2023 Squarespace Template Industry Report
Table of Contents
1. Overview
2. Average Pricing for Third-Party Squarespace Templates
3. Annual Sales Volume of Templates Sold in 2022
4. Annual Revenue from Template Sales in 2022
5. Percentage of Total Income from Template Sales
6. Average Revenue by Tenure of Business
7. Variety of Unique Templates offered
8. Top Categories or Niches of Templates
9. Frequency of New Template Releases
10. Template Marketplaces
11. Organic Marketing Strategies
12. Paid Marketing Strategies
13. Customization Options Provided to Customers
14. Customer Support Channels Used
15. Market Challenges
16. Opportunities and Keys for Growth
17. Courses on Selling Templates
Overview
Welcome to our First annual Squarespace Template Industry Report.
This report offers insights into current revenue numbers, product offerings, and marketing strategies across the industry.
Based on this data, the Squarespace template shop industry is estimated to have a gross merchandise value (GMV) between $1.5M and $3M. Since its humble beginnings in 2015, the industry has expanded to over 70 active shops as of 2023.
This growth, however, is not without its challenges as many designers grapple to establish and maintain profitable template shops amid platform changes, shifting demand and increasing competition.
A Disclaimer on the Data
This report uses anonymized data drawn from a market-wide survey of designers in the field. As we do not have direct involvement in the transactions of these design shops, the actual figures presented could be higher or lower than what's reported.
We're continuously working to enhance the quality of our data going forward. These numbers should provide you with an indication of the trends and patterns occurring in the marketplace.
Finally, this report and its data are not intended to provide legal, financial, or any other professional advice. It has been compiled to offer insights into the Squarespace template industry for informational purposes only.
Average Pricing for third-Party Squarespace Templates
Almost half of the Squarespace templates sold fall within a moderate price bracket of $200-$300. Templates costing between $100-$500 make up the majority of the remaining market, while those at extreme ends of the pricing spectrum (under $100 or over $1000) represent a minimal share.
Annual Sales Volume of Templates Sold in 2022
Based on our survey, the majority of Squarespace template shops sold between 10 to 50 templates last year (2022). This indicates a moderately active market for most sellers, with a few outliers achieving impressive sales of over 500 templates.
Annual Revenue from Template Sales in 2022
The revenue from Squarespace templates last year varied across template shops. A significant number of shops earned between $5,000 and $50,000, demonstrating a healthy income from template sales for a good portion of the market. Fewer shops reported earnings in the extremes, with a handful earning less than $1,000, while some enjoyed revenues above $50,000, with a few surpassing the $100,000 mark.
Percentage of Total Income from Template Sales
The majority of the template designers make less than 50% of their total income from template sales, suggesting this might be more of a supplemental income play.
Average Revenue by Tenure of business
Average template revenue increases with the length of time a business has been operational.
Variety of unique Templates offered
The number of unique Squarespace templates offered by businesses.
Top Categories or Niches of Templates
The industry leans towards creative and portfolio templates, along with those designed for business and corporate uses.
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Frequency of New Template Releases
How often new templates are released.
Template Marketplaces
The percentage of shops listed on different platforms.
1. Creative Market:
Creative Market is an online marketplace for design assets such as graphics, templates, fonts, web themes from independent creators around the world.
2. Etsy:
Etsy is a global online marketplace that focuses on unique and creative goods including digital goods.
3. SQSP Themes:
SQSP Themes is a curated directory of Squarespace templates and a hub for related products and services.
4. Ghost Marketplace:
The Ghost Marketplace is a marketplace dedicated specifically to Squarespace templates, plugins and courses.
Organic Marketing Strategies
The data shows the percentage of businesses making use of different organic marketing strategies.
Paid Marketing Strategies
The majority of businesses (68.75%) do not use any paid marketing strategies.
Customization Options Provided to Customers
Most shops provide done for you installs with less that half offering more customization options.
Customer Support Channels Used
Email support is the preferred customer support channel.
Market Challenges
Marketing and getting site visitors to convert into customers.
Communicating the value of the templates and differentiating them from others.
Dealing with increased competition and lower price ranges.
Balancing time between creating new templates and other tasks like a ft-job.
Keeping up with platform changes and ensuring tutorials are up-to-date.
SEO and getting on the first page of Google.
Managing client expectations and keeping up with constant updates.
Manual transfer of templates.
opportunities and Keys for growth
Native Template Installs
The technical barrier of switching and installing 3rd party templates has always been a hurdle for this market. Squarespace making that possible could open up a significant opportunity.
Differentiated Marketing Strategy
In a small market, having a clearly differentiated strategy and selling proposition is key. This could involve focusing on a specific niche, offering superior customer service, or providing additional value through add-ons or comprehensive service offerings. Focusing on more niche industries beyond the creative sphere, while smaller volume can reach untapped markets.
Comprehensive Offering
Templates can be more appealing when they are part of a suite of products and services. Offering add-ons that simplify the process for the customer can increase the value of the templates. This could include design services, process templates, email templates, various graphic design templates, customization, SEO optimization, or even industry specific training and tutorials.
Resilience and Adaptability
The ability to adapt to changes in the market, whether it's new design trends or changes in the Squarespace platform, is crucial.
Courses on Selling Templates
Several designers have created courses based on their experience.
The Template Factory
"Template Factory" is a practical and comprehensive guide that offers step-by-step instructions to building and launching a Squarespace template shop.
The training covers template creation, setting up a template kit, selling techniques, pricing, and providing after-sale support. It also comes with ongoing learning opportunities, a like-minded community, and one-on-one support.
Scale with Templates
Led by Kate Scott, the course provides step-by-step guidance on choosing a niche, designing templates, delivering them to customers, pricing, marketing, and launching.
The course includes modules on customer identification, template creation, sales strategies, and launch planning. By enrolling in the course, participants gain access to bonus materials such as sales page copy templates, launch sequence copy templates, and customer email sequence templates.
Elevate with Templates
Join Erica, CEO of Big Cat Creative, in a free training session focused on helping Squarespace web designers transition into running a successful Squarespace template shop. In this training, participants will learn a key step to set up their template shop for success, the benefits of becoming a Squarespace Circle member, how to create live demos of templates, and tips for efficiently sending Squarespace templates to customers' accounts.
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