCommerce sites, that can help users manage high-traffic volumes and large product catalogs.
The verdict: Squarespace definitely offers a broader range of scalability options.
8. Security
Both Squarespace and Big Cartel prioritize the security of their platform and customer data and implement measures such as encryption and regular security audits to ensure the safety of their systems.
Big Cartel security
Big Cartel places a high priority on security and implements measures to protect customer data and information. The platform uses encryption to secure data in transit and implements regular security audits to ensure the safety of its systems. In addition, Big Cartel is PCI compliant and meets the security standards required for processing and storing credit card information.
Squarespace security
Squarespace takes security seriously and employs a variety of security measures to safeguard client data and information. To protect the security of its systems, the platform uses encryption to secure data in transit and performs regular security audits and updates. Squarespace is also PCI-certified, which satisfies the security standards required for credit card processing and storage.
The verdict: Both Squarespace and Big Cartel are good for security.
9. Support
Big Cartel support
Big Cartel offers support to its users, including a knowledge base, email support, and a community forum. It also provides a live chat support option during certain hours.
Squarespace support
On the other hand, Squarespace offers a comprehensive support system, including a knowledge base, video tutorials, email support, and live chat support. This platform also provides a community forum where users can connect with each other and ask questions.
The verdict: In terms of support between Big Cartel vs Squarespace, Squarespace offers more comprehensive support options than Big Cartel.
Big Cartel vs Squarespace – FAQs
Does Big Cartel work with Squarespace?
No, Big Cartel and Squarespace are separate platforms that do not work together directly. However, you can integrate a Big Cartel store into a Squarespace website using a plugin or third-party app, but this would require additional setup and customization.
Can I customize my website on Big Cartel and Squarespace?
Big Cartel and Squarespace offer customization options allowing users to create a unique and professional-looking website. Squarespace provides a more comprehensive set of customization options, including a broader range of templates and design options and a drag-and-drop page builder. Big Cartel offers a more focused customization option for small online stores and artists.
Which platform, Big Cartel vs Squarespace, is more user-friendly?
Big Cartel is designed to be straightforward for small online stores and artists. In contrast, Squarespace is designed to be a more comprehensive platform with more features and customization options.
Is Squarespace better for eCommerce than Big Cartel?
Whether Squarespace or Big Cartel is better for eCommerce will depend on the specific needs and requirements of the user. If you’re a small online store owner or artist looking for a simple platform, Big Cartel may be the better option. If you’re looking for a more comprehensive platform with eCommerce features and customization options, Squarespace may be a better choice.
Final Verdict
In short, both Squarespace and Big Cartel offer eCommerce solutions for small businesses and artists, but they have different strengths and limitations. Squarespace provides a more comprehensive set of features and a wider range of templates and design options, while Big Cartel offers a more focused set of eCommerce features specifically designed for small online stores and artists.
LitExtension – #1 Shopping Cart Migration Expert hopes that via this article of Big Cartel vs Squarespace, you may grasp all the ideas and pick a suitable eCommerce platform for your business! Don't forget to visit LitExtension blog and our Facebook Community to get more valuable insights.
