Squarespace Shipping Options
There are four shipping options to choose from when setting up your E-Commerce store.
We’ll walk you through the advantages and disadvantages of each option, as well as identify which store the particular option is well suited for.
Let's identify the right shipping method for your store!
Squarespace Shipping Options
1. Flat Shipping Rate
A simple shipping option that lets you set a shipping price based on the number of items in an order. Applies a Per Item fee that doesn’t account for product weight.
Under the Flat Rate shipping option you can charge a Per Order fee in addition to the Per Item fee you have set; the Per Oder fee will apply to any order, regardless of the total number of items.
For Example: if your Per Order fee is $5 and Per Item fee is $1, a customer who purchases 3 items will pay $8 in shipping costs ($5 + $1 + $1 +$1 = $8)
Advantages:
a great selling point to advertise on your website
customers can easily calculate their shipping costs before they check out
Disadvantages: if you sell a product that is significantly heavier than others in your store you will be unable to create a different shipping option for this product
Recommended for: stores where products are roughly the same weight and size (i.e. Jewelry store)
2. Shipping Rates by Weight
This option allows you to set shipping charges based on the total order weight. We will create ranges to cover your various products.
For Example:
a customer purchases 5 products from your store for a combine weight of 8 lbs. Customer will automatically be charged the 8 lb shipping rate
i.e. 0 - 5 lbs: $10 shipping, 5 - 10 lbs: $20 shipping, etc.
note: if you choose this option we will discuss what you want these parameters to be before launching your site
Advantages: allows you to vary shipping prices based on total order weight
Disadvantages: doesn’t account for actual size dimensions of items (just weight) or shipping distance
Recommended for: stores with items that are roughly the same size but vary significantly in weight
3. Carrier Calculated Shipping
This option allows you to automatically calculate shipping costs based on rates from FedEx, UPS, or USPS by factoring a package’s weight, dimensions, and shipping address. If you choose this option we will manually upload each physical product package’s dimensions (length x width x height) and weight to your store which will then synch with your shipping provider’s rates.
For Example: customers put in an order and shipping costs are automatically calculated when they enter their shipping address
Advantages: this is the most precise shipping option as it accounts for location, weight, and dimensions for each order
Disadvantages:
your customers will not know what their shipping costs are until they check out
limited to domestic shipping within the continental US
must be on the Advanced hosting plan ($46 / mo)
shopping cart maxes out at 150 products (default is 500 items) to ensure estimates are accurate (anything larger interferes with the provider’s shipping algorithms resulting in an inaccurate shipping estimate)
Recommended for:
stores with larger items where increased distance adds a lot of overhead
stores that have many different types of items that require varying shipping costs
stores where the cost of shipping is a significant % of the price
4. Free Shipping
Free shipping is our preferred shipping option. This is primarily because Amazon has completely spoiled consumers with free two-day shipping.
So much, in fact, that most people these days have come to expect free shipping with their purchases and actually scoff at having to pay shipping costs when shopping elsewhere.
Of course as small business owners we don’t come anywhere near having the same logistical operation capabilities of Amazon.
So how can we offer free shipping to our customers?
It’s simple, actually.
Free Shipping is a wonderful marketing tool as you can build your shipping price into the cost of the product.
Your overhead will be the same but customers get the satisfaction of having their items shipped for free.
