Squarespace Vs. WordPress
Disclosure: This content is endorsed by the reader. So if you click on some of our links we may receive a commission.
WordPress is the most widely used CMS platform. According to a web survey, 39.6% of the world use WordPress to manage their content.
I am part of it almost 40%. WordPress is my one stop shop for managing my NeilPatel.com blog as well as my other websites.
However, some other options are growing in popularity that prove to be worthy opponents for WordPress. One such competitor is Squarespace. This beginner-friendly content management system is popular with many, but how does it hold up against the trusted WordPress?
I've been building websites for years, so I've gained knowledge and experience in both WordPress and Squarespace.
If you're looking to build a new website and aren't sure which platform is best, check out my WordPress vs. Squarespace comparison.
WordPress or Squarespace: Which is Better?
WordPress is best for customization. With this platform, the options seem limitless. WordPress offers thousands of templates to use as a starting point for your website. These templates can be modified widely to best suit your needs. WordPress also has tens of thousands of plugins that you can add to your site to further improve its design and functionality.
Squarespace is best for beginners. The steps to create a website on this platform are simple and straightforward for beginners. Squarespace doesn't require you to sign up for hosting or purchasing a domain separately. The templates offer options for customization that don't feel overwhelming.
A review of the best website builders
We reviewed dozen of website builders and narrowed them down to the four best options. Check out our top deals and get the information you need to help you choose the best builder for you.
With years of experience building websites, I've done extensive research to determine which will work best in certain situations and for certain people. My list of top picks reflects this work and the ones that shine the brightest for those looking to build a website.
Even though Squarespace didn't make the list of top website builders, it is still hugely popular and, as you'll see in this review, has some great features. WordPress made our top list for a variety of reasons that we cover in this article, including the thousands of template options, the multitude of extensions / plugins, control of your website, and much more.
With the right website builder, it doesn't take a lot of technical experience to get a website up and running that looks professional and has great features.
WordPress wins
WordPress is the chosen winner. This website builder offers several advantages that other platforms don't.
control: WordPress gives you complete control over how your website looks and functions. With thousands of different templates, you have more options than needed to get the basic outline of your website up and running. Add to that the tens of thousands of available plugins and you can personalize your WordPress website in just about any way imaginable.
Templates: While Squarespace offers templates, WordPress offers a lot more. Additionally, WordPress templates are easier to personalize for the average person. A lot of websites use WordPress templates without anyone knowing.
Functionality added. WordPress is known for its plugins. Do you need something on your website? It's almost a guarantee that there's a plugin for that. WordPress currently offers nearly 60,000 different plugins, some of which are free. Plugins can perform a variety of tasks, including helping with the search engine optimization of your website, setting up a contact form, keeping track of your website's analytics, and much more.
Built-in blog. WordPress was developed as content management software so all websites have a built-in blog feature that makes it easy to add a blog to your website. There's no need to create a separate blog for your WordPress site. Just add blog content to your existing website to share information and updates with your readers.
Community support. WordPress is open source and free, so people who contribute to the platform have built a great community to support one another. While WordPress itself doesn't offer much online or phone support, the forums created by the user community have answers to all kinds of WordPress questions.
There are also events called WordCamps run by WordPress around the world to help people make better use of and develop the platform. Ticket prices are affordable and open to all WordPress users, developers, designers and fans.
Costs. Since WordPress is open source, it can be downloaded for free. Templates and plugins aren't always free, but the platform can be downloaded and used. Hosting isn't free either, but it's usually done through an external site like Bluehost.
Easy to manage. While many companies offer expensive packages to manage WordPress sites, you can easily do this yourself. Updating plugins is regular but requires minimal effort. And get reminders when updates are available. Management also includes having backups in place (which can be done via plugins or your hosting plan).
SEO help. Since SEO is a must have for your website, it is great to have tools to help you get there. SEO is integrated in WordPress, as both meta descriptions and title tags are generated automatically. The popular Yoast SEO plugin on WordPress is free and a must have for your website.
Every page and blog post you create can be improved with the help of SEO and let search engines know what you are doing. Yoast SEO lets you do things like:
● Create a focus key phrase
● Write a more detailed meta description
● Create an SEO title
● Create a snail
Yoast also has a Readability Analysis section, which will determine how easy it is for people to read your content and provide suggestions on how to improve it.
