Instagram Shopping and Squarespace

After a lot of searching and reading I have come to no resolution on the matter of connecting my Squarespace products for Instagram shopping, a process which has been quite unsuccessful since I first tried almost 6 moths ago.

Of course I followed all the standard guides (Facebook business manager account was created and connected to all appropriate IG/FB accounts. Catalogue was set up from Squarespace data feeds and permissions granted for the catalogue correctly. Our IG page was set to business etc)

The request to connect IG shopping and Squarespace was made and subsequently denied as I'm sure for many others.

My confusion started here, as we fully abide by the set up requirements for shopping on instagram, Facebooks merchant agreement and commerce policies, as well as following all technical guides available.

I tried multiple times to go back to normal user on IG and remove catalogue again and try all steps in another order etc. to see if it was a particular combination that worked, but unfortunately, not.

In terms of support to try to fix this, I'm left now with the same Squarespace support, IG and Facebook articles all pointing out how to do the steps I already did, with no direct contact for IG etc. to try to get a solution.

I tried submitting bug reports, copyright, complaints, ad support etc. on both IG and FB to try to get anyone, anywhere on correspondence from support, but nothing. It seems to be the normal story for those denied shopping on IG.

However after a bit more searching and reading, I went more in depth with IG/FB terms for using instagram shopping and was interested to note that Squarespace is actually not listed in IGs own examples of ecommerce platform that you can connect (only Shopify and Bigcommerce).

The even bigger point of interest for me is that Squarespace isn't listed anywhere in IGs wider documentation for connecting ecommerce platforms.

Is it possible to connect Squarespace to IG shopping?

Is IG shopping really a one shot deal for approval?

Do I have no chance to connect shopping to my IG from Squarespace at all?

Help!

@tlscom there is a step by step guide here thats different then what Squarespace says https://blog.kicksta.co/use-instagram-market-squarespace-ecommerce/ did you follow these steps? I'd be interested to know if it works

@milan, sorry for the long delay in my reply.

I followed the guide that you sent through to the letter and the approval process was denied again.

Completely at a loss to how to solve this issue, despite having all requirements in place.

Are there any other avenues I can explre to try to get this resolved?

@tlscom, just checking if you ever found a solution here? I have  been trying for about a month with no success, following the guide to the letter too.

Unfortunately I can't even get my product feed to successfully upload to Facebook Business Manager, following all of the guides provided to the letter.  After going to FB support about the error, they advised that the error was on the Squarespace end.  After going to Squarespace support, they have finally replied that the issue is in fact Squarespace:

Thank you for reporting this. I can confirm this is related to an issue with some product data feeds failing to render properly on our end. We’ve reported this to our Engineering team, and they’re currently prioritizing the issue.
Please keep in mind that there are many moving parts we need to address before we roll out a solution. We thoroughly test all fixes before they’re released to ensure they don’t affect other Squarespace components or customers.
As a result, we can’t guarantee how long it will take to fix issues like the one affecting your site. Also, because of the volume of requests we receive, we can’t always follow up personally when the issue is resolved.

After telling my clients that Instagram products is a feature of Squarespace, and now, when their site is complete, and we are doing this final step in the activation process, I cannot find one person who has successfully been able to get it to work.

Same exact issue here, really struggling to find a solution. Anyone help?

I have had this same issue since I started attempting to connect Squarespace and IG in January.

The main reason I chose Squarespace over other options was the IG connection and their beautiful website designs. Now I'm stuck with just a beautiful website design. I've been struggling to get traffic to my site, learning SEO. I've worn all the hats for my business for so long, I paid for SquareSpace to streamline at least part of it.

Are there any updates on this?

