Big Cartel vs Squarespace 2024 : Expert Head-to-Head Comparison | Which is the Best for You ?

Are you also confused between Big Cartel and Squarespace ?

Struggling to know that which one is better and why ?

So, we are here to help you. Here , in this article you are going to know all about Big Cartel and Squarespace which will surely help you in deciding between the two.

Just stay with us till end.

 

Big Cartel and Squarespace are two website builders geared toward eCommerce. They essentially accomplish the same thing by assisting businesses in going online and selling things. However, they approach it differently.

Big Cartel is a marketplace for independent digital merchants. It was primarily created for eCommerce projects that are just getting started and do not contemplate growth.

It’s ideal if you need an online store for physical things like artwork, merchandise, clothing, and other forms of physical goods rather than digital products such as SaaS, downloads, and soft.

The platform enables you to start a fully functional small business for free. Due to its no-entry policy.

Squarespace is a well-known eCommerce website builder. It enables the creation of digital shops of any scale without coding.

The platform has a collection of beautiful templates, powerful design tools, and additional advantages such as a free Logo Maker, built-in eCommerce capabilities, and expert support.

While newcomers will find it simple to create and establish ready-to-go online stores, seasoned experts will appreciate source code access. 

Which is superior, and why? How do you select between two eCommerce builders while still ensuring that you have adequate resources and functionality to expand your company over time?

What distinguishes the two platforms? Our review has the necessary information.

Big Cartel vs Squarespace: Which Is Better For Your Business?

Are you having difficulty deciding between Big Cartel and Squarespace? With this side-by-side comparison of Big Cartel and Squarespace, you can choose which platform is right for you.

Compare each platform’s ease of use, design, support, and overall value for money. Allow the comparison to begin.

Big Cartel vs Squarespace 2024 : Overview

Not to worry; we’ll assist you to choose between these two, Let’s begin :

What is Squarespace?

Squarespace is a globally recognized eCommerce platform with over 2 million users worldwide and over 1.5 million active websites, including digital businesses of all sizes.

The program was created as a multi-purpose website builder to address the diverse demands of small enterprises.

It enables non-coders to create professional portfolios and online representations for their brands. Simultaneously, it provides powerful eCommerce capability.

The builder established a reputation with beautiful templates that stand out due to their attractive appearance and integrated functionality.

All you have to do is choose one, add material, and publish. The theme will come pre-loaded with integrated services, payment choices, and marketing tools.

Enable the one you need, populate it with relevant material and items, and begin selling online. Squarespace plans include hosting and a domain name.

Apart from standard eCommerce features, Squarespace distinguishes itself with additional bonuses like as a free Logo Maker, Cover Page Builder, assistance for marketing and advertising, POS connectivity, merchandising tools, and customer accounts.

What is Big Cartel?

Big Cartel is a straightforward website builder that debuted in 2005. It was created by a musician who desired to sell his stuff online.

The platform is positioned as a product created by makers for makers. Today, it has grown into a more flexible system that enables non-programmers to create tiny digital stores from scratch.

The program has a foundation of capabilities that enable users to begin selling online. Additionally, Big Cartel is one of the few eCommerce builders that provides a free trial.

Simultaneously, the system will be better suited to novice merchants primarily interested in selling small quantities of physical items rather than in bulk or digital products.

It’s been a successful selling of apparel, prints, jewelry, goods, CDs, and other tangible items. The program has an easy-to-use onboarding process and basic product management. The term “primitive” refers to anything very simple and intuitive.

On the other side, Big Cartel looks to be best suited for tiny enterprises with little potential for growth. The system is missing certain aspects that contribute to the growth of a firm.

Therefore, if you do not intend to develop rapidly, this may be a cost-effective and straightforward alternative.

Big Cartel vs Squarespace : Design and Flexibility

Whether you are a complete novice or an established expert, website editing should be interesting and enjoyable.

Making the procedure too simple eliminates the space for innovation that most users, regardless of their technical skill, want to adopt.

From this vantage point, Squarespace seems to be more adaptable in  available tools and equipment.

1. Promotion & Marketing:

Promo codes and special deals are simple to generate with Big Cartel.

There is a dedicated area on the dashboard where customers may customize discount descriptions, restrict certain goods that are in stock, and give free delivery, among other things.

Additionally, users may link their website to email marketing providers and solutions for consumer engagement. They include Live Chat, MailChimp, Lucky Orange, and Instagram, to name a few.

Squarespace offers a variety of professional email marketing tactics based on the merchant’s specific requirements. They have automatic and planned campaigns initiated in response to a certain occurrence.

Additionally, you are free to design unique newsletters and tailored offers for current consumers.

2. Editing and Styling of Pages:

Big Cartel’s users do not have a lot of page editing options. You may add additional pages, but you cannot modify the custom design.

The good news is that the system makes the source code available.

However, the free plan does not provide these functions. As a result, you will need to update. Additionally, a user is expected to have

A working grasp of HTML/CSS. The good news is that source code modification applies to almost all website components, such as product, contact, and home pages.

