How to Choose Between Squarespace & WordPress
Ok, yes, as a Squarespace website designer, I might be a little biased in writing this post. But I often hear people raving about how WordPress is the only platform to build your website on if you're serious about your business. I'm here to say I disagree!
The popularity of Squarespace as a website building platform has shot up massively over the last few years. And that's why I’m going to extol the virtues of this excellent platform with you today. So, if you're struggling with the Squarespace vs WordPress conundrum, read on. And I'll do my best to give a fair representation of both sides!
The System
Let's take it right back to basics and talk about the systems of both platforms.
In straightforward terms, Squarespace positions itself as an all-in-one package. It includes everything you need to get started with building your website in their system. And you shouldn't need to install any extra plugins or bits of software to make it work from the beginning.
On the other hand, WordPress is about completely customising how your site looks and how you use it from the start. Plugins are integral to building up a WordPress site, so you need to do lots of work to get it looking reasonable.
Usability
One of Squarespace's biggest plus points is its usability. It utilises a visual drag and drop system, so designing a website is much easier for even the most tech-illiterate person to get to grips with!
Once built, a Squarespace website is much simpler to manage and is far more user friendly. So even if you didn't create the website yourself, you should still be able to manage it from behind the scenes without any real difficulties.
Plugins
Plugins are little pieces of software that manage a small section of your website (such as security or the cookie notification on your home page). Each of these plugins is built by different companies, and you'll need to maintain them while they're working on your website.
The problem is, many people don't know how to maintain plugins. And that puts your website at risk of being hacked.
With Squarespace, the risk to your website is reduced because you don't need more plugins for the software to function. And maintaining your website couldn't be easier!
Security
WordPress is Open Source software, which can mean more flexibility, but it also leaves the website open to security issues.
Meanwhile, Squarespace is Closed Source. This means it might not have as much flexibility as WordPress, but its security is incredibly robust. You won't see any dodgy hacking going on around here! And, even if you did, the team at Squarespace would deal with it – not you.
Maintenance
A Squarespace website is a much easier site to maintain after the build is complete. Updating sections and images and adding new content and blog posts are a breeze, even for the most technophobic.
The same can't be said of WordPress. You'll need to be on top of plugin updates (and installing new plugins if old ones become obsolete). If you need to make changes to your copy, content and images, you may need someone to help, especially if you want custom changes your chosen template can't handle.
SEO
Everyone knows WordPress does well with SEO, and there's no denying its capabilities in this area. But it's possible to rank well with a Squarespace website, contrary to popular belief! It's all about producing good content regularly and marketing yourself effectively, as well as optimising your pages. Yes, you can do that even on Squarespace!
There are plenty of examples of websites at the top of Google search rankings that are Squarespace sites. But you need to put in the work to get there.
Pricing
Technically speaking, WordPress is free, which can seem like a big draw for many. But it isn't really! To get the most stylish design possibilities, you may need to pay a licence for a visual builder such as Divi or Kadence, plus you’ll need hosting and a domain name at the very least, so your website will have somewhere to live. Then there's the theme, good quality plugins to pay for and, if you're not a website whizz, you'll almost certainly need to pay someone to build it.
Squarespace's pricing matches most good quality hosting packages, and you'll get a domain name free for the first year. You can also DIY your design relatively easily (although I explain why you should book a Squarespace designer in this blog post!).
When you compare the two, it's easy to see that Squarespace isn't hugely different in price to WordPress. Especially once you've paid out for hosting, the domain and any plugins. Plus, you won't need to keep your payment details updated in various places with Squarespace because everything is under one roof. I do love simplicity!
Style
Squarespace used to be seen as a more basic design platform with Wordpress being the design connoisseur’s choice of platform for unique and elevated design. However, the possibilities with Squarespace has come on leaps and bounds since they introduced Fluid Engine and now it’s possible to create truly scroll-stopping designs with Squarespace too.
Of course, I'm not saying that a WordPress website is bad. Not at all. But if you want something simple to use that looks beautiful from the moment you buy it, then Squarespace is the website builder for you!
If you need help getting your Squarespace website up and running, click here to get in touch. I can't wait to hear from you!