By Stunning websites require a stunning start – and there’s no better place to start rather than the content management platform itself. When it comes to choosing such platforms, going with widely known names is usually your best choice.
Among them, Squarespace and WordPress are two of the most popular ones which we will be talking about in-depth today.
So, if you are looking for a Squarespace Vs WordPress comparison, you’re in just the right place. Keep reading!
What is Squarespace?
Squarespace is a new york-based website building and hosting incorporation that was launched in 2004 – soon after the launch of its fellow competitor WordPress.
Although Squarespace has kept its expertise completely premium, more than 2 million users are seen to proceed with the premium plans once their 14-days free trial is over according to 2021 statistics.
Squarespace is your solution to building any kind of website with the best aesthetics and features required to create your online presence widely known.
Pros of Squarespace
Squarespace is known for being a feature-rich platform that allows its users to build websites quickly and easily. Keeping that in mind, let’s look at some of the most highly coveted features of Squarespace that the users absolutely love.
Responsive web designs
Mobile optimization or responsiveness is crucial to your website’s success in today’s world.
More than 73% of users go through a website on both their desktop and mobile devices.
Using Squarespace, you do not need to make separate websites for different kinds of devices. Any website you make using Squarespace is 100% mobile-friendly by default.
Automatic updates
Squarespace comes with automatic updates which means that maintaining your website is even easier.
Updates keep your website secure from unwanted attacks by fixing bugs and updating your security. Furthermore, they keep your website more SEO relevant so it can help you rank higher.
User experience is also better when your website is completely up to date. So Squarespace just makes your job easier.
Neat codes and Top-rated WYSIWYG editor
Squarespace comes with a “what you see is what you get” editor that allows you to quickly create websites without any prior coding knowledge required.
It also works as a great platform for those who wish to start learning Html. Moreover, Squarespace offers neat codes for developers so they can easily debug any problem within a short time period.
This helps prevent longer downtime for websites and also costs less for maintenance.
Cons of Squarespace
It is better to know what to expect from something that you have to invest in beforehand and we will be seeing some such aspects of Squarespace below – but nothing to worry about because you still get to try it out for 14 days without any costs before committing to it. Your money will not go to waste.
SEO doesn’t crawl well for other search engine platforms
Search engines like Google send bots to read websites or pages that directly determine how SEO-relevant your content is alongside making note of other data in your website.
This process is called SEO crawling and is crucial for search engines to rank web pages. But some users have complained that Squarespace does not act efficiently in terms of crawling for search engines other than google.
This could hinder the success of your website but isn’t a frequent issue to worry too much about.
Customization can be a bit limiting
Looking at user reviews, we have found that some users felt that customizing their Squarespace website comes with a few limitations such as adding extensions and limited layouts.
This could be a disaster if you are looking for specific extensions or have a specific layout in mind only to later find out that it isn’t compatible with your website.
But most of the time this isn’t a big issue and can be overcome easily if you have kept backup plans in mind. And lastly, Squarespace is constantly working to come up with upgrades so the issues might be solved in no time at all.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is a content management platform launched in 2003 as a blogging platform initially.
Soon after, it evolved into an open-source CMS that is used globally for building websites free of cost. More than 41% of websites on the internet are powered by WordPress.
The popularity of WordPress websites only keeps growing and not to say how versatile it already is! You only need to have a domain and hosting to get started on your journey to success.
Pros of WordPress
There is quite a lot of controversy regarding WordPress but just like any other content management platform, it has its fair share of pros and cons that we will be looking at below. So keep reading.
Feature-rich platform with a user-friendly dashboard
WordPress has every feature imaginable that one may need to build a website.
Soon after installing WordPress, you will be introduced to its user-friendly dashboard which would require you to sign up for a user account.
Through this, you can control your website from the admin panel on the left side of your screen. Furthermore, you can easily navigate through WordPress and can also use tools such as WP-CLI or FTP tools for added functionality.
You have 100% control over your website
WordPress gives you 100% control over your website. No matter what kind of website you own, you can customize it any way you want.
There are thousands of templates and plugins to choose from – both premium and free. You have complete flexibility!
Secure and 24/7 support
WordPress is highly secure and uses SSL certificates to keep its security one step ahead compared to its fellow competitors.
There are also plugins that one can use to further enhance your website’s security.
If you still run into any kind of issue, WordPress has a 24/7 support system that can look into your problem instantly. There is also an active global community to further ease your troubles.
Cons of WordPress
Having a lot of features can also mean that there are some aspects that still need more work. Some such examples are given below.
Can get expensive quickly
Although the software of WordPress itself is completely free, getting yourself a domain name and hosting account can get expensive if you aren’t researching much before investing.
Although it may vary from website to website, you could end up with a long list of unnecessary costs.
Free templates and plugins work just fine. You don’t need a premium one if you are just starting out. So just pay more attention to your expenses on a regular basis.
Has a bit of a learning curve to it
WordPress is not a beginner-friendly platform. It may look easy to some but tough to others.
But there is nothing to worry about since being more than a decade old comes with tons of resources available online for one to learn from.
It is just something that you have to put more effort into. The end result will be that your online impact will be long-lasting for your users.
Squarespace Vs WordPress — Which is Better?
Now that we have told you about both platforms, you must be wondering which is better.
So let us look at a comparison between them right below to give you a clearer picture of what is best suitable for you.
Pricing
Squarespace is premium whereas WordPress is free but you do not need to get your own hosting and domain with Squarespace whereas, for WordPress, you do.
So, depending on the kind of hosting and domain plan you get, WordPress could be cheaper or more expensive. But in the long run, Squarespace is the cheaper choice although it is paid for.
Target users
Both Squarespace and WordPress are usable by anyone who desires to use them.
But the target users for Squarespace are small businesses, e-commerce stores as well as online service agencies whereas WordPress is best for bloggers.
Learning curve
Squarespace only requires signing up to create a website. One account can serve as hosting grounds for multiple different websites.
The interface of Squarespace is also easy to navigate and so the learning curve is rather beginner-friendly, whereas WordPress is marketed more towards those with intermediate knowledge levels regarding website building.
Customization and SEO
WordPress offers 100% website customization, whereas, Squarespace claims to do so but user reviews say otherwise.
Both have a wide range of templates and plugins to choose from but in terms of looks, Squarespace wins.
When it comes to SEO, WordPress is ahead of Squarespace which has previous records of crawling issues whereas WordPress does not.
Monetization
Hands down, WordPress offers the best monetization facilities for your website with its native advertising policies.
Squarespace on the other hand requires third-party advertisement tool access such as Google AdSense to allow monetization. When compared with each other, WordPress takes the lead in this regard.
Security and Language support
WordPress is more secure than Squarespace as WordPress requires individual hosting and Squarespace is self-hosted.
In terms of language support, both offer support for more than 86 languages and also allow translation.
And since both are global platforms, the language support for both allows for local communities to be available for providing support with better communication at any time.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, we cannot tell you which platform is better and which is worse.
The decision is yours to make depending on the type of website you are aiming to build. And we hope our article was successful in helping you make up your mind.
That was all for today. Best of luck with your website!