WordPress vs Squarespace: Which is Perfect for Your Website Design?

Deciding between WordPress vs Squarespace? This article simplifies the choice. We’ll compare WordPress.org and Wix to uncover the best fit for you.

1. Key Takeaways 

• WordPress is the best choice for individuals who look for advanced customization and have the required coding knowledge to implement those customizations (or those open to hiring a developer).
• Squarespace is an exceptional website builder for individuals searching for a user-friendly platform boasting stunning templates. Furthermore, it’s a viable option for businesses that require e-commerce features.

2. WordPress vs Squarespace At A Glance

Squarespace and WordPress cater to different target audiences – one values constraints, and the other craves creative liberty. Let’s explore their strengths to match your needs.

Imagine a tool that effortlessly transforms your ideas into beautiful websites – that’s Squarespace! 

At the moment, Squarespace is one of the best options out there. It’s celebrated for its simplicity, offering sleek designs without needing too many extra apps. Also, adding videos, mages, and audio files are more straightforward than WordPress. 

Furthermore, with the content drag-and-drop editor, creating new pages and posts is incredibly easy. So, if you’re a beginner looking for an accessible platform, Squarespace is the option you should consider.

Unlike Squarespace, WordPress works in a different way. It doesn’t come with in-house features; instead, you have to add special tools called “plugins” for whatever you need. 

But here’s the catch: while it’s more adaptable than Squarespace, it can be a bit trickier to get used to. If you want to control everything like a boss, you might need to learn a few extra skills.

In brief, the main difference is that Squarespace doesn’t heavily depend on external apps, while WordPress requires plugins for various tasks, lacking some built-in features. This makes using WordPress a bit more complex, requiring extra skill and experience.

3. WordPress vs Squarespace: A Detailed Comparison

In this in-depth comparison, we’ll explore the unique features and functions of WordPress and Squarespace. This exploration will help you make an informed decision that aligns with your goals and vision.

Pricing

Comparing the prices of Squarespace and WordPress is a bit tricky because the platforms are different, let’s figure it out.

WordPress

While WordPress itself is a free platform, there are associated expenses you’ll need to consider. The most crucial cost is web hosting, typically averaging around $7 per month (approximately $84 per year). WordPress recommended hosting services like Bluehost, DreamHost, or SiteGround, with Bluehost being a highly recommended option.

Here are other expected costs when starting a WordPress site:

• Themes: While some themes are free, investing in paid themes ($30-$80) can provide better quality.
• Plugins: Additional features, from email marketing to e-commerce tools, can be added through WordPress plugins ($15-$50).
• Domain Names: Unlike Squarespace, WordPress doesn’t provide a free domain for the first year. You’ll need to buy your domain from a third-party registrar like Domain.com ($10-$12 per year) or choose a hosting provider with a free domain offer for the first year, such as Bluehost.
• Developer Costs: For larger or more complex websites, hiring a developer could cost thousands of dollars.

Due to the various components of  a WordPress site, providing an exact cost is challenging. However, the flexibility of this model allows you to opt for more affordable themes and plugins to align with your budget.

Squarespace 

Squarespace introduces a range of pricing plans tailored to accommodate diverse business and e-commerce requirements, ranging from $23 to $65 per month. The selection of a plan shapes the user experience, with flexibility at the core of Squarespace’s approach. 

For the “Website Business” plan, a nominal 3% transaction fee is applied to each transaction’s final order total. In contrast, the “Commerce Basic” and “Commerce Advanced” plans exempt users from transaction fees, making these plans particularly appealing for businesses focused on e-commerce activities.

To  showcase confidence in its  offering, Squarespace extends its  standard 14-day trial period for users to fully explore their platform’s capabilities. For those needing more time to construct their website, Squarespace provides the option to extend the trial period through extensions. 

Moreover, users stand to benefit from substantial cost savings, with a generous 24% to 30% discount offered on annual subscription payments, further enhancing the overall value proposition of Squarespace’s pricing structure.

The Verdict:

In this comparison, Squarespace takes the lead for its specialized pricing plans, user-friendly e-commerce features, and generous discount options, making it the winner for businesses seeking flexible and cost-effective solutions.

Ease of Use & Interface

Most beginner-level users are unfamiliar  with HTML, CSS, and other code-related  stuff. They want a platform that helps them build their website quickly. Consider both the WordPress and Squarespace platforms on this criterion.

User-friendly Interface

WordPress is  intuitive and easy to use, but it takes some time to start. Beginners will need to familiarize themselves with WordPress terminology and concepts. This includes understanding the differences between posts and pages, categories and tags, and grasping the themes and plugins. 

