WordPress vs Squarespace: How to Know Which One is Right for Your Business
So you’re looking to build a brand new website…congratulations!
Now is one of the most exciting times you’ll experience as a business owner—you finally get the chance to promote your business online with a professional website that shows off all your hard work and services.
Underneath the intriguing brand story and stunning design, there’s a core element to your website: the platform you build it with. Choosing which platform to use is essential to having a website that works the way you want it to.
A common question we get asked is: what’s the right platform for my website? What’s better, WordPress or Squarespace?
The answer heavily depends on what you need your website to do.
Both WordPress and Squarespace are fantastic platforms to make and maintain your website with, but they offer very different solutions and capabilities.
Let’s look at a few quick facts to give you an idea of what each platform has to offer before we dive into the pros and cons.
A quick intro to WordPress and Squarespace
WordPress
There are two different versions of WordPress: hosted and self-hosted.
We’re talking about self-hosted WordPress, (WordPress.org) an open-source software you download to your web hosting provider.
Since the code is widely available, it allows you to build websites with a wide variety of advanced functionality and features with third-party plugins and add-ons.
It’s ideal for non-profits, educational institutions, and medium-to-large-sized companies who have the need for a database AND have either a dedicated staff or a WordPress company to manage and monitor the back-end dashboard.
WordPress continues to dominate the CMS (content management software) sphere in 2021 and beyond with over 40% of all the websites on the Internet powered by WP.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a powerful all-in-one SaaS (software as a service) website platform with a range of built-in features. It’s a drag-and-drop builder which means you don’t need extensive experience or extreme technical know-how to update and maintain your website.
It’s user-friendly after getting used to it, but its functionality can be limited if you need highly advanced features built into the website itself or a database. It’s perfect for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Squarespace only powers 2.7% of websites and has many competitors such as Wix, Weebly, Shopify, Duda, Jimbo, WebFlow, and more.
Those are the bare bones of both platforms and sometimes that’s all you need to know to make a decision. But for those who need more info, let’s break it down, take a look at their weaknesses and highlight their strengths, so you can see which is the best choice for your business website.
What’s the price of a website platform?
Domain name registration and web hosting are unavoidable website costs you are going to pay with either platform.
WordPress is free software and anything extra you spend is completely within your control. You get to choose what plugins and themes you want to use and you can match this expense to your budget.
My favorite WordPress hosting has often been WPEngine because of their customer service, how the backups and staging are configured and they only do WP. For domain registration, I use Hover as I prefer to keep my domain URLs separate from whoever is hosting the website. There are countless more web and domain hosts to choose from.
On the other hand, Squarespace has monthly tiered plans and everything you need to build and maintain your site is provided within that package; a content management system, domain, hosting, page templates, e-commerce, and more…all included.
There usually aren’t unexpected costs down the road. Scheduling, email marketing and membership are add-on costs, but they’re very affordable for a small business.
WordPress Cost
PROS
You or your web host can install the self-hosted version of WordPress on your web server for free
You can use WordPress themes or free themes
A lot of plugins have free versions so you can try them out for extended periods of time
Many many, many options to choose from!
CONS
Premium plugins and themes can be expensive
Requires custom development
Must have ongoing site maintenance
Options overwhelm
Squarespace Cost
PROS
Free two-week trial (time extensions available upon request or with Circle membership you get 6 month trial period per site and 20% off the first year)
Simple pricing plans $12- $40 per month
Pay for what you need, add-on later
No ongoing site maintenance
CONS
Only 4 price options
Scheduling and email marketing, membership are additional add-ons
Limited free third-party extensions
How easy is it to use?
WordPress is for businesses who need a database, extensive features and customization options. That’s why it’s more complex and intensive to set up than a Squarespace site.
There’s a humongous number of options that can be a bit overwhelming when you’re first starting out. After you get past the setup and learning curve it’s not difficult to use or maintain (especially if you have a WordPress agency on staff to make updates for you!).