WordPress losses
Steep learning curve. WordPress is not an intuitive platform. There is information out there to help you learn, but you need to be willing to take the time to do it. The layout of the dashboard takes getting used to and the navigation in processing. Since templates are created by users in WordPress, they work differently. This means that you have to adjust them every time you use a new template.
Lack of hosting. In order to run your WordPress site, you need to purchase hosting through a third party provider like Bluehost. This adds an extra step to building your website and can be confusing for people new to website building.
Speed problems. Some of the WordPress themes are made with a lot of code, which can cause the site to load slowly. If you are new to WordPress, you probably don't know that some of the code is unnecessary and can be deleted. Removing the excess code will speed up the website, but it should only be done if you know what you are doing.
Hidden costs. While the platform itself is free, the functionality and success of a WordPress website depends on customizable themes and plugins. And most of them come at a price. While it doesn't seem like much at first glance, each new paid plugin adds to the overall cost of the website.
Site Vulnerability. Since WordPress is open source, hackers are at greater risk. It is also the most widely used content management system, so the number of hackers increases as the use of the platform increases. WordPress plugins are also developed by various people who are not affiliated with the WordPress company itself. As a result, it is possible for incorrect code to get onto your website.
Squarespace wins
While Squarespace isn't as strong as WordPress, it still offers some great things.
User friendliness. Drag and drop couldn't be easier, and Squarespace lets you do just that. Squarespace templates can be used with little to no experience and almost no learning curve.
Easy editing. Modifying your Squarespace website is hassle-free thanks to the easy-to-use backend. No knowledge of web design or development is required.
Marketing tools included. While you have to pay for and download and install each plugin individually with WordPress, the marketing tools you need are included with Squarespace. This means things like analytics, contact forms, SEO, and more.
All in one. Space is everything. It's your website builder, design hub, and host. You don't have to jump to other websites to get what you need and then figure out how to connect it to your Squarespace website. Here you get everything you need to get your website up and running from a single source.
Very responsive. All of the templates in Squarespace are responsive and work on all computers, phones, and tablets. You can even see how it will look on the different devices as you build your website as they can be very different.
Excellent support. Squarespace's customer support team is available 24/7 to resolve any issues. The platform also has community forums that you can connect with other Squarespace users to answer questions and get information.
Social integration. Squarespace offers customized widgets that make it easy to integrate your social media handles. And they can look like they're part of the original design.
Automatic updates. Any new features introduced by Squarespace will automatically show up on your page, or you can just turn them on.
Squarespace Loss
Missing customization options. While I like how user-friendly Squarespace is, it doesn't come close to the level of customization that WordPress offers. And making changes to the coding of your Squarespace website isn't as easy as it is with WordPress.
Less templates. The number of templates available in Squarespace is only a fraction of the templates available in WordPress. If you're looking to build an ecommerce website, Squarespace only has 14 to choose from.
Basic SEO. Squarespace offers some basic SEO tools like HTML markup and automatic sitemaps, but doesn't allow the level of SEO optimization that WordPress offers.
Lack of property. If you buy a domain through Squarespace, you are not legally owning it. When you get a free domain through Squarespace, WHOIS privacy is applied. This means that it is owned by Tucows Inc. Tucows is the main contact of the registered domain. Since WHOIS privacy is applied to all Squarespace domains, technically you don't own it.
Limited number of websites. You can only have one website with a Squarespace subscription. Adding another requires an additional subscription.
Limited number of contributors. Squarespace limits you to two contributors with its personal plan. To add more you will need to upgrade. WordPress allows an unlimited number of contributors.
Comparison of the top website builders
Finding the best website builder is a challenge. There are great options for platforms to build your website and it is not an easy decision to make. Whether it's for your small business, personal blog, or life changing nonprofit, your website is critical to the success of your business.
This is why you need to take the time to research the top website builders out there. Here are my top tips from my research and experience:
- Wix – Best for general use
- Weebly – Best for beginners
- Shopify – Best for ecommerce
- WordPress – Best for Content Management
After reviewing the numerous website builders, I've found that different options work best for different people.
If you're choosing between WordPress and Squarespace to build a great website, WordPress is our first choice.
See How my agency can drive Firmly Traffic volumes on your website
- SEO – Unlock tons of SEO traffic. See real results.
- Content Marketing – Our team creates epic content that is shared, links accessed and visitors drawn.
- Paid media – effective paid strategies with a clear ROI.
Book a call