7 Kickass Squarespace Ecommerce Templates (100% Free)

The Step-By-Step Guide to Building a Successful Ecommerce Squarespace Website

Phew, that was a deep dive.

Hopefully, at this point, you've got some motivating inspiration as to what kind of Squarespace ecommerce websites you can build, what foundation options are out there, and the best templates that will help you build the kind of great website you want.

And don't forget, all these Squarespace templates, and most of the modern Squarespace templates in general, run on the Squarespace version Fluid 7.1 engine.

This means you have access to what are essentially blocks that you can drag and drop into your website's build as and when you please.

Blocks like product boxes, "about you" sections, contact page, and form content, and the sorts. 

All built into the Squarespace design and infrastructure.

But aesthetics and functionality are not the be-all-end-all when building a successful ecommerce website.

There are a few factors you need to consider, and that's what the comprehensive guide below is all about.

Let's go 🚀

Choose the Perfect Squarespace Ecommerce Template

This is the first and one of the most important steps.

Remember, each Squarespace template (available even before you sign up for a Squarespace subscription) has unique characteristics and functionalities tailored to cater to specific needs. Look through each Squarespace template carefully, and understand its eommerce features, eCommerce functionality, advantages, and limitations. 

As mentioned above, I highly recommend Spotted, Manual, Idrah, Maca, Zaatar, Soony, and Wesley as your go-to Squarespace ecommerce templates to get yourself started on your ecommerce site journey!

It's really up to you which you choose, but to save time and to get the best results as easily as possible, be sure to choose one of the Squarespace templates that align with your brand identity and the nature of your products.

Think about your ideal customers and which style they'll resonate with the most!

Now, you may be thinking, what if you want to use premium Squarespace templates for setting up your ecommerce site?

Well, you can, and there are lots out there to choose from, but bear in mind these can cost upwards of $200, and free templates won't cost you a cent, and are a great way to get started with little overhead.

Besides, the best Squarespace templates will always be made by Squarespace themselves!

Personalize the Best Squarespace Template

Once you've chosen the best Squarespace templates for you, it's now time to get creative. And you don't even need to be a web designer to make such a site work for you.

Squarespace offers you complete control over easily customized features, allowing you to adapt your chosen template that even the least experienced web developer can master. It's literally made to be easy, and unlike premium templates, all the key features are basically drag and drop.

Simply sign into your Squarespace account (ensuring you already have a functioning Squarespace subscription), and start by reflecting your brand's visual identity - incorporate your brand colors, fonts, and style into your ecommerce site design.

Remember, consistency in branding creates a strong impression on your customers and builds brand recognition.

If you want to get started fast, the best thing you can do is simply go through the Squarespace template and replace all the text and image content with your own.

Don't forget to add personality to your content to make you stand out from the crowd! And if you do find you need some help, don't worry. There are plenty of video tutorials out there that can guide you with whatever it is you want to do!

Set Up Your Online Stores

When everything is set up, it's time to start work on your online stores.

Fortunately, Squarespace's commerce platform lets you manage products, orders, and inventory easily using the, you've guessed it, "Commerce" section. It's as though this platform was designed for creating online stores!

Here, you can add your products, write product descriptions, set the price and tax rules, manage your inventory, and set up shipping options. It's all very simple and straightforward. Just fill out the boxes, and away you go!

Organize Your Site Layout

A well-organized Squarespace site layout enhances user experience and encourages visitors to stay longer and explore. Strategically place your products, contact page information, and call to actions for easy access.

Remember to include a clear, easy-to-use navigation menu, a shop page with lots of space that allows the item profiles to breathe, and popular shop categories so site visitors can quickly find what they're looking for.

Don't forget about mobile optimization as well, as, according to statistics, most web visitors will come to your store through their mobile devices!

Add High-Quality Images

High-quality images are crucial for an ecommerce website.

After all, a picture speaks a thousand words, and if your customers don't like what they see, or they're simply not engaged with the product because the images are a bit boring, then you won't make many sales.

Likewise if the image quality is also a bit poor.

