Squarespace’s pitch is fundamentally different from a marketplace’s: build your own branded website, fully under your own control, rather than operating a storefront inside someone else’s platform. That control is real and valuable. It also means Squarespace brings no built-in buyer traffic of its own, every visitor has to be driven there by the artist directly. This piece compares Squarespace’s own-site model against Immibrand’s built-in marketplace discovery.
Neither model is a universal answer, the right fit depends heavily on how much existing traffic-driving capability an artist already has versus how much they’re relying on a platform to bring buyers to them.
In this article:
- How Squarespace’s Model Actually Works
- The Core Trade-Off: No Built-In Discovery
- SEO Potential: Independent Site vs. Marketplace Listing
- How Immibrand’s Model Compares
- Why a Fixed Monthly Cost Is a Real Risk for a New Seller
- Who Handles Technical Setup and Maintenance
- When Squarespace’s Model Fits an Artist Well
- When Immibrand’s Marketplace Model Fits Better
- How Payment Processing Works on Each Platform
- Using Both, Not Choosing Permanently Between Them
- Owning Your Own Domain vs. a Marketplace Subdomain
- Best For
- Frequently Asked Questions
How Squarespace’s Model Actually Works
Understanding the actual cost and control structure is the starting point for a fair comparison.
A Monthly Subscription, Not a Commission
Squarespace charges a monthly subscription, roughly $16-99 depending on the plan tier, rather than taking a percentage of each sale, plus a small transaction fee, around 2% on its cheapest commerce-enabled tier, that decreases or disappears entirely on higher-priced plans.
Complete Control Over Design and Branding
Since a Squarespace site is fully the artist’s own, independent of any shared marketplace template or branding, an artist has complete creative control over how their site looks, what content surrounds their work, and how their overall brand is presented, unlike a marketplace storefront constrained by that platform’s shared design system.
The Core Trade-Off: No Built-In Discovery
This single factor is often the deciding one for artists weighing an independent site against a marketplace.
A Squarespace site, however beautifully designed, has zero inherent buyer traffic of its own, every single visitor has to be driven there through the artist’s own marketing, social media, search engine optimization, paid ads, or existing following. A marketplace, by contrast, brings some baseline discovery traffic simply by virtue of buyers already browsing that marketplace’s own search and categories.
SEO Potential: Independent Site vs. Marketplace Listing
Beyond immediate traffic, long-term search visibility follows a genuinely different pattern on each platform.
An independent Squarespace site gives an artist full control over search engine optimization, page structure, metadata, and content strategy, potentially building long-term organic search traffic entirely under the artist’s own domain. A marketplace listing’s SEO benefit is more limited to that specific listing page and depends heavily on the marketplace’s own overall domain authority and search visibility, something an individual seller doesn’t control directly.
How Immibrand’s Model Compares
Placing the two side by side makes the structural differences easy to see at a glance.
| Factor | Squarespace | Immibrand |
|---|---|---|
| Cost structure | Monthly subscription ($16-99) + ~2% fee on cheapest tier | Free to start, sliding commission on sales |
| Built-in buyer traffic | None, artist must drive all traffic themselves | Marketplace discovery traffic built in |
| Design and branding control | Complete, fully independent site | Shared marketplace template, individual artist profile pages |
| Ongoing cost regardless of sales | Yes, subscription due whether or not anything sells | No, cost is tied to actual sales activity |
The fundamental trade is control and independence versus built-in discovery and no fixed monthly cost. Neither is universally better, they solve different problems for a seller in a different position.
Why a Fixed Monthly Cost Is a Real Risk for a New Seller
This specific risk deserves its own attention beyond the general cost comparison above.
A subscription due every month regardless of whether anything actually sold is a genuine risk for an artist still building their audience and traffic sources, a slow month still costs the same subscription fee, unlike a commission-based model where cost scales directly with actual sales. This matters most for an artist without an already-established following capable of reliably driving traffic to an independent site.
Who Handles Technical Setup and Maintenance
Design control comes with a corresponding responsibility worth naming clearly.
An independent Squarespace site requires the artist to handle their own site setup, page design, and ongoing maintenance decisions, even with Squarespace’s relatively user-friendly builder tools, this is genuinely more hands-on than a marketplace storefront, where the platform itself handles all underlying technical infrastructure and template maintenance.
