Squarespace makes a lovely website. But selling art is not the same as selling a mug — editions, certificates, provenance, and originals-plus-prints need tools a general website builder doesn't have. ManageCanvas is built for exactly that.
Squarespace is excellent at design flexibility and general-purpose sites — portfolios, blogs, service businesses. Its templates are polished and its editor is a pleasure. If you just need a good-looking site and generic commerce, it does that well.
| ManageCanvas | Squarespace | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Artists who sell their work | General websites + commerce |
| Certificates of authenticity | Built in, publicly verifiable | Not offered (DIY / plugins) |
| Limited editions | Numbered editions with integrity | Generic product variants |
| Print-on-demand | Built in (museum-grade partners) | Third-party plugin + setup |
| Originals + in-person sales | Originals, POS, scan-to-sell labels | Generic e-commerce |
| Collector CRM + marketing | Built in, art-aware | Add-ons / separate tools |
| Setup | Art catalog ready in minutes | Build + assemble it yourself |
Numbered editions and verifiable certificates are core features, not something you cobble together with plugins and spreadsheets.
Sell a one-of-a-kind original, a limited edition, and open print-on-demand from the same catalog — with the right rules for each.
Show tracking, consignments, opportunities, and a collector CRM that understands editions — not a generic store bolted onto a website.
Choose Squarespace if you want maximum design freedom for a general-purpose site and don't need art-specific selling, editions, or certificates.
Choose ManageCanvas if selling your work — with real editions, certificates, and provenance — is the point, and you'd rather not assemble it from plugins.
Free to start — your catalog, editions, and certificates ready in minutes.