Squarespace stands out for its user-friendly interface that streamlines website design. You can effortlessly modify fundamental template design elements like font colors and heading sizes using the intuitive style editor.  The process is straightforward: pinpointing the desired design elements and making changes with simple controls. 

On-Page Content Management

On-page content management is one of the key differences between the two platforms. In Squarespace, you can directly edit the content on the page and see changes as you make them.  With WordPress, on the other hand, changes are typically made in the back end, requiring previews or publishing to view them.

However, WordPress can be adapted with front-end  ‘visual editor’ tools like Elementor or Divi for a more Squarespace-like editing experience. You should be cautious of plugins that may slow down your site, affecting search performance.

Notably, WordPress’ ‘Gutenberg’ editor brings a drag-and-drop approach, resembling Squarespace’s style. While not as flexible as Squarespace’s ‘Fluid Engine,’ Gutenberg still allows easy content rearrangement.

Drag-and-Drop Editor

Both WordPress and Squarespace have a drag-and-drop editor, making it simple for users to create and customize their websites.

Squarespace’s drag-and-drop editor allows you to arrange your content exactly as you envision it. You can move text and image blocks across pages or integrate content from different site sections, such as pulling images from galleries or summaries from blog posts.

Squarespace recently launched the ‘Fluid Engine,’ an improved drag-and-drop editor. This upgraded tool lets you do more, like making separate versions for mobile and desktop. Using the ‘ Fluid Engine, ‘ you can freely place elements on your page, which keeps everything neatly aligned with a ‘snap-to-grid’ feature. This helps your designs look great and organized.

The Verdict

In terms of ease of use and user interface, Squarespace takes the lead with its user-friendly interface, direct on-page editing, and drag-and-drop functionality. 

While WordPress offers adaptability, Squarespace’s streamlined design, coupled with its recent ‘Fluid Engine,’ enhances the editing experience. This positions Squarespace as the preferred option for straightforward and efficient website creation.

Templates

Both WordPress and Squarespace come with built-in templates and design tools to help you create a custom website effortlessly. Let’s see which platform will give you more options and tools to create beautifully designed websites in the section below. 

Squarespace 

Squarespace boasts an extensive collection of around 200 free templates for your websites. These templates cater to 5 different types of websites and 16 unique niches, providing a broad array of design options.

The templates operate differently based on your site’s version. When starting a site, it defaults to Squarespace 7.1 templates, while you can also opt for Squarespace 7.0 templates.

In Squarespace 7.0, you have the option to choose from a basic template family, such as Brine, Bedford, Galapagos, or Tremont, and then customize your site within that specific framework. Each family has its unique features that cater to different businesses

For Squarespace 7.1, all templates share the same features, and the varied starting templates are just initial points. You have the flexibility to switch between elements as needed. While you can change template families in Squarespace 7.0 and adjust elements in 7.1, transitioning from a 7.0 to a 7.1 site requires starting anew.

Moreover, Squarespace’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor empowers you to effortlessly incorporate galleries, slideshows, video backgrounds, and more through simple clicks. For those seeking more advanced options, the built-in custom CSS editor allows you to apply personalized code to your template.

Unlike WordPress, where coding is often necessary, Squarespace offers coding as an optional feature.

WordPress

Now, let’s shift our focus to WordPress, where things take a different turn. You’ll discover a template library right in your dashboard under “Appearance.” There, you’ll find approximately 200 free templates.

There are also tens of thousands of third-party templates waiting for you to explore. Some come at a low price, around $2, while others may cost a couple hundred dollars. Generally, the price range falls between $30-$60.

Online stores like ThemeForest and Template Monster offer a vast selection of stunning themes. One affordable option is the Glass template, priced at just $23, yet quite appealing.

With numerous online shops showcasing a wide range of themes, both budget-friendly and pricier ones, you’re sure to find something that suits your liking and aligns with your website’s niche, adding a unique touch.

In the grand scheme, it’s evident that WordPress prioritizes quantity over quality with its free templates. They don’t stand out much. On the other hand, Squarespace has a smaller selection of templates, but they hit the mark with modern and attractive templates.

The Verdict

Squarespace takes the lead in the templates category. With its curated collection of over 200 modern and user-friendly designs, tailored for various website types and niches, Squarespace offers a superior template experience.

While WordPress provides more options, its free templates may lack the visual impact of Squarespace’s designs. The balance between quality and variety makes Squarespace the preferred choice for beautifully designed websites.

