No Cart? No Problem. How to Create a Beautiful, Custom Shopfront on Squarespace Without Paying for Commerce
Not every business needs a full-blown online store. Maybe you only have a couple of products to sell, or you prefer customers to enquire first rather than purchase through a shopping cart. Or maybe you just want the freedom to design your product pages exactly how you want — without being locked into Squarespace’s store layout or upgrading to a more expensive Commerce plan.
If that sounds like you, good news: there’s a clever workaround that lets you showcase and promote your products online without needing the full e-commerce setup.
This is a great option for anyone wondering how to sell products on Squarespace without paying extra fees or needing a full checkout system.
Create a Squarespace Shopfront Without E-commerce
Instead of using Squarespace’s built-in Store Page and Product Blocks, you can create your own custom “pretend shopfront” using standard Pages.
Design each page to look like a product listing — complete with photos, pricing, product descriptions, and a call-to-action button that links to a contact form, email, or external payment link.
You can also group your “product” pages into a folder and display them using Summary Blocks or a Portfolio layout, so your website still looks like a clean and cohesive online shop — just without the shopping cart.
This approach allows you to sell on Squarespace without using the Commerce features or paying for the Commerce plan.
It’s ideal for:
Makers with a small range of handmade products
Artists and photographers showcasing creative work for sale
Service providers offering packages or custom solutions
Small businesses selling in-person or through social media
Creatives who want full control over their product page layout and design
Sellers who are just starting to add products to their offering and want to test the waters with one or two items before committing to a full e-commerce setup
By using regular pages instead of Product Pages, you can build custom Squarespace product pages that reflect your brand style, with total flexibility over layout, fonts, colours, and content — no templates or restrictions.
Optional: Use Product Pages Without Enabling Checkout
If you're on the Squarespace Business Plan, you can still create a traditional Store Page and add products — without enabling the checkout or shopping cart.
This allows you to take advantage of Squarespace's Product Page layout, image zoom features, and pricing display, while disabling online purchasing. Instead, you can replace the "Add to Cart" button with a custom call-to-action (like "Enquire Now" or "Email to Order") that links to a contact form or external platform like PayPal or Stripe.
This is a great middle-ground option if you want the store layout without setting up a full online checkout.
A Real-World Example
One of my long-time clients, Bev from Third Age Solutions, got in touch with me earlier this year. I originally designed her site back in 2019, and it was due for a refresh — both in terms of design and tech (hello 7.1!).
But the real reason she reached out? She wanted to start selling two simple products — document storage kits for her older clients — and had no idea where to start.
She’d been offering them in person and was thinking about adding them to her site, but assumed she’d need to go down the full e-commerce route. Once I walked her through the added costs of Squarespace Commerce, she wasn’t keen to go there — especially while she’s still testing the market.
Instead, I suggested the “pretend shopfront” approach.
Third Age SolutionI upgraded her site to 7.1, gave it a fresh new look, updated the copy, and added a simple ‘Shop’ landing page that links to two custom product pages. No Commerce plan, no cart — just clear, professional pages that showcase her offerings and make it easy for people to enquire and buy.
It all went live just in time for a local market where she’ll have a stall — and now if someone doesn’t buy on the day, she can simply point them to her website to check out the options and get in touch.
“My business is service-related and I was exploring selling a few products, cautiously ‘dipping my toes in the water’ and not knowing if it would be successful. I was envisaging we had to set-up a full shop facility to receive online orders and payments. Jodi’s experience came through straight-away with her excellent suggestion to start by listing the products for sale on a page with a ‘contact us to buy’ button. This approach has been perfect as I can keep transaction costs low while testing the market. The trial shop page still enables me to have the products ranked on Google and to test how much interest there is.”
BEV WELLS - DIRECTOR, THIRD AGE SOLUTIONS
Limitations of Skipping E-commerce on Squarespace
Before committing to this approach, there are a few things worth considering:
Scalability: If you plan to add more products in the future or open a fully functional online store, creating manual product pages might not be worth the extra time. Squarespace's e-commerce system is more efficient when managing larger inventories.
No automatic checkout or stock tracking: You’ll be managing orders manually — great for one-on-one sales or made-to-order pieces, but time-consuming at scale.
No built-in product filtering or tags: Unlike Store Pages, regular pages won’t support product categories, filters, or search tools.
No shipping calculations or order confirmations: You'll need to handle all customer communication and delivery logistics yourself.
That said, if you're running a small creative business or simply testing out product sales on your website, the benefits of this low-cost, flexible approach might outweigh the limitations — at least to start with.
Why This Works So Well for Small Businesses and Creatives
This DIY Squarespace shopfront method is a favourite among:
Creatives who sell through Instagram, DMs, or email
Artists who make one-of-a-kind pieces
Makers offering commissions or made-to-order work
Service providers offering unique or high-touch packages
Startups wanting to test an idea before going all-in with e-commerce
With no need to pay extra Squarespace commerce fees, and total freedom to build pages that reflect your brand style, this is a smart, strategic way to start selling on Squarespace — your way.
Ready to Build a Custom Shopfront?
If you're a creative, maker, or small business owner who wants to sell products on Squarespace without using checkout or a Commerce plan, this could be the perfect solution.
You get the freedom to build beautiful, branded product pages that feel personal — without dealing with templates, carts, or higher monthly fees.
Want help setting it all up? I help small businesses and creatives design smart, stylish Squarespace websites that work with your budget and goals — including fully custom shopfronts like this one. Get in touch here or follow me on Instagram for more ideas.
