Is Squarespace a Nice Alternative to WordPress? Let’s Differentiate Both

Living in the internet world, you might know 75% of a company’s brand image is evaluated based on websites.

If your website fails to deliver a top-notch user experience, you might leave behind in the competitive race. We are aware of this digital environment; having fresh content and aesthetic web design is necessary for survival. And to make a website beautiful, you need the best website creation platform.

When we talk about the best website creation platform, our hands immediately go down on WordPress, and why not? We all know about its soaring popularity. This is one of the best user-friendly content management systems, boasting 39.5% of the internet in 2021. But that does not mean other website builders are of no use. 

Usually, entrepreneurs are inclined towards cost-effective solutions when it comes to building a website. Hence, they choose a platform that fulfills all their needs and does not cost much. As they don’t prefer huge chunks of money on custom website creation tools. Hence they opt for readymade or else cost-effective platforms for their website development. Numerous platforms are available in the market, such as WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, and a list goes on. 

Intro of WordPress

From its launch in 2003 as a simple blogging platform, WordPress has gained massive attention globally as today it contains more than 455 million websites online. From impressive themes to plugins to advanced levels of security, WordPress has become one of the best content management systems that offer some great advantages such as,

• Simple to utilize
• Pocket-friendly solution
• Expanded site security
• Community support 
• Scalability
• Design flexibility

Intro of Squarespace

Squarespace is relatively new in the website builder domain but one of the best SaaS-based content management systems which offer appealing features and tools to create a beautiful website. Along with website design, it also offers logo-making options. As we all know how conventional businesses are jumping onto the bandwagon of digitization, Squarespace helps them a lot. 

Most restaurant businesses have chosen this platform to start services like ubereats as it offers many services in one plan. Squarespace also offers some advantages, such as 

• Responsive templates
• Quick set up
• Dedicated support
• No coding skill required 
• Scalable and flexible 

It seems like both content management systems offer great advantages to their users, but without a detailed comparison between both, you can’t choose the best for you. In this detailed guide, we will take a close look at two popular content management systems, WordPress vs. Squarespace, so that you can decide which one is best for your next project without brainstorming. 

WordPress vs. Squarespace: A Quick Comparison 

In order to make it simple to understand the major differences between both CMS, here we have divided this post into certain segments that will help you compare both website builders quickly. 

• Themes and templates 
• Content management
• Security
• Plans and pricing
• eCommerce

Based on the above main segments, let’s compare both website builders so that you can build a beautiful website for your enterprise as quickly as possible. 

WordPress vs. Squarespace: Themes and Templates 

Both come with lots of mobile-friendly themes and templates that help you customize the website as per your requirements. WordPress offers more than 6800+ free templates and hundreds of premium templates for all industries. In WordPress, you can customize free templates with easy drag and drop options. This makes the overall process smooth and friendly. 

Squarespace also offers an extensive range of templates categorized into different groups. But Squarespace offers limited pre-made templates than WordPress. Secondly, customization is not possible in Squarespace. You can only change colors, fonts, and other basic functions. However, there are Squarespace plugins you can use to customize your Squarespace website.

Verdict: WordPress 

WordPress vs. Squarespace: Content Management 

As mentioned earlier, WordPress is best for bloggers as it lets them manage content with ease. In WordPress, you are provided with both visual and text editors so you can write articles with ease, and you can still add custom HTML anytime. WordPress takes care of your content and saves posts automatically. If something happens with your content, you can rely on WordPress without having any fear. 

Squarespace is not the first choice of the blogger as there is no autosave option. It won’t let you use revisions, and you are restricted from running your own HTML and CSS from the page. Moreover, in WordPress, you can use the image you have previously used, while Squarespace is not good for the media as well. You can’t use the image twice. 

Verdict: WordPress 

WordPress vs. Squarespace: Security 

WordPress is a self-hosted platform, which means users need to think about security and support. Users need to update plugins and pay attention to security to protect their data and website. No doubt, there are lots of tutorials, and how-to articles that help you overcome the issue but backing up data is an important step. 

Squarespace is a hosted platform, so the users don’t need to worry about security. They also don’t need to back up their own data. Further, users also get instant support from the customer care executives and discuss their issues. 

Verdict: Squarespace 

WordPress vs. Squarespace: Plans and Pricing

WordPress is free to install; all you need to do is purchase your domain name and hosting. After that, you also need to pay some money for themes and plugins to create an exceptional website, but overall pricing plans are cost-effective. 

While Squarespace comes with four plans, plans start from personal plans, business plans, basic and advanced. You can use the 14-day trial version, but after that, you need to choose one of these plans to create an amazing website. Plugins are also available for Squarespace if you want to customize your website further.

Verdict: WordPress 

WordPress vs. Squarespace: eCommerce

It seems like WordPress has become a synonym of eCommerce due to its well-known plugins such as WooCommerce and BigCommerce. Using these plugins, you can transform a basic website into a fully-featured online store. 

Squarespace also has an excellent in-built eCommerce system, but it has certain limitations like it only supports limited payment gateways such as Stripe, PayPal, and Apple Pay. but if you are a retailer and engaged with the restaurant industry, it would be a solid option. While WordPress supports multiple payment gateways and you don’t need to pay transaction fees. 

Verdict: WordPress

WordPress vs. Squarespace: Crucial Differences 

Before we declare our winner, let’s have a quick comparison of both content management systems. Check out the below table so you can decide which one best matches your needs. 

From the above quick comparison, it is pretty simple to decide the winner. WordPress beats Squarespace in every aspect. From theme customization to plugins to pricing, it is the one-stop solution for enterprises. 

Which One is Best for You

After discussing the major differences between both website builders, it can be said that in what market you are and what are your exact requirements and what your budget is. Further, your technical skills matter while choosing the platform. If you opt for WordPress, you should have basic HTML, CSS, and PHP knowledge, while you don’t need any coding knowledge to use Squarespace. 

If you just want to create a static website with limited features, Squarespace is the best option. But most developers choose WordPress for:

• Features and functionaries
• Flexibility 
• Ownership 
• Cost-effectiveness 

When it comes to optimizing your online web presence, hiring a Squarespace design agency for Squarespace and other platforms for development is a strategic choice that aligns perfectly with buildout websites

So what’s your call? What do you think is best when it comes to choosing between Squarespace vs. WordPress? Indeed, the popularity of WordPress is much higher, but it would be better if we focus on business requirements rather than features because both are better for different kinds of site owners. 

Photo by Daniel Thomas on Unsplash