Squarespace is one of the biggest website-building tools, with over 4.7 million users and is constantly growing.
If you’re looking to sell digital products on Squarespace, look no further! I will show you a step-by-step guide on how to do this with powerful features such as email tracking and sharing protection features.
What do I need?
- A Squarespace website
- A Shopify $5/month plan (for the eCommerce tools) – the system to take payments and deliver the digital products
- You will need to install the below free apps to your Shopify account:
- Fileflare Shopify app (Free plan) for digital product delivery with file protection
- Buy Button for allowing you to add the products to other websites, such as your Squarespace site
- You will need to install the below free apps to your Shopify account:
How does this method work?
This will work by using Squarespace as your frontend (visual side) of the website and then using Shopify for your backend eCommerce solution.
Shopify is the leading platform for eCommerce for many reasons. It’s by far the best method to sell products online, even if you host them on a different platform, such as Squarespace. To name a few reasons why we are using Shopify integrated into Squarespace:
- Great support for digital products – much more customization
- More protection features for digital products
- Global tax rules
- International pricing and sales
- Secure, responsive checkout experience
- Unlimited products
- 100+ payment gateways accepted
- Easily integrate 1000’s of apps for all needs
- Shopify has a brilliant mobile app to track sales and analytics for orders. It dings every time you get an order ;).
You can learn more about this method on Shopify’s guide to adding the Buy Button to Squarespace.
In short
- Create Shopify account
- Create products
- Install two free apps
- Upload your digital products & attach them to products
- Add your Buy Buttons to Squarespace site
- Done!
Why this method works best with Squarespace for digital products?
Squarespace is great for lots of things, but one thing they are not extensive in is digital products. So this method we are teaching you today provides you with the best features for eCommerce and digital products on the market.
There’s a reason why digital products sell better with Shopify’s system hooked up to Squarespace. Here they are below:
Squarespace’s method:
- You can only upload 300MB maximum
- Only attach 1 digital file to a product
- It’s not possible to set the quantity or add variants or SKUs for digital products
- It’s not possible to sell digital products as subscriptions
- You can’t send a new link when customers click an expired download link
- This link will expire 24 hours after the purchase. Non-adjustable
- Doesn’t have email tracking
- No upgrade options
- No protection features
- No extra storage options
- Cannot use your own email to send the downloads
- No customization features for emails or branding
Our method:
- Sell any file size within your plan storage amount
- Attach as many digital files as you want to your products
- Sell any file type you want
- Download links can last forever, or you can add your own custom limitations
- Includes email tracking (Scale plan)
- Links don’t expire unless you set it yourself
- Upgrade options, no limits
- Many file protection features
- Use your own email to send downloads (Pro plan)
- Completely customizable email templates and branding
- Free plan available
How do digital products get delivered?
Squarespace’s method
Customers will be able to access downloads via:
- Email after the order is placed
- On the Thank You page (order confirmation page)
Our method
Customers will be able to access downloads via:
- Email after the order is placed
- On the Thank You page
- Customer account
What do I need?
The method we are using in this tutorial is by using Squarespace as the main site and then using Shopify as the backend eCommerce. Using this method, we will integrate Shopify products onto your pages using the in-built tools.
- Squarespace website (for the website frontend)
- Shopify $5 plan (for the eCommerce and product backend)
- Install the “Buy Button” app (free)
- Install the “Fileflare” digital product delivery app (free plan)
Shopify is the leading eCommerce solution for online stores, and it works great alongside Squarespace. Shopify has decades of data and experience with checkouts, including a vast app store with incredible apps that you can integrate. This is what Squarespace is missing, unfortunately, so this tutorial will give you the best of both worlds.
Does Shopify work with Squarespace?
Yes! Squarespace has added integration for Shopify products. This allows you to embed and import your Shopify products directly onto your Squarespace pages with ease.
Using this method, your customers will checkout and pay using Shopify’s system, while Squarespace will be the structure and visuals of your website.
How to sell Digital Products on Squarespace
1. Sign up for Shopify
What you need to do is sign up for Shopify’s $5 plan. This allows you to use Shopify, but you won’t be able to create a storefront there. You will essentially be integrating it into Squarespace.
