Welcome to the world of web platforms! At East & Eve Creative Co, we understand that choosing a website platform for your business is a crucial step toward building a captivating online presence. In fact, in this day and age – it’s absolutely necessary. We see way too many incredible businesses linking to their Facebook pages (which are completely unable to compete with the power of a made-for-you-and-your-ideal-people website). We BOTH know that your business deserves more than a Facebook page as its digital home! But, we also understand how daunting it can be to choose the platform for your website.

In this blog post, we’re going to take you on a journey through the potential of Showit, Shopify, and Squarespace, and also share why we don’t work with Wix. Our goal is to provide you with the knowledge you need to make an informed decision that aligns with your brand vision, goals, and budget. So, turn up your screen’s brightness (eye-strain begone!!), get comfy, and let’s embark on this creative exploration into website options!

Showit – Unleash Your Creative Vision

Imagine a web platform that serves as a blank canvas, allowing your creative vision to take center stage. That’s Showit! At East & Eve Creative Co., we love working with Showit because it allows for unbridled creativity. With this website platform, we never have to say no to a creative idea. It’s like having a playground for design (and making a brand come to life digitally) where imagination knows no bounds.

One of our favorite aspects of Showit is how it empowers founders to gain intimate knowledge of their own sites. With its intuitive drag-and-drop interface and powerful WordPress blog option, Showit makes it easy for you to take control of your website and develop a deep sense of agency and confidence. Choosing a web platform like Showit is amazing if you value being able to expand or make edits to your site yourself. You deserve to have a site that feels like home, and Showit provides just that. Another perk of Showit: you can create custom mobile experiences to maximize phone-scrolling ease!

When choosing a website platform, you also want to consider how the platform will integrate with other tech or services that help you run your business. Showit offers a growing list of possible integrations, allowing you to expand the capabilities of your website and automate tasks that otherwise steal time away from what you love doing. Some of our favorites include Honeybook and Flodesk, which seamlessly integrate with Showit to enhance your business operations and streamline your workflow. These integrations make it even easier to manage your projects, communicate with clients, and deliver a seamless experience. And here’s a fun fact: the East & Eve CC website itself is a custom Showit site (done in-house of course), showcasing the potential and versatility of this platform.

Selling on Showit

While Showit does allow users to integrate with Shopify Lite – it’s not a great option for folks who want to sell and ship physical products. It’s incredible for people who want to advertise their podcasts and sell digital products like templates or courses, but it will be tedious for anyone needing to deal with shipping. Our current favourite way to sell digitally is through Flodesk Checkouts – which makes selling and sharing digital products and offerings – oh so easy. Want an example? Check out our Guided Growth Sessions page – which was designed and hosted in Flodesk.

Shopify – Elevate Your E-Commerce Experience

If you’re in the business of selling products, Shopify is the e-commerce powerhouse that will take your online store to new heights. At East & Eve Creative Co., we understand the importance of delivering a seamless and delightful shopping experience for your customers. Shopify takes third-party integration options to the next level, making it an easy choice for folks who expect their e-commerce sales to be off-the-charts.

It’s the sheer amount of integrations available to support your e-commerce presence and drive sales that sit as one of the standout benefits of Shopify. From automatic abandoned cart reminders to third-party payment plan options, Shopify provides you with the tools you need to optimize your online store. Choosing a website platform like Shopify positions you to grow your business quickly – scaling by utilizing the most powerful e-commerce tools available.

However, it’s worth noting that while Shopify allows for ingenious integrations (to make a site functionally custom in its sales processes), the available Shopify templates can sometimes feel lackluster and generic. We’re sure we’ve all stumbled upon a Shopify store that was loaded up with listings but just feels “typical” and visually boring. That’s why we highly recommend taking that basic template and customizing it to let your beautiful brand shine. We understand the importance of creating a visually stunning website that aligns with your brand’s essence. That’s why we are here to support you in transforming your Shopify store into a unique and captivating online destination.

Budgeting for the power of Shopify:

When it comes to development costs, it’s important to consider the investment range of e-commerce customization. It’s pricey. A completely custom Shopify storefront can range between $25-100K – and take months to complete. For small to medium-sized businesses, Shopify template customization is much more affordable – but generally costs more than Showit or Squarespace development. Once your customization is completed, you will want to ensure you have a small budget every year for site maintenance by a developer to ensure your site looks its best through the years. We understand that your virtual storefront is what makes the difference in driving sales, and we’re dedicated to helping you create a compelling and engaging customer experience. (While keeping your budget in mind).