That being said, after personally using WordPress for 7+ years and then switching to the Squarespace platform, and then going back into the WordPress dashboard—I prefer the Squarespace dashboard so much more. It’s aesthetically pleasing and a design minimalist happy place.
Squarespace is for people without advanced technical skills who only need essential website features which is why it’s very easy to use. There is a learning curve, like with any new software, but it is much less intimidating than WordPress.
Squarespace has a WYSWYG (what you see is what you get) on-page drag and drop editor that allows users to edit in the back-end and preview the front-end at the same time. The interface is intuitive and straightforward.
Whereas, WordPress has a back-end editor. You edit the page in the back-end, publish, and then preview the page in the front-end. The Gutenberg editor is using content blocks and drag and drop editor, making it more like Squarespace, but it’s NOT the same experience.
There are also page-builder plugins you can add to your WordPress site to make it possible to edit in the front-end. If you decide to use WP, we definitely recommend page-builder plugins! They make a huge difference with functionality and design.
WordPress Dashboard Interface
PROS
The average person can set up a basic site with no custom code
You can tailor the website to your own needs, specifications and abilities
Page builder plugins allow for front-end editing
Database, extensive features, and customization options
CONS
Custom development is needed to get the most out of using WordPress
Can’t preview changes as you make them
You’ll need to install a drag-and-drop builder to make it easier to use
Big learning curve
Back-end dashboard of WordPress. You can customize the dashboard a little bit—this is the defualt mode.
Squarespace Dashboard Interface
PROS
No coding is required
On-page editing tools make it easy to build websites
You can preview changes as you make them
Easy-to-use dashboard
CONS
Menus can have too many click-thrus
Can easily look like a lot of other Squarespace websites without customization
Small learning curve
Back/Front end of the Squarespace dashboard
Which platform has more functionality?
WordPress really excels in its custom post types and database management. This is why we stated at the onset of this blog post that it’s ideally suited to organizations that are decimating a lot of information in varied ways.
The way WP categorizes and tags information and how that is configured in the dashboard is invaluable to companies that need that functionality. It does rely heavily on coding/plugins to allow customization but you’ll have endless flexibility.
The beautiful thing about Squarespace is that it is limited in scope. It is designed for small businesses that don’t need that level of functionality OR if they do need specialized functionalities, it can easily be linked to a third-party platform that serves as the database and/or CRM.
A case in point is our client, Clarendon Animal Care. We designed their website in Squarespace and it has all the functionalities baked in to run a multi-location veterinarian practice website with an active blog. But it is also linking out to Ezy-Vet, a third-party platform that is hyper-focused on the needs of vets and their clients.
We find this is the case very often…small businesses linking to their industry-specific platform. It’s just not cost-effective for a small business to develop that kind of functionality into their own website anyway.
WordPress functionality
PROS
There are literally thousands of plugins to choose from that adds advanced functionality
Relies heavily on plugins and coding for customization
CONS
Too much customization and functionality options (sometimes less is more)
Squarespace functionality
PROS
It has all the essentials covered, from SEO, connected social accounts, forms, newsletters, blogging and more
Custom CSS and development are possible (we love making sites custom!)
You can add on e-commerce, scheduling, email marketing and membership
CONS
No database
Can be too limited, submit feature requests!
Which platform looks more professional?
Both platforms can produce professional, visually impressive websites. The templates are a good jumping-off point but both should be customized to suit your brand identity.
There are thousands of WordPress themes and templates designed and developed by people all over the world. Do your research to ensure you pick a theme/template/page builder that has the functionality you need and double-check that it’s mobile responsive.
Squarespace templates are thoughtfully designed to incorporate best practices for user interface and experience. All templates are responsive and you can customize them even further with CSS and HTML and premium plugins.
Version 7.0 has specific styles and functionality per the theme. But with the launch of version 7.1, all templates use the same base code. 7.1 has different and more design style options than version 7.0. Plus, you can add some custom design extensions to expand design possibilities with no code required.