On 4/30/2020 at 3:55 PM, CoffeeHops said:

Unfortunately I can't even get my product feed to successfully upload to Facebook Business Manager, following all of the guides provided to the letter.  After going to FB support about the error, they advised that the error was on the Squarespace end.  After going to Squarespace support, they have finally replied that the issue is in fact Squarespace:

Thank you for reporting this. I can confirm this is related to an issue with some product data feeds failing to render properly on our end. We’ve reported this to our Engineering team, and they’re currently prioritizing the issue.
Please keep in mind that there are many moving parts we need to address before we roll out a solution. We thoroughly test all fixes before they’re released to ensure they don’t affect other Squarespace components or customers.
As a result, we can’t guarantee how long it will take to fix issues like the one affecting your site. Also, because of the volume of requests we receive, we can’t always follow up personally when the issue is resolved.

After telling my clients that Instagram products is a feature of Squarespace, and now, when their site is complete, and we are doing this final step in the activation process, I cannot find one person who has successfully been able to get it to work.

This is good information. I feel that if they can't get it fixed in the next month or so, they need to give a partial refund back to anyone who has been trying to use Shopping on Instagram.

i'm having same problem, exporting my SCV file from squarespace to facebook catalog manager, and uploading it to facebook, giving errors of product id and basically the fields are not compatible , i can only product tag if i add in the items AGAIN manually to the facebook catalog manager, this need to be fixed, or squarespace need to tell me it just does not work? did it ever work? why is it not fixed ? when will it be fixed? i'll be looking to dot he same thing on PINTEREST too to drive traffic back to my website. what's the point of having a website if its a stand-alone website that you cannot upload your inventory to facebook ? so i can sell on instagram, can someone send me links, documents and can squarespace reply to this message please too. 

I got a reply to my email requests and it was no help at all. The following is the email I was sent.

I’m glad I’m not the only person experiencing this problem. I’ve lost days trying to solve it and @SQUARESPACE are useless just send standard responses - contact FB and IG not sure if you’ve noticed SquareSpace but this is impossible to do. As many others have done here I upgraded to get this feature and you are failing to provide that service so we should be eligible for refunds. 
 

more importantly when will the situation be fixed @SQUARESPACE as small businesses we’re trying to maximise our tools during a global pandemic and this is just frustrating. 

On 4/30/2020 at 1:55 PM, CoffeeHops said:

Unfortunately I can't even get my product feed to successfully upload to Facebook Business Manager, following all of the guides provided to the letter.  After going to FB support about the error, they advised that the error was on the Squarespace end.  After going to Squarespace support, they have finally replied that the issue is in fact Squarespace:

Thank you for reporting this. I can confirm this is related to an issue with some product data feeds failing to render properly on our end. We’ve reported this to our Engineering team, and they’re currently prioritizing the issue.
Please keep in mind that there are many moving parts we need to address before we roll out a solution. We thoroughly test all fixes before they’re released to ensure they don’t affect other Squarespace components or customers.
As a result, we can’t guarantee how long it will take to fix issues like the one affecting your site. Also, because of the volume of requests we receive, we can’t always follow up personally when the issue is resolved.

After telling my clients that Instagram products is a feature of Squarespace, and now, when their site is complete, and we are doing this final step in the activation process, I cannot find one person who has successfully been able to get it to work.

Is there any follow up to this?

I have been trying to set up shoppable instagram posts for a year and I'm losing my mind. I just contacted Squarespace again regarding my product feed supposedly missing information that I have no idea how to add to my products but I'm sure I'll get the same message you got. This is so frustrating. I reached out to a couple people who I know that use squarespace and have successfully set up shoppable posts but they can't figure out what the problem is either.

On 5/20/2020 at 11:11 PM, CookingCarafes said:

I’m glad I’m not the only person experiencing this problem. I’ve lost days trying to solve it and @SQUARESPACE are useless just send standard responses - contact FB and IG not sure if you’ve noticed SquareSpace but this is impossible to do. As many others have done here I upgraded to get this feature and you are failing to provide that service so we should be eligible for refunds. 
 

more importantly when will the situation be fixed @SQUARESPACE as small businesses we’re trying to maximise our tools during a global pandemic and this is just frustrating. 

