How to Switch from Squarespace to Showit in 7 Easy Steps

If you’re a creative entrepreneur or a service provider, you’ve likely heard about Showit – an intuitive drag-and-drop website platform with complete creative freedom. If your current website is on Squarespace and you’re wondering how to switch from Squarespace to Showit, you’ve come to the right place.

As a brand & web designer, Showit is my platform of choice and I believe that it’s an amazing option for most creatives and service providers, such as copywriters, therapists, artists, wedding professionals, and more.

Switching website platforms can be a daunting task, especially if you’re not well-versed in tech and website design. But don’t worry! In this article, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to smoothly transition from Squarespace to Showit and launch your new site.

Showit vs. Squarespace: Why Make the Switch?

Creative Freedom

Squarespace has long been a popular choice for entrepreneurs and service providers and many small business owners started their creative business on the platform. However, its design flexibility is limited, and constant updates often throw things off, which negatively impacts your website and makes it harder to navigate. Plus, Squarespace is not the best platform for SEO and blog setup.

Showit, on the other hand, comes with almost no design limitations and feels like a breath of fresh air. You can customize literally every aspect of your website, showcasing your unique brand identity and personality. In recent years, building a strong personal brand has become an essential part of running an online business, and Showit’s creative freedom helps you stand out.

Separate Desktop and Mobile Sites

Showit allows you to design two separate versions of your website, a desktop site and a mobile site. More than half of your website visitors are looking at your website on their phone, which means that it has to be fully optimized with a beautiful design and easy navigation.

Desktop versions of websites often end up looking clunky and awkward on mobile, which is why the fact that you can design a separate website just for mobile view on Showit is so important! With a Squarespace site, your desktop site just automatically gets shown on mobile (and often ends up not looking so great 😊).

Better SEO

Showit integrates with WordPress, arguably the best website platform for blogging with impressive SEO capabilities. Your blog posts will be designed on Showit (which means that they’ll look gorgeous), but you’ll publish them through WordPress with access to Yoast and other helpful SEO features. The new blog setup is relatively easy, and the Showit team has great customer support to help you out with it!

In contrast, Squarespace doesn’t integrate with WordPress and its blogging features are quite limited. Overall, it’s not the best platform to grow your blog.

Learn more about the benefits of having a Showit website and the reasons to switch over from Squarespace!

How to Switch from Squarespace to Showit in 7 Simple Steps

1. Set Up Your Showit Account

The first step you should take is to create your Showit account. Showit gives you a free 14-day trial (no credit card required), but with my Showit Design Partner link, you can get your entire first month free!

After your free trial is over, you’ll need to choose your Showit subscription. There are three options available: Showit, Showit & Basic Starter Blog, and Showit & Advanced Blog.

Source: Showit.

You should get the Showit subscription ($19/mo when charged annually) if you’re not planning on having a blog on your Showit website. If you’re going to have a blog, you should get either the Basic ($24/mo) or the Advanced ($34/mo) plan, depending on how robust your blog setup is.

Keep in mind that when you’re switching from Squarespace, the Showit support team will migrate your existing blog posts over (when you choose the Advanced Blog Subscription). Learn more about migrating blog posts from Squarespace.

2. Adjust or Upgrade Your Website Content

Launching a new Showit site is a great opportunity to revamp and improve your existing website content! This is an optional step, but since the Showit platform offers so much more creative freedom, you could experiment with your website copy and just the general flow and layout of your website.

You may also consider creating new content to add to your website (for example, a new lead magnet), refreshing your funnel, or taking new brand photos. You’re going to have to design a new website (more on that step in the next section!), so you may as well use it as an opportunity to create stronger messaging and show how your brand has evolved! 🤩

3. Design Your Showit Website

Now onto the most exciting step of the process (in my completely unbiased opinion) – designing your Showit website! There are three avenues you can take to create your new website: design it from scratch, use a Showit template, or hire a Showit designer.

Start from Scratch

If you’re familiar with website design and are good with tech, you could consider designing your Showit website yourself. The Showit platform offers a drag-and-drop website builder. While it can be a learning curve (especially after being used to Squarespace), it eventually becomes quite intuitive.

That said, I don’t recommend designing your website yourself if you don’t have experience with website design and don’t want to spend long hours watching tutorials and trying to learn it on your own. There are easier ways to do this!

