Squarespace to Shopify: A Step-by-Step Migration Plan

Your Squarespace site looks good, but the store has outgrown it, and you want Shopify's catalog, checkout and apps. The worry is what gets lost on the way: products that silently fail to import, a blog that doesn't come across, links in old emails that suddenly break. This Squarespace to Shopify migration plan walks through each move in order, with a check after every step.

Short answer: Export products and contacts from Squarespace as CSV files, edit them to Shopify's templates, import them, and count the results. Move blog posts and pages with a migration app or by hand, rebuild the design in a Shopify theme, add URL redirects, then connect or transfer the domain.

Disclosure: this post contains an affiliate link for Shopify. If you sign up through it, Meghbalika Tech may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Key takeaways

• Shopify's migration guide moves Squarespace products and customers by CSV export and import, but historical orders need a migration app from the Shopify App Store or a developer using Shopify's API.
• Shopify's guide says reviews can't be exported or migrated from Squarespace to Shopify, so reviews have to be imported manually through a third-party reviews app.
• Squarespace's site export creates a WordPress-format XML file that includes only one blog page and leaves out store pages and product blocks.
• A Shopify product that is missing a variant option won't import, so the product count after import should always be checked against Squarespace.
• Transferring a domain to Shopify requires waiting 60 days after registration or a previous transfer, and the transfer can take up to 20 days.

What moves from Squarespace to Shopify, and how?

Products and customers move by CSV. Everything else needs an app, the Shopify API or copy and paste. Squarespace's site export produces a WordPress-format XML file that includes one blog page, layout pages and gallery pages, but not store pages, product blocks or more than one blog.

Data	From Squarespace	Into Shopify	Count before launch
Products	Product CSV export	Products > Import	Products and variants
Customers	Contacts export	Customers > Import	Customer records
Order history	Orders CSV (fulfilled)	Migration app or API	Orders by year
Reviews	No export	Reviews app, imported manually	Reviews per product
Blog posts	XML site export (one blog)	Migration app, API or copy and paste	Posts per blog
Pages	Copy content	Rebuild in theme	Pages in menu

For a wider view of which data survives any platform move, see our guide to what transfers when you migrate to Shopify.

What is the step-by-step Squarespace to Shopify migration plan?

The plan has eight stages, and the order matters: products first, then customers, then history, then design and settings, and the domain last.

1. Take stock before you export

Write down how many products, variants, customers, blog posts and pages the Squarespace site has today. These numbers are your checklist for later. Note any digital or service products too. Squarespace's product CSV help explains the file's columns but doesn't list which product types the export includes, so check that each type appears in the file.

2. Export and edit the product file

Shopify's Squarespace guide has you export from the Products & Services panel, under Products, with Export all (Squarespace's own help also points to Export all in the Products panel). Then reshape the file to Shopify's product CSV template:

• Rename columns to Shopify's names, for example Product URL becomes Handle and Stock becomes Variant Inventory Qty.
• Remove spaces, accents and periods from handles.
• Convert weights from pounds to grams by multiplying by 453.6.
• Strip non-numeric characters from stock values.
• Delete columns that have no Shopify match.

The inventory column only works for a store with a single location. Multi-location stores should use Shopify's inventory CSV instead. If the import throws errors, our guide to Shopify product CSV import errors covers the common ones.

3. Import products, then count them

In Shopify, go to Products > Import and clear the option to publish new products to all sales channels, so nothing goes live half-finished. Then compare counts with step 1. Shopify warns that a product missing a variant option won't import, so any gap usually points to variants. Add missing products by hand and check prices, weights and images.

4. Move customers

Export contacts from Squarespace, then edit the file to Shopify's customer template before importing. Shopify's guide notes there is no column mapping for customer CSVs, that Accepts Marketing must read yes or no, and that you need to add a country code column, because Squarespace doesn't export one.

Passwords don't move: Shopify's customer import guide says you can't migrate customer passwords by CSV. With Shopify's customer accounts and passwordless sign-in turned on, customers enter their email and get a one-time 6-digit code instead. Otherwise, the import guide says to invite customers to create new passwords.

5. Move order history and reviews, if you need them

Squarespace can download fulfilled orders as a CSV. Shopify's Squarespace guide points to third-party migration apps for order history, and its general migration guide adds Shopify's Order API as a developer option. Reviews can't be exported from Squarespace at all; Shopify suggests importing them manually with a reviews app. Decide whether old orders are worth the cost before you buy an app. Many stores keep the Squarespace CSV as an archive instead.