Blogging

Another essential element for users seeking to build a successful website or business is blogging ability. 

WordPress

Many bloggers love WordPress for a reason. It was initially created for blogging, and its blogging tools are impressive. You can add extra functions using third-party plugins, like sign-ups for newsletters, membership areas, galleries, grammar checks, author profiles, and translations. If you care about search traffic, WordPress is great for optimizing your site. Plugins like Yoast SEO let you control post settings (more on that below).

Even without plugins, WordPress has useful blogging tools like commenting, post scheduling, RSS, saving drafts, and previewing posts. This is more than what most website builders offer. Setting up a WordPress blog requires some extra work, like other WordPress sites. But if you want an easier option with advanced blogging features, Squarespace is a strong choice.

Squarespace 

Squarespace provides integrated blogging tools that you can use right away. These tools include categories, post scheduling, social sharing, RSS feeds, and author bios. The blog editor is flexible, allowing you to add complex elements like galleries and forms easily.

Squarespace’s advanced features include podcast hosting and direct publishing to Apple News. It also integrates with other tools like Bandsintown, SoundCloud, Amazon, and OpenTable.

The Verdict

The result is a tie. Both Squarespace and WordPress earn a point in this category. While WordPress boasts powerful plugins for versatile customization, Squarespace provides a user-friendly option, catering to those seeking simpler management.

Apps & Plugins

Discover the enhancement of website features through apps and plugins. Now, let’s compare Wix and WordPress to determine the superior extras.

WordPress

With a vast collection of more than 55,000 free plugins, the WordPress Plugin Repository caters to a myriad of needs.

From elegantly crafted lead generation forms to captivating quizzes for gathering leads and subscribers, or even captivating and conversion-driven landing pages, there’s a WordPress plugin tailored for every requirement.

Numerous WordPress plugins follow a freemium approach, offering fundamental features at no cost, while advanced functionalities entail a fee. Nonetheless, certain exceptional plugins, like Thrive Automator, are entirely free of charge.

Squarespace 

Imagine Squarespace as a restaurant where your meals are crafted in-house. Your attentive waiter, well-versed in the menu, is ready to address your inquiries. While you have the freedom to select your preferences, all dishes originate from Squarespace’s kitchen.

Should you require additional tools, Squarespace offers an exclusive app market called Squarespace Extensions. Although there are only 31 third-party apps available, they are of exceptional quality.

Squarespace Extensions offer a snapshot of available apps that can enhance your website’s capabilities. These extensions facilitate seamless integration with external platforms, streamlining tasks such as shipping, multi-platform product sales, and online store marketing.

Pricing for each extension varies, encompassing options like monthly or per-use fees, free plans, or trial periods. For precise pricing details, a visit to the extension’s page is necessary.

The Verdict

In the comparison of website enhancement capabilities through apps and plugins, WordPress emerges as the clear winner. With a vast collection of over 55,000 free plugins, it offers versatile solutions tailored to various needs.

The freemium model and fully free options, like Thrive Automator, add to its appeal. While Squarespace provides in-house features and Squarespace Extensions, its limited selection of 31 third-party apps falls short in comparison.

Content Ownership

In a world where data is a prized commodity, maintaining control over your information is essential for a thriving website. Now, let’s delve into a comparison between WordPress and Squarespace in terms of content ownership.

WordPress

With WordPress, your content is entirely yours, both now and always. You can export it and use it elsewhere, within licensing and copyright limits.

Squarespace 

Similarity with WordPress, if you wish, you can export your content from Squarespace and transfer it to another platform. Your ownership of content and images adheres to licensing regulations. 

Squarespace provides import/export tools for content and details, without hidden clauses implying ownership of your content. Transferring a domain registered with Squarespace to another registrar is also possible, crucial as your chosen URL holds significant importance. 

However, their domain service comes with a renewal fee of $20 to $70, depending on the TLD. Notably, you don’t have ownership of the design and templates used in your Squarespace account, which remains under Squarespace’s ownership. This necessitates a redesign with a different theme if you migrate to another platform, a standard process.

The Verdict

WordPress is the winner.  With WordPress, you retain full control over your content, domain name, and website. Unlike some platforms, WordPress empowers you with autonomy, ensuring that your data remains in your hands. 

While Squarespace offers similar content export options, WordPress’s comprehensive ownership and control make it the preferred choice for maintaining data sovereignty and ensuring a thriving online presence.

