Squarespace to Shopify
Migrating from Squarespace to Shopify represents a strategic move from a design-focused website builder to a dedicated, powerful eCommerce platform. In 2025, with Squarespace's limitations in advanced eCommerce features, app ecosystem, and scalability, many merchants are making the switch to Shopify for better growth potential and functionality.
This comprehensive technical blueprint covers Squarespace's data export capabilities, field mappings to Shopify's REST API, and step-by-step migration execution.
1. The Strategic Pivot: Why Leave Squarespace?
💰 eCommerce Features
The Squarespace Pain: Squarespace is a website builder first, eCommerce second. Limited product variants, basic inventory management, and restricted payment options. Advanced features require higher-tier plans.
The Shopify Gain: Shopify is built specifically for eCommerce with unlimited products, advanced inventory management, multi-channel selling, and extensive payment options including Shopify Payments with competitive rates.
🚀 App Ecosystem
The Squarespace Pain: Squarespace Extensions marketplace is limited with fewer eCommerce-focused apps. Many integrations are basic.
The Shopify Gain: Shopify App Store has 8,000+ apps specifically designed for eCommerce: marketing automation, fulfillment, customer service, analytics, and more.
🛠 Scalability & Performance
The Squarespace Pain: Squarespace stores can struggle with high traffic and large product catalogs. Performance is not optimized for eCommerce at scale.
The Shopify Gain: Shopify's infrastructure automatically scales to handle millions of products and unlimited traffic. Built-in CDN, global edge locations, and optimized databases.
⚡ Multi-Channel Selling
The Squarespace Pain: Limited multi-channel capabilities. Selling on marketplaces or social media requires manual workarounds.
The Shopify Gain: Native integrations with Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, eBay, and more. Unified inventory management across all channels.
2. The Pre-Migration Architecture Audit
Squarespace is a hosted platform with CSV export capabilities, making migration more straightforward than Wix but still requiring careful planning.
- Squarespace Plan: Are you on Commerce Basic, Advanced, or Plus? Export capabilities may differ.
- Data Export: Squarespace allows CSV export of products and inventory. Customer and order data export is available but may be limited.
- Product Variants: Squarespace supports variants but structure differs from Shopify. Careful mapping required.
- Custom Fields: Squarespace custom fields map to Shopify metafields.
- Images: Squarespace images are hosted on their CDN. Need to be downloaded and re-uploaded to Shopify.
3. Exact Data Mapping: The Blueprint
Squarespace CSV export provides good data structure for migration.
🛍 Product Data Mapping
| Squarespace Field (Source) | Shopify Field (Target) | Notes & Logic |
|---|---|---|
Product ID |
id (Product API) |
Shopify generates new IDs. Use SKU for mapping. |
Product Name |
title |
Direct string transfer. |
SKU |
variants[].sku |
Squarespace SKU is at product level, Shopify at variant level. |
Price |
variants[].price |
Price per variant in Shopify. |
Description |
body_html |
HTML content. Squarespace images need to be downloaded and re-uploaded to Shopify CDN. |
Variants |
options and variants |
Squarespace variants need careful mapping to Shopify variant structure. |
Categories |
collections |
Squarespace categories become Shopify collections. |
👥 Customer Data Mapping
| Squarespace Field | Shopify Field | Critical Logic |
|---|---|---|
Email |
email |
Unique identifier. Squarespace customer export available. |
Password |
password (on create) |
Requires password reset. Squarespace passwords cannot be exported. Customers must create new accounts or reset passwords. |
Address |
addresses[] |
Squarespace address data available in export. |
📦 Order Data Mapping
| Squarespace Field | Shopify Field | Mapping Logic |
|---|---|---|
Order Number |
name (order number) |
Preserve Squarespace order number in Shopify name field. |
Order Status |
financial_status, fulfillment_status |
Map Squarespace order statuses to Shopify's dual status system. |
Total |
total_price |
Direct mapping from Squarespace order export. |
4. The Toolkit: Selecting Your Vehicle
Option A: Automated Cloud Migration (Recommended)
Tools: Migration Shop, LitExtension, Cart2Cart
Specialized tools that handle Squarespace CSV exports and map to Shopify.
- ✅ Pros: Handles CSV complexity, preserves relationships, creates redirects, migrates images.
- ❌ Cons: Cost scales with data ($150 - $400).
Option B: Manual CSV Import
Tools: Squarespace Export + Shopify Import
Export products from Squarespace and import via Shopify admin.
- ✅ Pros: Free, direct control.
- ❌ Cons: Limited to products, no customers/orders, manual image upload, high error risk.
5. Execution Protocol: Step-by-Step
Phase 1: Environment Preparation
1.1. Prepare Target (Shopify):
Create Shopify store. Enable password protection during migration.
1.2. Prepare Source (Squarespace):
Export products CSV (Commerce > Inventory > Export). Export customer and order data if available (Settings > Advanced > Import/Export).
Phase 2: Data Collection
2.1. Product Export:
Export products CSV from Squarespace. Review and clean data before migration.
2.2. Image Collection:
Squarespace images are hosted on their CDN. Migration tools can download and re-upload to Shopify, or download manually.
2.3. Customer Data:
Export customer data if available. Note: passwords cannot be exported.
Phase 3: Migration Execution
- Use Automated Tool: Recommended for handling Squarespace CSV structure and image migration.
- Create 301 Redirects: Critical for SEO preservation from Squarespace URLs to Shopify URLs.
- Handle Product Variants: Squarespace variants need careful mapping to Shopify variant structure.
Phase 4: Post-Migration
4.1. Customer Communication:
Notify customers about the migration. They'll need to create new accounts or reset passwords.
4.2. Verify Products:
Check all products migrated correctly. Verify images, prices, variants, and collections.
4.3. Set Up Redirects:
Ensure old Squarespace URLs redirect to new Shopify URLs to preserve SEO.
6. Financial Breakdown: Cost of Migration (2025)
Manual CSV
But High Time Cost
Automated Cloud
Average Cost
Agency Service
Starting Cost
7. Troubleshooting & SEO Preservation
Common Challenges
- Product Variants: Squarespace variant structure differs from Shopify. Careful mapping required.
- Customer Accounts: Squarespace customer passwords cannot be exported. Customers must create new accounts.
- Image Migration: Squarespace images need to be downloaded and re-uploaded to Shopify's CDN.
- URL Structure: Squarespace URLs differ from Shopify. Redirects are critical for SEO.
The 301 Redirect Strategy
Squarespace URLs differ from Shopify URLs. Automated migration tools create redirects, but verify in Shopify admin (Online Store > Navigation > URL Redirects).
Ready to Upgrade to Dedicated eCommerce?
Migrating from Squarespace to Shopify unlocks true eCommerce capabilities, better scalability, and access to a powerful app ecosystem. Squarespace's CSV export makes migration more straightforward than some platforms.