WordPress design
PROS
You have complete creative control and can design your website exactly how you want it
Thousands of themes and plugins to choose from
CONS
Relies heavily on plugins and coding for customization
If you use a common theme, without customizing it, your website may end up looking very similar to someone else’s
Squarespace design
PROS
High quality designed templates
High-level design customization is available without needing coding knowledge
New design features are added regularly
CONS
If you use a common theme, without customizing it, your website may end up looking very similar to someone else’s
Need custom CSS and third-party plugins to make a unique site
No control over what features get removed
What page-builder has a better experience?
WordPress Page Builders
When I first started using WordPress in 2012, the only way to input content was in the native dashboard then use CSS to design the look of the website.
In 2014 the first page builder came out. I remember there was a lot of agonizing in the WP community…is it considered cheating to use a page builder instead of writing CSS?
What Elementor Pro looks like when working on a page design
I was happy about it because I initially learned to design pages on a computer using QuarkXpress (who remembers that?) and then Indesign, so being able to see and build the design on the page was preferable.
Elementor came out in 2016 and it felt a lot like what I was used to. In the last 5 years, it has become the most popular page builder software and I think it’s for all the same reasons I was drawn to it originally.
The varied functionalities are easy to comprehend and access. The widget navigation on the left hand side has the deepest sets of styling options. Switching between desktop, tablet and mobile are intuitive and you can show/hide elements on specific devices.
Designing, animating and duplicating sections is easy. The global widgets let you reuse common elements across multiple pages and edit all instances by updating them. You can easily access templates in other areas via widgets or shortcodes too. We use Elementor Pro on the handful of WP sites we still manage.
Squarespace Page Builder
Because Squarespace is a closed platform, you use the built-in on-page editor. This platform itself is a page builder, which is why it’s SO GOOD.
There aren’t a plethora of page builders to add onto the Squarespace dashboard like there are for WordPress. That defeats the purpose frankly.
Squarespace is a less is more approach to website building. It’s what we like about it. It has all the tools to build out a page of content baked in. They update the interface with new on-page styling features such as auto-layouts, background art and image editing.
BUT that said, we did just try a new extension for our own latest website build called SquareKicker. SquareKicker acts a bit like a page builder in that it allows you to make angles, rotate content, alter photos and make other custom design adjustments without having to write CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). This saves a lot of time, especially for customizing the responsive design! We liked it and are beginning to use it on our client’s sites as well.
WordPress page builder
PROS
Premium blocks
Lots of styling options
CONS
Add on plugin
Too many styling options!
Squarespace page builder
PROS
Built-in
Essential blocks
Easy to use
CONS
Can have too many click-throughs
Limited styling (unless you use a premium extension)
Mobile responsiveness
Since mobile traffic now accounts for more than half of all website traffic it’s critical your website performs across any device and screen size.
WordPress does have a lot of themes and templates that are optimized for mobile but some of them, especially the older ones, might not be ready for mobile use.
Because of this, you will need to do some extra work to ensure your website is easily accessible on mobile devices.
All of Squarespace’s templates are optimized for mobile and have a unique mobile experience that matched the overall style of your website, so the content will look great on every device, every time.
If you use custom CSS in your Squarespace design, you will need to optimize further for multiple devices, but the platform itself does most of the heavy lifting for you.
WordPress responsiveness
PROS
The newer themes on WordPress are optimized for mobile devices
Page builders offer responsive screen size customization
CONS
Many of the older themes on WordPress aren’t optimized for mobile or tablet
Customization is needed to ensure content is displaying properly across devices
Squarespace responsiveness
PROS
Squarespace’s templates are made with responsive design
Quick device preview in the editor
CONS
Custom CSS is sometimes needed to ensure content is displaying properly
7.1 does not have a tablet device preview, only mobile
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Both platforms have built-in tools available for optimizing a site for search engines. They both make it easy to structure and manage content in an SEO-friendly way.
You will need a basic understanding of SEO to set up and optimize your site and its pages for search and can rank high on either platform.
Good SEO is not so much reliant on your platform but has more to do with your SEO strategy.
Out of the box, WP is already pretty good but paired with advanced digital tools it’s a beast. WordPress lets you use SEO plugins that can auto-suggest improvements and easily add rich snippets. You can also access and use the .htaccess which you can’t in Squarespace.