I absolutely agree with you on @SQUARESPACE being useless in this situation.

I've tried everything and still can not get the product tagging to work. I've deleted and re-uploaded my products. Made a whole new catalog, etc. I've attempted several times and finally gave up after finding this forum post and realizing it's not my fault. 

What's really frustrating is the pointing of fingers. Squarespace has the ability to reach out to FB and IG and work through this to streamline it. Clearly those companies are capable of working together to solve issues like this. So why don't they?

At this point I am feeling like everyone dealing with this should get a 40% refund on their purchase, since this feature is highly useful and one of two reasons I chose Squarespace.
Ugh.

f

Still having issues, I've gone round and round between facebook, squarespace and various forums and tech supports. Nothing works, very frustrating. They keep blaming each other. No one can resolve this.

22 hours ago, benroti said:

Still having issues, I've gone round and round between facebook, squarespace and various forums and tech supports. Nothing works, very frustrating. They keep blaming each other. No one can resolve this.

At this point I've all but given up on it. I don't have time to waste, already wasted my money. My heart just isn't in the race anymore lol.

@AAGOLDSMITH I still haven't had any luck with my client's Instagram shopping, and given the response I received from them that you included in your post, I am not going to hold my breath.  The client is currently deciding on whether they want to jump ship and go to Shopify...

I had to open a new case (I dropped the ball in the middle of a bunch of stuff. Can't even rate the quality of service because I forgot to do so when the email first arrived.

Email:
Okay. I'm just going to cut straight to the chase here. I switched to Squarespace because of Instagram Shopping and the desire for a beautiful, functional website. I got one, but not the other.
I have imported the items. My catalog looks great. But Instagram will not accept it. I'm "not approved."
I have deleted and set up the catalog on Facebook. It's still the same. I have followed the instructions step by step five different times.
When that didn't work, I switched my Instagram account from Creator to Business, back to Personal, changed the settings...everything I could think of.
I have been fighting with this since the end of February.
I have been in and out of conversation with your employees for months now. No resolution. 
According to several folks in the forums, this lack of functionality has been going on for a long time. And each person gets a different excuse for why it does not work. 
This needs to be fixed.

https://forum.squarespace.com/topic/154238-instagram-shopping-and-squarespace/

Also, when I go to IG and start digging, surprise!
https://help.instagram.com/772352526461064?helpref=related
Squarespace is not listed as a commerce site they work with.

Now, the main two reasons I paid for a year of commerce on Squarespace were Instagram compatibility and the functionality of the site builder. I've created a gorgeous website that I need to drive traffic to, and can not use the main tool that I paid for!
Please fix this. Otherwise, I will be expecting some seriously heavy refunds for the trouble I've gone through. As far as I am concerned, this is false advertising.
Either get this issue fixed or please, cut a refund for EVERY person who has emailed or contacted customer service about it.
Thank you,
Califia

Has anyone on this thread had any luck with products on Instagram? They basically replied and told me that it's Instagram's issue and therefore Squarespace are not responsible for their product not working properly,.

Any successful updates here? I just built a new site to create a Instagram shop. Getting this issues:

Any way to get this to work? 

I am having the same issue, first I switched from Shopify because they ripped me off. Now with this not working I am thinking about switching back since I paid for the upgrade and the functionality is not working.

Ok, so deep diving on this and they are saying to ignore that error? Uh ok..?!

Just found this tutorial on youtube. I did it and it worked. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x49zqlXhF3A

There is an app called squarefeed that solves the problem but unfortunately you have to pay monthly. 

I guess a lot of folks ended up here where I did. I keep getting an error about "country overrides for products rejected due to errors" - it seems that its something facebook requires in its data feed links, but not something that squarespace provides. Anyone have ANY luck at all in fixing this?

This is crazy.. 2023 and still doesn't seem that Squarespace integrates fully with Instagram + Facebook + Pinterest stores.. Come on' Squarespace!! Make it easy on us! It's the initial reason why we choose you!!