E-Commerce on Squarespace

For more in-depth answers, visit the Squarespace article on “Getting started with Squarespace Commerce”.

There is nothing more satisfying to a business owner then selling their products successfully or seeing someone buying a product with their company’s logo proudly displayed. Squarespace makes selling products online very easy. There are some basic “good business” practices that should be understood or followed to save you stress and time later down the road.

Transaction Fees:

All payment processors charge a transaction fee, like you they are businesses. Both Stripe and PayPal integrate with Squarespace Commerce for a streamlined customer experience, and we strongly suggest using both if that is an option. This will provide a greater range of payment options for your customers.

Squarespace Fees:

Squarespace does a great job in helping to sell your products online. Depending on how your website is hosted, there may be a transaction fee involved:

• Low priced or small volume: The Business Plan includes a 3% Squarespace Commerce Transaction Fee. This should be included in your pricing model.

• Higher priced or larger volume: If you will be offering higher priced or greater volumes and/or plan on selling over $3,200, you should consider moving up to the Commerce Basic Plan. This plan negates the 3% Squarespace Commerce Transaction Fee but does increase your monthly website hosting costs.

Taxes:

We all love them, right? To sell your products, you must collect/pay sales tax. The amount you charge is the current tax rate for your area. You have two choices*:

1. Collect sales tax at checkout - this is the most common practice as it saves the business owner from additional accounting and itemization to separate sales tax monies taken in,

2. Include sales tax in your product - your customers see a flat price for the products listed and will pay that amount at checkout. You will need to pay a portion of your sales as sales tax price at checkout, instead of paying the listed price plus sales tax.

*This is a business choice only you can make, and we suggest speaking to an accountant or tax preparer for your best option.

Shipping:

Many of the decisions made regarding shipping are specific to your needs. Shipping options include:

• Flat rate - A flat fee per order, plus an optional per-item fee,

• Rates by weight - Fees based on the total order weight,

• Carrier calculated (Commerce Advanced plan only) - Fees based on a carrier’s standard rates,

• Free shipping,

• Pick up in-store.

Graphics:

Customers are highly visual shoppers. Upload or utilize proper high-resolution pictures or graphics that display your product properly.

Building Your Online Store

Step 1 - Create and Style your Store

iBRAG can work with you to create a stylized store that fits your needs. Many of the design aspects can be changed or customized later as your store builds and gains momentum.

Step 2 - Adding Products

Your online Squarespace Store allows multiple product types: Gift Cards, Physical, Digital, and Service Products. We will work with you to select what is best for your needs. Recurring or subscription products require the Commerce Basic hosting plan.

You can add products in different ways:

• Individually - this is best for small stores or a small number of items,

• Import them from a .csv file,

• Import from a different ecommerce platform (Etsy, Shopify, Big Cartel,

• Selling gift cards, and physical, digital, and service products as a single purchase or recurring subscription.

Consider these great resources:

·         Pacific Promotional Products (Logo'd products for on-site sales)

·         Printful (Print-on-demand logo'd products)

·         Printique (High-quality photo products)

Step 3 - Adding Elements and Editing Content

Content: Once added, ensure the product states the content you require for selling. Do you need to update the description, add additional product information, or adjust the options?

Graphics: Are the pictures or graphics correct?

Share: Are your social media accounts connected? Once you have uploaded or added an item to your store, you can easily launch to connected accounts.

Step 4: Further Customization

Customize checkout: you can customize your store’s checkout experience by:

• Adding a custom checkout form to collect more information from customers for future marketing or custom product information,

• Add a “newsletter subscribe option” to gain subscribers to your newsletter,

• and more…

Adjust your customer email notifications: Customers will receive automated transactional emails confirming their purchase, refund, or other alerts. Notifications can be customized.