Squarespace has all the basic SEO capabilities like site URL editing, meta descriptions, page titles, photo meta-data importing, analytics, and guides to SEO but doesn’t always use the right terminology for on-page SEO. For example, alt tags and metadata are actually the image caption.
WordPress SEO
PROS
Advanced SEO plugins
Auto-suggest improvements
Easily add rich snippets
CONS
You have to set up the plugins and learn how to use them
Squarespace SEO
PROS
SEO is built-in
Generates an XML sitemap for you
Offers SEO guides and tutorials
Smart SEO extension for products
You can finally add proper Alt Text to images (before the caption or image file name was used for alt-text)
CONS
Need custom code to add rich snippets
E-Commerce
WordPress doesn’t have an e-commerce tool built into the platform like Squarespace, but with plugins, you can integrate e-commerce into your site. If you need sophisticated e-commerce functionality WordPress can handle that.
With WP you actually MUST use plugins, commerce is not built-in. This increases the range of functionality A LOT but if you’re like us, and prefer to have all your digital tools in one place, then an all-in-one solution is a better choice.
Squarespace comes with e-commerce built-in and you can sell almost anything. If you have a humongous product line Squarespace might not be the best platform for your business, but if you’re setting up a small online store it definitely can be.
It does have limitations, but the new 7.1 version has a lot of commerce improvements from 7.0 such as store pages with a 10,000 product limit (vs 200), subcategories, improved page editing, and mobile responsiveness. SQSP commerce can be even more robust with third-party tools and extensions like TaxJar, Printful, Shippo to help manage invoicing, order management, shipping, and more.
Wordpress e-commerce
PROS
Wide range of plugins to integrate e-commerce
Advanced features like multi-currency payments and payment gateways
CONS
Annual costs for e-commerce integration
Install and update plugins
Squarespace e-commerce
PROS
E-commerce built-in: digital, physical, and subscription products
Basic features and analytics included
Third-party tools to enhance your Squarespace site
CONS
No multi-currency payments
Stripe and Paypal gateway only
Can’t calculate sales tax automatically at checkout, based on your customer’s shipping or billing address. Must use TaxJar extension.
Membership
WordPress doesn’t have a membership tool built into the platform like Squarespace, but with plugins, you can integrate it into your site. If you need sophisticated membership functionality WordPress is right for the job.
Squarespace comes with member areas built-in as a paid add-on feature, but it does have limitations per member plan. We just started our own client membership using Squarespace and have set up member-only content for many clients. So far, we really like how easy it is to set up (after you figure out the business side of it) and how elegant it fits into our branding and website.
Wordpress Membership
PROS
Wide range of plugins to integrate membership
Advanced features with directory
Integrates with more payment processors
Limitless options
CONS
Annual costs for membership integration
Install and update plugins
Squarespace Membership
PROS
Member Areas built-in
Basic features and profiles included
Easy to set up and integrate with Email Campaigns, and Commerce
CONS
Limit 10 member areas
Stripe and Paypal gateway only
Transaction Fees
Ongoing maintenance
WordPress is always updating its platform and fixing bugs to improve its security. This is fantastic, but the platform doesn’t update your site software, plugins, or widgets for you. This means, you will need to update your site multiple times a week, month, and year manually.
When third-party plugins don’t get updated on your website sometimes it can break your website or cause security vulnerabilities. In order to fix things, you’ll need to restore an older version of your site or pay a developer to fix the issue for you. Paying for maintenance can run $100-$200 a month for WordPress, which can add up for a small business or entrepreneur.
Squarespace definitely beats WordPress in this category. Since it’s a self-contained platform everything is fully managed. There’s never any need to update software, plugins, widgets, patch security vulnerabilities, or worry one thing will break another.
It’s a lot less work maintaining your site because engineering and development teams at Squarespace update everything for you. Because of this low maintenance, Squarespace will save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. You only need to keep up with updates to be able to use the software to the fullest.