When you first open the editor, you will see a blank page with some standard choices such as Products, Contact, and Cart. There are no editable product grids or empty boxes.

To display the product on the page, you must first add it. That is a little perplexing. The system provides standard choices for changing the background, border, text, badge, and other colors when it comes to design tools.

Squarespace provides more editing options for content and pages. The interface has an easy-to-add variety of website blocks. They may contain user registration forms, appointments, galleries, headers, and features.

Each block can be customized in terms of formatting and design. Users may customize typography to apply a variety of styles to their material.

Additionally, you will discover it simple to apply numerous graphic effects to the sites you want. 

3. Templates:

At the moment, Big Cartel provides around 16 responsive layouts. They all provide pre-installed choices and work well on various device kinds.

Regrettably, the dashboard lacks a mobile preview. As a result, you’ll need to move between devices to see how the website appears on a smartphone or tablet.

The good news is that each theme has integrated capabilities for managing your business and fulfilling orders.

Each design has a built-in shopping cart with an easy product management system, a dashboard, and many essential features. Custom layouts give a remarkable stylistic impact.

Squarespace provides over 100 beautiful layouts. This is an area where the platform has almost no competition.

Additionally, each theme has built-in settings. Additionally, they are more customizable, having additional tools for altering the page structure and general look.

A distinct Mobile Editor is compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones. It enables you to simply edit the mobile version of a site without affecting how the site appears on a desktop.

Both systems seem to have a reasonable amount of eCommerce capabilities.

On the other hand, Squarespace offers greater customization possibilities, a broader template selection, and more design tools to help you develop a store that stands out.

Big Cartel vs Squarespace : Which Is easy to use?

Despite the high first learning curve, Squarespace, is clear and simple to use after you’ve mastered the basics. Additionally, no previous coding experience is required to get the most out of it.

Big Cartel’s onboarding procedure is the simplest of the two. After picking a plan and inputting your information, you’ll be brought to a dashboard with numerous prompts that will guide you through the process of setting up your business.

It has a very beginner-friendly feel to it, and you won’t have to wing it throughout the setup procedure.

Starting with Squarespace is a little more complicated.

Squarespace does present a small instructional popup after selecting a design, and there is a setup checklist on the editor page, but it’s more difficult to figure out where things are and how to begin editing.

However, as one of our users pointed out during testing, the investment is worthwhile in the long run.

‘For someone unfamiliar with website creation, Squarespace may look overwhelming. However, persevere – it’s fantastic, and you’ll quickly acquire used to it.’

Once you’ve mastered Squarespace’s editor, and you’ll discover that it’s one of the simplest platforms to use and that it gives you a large level of creative flexibility over your store’s design. 

Squarespace’s popularity is because you can create a visually great website in a a couple of hours without knowing a single line of code.

Additionally, its What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor allows you to examine changes as you make them, reducing the possibility of mistakes. 

This is because it requires a little more technical expertise than you may anticipate. Due to the simplicity of its templates, some coding experience is required if you want to take your business to the next level.

This will be infuriating for both novice and professional designers, particularly if you desire creative control over the appearance of your business.

You can still create anything without coding, but it will lack the ‘wow’ element that comes with one of Squarespace’s more customizable designs.

Big Cartel vs Squarespace : Comparison

1. Features of E-Commerce :

In comparison to Big Cartel, Squarespace provides more comprehensive sales and marketing options. 

Big Cartel is the ideal platform for small-scale retailing. Although the sales and marketing tools are simplistic, they do the job, even on the free plan (more on that later).

At the moment, Big Cartel accepts payments through PayPal, Stripe, and Square.

Additionally, you get adequate inventory and shipping tracking. Additionally, you may sync goods to Facebook and Instagram and tag them.

However, If you’re serious about improving shop management, you’ll need to resort to third-party tools. Big Cartel places a premium on plugins for its e-commerce capabilities.

For instance, you may connect LiveChat with your online business to provide customer service. Additionally, complex analytics programs such as Pulley and Lucky Orange are accessible.

 Squarespace, on the other hand, it provides tools for company growth. The platform includes advanced checkout options, mailing lists, and social integrations.

Additionally, you receive robust website analytics and shop administration capabilities, both built-in and through extensions.

Squarespace also has an email marketing tool to stay in contact with current and future consumers.

2. Customization and Design:

Unless you have coding knowledge, and there is minimal flexibility to alter your Big Cartel website.

While it’s simple to create a website on Big Cartel; personalizing it is another matter. Unless you are experienced with coding, there is minimal flexibility to customize a theme.

And for the majority of customers interested in launching an online business, this will likely include hiring someone with design or programming abilities.

Even if you lack technical skills, you may still make some minor adjustments. This includes the ability to customize your header, font sets, page colors, and social network links.

Additionally, you may alter the layout of your product. Bear in mind, though, that changes will be mostly determined by the theme you choose.

