Shopify? Big commerce? Squarespace? Something else?

I am reaching out to you again, my supportive, interested and, dare I say it, opinionated ☺️ Tribe.

It is coming near time for me to move away from Etsy.

I have had a shop here for many years, morphing from a bag maker to a fine artist. I am grateful to Etsy for teaching me so many things about online selling, as well as giving me a modest income.

Those of you who are on Etsy will know that there have been many changes over the last few years, with more to come. It is moving away from the place which supported and welcomed crafters and artists, moving to a seat alongside the Big Boys of e-commerce. I have to be honest and say that I have moved away too. I haven’t put any effort into the shop this year. That tells me that unconsciously I have been playing with the idea of moving; now my conscious brain has caught up.

So it’s not just the changes in Etsy. It is the changes in me and my art work. Maybe I have outgrown Etsy. My current work doesn’t sit easily with the feathers and leaves in the Etsy format. I need something that allows me more space to organise and curate, but still sell.

No way am I going to self-build a site. Even with help, that’s way beyond my skill level ~ and my interest level, to be honest. I want someone else (or something else ~ some fancy algorithm!) to do all the backroom stuff.

That leads me to an on-line store building tool (love the jargon?!). I have done some research and Shopify is the one that comes up most often. But Bigcommerce and Squarespace are mentioned. They all offer free 14 day trials, but I want to use that time, after I have made a decision, to set things up. Then, when the 14 days are finished and I have to pay the monthly fee, I will be ready to go.

I am still at the information gathering stage, so I am reaching out to you. Are you on any of these, or something else? Have you done any research into any of them? What should I be looking out for? Do you know anything about domain names? Is one site more suited to art work? Anything you can throw my way will be useful and appreciated.

I hope to write more about what I am finding out, but just in case you are thinking about making a switch too, these links have helped me understand and compare Shopify and Bigcommerce.

Pros and cons of Shopify

Big commerce review

Big commerce vs Shopify

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Thanks for the feedback on my last fortnight’s letter from my studio. It was lovely to know that my musings on creativity resonated. More creativity this fortnight, as I use the Big Bang of Culture to help understand why creativity is an essential part of all of us. You can sign up here.