Customers use your product images to understand the product better and make informed decisions. Make sure the images are well-lit, crisp, and showcase the product from various angles.

You might want to use basic images first to fill the basics of your Squarespace ecommerce templates or demo site content and then continuously invest in better and better images as your business grows!

Optimize Product Descriptions

Good product descriptions work on multiple levels.

On the surface, they educate your customers on what your products are about and excite them. You need to engage your customer's pain points while showcasing this is the product that will solve their issue.

Are you affordable? Do you offer good customer service? Are your features the best? What value does your product bring to your customers' lives over that of a competitor?

Remember, sell value and benefits, not features. No one cares if a TV has 40 million pixels.

They care that the picture quality is market-leading.

However, on top of this, it's important you take time to ensure your product pages are SEO optimized. This improves your website's visibility on search engines. Incorporate relevant keywords in your product descriptions and write them with your customer in mind.

Set Up Payment Gateways

There's no point in having a beautiful website set up and ready to go if you cannot take payments from your customers. And we live in the age of the internet, which means people are using a ton of platforms to shop online.

You need to accept these payment options to ensure sales can occur, which means setting up multiple payment gateways.

Squarespace supports multiple payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and Apple Pay. Set up your preferred payment methods to offer a seamless checkout experience to your customers.

Launch Your Store

With all the points above in mind, you should be ready to launch your store to the world. If you had the content ready to go and a Squarespace subscription on the move, then this may only take a day or so!

It really can be that fast.

Before you launch, check everything—links, checkout process, mobile compatibility, and so on. Once you're satisfied, it's time to publish your website and start selling!

Promote Your Website

With your website up and running, it's important to tell the world to come and see what you're offering.

This means getting involved in various marketing strategies, including leveraging social media, SEO, email marketing, and other promotional strategies to drive traffic to your ecommerce website.

Squarespace has built-in tools for SEO and social sharing, and it also integrates with Mailchimp for email marketing.

Analyze and Improve

As hard as you try, the chances are you won't get every aspect of your website right the first time.

And that's okay. Everyone's in the same boat.

The trick to improving things is to monitor your stats and figures simply, see what's working and what's not, and make adjustments to ensure you're moving in a positive direction.

This is easy on Squarespace thanks to the built-in analytics tools that provide insights into your store's performance. Regularly reviewing these statistics helps you understand your customers better and improve your ecommerce strategy.

Define Your Website Goals

It's crucial to define what success means for your ecommerce store. Are you looking to increase sales, boost brand awareness, grow your mailing list, or something else?

Having clear goals will help guide your design and content decisions.

Focus on User Experience

User experience is paramount in ecommerce.

Your site should be intuitive, easy to navigate, and mobile-optimized. Fast loading times, simple navigation, and a streamlined checkout process can significantly enhance user experience and increase conversions.

It really doesn't matter what you're selling; whether you're interior designers selling professional services or you have product pages filled with grass seed from a tropical island, users need to easily find what they're looking for and actually enjoy spending time on your website.

Craft Compelling Content

High-quality, engaging content can set your brand apart. That's why every effective template comes with value-rich content built in as standard.

Incorporate storytelling in your product descriptions, create engaging blog content related to your niche, and use powerful visuals to attract and engage your audience.

Content that adds value can turn casual visitors into loyal customers.

Implement SEO Best Practices

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is crucial for driving organic traffic to your website. Use relevant keywords in your content, add meta descriptions, create SEO-friendly URLs, and optimize images to improve your site's visibility on search engine results pages.

Thankfully, the technical side of this is made easy since every ecommerce template is designed to be fully SEO optimized automatically from the off.

Build Trust

Incorporate elements that build trust, like customer reviews, testimonials, secure payment badges, and a clear return policy. These can significantly influence a visitor's decision to purchase.

And there we have it. 🎆🚀

Follow this guide, and you'll have your very own Squarespace ecommerce store set up and ready to sell in no time at all.

Building a successful ecommerce website on Squarespace involves careful planning, creativity, and a customer-centric approach. Just keep at it, think outside the box, and commit to growth, and you'll find success.

Don't forget to show up every day.

Happy selling!