Squarespace to Webflow Migration Guide

Begin by exporting your product data through Squarespace's Commerce settings as a CSV file, which includes product names, descriptions, prices, and inventory. For blog content and pages, use the WordPress export feature in Settings > Advanced > Import/Export to generate an XML file. Note that Squarespace's export limitations mean you'll need to manually collect customer data and order history if required. Document your current site structure, including navigation menus, custom CSS, and any third-party integrations before proceeding.

Create your Webflow account and select an appropriate plan that includes e-commerce functionality (Business plan minimum for basic e-commerce, E-commerce plan for advanced features). Set up your new project by choosing 'Start from scratch' to maximize design flexibility, which aligns with your migration goals. Configure your project settings including site name, timezone, and basic SEO settings. Enable Webflow E-commerce in your project settings to unlock product management and checkout functionality.

Leverage Webflow's visual development capabilities by creating your site structure from scratch, designing custom templates for product pages, collection pages, and content pages. Build responsive layouts using Webflow's flexbox and grid systems, ensuring your design surpasses your previous Squarespace limitations. Create dynamic collection templates for products and blog posts, setting up the CMS structure that will house your imported content. Focus on creating a scalable design system with reusable components and consistent styling.

Set up your product collection structure in Webflow CMS, creating custom fields that match your Squarespace product data including variants, SKUs, categories, and custom attributes. Configure product option sets for variants like size, color, and material, taking advantage of Webflow's unlimited variant capability compared to Squarespace's 250 variant limit. Set up collection fields for SEO metadata, product images, and any custom fields specific to your business needs. Create category and tag collections if your products require complex organization.

Import your product data using Webflow's CSV import feature, mapping your Squarespace product fields to your newly created Webflow collection fields. Process your WordPress XML export file to extract blog posts and page content, then manually import this content into appropriate Webflow CMS collections. Upload and organize product images through Webflow's asset manager, ensuring proper file naming and optimization. Handle any content formatting issues that arise from the migration, particularly with rich text content and embedded media.

Configure Webflow's integrated payment processing through Stripe, which handles credit cards, digital wallets, and other payment methods. Set up your Stripe account if you don't have one, ensuring it's properly connected to your business banking information. Configure payment settings including accepted currencies, payment methods, and checkout behavior in your Webflow e-commerce settings. Test the payment flow thoroughly in Webflow's staging environment before going live, ensuring all transactions process correctly and confirmation emails are sent.

Set up your shipping zones and rates in Webflow's e-commerce settings, replicating your existing Squarespace shipping configuration. Create shipping rules based on location, weight, price, or product type as needed for your business model. Configure shipping providers if you use calculated rates, or set up flat-rate and free shipping thresholds. Set up shipping confirmation emails and tracking integration if you use specific shipping software or services that integrate with Webflow.

Configure tax settings in Webflow based on your business location and sales tax requirements, setting up tax rates for different regions where you're required to collect sales tax. Enable automatic tax calculation through Stripe Tax integration if you sell to multiple states or countries, or manually configure tax rates for simpler setups. Set up tax-exempt customer handling if applicable to your business model. Ensure your tax settings comply with local regulations and match your previous Squarespace configuration.

Complete the migration of your blog posts, pages, and other content from your WordPress export into Webflow's CMS collections. Format and clean up content that may have lost formatting during the export process, paying special attention to images, links, and embedded content. Set up your blog structure with appropriate categories and tags, ensuring your content organization matches or improves upon your Squarespace setup. Configure dynamic content displays and create any necessary filtered views or search functionality for your content.

Create a comprehensive redirect strategy to maintain SEO value by mapping all your Squarespace URLs to their new Webflow equivalents. Use Webflow's built-in redirect manager to set up 301 redirects for all pages, products, and blog posts, ensuring no broken links when you switch domains. Pay special attention to product URLs, category pages, and any custom pages that may have different URL structures between platforms. Export your redirect list and keep it as documentation for future reference.

Connect your custom domain to Webflow by updating your DNS settings or transferring your domain registration to Webflow. Configure SSL certificates through Webflow's automatic SSL provisioning to ensure secure connections for your e-commerce site. Set up any necessary subdomain redirects and ensure your www and non-www versions resolve correctly. Update your DNS records for any third-party services like email hosting that need to continue working with your domain.