If you’ve been searching for different website platforms, you’ve probably come across Squarespace and WordPress as potential options. Wondering which one is better for you and your business? You’ve come to the right place to find answers.
As a brand and website design agency that designs on both Squarespace and WordPress, each one offers you something different. Futhermore, both can be customized to suit your business needs while still feeling unique to your business and brand.
Also, this post contains affiliate links. That means I get a small kick-back if you purchase the products linked below. You can read my privacy policy for more info. Now that’s done- let’s dive into Squarespace vs WordPress and their key differences.
What is Squarespace?
Squarespace is a user-friendly website builder that combines blogging, products, and email marketing, all within the Squarespace dashboard. While you can create a beautiful Squarespace site without code, to produce something that looks unique and is truly one of a kind, you will most likely encounter the need for code a couple of times.
However, don’t panic when reading the word “code” as the good news is that there are countless articles and videos that show how to code on Squarespace – even for beginners!
From a budget perspective, Squarespace is super affordable. You can start a website for $16 a month, and Squarespace is also great because it provides everything you need in one place, including hosting your website.
With Squarespace, you can purchase your domain directly through them, eliminating the need to buy it from a separate provider and making the process easy and seamless.
Want to be seen in your best light?
Get The Works—my email list that acts as a ring light for your brand.
Let’s turn the spotlight on you.
Is Squarespace actually easy to use?
Yes, Squarespace is super easy to figure out and intuitive. You don’t need to be a pro to get started using Squarespace! What makes this all even better is that with Squarespace, everything is easily mobile-optimized.
Now, more than ever, having a mobile-optimized website is critical, as more and more people find businesses and browse websites on their phones.
Squarespace also doesn’t require you to use plug-ins or integrations, which just makes everything that much simpler and easier for business owners.
Another great feature of Squarespace is how easy it is to update. You won’t have to worry about leaving outdated information on your website because it’s too complicated to figure out how to make changes. Instead, Squarespace makes it very easy to add/change information as necessary as your business evolves.
What are the cons of Squarespace?
As much as we are fans of Squarespace, we also want to be transparent about its downsides so you have the full picture. Just like with any platform, there are some cons – here are a few:
Third-party tools and integrations are more limited
This can be either a pro or a con, depending on what you’re looking for. A lot of business owners love Squarespace because it’s a one-stop shop for everything related to your website without having to leave the platform.
However, if there are specific plugins you love, you likely won’t be able to use them, such as other analytic tools (other than Google Analytics), Yoast SEO, etc.
Also, while Squarespace does have email marketing for my clients, it hasn’t been as effective as other email marketing platforms such as Flodesk and Kit.
So while Squarespace is a one-stop shop, choosing what’s best for your business and needs might mean working with integrations and Squarespace to increase your ROI.
More challenging to learn advanced features
Squarespace’s drag-and-drop editor is very simple to use, but if you want to add in more advanced features, there’s likely a custom CSS code involved or a featured plugin you have to figure out how to incorporate.
Additionally, suppose you want to customize specific parts of your site to make it feel unique and truly personalized. In that case, you will need to use code to modify certain elements of the template, which can be overwhelming and complicated, especially for beginners.
Another important thing to know about Squarespace is that they do eventually have a limit on pages. For example, one of my previous clients ran into this issue and had to move sites for this reason. Furthermore, when it comes to blogging, WordPress still takes the cake – the reality is that Squarespace isn’t as blogging-friendly as WordPress is.
What is WordPress?
A Recent WordPress Website We Designed
WordPress is a website builder and platform that can be custom-coded or built using a tool like Elementor (which we specialize in), Kadence, etc. It’s also a self-hosted platform.
They have so many stunning builders and themes to choose from if you know you don’t want to start from scratch, and lots of incredible plugins that will enhance your website, from adding a table of contents to interactive plugins to jazz up your website.
When comparing cost, with WordPress you’ll be considering your Host, your domain, and any additional plugins that you may need to paid version for.
For example, we love Siteground and their Grow Big Plan is $4.99 a month *. We also like to buy domains from Siteground or from NameCheap, and the domain’s initial cost and renewal can vary.
RESULTS THAT SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES
Download our case studies + client experiences to review the impact our website design and brand strategy services have beyond the stunning deliverables you’ll find in our portfolio.
With WordPress, you can also edit the mobile version of your site, but there are some limitations, and it depends on your WordPress theme and builder. However, if you’re using Elementor with your WordPress site, the Elementor Editor allows you to customize your design for different devices. (One of the many reasons we love it!)
Is WordPress easy to use?
When it comes to WordPress, you don’t have to start from scratch – WordPress websites can be built from a theme that you can purchase online from other website designers or on marketplace websites. The other option is to choose from a basic free theme and then use a builder like Elementor to design each individual page.
With all that being said, using a WordPress theme is pretty intuitive and user-friendly, especially with the Astra theme, which is what we love. But, it can be a challenge to make your website feel truly “unique” unless you’re comfortable with using a builder such as Elementor, which can feel like a bit of a learning curve for many.
It’s also possible to build an entire website on WordPress without any coding necessary; however, in some instances, coding may be needed to achieve the exact look and feel you’re wanting.
Similar to Squarespace, WordPress is a very popular builder, and there are a ton of different tutorials available for you to learn from.
What are the cons of WordPress?
Here are some of the downsides of using WordPress to build your website:
Customer service
At WordPress, customer service works differently from Squarespace. With Squarespace it’s a lot easier to get ahold of someone but with WordPress you could have one point of customer support with your hosting, you may have another for your domain name, and then you may even have one for your theme, too so it can difficult to know where you need to go to get your questions answered.
Slower loading times (if it’s not optimized)
The more plugins you use on WordPress, the more it can significantly slow down your site’s loading speed. This is important to know because website speed is an important factor in Google’s algorithm, and if your website has a slower site speed, it can rank lower.
You can mitigate this by limiting the number of plugins you use on your site. While there are an endless number of options to choose from, usually only a handful are actually necessary to use on your site to make it look amazing.
Which Should You Choose, WordPress or Squarespace?
So, which should you choose, WordPress or Squarespace? It all really depends on exactly what you’re looking for. Here’s my opinion: If you know you want everything to be in one place and you want to DIY it at first, then Squarespace would be a better choice.
However, if you want to add a plethora of functionalities to your website, you’re really focused on SEO and blogging, plus you’re open to a little learning curve, then WordPress is the way to go.
This is a conversation I have with my clients often because every business is truly different. For example, the photographer who will have a ton of images should probably choose ShowIt for site speed alone. The coach who will be updating their site themselves after we launch and has some products to sell along with services, will do best with Squarespace. The financial planning firm that has a major SEO push with blogging will do best on WordPress.
There is no right or wrong answer to this question – the bottom line is that it all comes down to what you want your website to do for you and your business. Both WordPress and Squarespace are amazing website platforms that can work magic for your business. What’s more important is that you have a functional, SEO-optimized website that speaks directly to your dream client, which is where we come in.
Ready to Get Started With Squarespace or WordPress?
If you are ready to take the next step and get started building your dream website on either Squarespace or WordPress, we would love to chat. You can learn more about our brand and web design services here, or you can get in touch to talk about it 1:1 here! We can’t wait to work with you!
