Choose Square if most of your sales are in a physical shop, Shopify if online is your main or growing channel, and a custom storefront on top of either when your brand needs to look and behave in a way a theme cannot. The right answer depends on how you sell.
We build ecommerce websites on both platforms, including Orlando’s Wines. Here is how we help clients choose.
start with how you sell today
If you take payments at a counter and want online orders to share stock and sales with the till, Square is built for that. If the website is the shop, or soon will be, Shopify has more room for products, marketing and growth.
who will update the shop
Whoever adds products and fulfils orders should find it easy. Both platforms are designed for non-technical teams, and a custom storefront keeps that: you still manage products in the same place, only the front end changes.
theme or custom storefront
A theme is quick and affordable and suits a simple catalogue. A custom storefront gives you full design freedom, faster pages and tighter connections to the rest of your tools. We explain the second route in headless Shopify explained.
things that matter for sales
Whichever you choose, a few things decide whether a shop sells: fast pages, clear product photography, a simple checkout, trustworthy delivery and returns information, and a connection to Google Shopping so people searching to buy can find you.
what it costs
The platform fee is small compared with the build. The main drivers are how custom the design is, the number of products and variations, and any connections to other systems. Our guide on what a custom website costs explains how to budget.
“After some reluctance to employ media and website help we are very pleased with the work Ace has done for us. Moreover his enthusiasm for our business and his obvious commitment to our success is heartening. He is forthcoming with ideas; a creative and communicative colleague who has the skills necessary to see projects through, and thank goodness, the work ethic too. Glad to have Ace on board.”
ecommerce website design in plymouth
We are a creative studio in Plymouth designing and building Shopify, Square and custom ecommerce websites for clients across Devon, Cornwall and the UK. If you are choosing a platform, send us your project details and we’ll get back to you within a few days.