Shopify vs Squarespace for an Online Store in Lebanon (2026): Plans, Cash on Delivery and Which to Pick

A service website has one job: generate inquiries. An online store has a much bigger one: let a customer browse, decide, pay and receive an order without ever speaking to you. That difference settles most of the Shopify vs Squarespace debate. In Lebanon there is a second factor most comparison articles skip: how each platform handles cash on delivery.

Key takeaways

• Shopify is built for selling. Squarespace e-commerce works for a small store attached to an existing service site.
• Cash on delivery is a native option in Shopify. In Squarespace it takes a 100 percent automatic discount plus an announcement bar.
• Almost every new Shopify store should start on Basic; most Squarespace sites should start on Core. Prices move, so check both pricing pages.
• Store setup is the same seven steps on either platform, and product images plus benefit-led descriptions do the selling when you are not in the room.

A service site and a store are different jobs

A store has to handle the full journey, browse, decide, pay and receive, which a service site never does. That means product pages, a cart, a checkout, payment processing, shipping settings and automated customer emails, with the platform managing inventory, payments, taxes and order history behind the scenes.

This is why platform choice matters more for e-commerce. A skincare brand in Beirut shipping fifty orders a week needs a system built for that. A clinic selling two ebooks does not.

Why Shopify is the default for an online store

Shopify is the leading dedicated e-commerce platform, powering millions of online stores worldwide, for five reasons:

• Built for selling: every feature, from product pages to checkout, is designed around e-commerce.
• Easy to use: no coding required, with a clean admin dashboard for products and orders.
• Payment flexibility: major payment gateways plus manual methods such as cash on delivery.
• App ecosystem: thousands of apps for reviews, upsells, shipping tools and marketing features.
• Scales with you: it works for a store with 5 products or 5,000.

Squarespace is best for service businesses, portfolios and small e-commerce. If your site already lives there, its built-in store works well without moving platforms. It is the "already here" option, not the "built for this" option.

The plans compared

The right starting tier on each platform is the cheapest full-store plan. Prices change over time, so check shopify.com/pricing and squarespace.com/pricing before you commit.

Platform	Plan	Who it suits
Shopify	Starter	Selling through social media and messaging apps with a product link, no full store
Shopify	Basic	The standard starting point: full store, checkout and payment features
Shopify	Grow	Growing businesses that need better reporting and lower transaction fees
Shopify	Advanced	Scaling businesses with advanced reporting and international selling
Shopify	Shopify Plus	Enterprise-level, high-volume brands
Squarespace	Basic	Simple websites, portfolios and blogs, no selling tools
Squarespace	Core	Most service businesses: full selling tools, custom code, premium integrations
Squarespace	Plus	Growing online sellers: lower transaction fees, cart recovery
Squarespace	Advanced	High-volume stores: lowest processing rates, full commerce features

Almost every new Shopify store should start on Basic and upgrade only when sales volume justifies the lower transaction fees of a higher tier. On Squarespace, Core is usually the right starting point.

Cash on delivery: native in Shopify, a workaround in Squarespace

Cash on delivery is common across Lebanon and the region, and this is where the two platforms differ most in practice.

In Shopify, COD is built in: go to Settings, then Payments, then Manual payment methods, and add Cash on Delivery. Squarespace has no native COD option, so we teach a workaround:

1. Go to Products and Services, then Discounts.
2. Create a 100 percent automatic discount that applies to all orders.
3. Add an announcement bar at the top of the site explaining the policy, for example: "We deliver in Lebanon only. Pay cash upon delivery. Your checkout total will show $0."

It works, but the checkout shows zero and you cannot mix COD with card payments on the same store. If cash on delivery is your main payment method, that alone is a strong reason to pick Shopify.

Setting up your store in seven steps

The setup process is the same on Shopify and, with small differences, on any platform:

1. Create your store: sign up, choose your store name and select a theme.
2. Configure branding: upload your logo, set your brand colours and fonts from your brand guidelines.
3. Add products: name, description, images, price and variants.
4. Design your store pages: homepage, collection pages and the product page layout.
5. Configure settings: shipping zones and rates, payment methods, taxes, customer accounts.
6. Customise customer emails: order confirmation and shipping notifications.
7. Test and launch: place a test order, verify the full checkout flow, then go live.

On Squarespace the sequence is the same: add a Products and Services section from the sidebar, choose grid or list view for the store page, connect PayPal, Stripe or Squarespace Payments, and turn off test mode after the test order.

Writing product listings that sell

Your product page does a salesperson's job, so every field matters:

• Product name: a clear, engaging title that says what the product actually is.
• Description: lead with benefits, support with features. AI can help you draft and refine.
• Images: high-quality photos from multiple angles. Images sell products online.
• Price: the regular price, plus a sale price when you run promotions.
• Variants: sizes, colours and other options.
• Categories: organise products into collections so people can browse.

The description rule is the one people get wrong. "100% cotton" is a feature. "Soft enough to sleep in" is a benefit. Our features vs benefits guide covers the distinction, and it applies to every product you list.

Which one to pick

Pick Shopify when selling products is the business, and Squarespace when selling is a small addition to a service site that already exists:

Your situation	Pick
The store is the business, any number of products	Shopify
Cash on delivery is your main payment method	Shopify
You need apps for reviews, upsells or shipping	Shopify
You have a Squarespace service site and want to sell a few items	Squarespace
You want one platform for a portfolio, a blog and a small shop	Squarespace

A cafe in Beirut selling branded mugs alongside its menu belongs on Squarespace. A candle brand shipping across Lebanon and the Gulf belongs on Shopify from day one.

The e-commerce launch checklist

Do not announce the store until every item is ticked:

1. Products uploaded with images, descriptions and pricing.
2. Store page and product pages designed.
3. Shipping rates and zones configured.
4. Payment method connected, either a gateway or COD.
5. Customer notification emails customised.
6. Test order placed and verified through the full checkout flow.
7. Test mode turned off if you accept online payments.

Where this is taught

Building the store, the COD setup and the test order are week 4 of the Professional Digital Marketing Associate Diploma, right after the Squarespace service site in week 3. Students set up a trial store with two or three sample products and run one test order before the next session.

Frequently asked questions

Can I run cash on delivery and card payments together in Squarespace? Not cleanly. The workaround applies a 100 percent discount to every order, so the checkout total is always zero. If you want both options on one store, Shopify handles it natively.

Should I start on Shopify Starter to save money? Only if you sell through Instagram or WhatsApp with a product link and do not need a full store. For an actual online store, Basic is the standard starting point.

What is the most common launch mistake? Skipping the test order. Place a real order yourself, check the confirmation email, the shipping notification and the order in the admin, then turn off test mode and go live.