Use a Showit Template

Purchasing a Showit template can be a good way to DIY your Showit website without having to start from scratch. Showit templates are pre-designed website layouts created by professional designers that can serve as a starting point for building a website. You can customize them with your branding, photography, and copy and build a separate desktop and mobile site.

You can expect to spend $300-$800 on a template for your Showit website, which makes it an accessible option. That said, customizing a template can be hard and your website may not end up looking the way you expected it to be. Even though templates are customizable, there are still certain restrictions to them – especially if you’re not familiar with website design.

→ Don’t want to customize your Showit template yourself? I can do it for you for a fraction of the cost of custom design! Get in touch with me to learn more about this service and get your custom quote. 

Hire a Showit Designer

Working with a Showit designer takes the entire process off your hands and allows you to launch a beautiful and intentional Showit website without lifting a finger! It helps you position yourself as the go-to expert in your industry and feel more confident as you grow and evolve your business. Learn more about my Showit design services or browse my portfolio!

4. Request a Blog Migration

Once your new Showit site is designed, it’s time to migrate your existing blog posts over from Squarespace (if you have them). One of the reasons I love Showit is their amazing customer support team. They’ll migrate your Squarespace blog posts to your new Showit website as a part of the Advanced plan (which is the plan you’ll need if you have an existing blog).

If you don’t have an existing blog yet, don’t worry about this step! I’ll set up and connect your blog for you, and create a customized tutorial video to help you understand how to log in for the first time and create your first post!

5. Connect Your Domain

Connecting your domain to Showit is the more technical step of the process, but don’t worry! It’s actually quite easy.

Connecting your domain means that your new Showit website can go live and become accessible to visitors. It’s important to note that Showit does not offer domain registration services. As a result, if you’re switching from Squarespace, I recommend keeping your domain name with Squarespace and connecting it to your Showit site once it’s ready for launch.

Squarespace now owns Google Domains, so keeping your domain on Squarespace streamlines the process and minimizes the workload for you! You’ll need to cancel your subscription with Squarespace and go to your DNS settings to connect your domain. Keep in mind that this can take a couple of days for the new DNS settings to propagate everywhere. Showit has a great article on how to do this!

6. Preview and Test Your Show Website

Once your Showit website is ready to launch, it’s important to take the time to preview and test to make sure everything is working as it’s supposed to.

Start by previewing your website on different devices, including your desktop, phone, and tablet to make sure everything displays correctly and functions seamlessly across various screen sizes and resolutions. Test all buttons, links, and forms to verify that they’re working. And, of course, review your new site again and make any final adjustments to your copy, design, or photography!

7. Hit Publish!

You did it! Your new Showit website is all ready to launch. The only thing left to do is hit publish and share it with your audience! 🥳

How to Switch from Squarespace to Showit FAQs

Why is Showit better than Squarespace?

Both Showit and Squarespace have their strong aspects, but Showit is a better platform for most creative entrepreneurs and service providers like therapists, artists, and photographers. It offers unmatched creative freedom compared to other platforms and allows you to create a unique, beautiful website with a strong personal brand.

Can I use a Squarespace domain on Showit?

Yes, I actually recommend keeping your domain on Squarespace when switching over to Showit, as long as you’re good with the pricing at Squarespace. It’s much easier! Otherwise, there are domain registrars like Hover or GoDaddy that you could pursue, and pricing will depend on the company and specific domain name that you choose.

How do I transfer my domain from Squarespace to Showit?

You don’t need to transfer your domain from Squarespace to Showit. You can simply keep your domain on Squarespace and connect its DNS settings to Showit before you launch!

How much does Showit cost? How does it compare with Squarespace?

There are different subscription plans available for both. Showit pricing ranges from $19/mo to $34/mo when billed annually. Squarespace plans start at $16/mo and can go as high as $49/mo for e-commerce sites when billed annually. Overall, Squarespace and Showit pricing are comparable for websites that are not e-commerce.

Should I hire a Showit designer?

Hiring a Showit designer not only makes the entire process of switching over from Squarespace to Showit much easier, but also allows you to grow your business with a strategic, beautiful, and 100% custom website. For most creatives and service providers, the investment is absolutely worth it! Learn more about my Showit design services or browse my portfolio to see recent client stories.