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Switching from Squarespace: a 14-day refund window and a partial export
Updated Oct 15, 2026
Export products and contacts as CSV files and site content as a WordPress .xml file, then import them at the new platform. Images don't export in bulk, and store pages don't export at all. Transfer the domain with a code that should arrive within 24 hours; transfers can take up to 15 days. Annual plans are refundable only within 14 days of purchase; monthly plans aren't.
The steps
- Step 1 · May take a few minutes for the .xml export, depending on the site's content · No fee stated
Export products, contacts and site content
Squarespace exports products and contacts to .csv files and site content to a WordPress-format .xml file. The site must be active and published to export content.
source - Step 2 · not stated on its pages · No fee stated
Save images and anything the export skips
Images and videos can't be exported in bulk; download images one at a time from the Asset library. Store pages, style settings and custom CSS don't export.
source - Step 3 · not stated on its pages · $99 a year (WooCommerce extension); no fee stated for CSV imports
Import into the new platform
WooCommerce sells a Squarespace importer extension for products, customers and orders. Shopify publishes a Squarespace guide using its CSV templates. BigCommerce imports products and customers by CSV.
source - Step 4 · Code should arrive within 24 hours; transfer can take up to 15 days · No Squarespace transfer fee stated; a free domain offer doesn't carry over
Transfer or repoint your domain
Request the transfer authentication code; it should arrive within 24 hours. A recently purchased domain may have a 60-day lock, but you can point it at the new site meanwhile.
source - Step 5 · Annual plans end immediately, per its guide (which also offers Retain Access); monthly plans at the end of the cycle · Refund only on annual plans within 14 days of purchase
Cancel the website subscription
Cancel in the Billing panel. The cancel options are Retain Access, to the end of the cycle, or Get Refund Immediately, in the refund window. But the same guide says cancelling an annual plan ends service at once; plan for that worse reading.
source
Carries over
- Products and contacts export as CSV files
- WooCommerce imports products, customers and orders straight from Squarespace
- Squarespace preserves your data after you cancel, in case you reactivate
- The domain transfers out with a code that should arrive within 24 hours
What you lose
- No bulk export of images or videos
- Store pages, style settings and custom CSS don't export
- No refund on monthly plans or after 14 days on annual plans
- A free domain offer doesn't carry over to the new registrar
Where to switch to
| Destination | Price from | Visit |
|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce No affiliate relationship | $0 per month | Visit WooCommerceOn woocommerce.com |
| Shopify No affiliate relationship | $29 per month | Visit ShopifyOn shopify.com |
| BigCommerce No affiliate relationship | $29 per month | Visit BigCommerceOn bigcommerce.com |
Squarespace lets you take some of your store with you, not all of it. Here is what exports, how the domain moves, and what cancelling costs, from the companies' own pages, read Sep 30, 2026.
What exports and what doesn't
Squarespace's import and export guide lists three exports: site content to an .xml file, products to a .csv file, and contacts to a .csv file. The .xml file is in WordPress format, and the export guide says the site must be active and published to create it.
The gaps are large for a store. You can't export images or uploaded videos in bulk; you download images one at a time from the Asset library. The .xml export leaves out store pages, style settings and custom CSS, and it takes only one blog. Save what you need before you cancel.
Moving your domain
To transfer a Squarespace domain, you request a transfer authentication code, which "should be received within 24 hours". The transfer "can take up to 15 days". A recently purchased domain may have a 60-day lock; you can point it at the new site while you wait. The page names no transfer fee, but a free domain offer doesn't carry over to the new provider.
Squarespace says to transfer the domain first and cancel the website afterwards. Domains are billed separately: they stay yours and keep auto-renewing after the site plan ends.
Cancelling and refunds
You cancel in the Billing panel. The same guide says cancelling an annual plan "ends your service immediately and takes your site offline", while a monthly plan runs to the end of its cycle. The same page also offers Retain Access, which keeps the site to the end of the billing cycle. The page contradicts itself, so assume the worse reading: an annual site may go offline the moment you cancel. Cancel only once the new store is live.
Refunds are narrow. Squarespace gives a full refund on annual plans cancelled within 14 days of purchase, by request form. Monthly plans and annual plans after 14 days get nothing, and a free domain's cost comes off an early refund. Squarespace's Basic plan is $25 a month, or $19 a month billed annually.
After you cancel, Squarespace preserves your data in case you reactivate, and you can still log in to manage billing, domains and past commerce data. But exporting content needs an active, published site, so export before you cancel. It gives no retention period, and it deletes sites of owners inactive "for a while", so export early.
Where to move
- WooCommerce. The Migrate Import Squarespace extension costs $99 for a 1-year plan and moves products, customers and orders. The plugin itself is free, with no monthly subscription; hosting runs $25 to $350 a month for most stores, per its pricing page. A product CSV importer is built in.
- Shopify. Shopify publishes its own guide to migrating from Squarespace. You export CSV files from Squarespace and need to edit them before importing to Shopify. Order history needs a third-party app. You can also hire a Shopify Partner; no price is given. Shopify's Basic plan is $39 a month, or $29 billed yearly.
- BigCommerce. It names no Squarespace importer; its free app lists Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce and Volusion. You can import products by CSV, but orders can't come in that way, according to its migration options page. Its Data Migration Services team handles more than 50 platforms, price not stated. Core is $39 a month, or $29 billed annually.
Prices from Squarespace's, WooCommerce's, Shopify's and BigCommerce's pricing pages, read Sep 25, 2026 (BigCommerce's page re-read Oct 9, 2026).
Who should switch now, and who should wait
If you bought an annual plan in the last 14 days, decide now: that is the only refund window. Otherwise, move before the renewal date, and don't cancel until the new store works. Compare platforms in our ecommerce platform ranking and the methodology.