6. Rebuild the blog, pages and design

Shopify's migration guide lists migration apps, the Blog and Article APIs, or copy and paste for blog content, with no CSV option. Use an app or the API for a large blog, or copy and paste a small one. Squarespace's export guide warns that images can come across as links to Squarespace, and those links stop working after you cancel, so keep the Squarespace site active until every image lives in Shopify.

Squarespace sites usually lean on features that need setting up again in a Shopify theme:

• Image-heavy layouts and galleries, rebuilt from theme sections.
• Form blocks, replaced by the theme's contact form or a form app.
• Page-specific headers and footers, which Squarespace doesn't export.
• Custom CSS, which doesn't export either and may not suit the new theme.

7. Set up redirects before the domain moves

Shopify uses its own URL paths such as /products/ and /blogs/, so most old Squarespace links will break without redirects. Add them in Content > Menus > View URL redirects, one by one or by CSV import. Shopify allows up to 100,000 redirects, and a redirect only works from a URL that no longer loads a page.

8. Connect or transfer the domain, then launch

Shopify recommends disconnecting the domain from your old platform first to avoid SSL certificate errors. You then either connect the domain, which keeps it registered where it is, or transfer it to Shopify.

A domain transfer to Shopify needs the domain to be at least 60 days past its registration or last transfer, includes a one-year renewal, and can take up to 20 days. Some extensions, such as .co.uk, .de and .jp, can't transfer, so connect those instead. Run a full test order and our Shopify pre-launch checklist before removing the store password.

What can't move from Squarespace to Shopify?

Some things don't migrate at all, and knowing them up front stops surprises on launch day.

• Reviews need importing manually through a reviews app.
• Extra blogs. Squarespace exports one blog page, so a second blog has to be copied by hand.
• Design. Styles, custom CSS and page layouts are rebuilt, not converted.
• Customer passwords. Customers sign in again on Shopify.
• Squarespace-only features such as scheduling or member areas may need a Shopify app or may not have a direct match.

What are the limitations and risks of migrating yourself?

A DIY Squarespace to Shopify migration works for a small, simple store, but its main risks are silent data gaps and broken links. Neither shows up until a customer finds it.

• Silent gaps. A product with a missing variant option doesn't import, and the site export skips store pages, so count everything against your step 1 list.
• Link and ranking loss. Old URLs break without redirects, and Google says rankings may fluctuate while it recrawls a moved site, even when redirects are right.
• Time. Cleaning CSV files and rebuilding pages by hand takes longer than most owners expect.

You can run this migration yourself if the store has a few dozen products, one blog and simple shipping. Shopify's own guide and CSV templates cover it. Hiring help makes sense with hundreds of variants, years of blog posts, order history you must keep, or a fixed launch date. It doesn't make sense to pay for help just to move a handful of products. Our guide to Shopify migration cost shows what drives the price.

Ready to start? Open the Shopify store through Shopify's free trial before you export from Squarespace, so you can import a test batch and compare it with your step 1 list while the old site stays live.

FAQ

Can I move my Squarespace store to Shopify?

Yes. Shopify publishes a step-by-step guide for moving from Squarespace. Products and customers move by exporting CSV files from Squarespace, editing them to Shopify's templates and importing them. Order history needs a migration app, reviews must be imported manually through a reviews app, and blog posts move with an app, the API or copy and paste. The design is rebuilt in a Shopify theme.

Will I lose my SEO moving from Squarespace to Shopify?

Some ranking movement is normal after any platform move, because Shopify uses different URL paths from Squarespace. You keep the risk low by adding a 301 redirect from every important old URL to its new Shopify page before switching the domain, copying page titles and descriptions across, and watching Google Search Console for broken links after launch.

Can I keep my Squarespace domain when I move to Shopify?

Yes. You can connect your existing domain to Shopify and keep it registered where it is, or transfer it to Shopify. A transfer needs the domain to be at least 60 days past registration or its last transfer and can take up to 20 days. Disconnect the domain from Squarespace first to avoid SSL certificate errors.

Plan your Squarespace move with us

Meghbalika Tech, a Shopify service partner that builds, migrates and redesigns stores, offers Store Migration for stores moving to Shopify. Store migration is starting at $800 on Shopify's Partner Directory, and final quotes depend on scope. Tell us about your store and get a quote.