You can also reach out to their support articles, and team 24/7 via chat or email if you run into an issue. Low maintenance and peace of mind is the biggest reason we recommend Squarespace to our small business clients.
WordPress maintenance
PROS
There are plugins you can install to monitor your site’s security and alert you if there’s a problem
Bugs are fixed regularly
CONS
You need to manually update your site yourself (or get your developer to do it for you)
Any older plugins can sometimes become outdated with updates and stop working on your site–leaving your website effectively broken and potentially vulnerable to hackers
A WordPress site showing that the plugins and software need updating.
Squarespace maintenance
PROS
Low maintenance
Auto updates
Only need to keep up with the platform feature and UI updates
CONS
If you don’t know how to use the platform you will have to pay someone to make changes
Squarespace updates can sometimes break custom code
Security
With WordPress, it’s your own responsibility to look after the security of your site. This means sourcing your own SSL certificate, checking on your backups and updating your site.
Some hosting companies add an additional charge for the SSL (secure socket layer–the pad lock icon you see in the web browser before the domain name) certificate too. There are plugins out there to help you, but you need to carefully choose reliable and trustworthy plugins for your site since most functionality is not native to WordPress.
Squarespace is responsible for the safety of your website and makes sure that your site is safe from hackers and has a secure connection on every page. An SSL certificate is included in your plan—whether you use a Squarespace domain or a third-party domain that’s connected and pointing to your site. Not only does it keep it safe, but an SSL cert also builds trust with your visitors and helps you rank higher on Google.
WordPress security
PROS
You have control over the level of security on your site
Plugins can help you manage the security on your website
You can fully backup your website
CONS
You’re in charge of security yourself
Outdated plugins could cause your site to be vulnerable to attacks
SSL has to be installed with your domain provider
Squarespace security
PROS
Security is all sorted for you
SSL included in your plan at no extra charge
CONS
Squarespace does not provide an advanced backup feature, although some workarounds are possible for semi-backup
WordPress vs Squarespace: Which One is Right for Your Business?
When to choose Squarespace over WordPress
You want an all-in-one website and don’t need highly advanced functionality
You want a website platform that’s easy to use and has less of a learning curve
You want to be able to manage and update your site with ease
You want a set monthly/yearly subscription price
You don’t have any knowledge of coding
You’re looking for convenience and simplicity
You need basic e-commerce features (can use third-party tools to enhance)
You need a basic membership
You need a powerful scheduler and email marketing
You’d like 24/7 security and support
You’d like us to build you a custom site for your small business!
You are going to be linking to a dedicated third-party platform to do complex industry-specific tasks ie: Ezy-Vet or Bullhorn.
When to choose WordPress over Squarespace
You have your heart set on complex features
You need a database
You have information that needs to be configured using custom post types.
You want to be able to fully customize your site with flexibility and third-party plugins
You want to be in charge of every aspect of your site including content, backups and security
You need advanced e-commerce features like selling in multiple currencies
You need an advanced membership or multilingual site
You need deep levels of navigation
You know how to code, or would like to learn
You have no problem dealing with technical issues like updates or security
You’re already using the WP platform and don’t want to make the switch (after 7+ years of WP we switched to Squarespace and love it!)
Choose a platform!
Those are just some of the pros and cons of each platform. Of course, there is so much more, but we hope that at least gives you the basics.
The best platform for your business truly depends on what functionality you actually need and what your goals are.
Squarespace is no longer a “starter platform” that you’ll someday need to graduate from. It has all the tools you need to quickly launch a professional website, market, and sell your products or services.
After 7 years of building websites in WordPress, in 2019 Design Powers made the switch to Squarespace. It was mostly due to our belief that small businesses don’t need the endless functionality of WordPress and that clients were intimidated to make changes in their own websites.
If you’re still not sure which platform is right for you, we can definitely help you figure that out. Get in touch and let’s chat.
If Squarespace is for you we’ll let you know, and if it isn’t we’ll let you know that too and then see if we have any referrals for you.
Have any questions or think there are any points we missed in this blog? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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