Squarespace enables you to do more even if you lack coding knowledge. The platform has many tools that enable customers to customize almost every aspect and corner of their website.

For example, you may quickly modify the space and orientation of your pages without using CSS. Due to the platform’s flexibility for various content kinds, these blocks may be reconfigured effortlessly.

Even altering your layout is as easy as dragging and dropping. Additionally, basic page settings allow for a significant degree of customization.

The options seem limitless, from the way your items are presented to the font sets that accompany them.

However, If there is one feature that all systems offer, it can swap between templates. You won’t lose any material if you switch to a different theme. Everything is formatted automatically to meet your site’s new style, saving you a lot of efforts. 

3. Website Editor :

Squarespace’s website editor is feature-rich but requires some time to master. On the other side, Big Cartel encourages you while you develop your website. 

Creating your website may seem to be a difficult process. However, Squarespace solves this in part by providing an out-of-the-box solution.

The platform takes care of the gritty technological details, such as hosting, storage, and security. Consequently, people who join up may concentrate entirely on developing their site.

You don’t even need familiarity with coding to create a web page.

 After all, Squarespace is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor. Whatever modifications you make in the website editor will appear exactly as they are when the website is launched.

This enables non-developers to appreciate the adjustments made by developers.

However, is the user interface intuitive? Squarespace is not as intuitive as other drag-and-drop builders like Wix or Shopify. The platform is mostly section-based.

This implies that you can only drag content blocks inside the area you are now working. However, this results in a better-structured interface; it just takes some getting used to.

As with Squarespace, Big Cartel’s goal is to simplify creating a website. Onboarding is simple, and you’ve helped along the way by prompts as you develop your business.

All you have to do is choose a theme, name your shop, and begin adding items. Big Cartel will host your site and, similar to Squarespace, will enable you to choose a custom domain.

Additionally, the administration interface is quite straightforward, making it simple to modify the settings for your website.

Big Cartel vs Squarespace : Cost plans

While Big Cartel provides a free-for-ever option, Squarespace offers yearly membership savings.

Squarespace presently provides four premium plans. You may join up for a 14-day free trial if you choose, but it is limited in duration.

Once it expires, you’ll need to subscribe to one of the platform’s paying plans to continue using it.

The most popular plan on the marketplace is business, which costs $26 per month.

Additionally, you may choose the entry-level Personal package for $16 per month, Basic Commerce for $30 per month, or Advanced Commerce for $46 per month.

Only the Business plan adds a 3% transaction fee to sales. All programs provide yearly payment reductions.

Big Cartel, meanwhile, offers four different programs, one of which is completely free. It’s an entry-level plan that allows you to sell up to five goods and includes some basic shop management capabilities.

However, if you want to add additional goods and personalize your site further, you’ll need to upgrade to the Platinum, Diamond, or Titanium plan.

These memberships cost $9.99 per month, $19.99 per month, and $29.99 per month, respectively.

FAQs on Big Cartel vs Squarespace :

Does Big Cartel work with Squarespace?

You may import your Etsy, Shopify, or Big Cartel product inventory. Any inventory changes made in Squarespace or the the third-party platform will not be reflected on the other platform.

Does Big Cartel Take Fees?

Big Cartel does not charge commissions on transactions. Rather than that, you will solely be responsible for the costs charged by your processor. For example, Stripe's costs for online payments begin at 2.9 percent plus 30 cents for each transaction. PayPal charges a transaction fee of 3.49 percent + 49 cents

Does Big Cartel report to IRS?

Big Cartel collects and remits sales taxes on online transactions alone; it does not collect or remit sales taxes on in-person payments. If you sell things in person via the checkout section of their iOS or Android app, you are responsible for collecting and remitting any applicable sales taxes.

Does Big Cartel have a shipping address?

They will want your name, email address, postal address, phone number, and other basic contact information, in addition to payment information. Additionally, they gather data about your shop, such as its name, URL, and description.

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Conclusion : Big Cartel vs Squarespace 2024

Big Cartel is one of the most innovative and intriguing eCommerce systems . At first glance, restricting 300 items on the premium plan is absurd.

Serious merchants need an infinite supply of things, correct?

If you have a small product selection but want a nice online shop to exhibit them, as well as the option to accept in-person orders at craft fairs, Big Cartel, is worth checking out.

If, on the another hand, you operate a more typical eCommerce shop, you are better off looking for a different option.

Squarespace is a well-known eCommerce platform and website builder with a devoted user base.

If you’re searching for a simple-to-use solution with a robust feature set, take advantage of the free trial and give it a try. 

One of the most appealing features of Squarespace is its adaptability to shops with varying degrees of coding expertise.

Non-developers may use the feature-rich site builder (which is intuitive once you’re acquainted with all the choices) to create a fully personalized website.

On the other hand, developers may significantly change and alter the coding of a website through the “Developer Mode.”

In general, we determined that. Squarespace is the superior eCommerce platform.