This allows you to use Shopify on other websites, but you cannot build a storefront using Shopify’s system.
Install the free apps
Next, you will need to install the below apps. You can do this by:
- Go to your Shopify dashboard
- Click “Apps” > “App and sales channel settings“
- Click the “Customize your store” button
- Search for the below apps, or simply click the links.
Install the Buy Button app
Click the “Add app” button and follow the steps to accept.
Install the Fileflare app
Click the “Add app” button and follow the steps to accept. When you get to the pricing page, choose a plan 7-day free trial, or scroll down and click the continue button to use the free plan.
2. Create your products in Shopify
- Go back to your Shopify dashboard and go to “Products“.
- Here, you will click the “Add your products” button. If you have already created a product, it will show a green “Add product” button.
- Now, enter your product details including the name etc.
- Scroll down to the “Shipping” section and uncheck the “This is a physical product” box. This tells the system that it’s a digital product. This is very important.
Because it’s digital, it’s good to uncheck the “Track quantity” box too. Click “Save” once you are complete.
3. Upload your digital products & attach them
You can see a video tutorial for this here, or you can follow the written guide below it.
Now, all you need to do is:
- Click the “Apps” button on the left of your Shopify dashboard
- Click “Fileflare“. A new tab will open.
- Now, go to the “Assets” page
- Click the “Upload new asset” button and upload your digital products
Next, attach the file to the Shopify products
- Click on the digital file that you just uploaded (blue text)
- Enter the name of your Shopify product in the search box, select the relevant one and press the “Attach” button.
This will mean the digital file is now attached and armed. If someone purchases this product, a download email will be delivered.
4. Add the products to your Squarespace site
Now, here is the fun bit! This is where you are going to add the Shopify products to your Squarespace pages. This one is more of a fun step for you to be creative.
- Go to Shopify and click “Apps” > “Buy Button“
- Now, click the “Create a Buy Button” green button
- Click “Product Buy Button” > select your product and continue.
- Now, customize your button to your style! You can be creative and use a few options.
You can change the colours, layout style, the cart, the button border, the text and much more.
Feel free to change the actions such as once the customer clicks the button, you can direct them to checkout instantly or just add the product to cart.
- Once you are done, click the “Next” button in the top-left of the window. If you make any style adjustments, you will need to copy and paste this code again into Squarespace.
- You will be promoted to copy the code. Click the “Copy code” button.
Go to your Squarespace site
- Load up the page on Squarespace where you want to place the product button
- Scroll to the section and click “Add block“
- Find the “Code” block
- Paste the copied embed code for your Buy Button in the code box.
Done!
That’s exactly how you can add your Shopify products to Squarespace and also allow digital products using the best protection features on the market for eCommerce.
Remember, you still need to finalise some other things such as your payment gateways and business data in Shopify.
Set up your payment gateway in Shopify
I recommend using Shopify Payments & PayPal as your gateways. It gives users two options, and sometimes they feel more comfortable using PayPal.
You will also get the best rates this way too. Shopify Payments have the best transaction costs compared to other gateways.
- Go to Shopify
- Click “Settings” > “Payments“
- Here you can set up Shopify Payments, PayPal or any other gateway you choose.
Customize the Fileflare app
I recommend you go back to the Fileflare app and add some customisations to your digital product experience. You can do a lot of things! You can even prevent customers from sharing products with others.
Features & tutorials:
- PDF Stamping
- Email tracking
- Add URs as assets
- No limits on file size or type
- Set IP Address limitations
- Order bandwidth & download tracking
- Set pre-order release dates
- Update assets & notify customers
- Fraud protection
- Add download limitations
- Attach unlimited assets to products
- Use your own email to send downloads
- Email customisation templates
- Downloads show in customer accounts
- Connect your own Amazon S3
- Sell personalised digital products
If you get stuck with anything, please feel free to contact us and ask anything you want! We can even provide custom plans if you are on a tight budget.
Summary
Digital products require different taxes depending on what countries you’re selling in. Please check with your local laws regarding digital goods tax. Europe is required to pay VAT in the country your customer’s billing address is in. Learn more about digital goods tax.