Squarespace – Versatility and Simplicity Combined

Squarespace strikes a balance between versatility and simplicity, making it a popular choice for many businesses. At East & Eve Creative Co., we appreciate how Squarespace offers an easy-to-navigate website-building experience while allowing you to showcase your work, engage your audience, and elevate your brand.

One of the reasons we love Squarespace is its slick templates that are ready to be customized to fit your brand’s needs. These templates provide a strong foundation, reducing development costs while maintaining a visually appealing design. Squarespace also offers a variety of marketing tools that come with your subscription, such as email marketing, analytics, and ad campaigns. These built-in features can be incredibly beneficial for managing and promoting your business all in one place.

One disadvantage of Squarespace is that when working with custom code (to customize an existing template) – you will have to watch out for code breaks. This can happen when Squarespace makes updates to the backend of their platform, disrupting the custom code that influences how your site looks or functions. This doesn’t happen frequently, but when it does – it can require an hour or two of development work to rectify. If you aren’t comfortable with HTML or Javascript and choose to customize your Squarespace website, we’d recommend budgeting for a few hours of “maintenance” development work every year.

A note for Canadian business owners with an IRL storefront:

It’s important to be aware that Squarespace currently doesn’t offer integration with a POS system for Canadian businesses that have both online and in-person sales. Basically, you can use Square (which fully integrates for their American customers) but your in-person sales won’t reflect on your online inventory and vice versa. We understand the value of seamless inventory management, and we’re hopeful that Squarespace will introduce this feature in the future. As passionate advocates for our clients, we regularly communicate with Squarespace about the need for this integration, and hope it’s coming down the pipeline!

Why We Don’t Work with Wix

At East & Eve Creative Co., we believe in providing our clients with web platforms that offer a seamless and customizable experience. While Wix is a popular free website builder, we have chosen not to work with it for several reasons. Firstly, we’ve found that Wix is not as user-friendly as other platforms, making it challenging to execute your brand vision without restrictions. We want you to have the freedom to fully express your most wildly imaginative ideas, and we’ve found that Wix can be creatively restrictive. Your site deserves to look better than the other Wix websites currently floating around the internet!

Additionally, we’ve had multiple clients approach us with concerns about their inquiries and responses through Wix platforms ending up in spam or junk mail. As a growing business, reliable communication is vital, and we want to ensure that your messages reach your customers without any issues. We believe that running a business should be stress-free, and Wix’s unreliability doesn’t align with our commitment to providing exceptional experiences. When choosing a website platform – we’d recommend you skip this one!

Our Approach to Building Your Dream Website

One of the biggest challenges a business faces when investing in a website (beyond choosing a website platform) is assembling the right team for the job. Finding the right web designer is great, but you need a visual identity for that web designer to work with. You don’t just need a developer who can take the designer’s wireframes and make a functional website – you also need a copywriter so your site is full of content that reads like you’re speaking to your ideal client directly. That copywriter is going to want to see your brand strategy (think: tone, voice, and positioning) to ensure their words resonate. You are also going to want to find service providers who have an understanding of SEO best practices, UX design, and sales psychology.

A website is a digital ecosystem that relies on a variety of specialties and requires a business to have a holistic brand in place. At East & Eve, we love working with business owners to craft an intentional online space for your brand’s offerings can live and make connections with the right people. We’ve structured our website packages so they really are a one-stop-shop, no dream-team assembly required. When working with us, you’ll have access to a brand strategist, copywriter, talented graphic designers who focus on brand and web design, and developers who specialize in your website platform of choice. We intentionally work with multi-disciplinary artists and designers whose backgrounds give them a vital understanding and respect for all the moving parts that come together to build a functionally beautiful website experience.

Making the Right Choice

Choosing a website platform for your creative business is like finding a trusted partner that understands and amplifies your unique voice – giving you a digital place to be heard. At East & Eve, we specialize in guiding founders like you through this decision-making process. Whether you’re looking to unleash your creative vision with Showit, elevate your e-commerce experience with Shopify, or embrace the versatility of Squarespace, we’re here to provide the expertise and support you need. Our unique approach ensures a collaborative experience where your brand’s story comes to life. We’re here to create digital spaces that feel like an extension of the in-person world-building you put so much effort into.

Eager to have a site of your own that feels like a true reflection of your brand’s personality and potential? We’d love to learn more about your brand’s mission and your must-haves for a dream website. Fill out a project application to get a complimentary discovery session with us!