Start with how the shop sells. Where is stock recorded? What happens after an order? Who will update the site when a product sells out?

• Inventory updated separately online and in the shop.
• A needed app or add-on for every ordinary task.
• Shipping, returns, pickup, or taxes discovered after launch.
• A redesign that breaks the path regular customers already use.

• Map one product from stock to sale to return.
• List in-person, pickup, shipping, and marketplace needs.
• Price the real plan, payment fees, apps, and hardware.
• Test the full purchase on a phone before choosing.

• Selling at the counter. Both can run a point of sale (POS), the checkout at your counter. Shopify says that when you sell or restock a product on Shopify POS, the inventory count updates for that location. Squarespace says its Tap to Pay and Square Reader sales update inventory after every sale. Its Pay Link sales, paid through a link or QR code, need a manual stock update. Squarespace’s app also can’t be used with Square Register, Stand, or Terminal.
• Delivery and pickup. Shopify can offer local delivery within a set distance of your shop or to certain ZIP codes. Squarespace offers local delivery by ZIP code, entered one at a time, plus local pickup. On Squarespace, customers can’t schedule a pickup time. If pickup is a big part of your day, test it in both.
• Fast checkout buttons. Shopify says local delivery works with Shop Pay, but not with other fast checkouts like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, or PayPal. If you deliver around the neighborhood, place a test order each way.
• Catalog or story. If the site mostly answers hours, services, events, and photos, and the catalog is small, Squarespace may be all you need. If stock changes daily across sizes and colors, and the counter sells too, Shopify carries more of that load.

• Run a product export on day one, in whichever platform you pick, and open the file. In Squarespace, open the Products & Services panel, click Products, then Export all.
• Know what the file leaves out. Squarespace’s product export skips featured images, variant images, image alt text, customer reviews, and additional product information. Keep the original product photos in a folder the business owns.
• Keep the domain, the payment account, and the store login in the business’s name. Here’s how to own your domain name.

If orders come in, stock stays right, and staff can update products without calling anyone, keep the platform. A move means new links to redirect and a checkout regulars have to relearn. Fix the cheap things first: photos, product names, pickup instructions, and sold-out messages. Choosing a card reader too? See how to pick a POS system.

We help a shop choose, connect, migrate, or build around the platform. We do not move a working store just to win a website project.

Get a plain-English second opinion

Product features and rules can change. Use the linked source as the current word.

• Shopify POS features — Official retail and inventory feature source.
• Squarespace commerce plans — Current plan and commerce feature source.
• Shopify Help Center: Tracking and adjusting Shopify POS inventory — How Shopify POS sales and restocks change inventory by location. Checked October 19, 2026.
• Shopify Help Center: Setting up local delivery for online orders — Delivery by radius or postal code, and which checkout buttons work with local delivery. Checked October 19, 2026.
• Squarespace Help Center: Selling in person with Squarespace — Which in-person payment methods update inventory, and which Square hardware is not supported. Last updated September 29, 2026. Checked October 19, 2026.
• Squarespace Help Center: Add local pickup and delivery to your online store — Local pickup and ZIP-code delivery setup and limits. Last updated August 7, 2026. Checked October 19, 2026.
• Squarespace Help Center: Export products to a .csv — Where the product export lives and what it leaves out. Last updated June 10, 2026. Checked October 19, 2026.