When Squarespace’s Model Fits an Artist Well
Given everything above, a clear picture emerges of who benefits most from this specific model.
Squarespace fits an artist who already has a meaningful, established following, social media, an email list, or existing word-of-mouth reputation, capable of reliably driving buyers to an independent site without depending on marketplace discovery at all. It also fits an artist who values complete creative control over their site’s design and overall brand presentation more than built-in traffic.
When Immibrand’s Marketplace Model Fits Better
The opposite set of priorities points toward a different kind of seller.
Immibrand fits an artist who doesn’t yet have an established following capable of independently driving consistent site traffic, and who wants to start selling immediately without taking on a fixed monthly cost while still building that following. The marketplace’s own discovery traffic provides a baseline that an independent site simply doesn’t have on day one.
How Payment Processing Works on Each Platform
One cost layer stays constant no matter which platform an artist chooses.
Both platforms rely on standard payment processing infrastructure underneath their own fee structures, an artist should expect normal card processing fees to apply on either platform, separate from Squarespace’s subscription cost or Immibrand’s commission. Neither platform eliminates this baseline processing cost, it’s a separate layer from the platform-level fee comparison covered above.
Using Both, Not Choosing Permanently Between Them
This decision doesn’t have to be permanent or exclusive, many artists eventually combine both approaches.
Many artists eventually use both, starting on a marketplace to build initial traction and a following without fixed costs, then adding an independent site later once they have enough of an audience to justify the subscription and drive real traffic to it themselves. This isn’t an either-or decision locked in permanently, it’s a sequencing question that can shift as an artist’s following grows.
Owning Your Own Domain vs. a Marketplace Subdomain
An independent Squarespace site typically runs on the artist’s own custom domain, a durable, portable web address the artist controls entirely, independent of any single platform’s continued existence. A marketplace storefront generally lives on that marketplace’s own domain structure, meaningful as long as the marketplace itself remains the artist’s chosen selling channel, but not something the artist owns or can take elsewhere directly.
Best For
Squarespace fits an artist with an established following who values complete site control and is comfortable driving their own traffic. Immibrand fits an artist earlier in building their following, who wants marketplace discovery traffic and no fixed monthly cost while that following grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Squarespace charge a commission on sales?
It charges a monthly subscription plus a small transaction fee (around 2%) on its cheapest commerce tier, that fee decreases or disappears on higher-priced plans, rather than a sliding commission model.
Does Squarespace bring any built-in buyer traffic?
No, a Squarespace site has no inherent discovery traffic, every visitor has to be driven there through the artist’s own marketing efforts.
Is Squarespace’s subscription cost due even if nothing sells?
Yes, the monthly subscription is due regardless of sales activity, a real risk for a seller without consistent, established traffic sources.
Does Immibrand offer the same level of design control as an independent Squarespace site?
No, Immibrand uses a shared marketplace template with individual artist profile customization, not the fully independent design control a standalone site offers.
Can an artist use both a marketplace and an independent Squarespace site?
Yes, many artists start on a marketplace to build traction, then add an independent site later once they have enough following to justify it.
Which is better for a brand-new artist with no existing following?
Generally a marketplace like Immibrand, since it provides baseline discovery traffic an independent site simply doesn’t have without an already-established audience.
Does Squarespace or Immibrand offer better long-term SEO potential?
An independent Squarespace site offers more control over long-term organic search strategy under the artist’s own domain, while a marketplace listing’s SEO benefit depends more on that marketplace’s own overall domain authority.
Is Squarespace more technically demanding to maintain than a marketplace storefront?
Yes, an independent site requires the artist to handle their own setup and ongoing maintenance, even with user-friendly tools, a marketplace storefront handles the underlying technical infrastructure directly.
Does either platform charge standard card processing fees separately?
Yes, both rely on standard payment processing infrastructure underneath their own platform-level fees, this baseline cost applies regardless of which platform an artist chooses.
Should an artist choose one platform permanently, or can they use both?
Many artists use both over time, starting on a marketplace to build traction, then adding an independent site later once they have enough of a following to justify it.
For building an owned audience that could eventually support an independent site, see the email list guide. And for how commission-based marketplace costs compare more broadly, here’s the Etsy comparison.
Ready to start selling without a fixed monthly cost while you build your following? Sign up to sell on Immibrand, it’s free to start.