SEO  

Squarespace 

Squarespace’s built-in SEO tools include

• Customizable meta titles and descriptions: Craft titles and descriptions for your pages in Google search results.
• Customizable URLs: Create clean, readable URLs like squarespace.com/pricing for search engines.
• Image alt text: Enhance the accessibility and search engine understanding by describing images.
• Page redirects: Automatically direct visitors to new URLs when you change a page’s address.
• Automatic sitemaps: Generate a list of your site’s pages to assist search engines in understanding their relationships.
• Hide a page: Temporarily prevent specific pages from appearing on search engines.
• Control social image: Determine which image displays when your content is shared on social media.

These tools are seamlessly integrated, eliminating the need for extra plugin downloads. Squarespace has significantly enhanced its SEO capabilities compared with its previous version. 

Finally, although Squarespace offers a limited selection of apps, it does offer a handful of marketing and SEO extensions available for installation. Feel free to explore these options.

• Delighted
• EZ Texting
• GoDataFeed
• Outfy
• Smart SEO

WordPress

WordPress websites include certain built-in SEO features, but the platform’s true SEO strength is derived from its collection of SEO plugins, which you need to install on your own.

In the review of Douglas Luantonio, Gravy; he assesses that the preference for WordPress lies in its extensive range of plugins for SEO, website speed, and optimizations, alongside the ability to easily access and modify code for technical users. Squarespace, while user-friendly with drag-and-drop features, lacks the flexibility to make technical code changes.

Moreover, WordPress uses the Yoast SEO tool to analyze content and give suggestions for improvement. Yoast SEO helps to examine your content and offers improvement suggestions, providing a score after each modification.

For a more comprehensive SEO plugin, you can consider RankMath, which offers additional features and a free version. Its enhanced options are available through premium plans, with the lowest starting at $59/year.

The Verdict

The result is a tie, both WordPress and Squarespace achieve top scores. WordPress is renowned for its robust SEO capabilities, leveraging plugins like Yoast. Conversely, Squarespace boasts extensive built-in features, offering a more streamlined option if you prefer less customization work.

E-commerce

While neither Squarespace nor WordPress are made specifically for building online stores, they both provide essential features. 

WordPress

Now let’s take a look at what WordPress.com features are. Basically, you have two different plans to choose from when it comes to eCommerce. Some of them are recommended for small businesses, and others are recommended for online stores.

Both of these packages provide features like

• Ability to collect payments;
• Earn advertising revenue;
• Google Analytics integration,
• Advanced SEO tools.

In addition, if you choose the plan recommended for online stores, you can accept payments in more than 60 countries, add unlimited products or services, get special marketing tools, Premium themes for your website, and integration with top carriers.

While WordPress.com also has quite a bit to offer, Squarespace is a much more recommended website builder when it comes to eCommerce.

Squarespace 

First of all, let’s take a look at what Squarespace’s e-commerce features are. Then you will find out that the company offers 3 different eCommerce plans. As always, the better your selection, the better features and functionality you get.

Each of these 3 packs includes

• Fully integrated e-commerce.
• Transaction fees vary from 0% to 3% depending on your plan.
• The ability to sell an unlimited number of products;
• Accept donations;
• Offer gift cards.

When you choose a better plan, you will get more special features like recovery of ignored tags, e-commerce analytics, the ability to create accounts for your customers, tagging products on your Instagram page, your site, selling subscriptions, and more. Needless to say, Squarespace is considered one of the top choices when it comes to eCommerce features.

The Verdict

In the comparison of e-commerce capabilities, Squarespace takes the lead. With three comprehensive e-commerce plans, it offers fully integrated features such as product tagging on Instagram, subscriptions, and more. While WordPress.com also provides e-commerce options, Squarespace’s dedicated focus, and extensive offerings make it the preferred choice for building online stores.

Security

As you create content online, it’s important to secure your website from cyberattacks and malware. In the following, we’ll compare Wix and WordPress for site security.

WordPress

When using WordPress, you’re in charge of your website’s security. This means you need to handle your SSL certificate, do backups, and update your site. While plugins can assist, the main responsibility is yours.

WordPress is less prone to DDoS attacks, but your security also relies on your hosting provider. Certain providers like Bluehost offer free SSL certificates and automatic WordPress updates for added security support.

Squarespace 

Squarespace handles your security needs, scanning for malware and defending against DDoS attacks (Distributed Denial of Service, which floods a website with traffic to disable real users’ access). Squarespace’s vigilance is crucial due to its popularity making it a DDoS attack target. Disrupting Squarespace affects numerous websites relying on its platform.

Squarespace provides three main ways to protect user’s data:

• SSL Certificates: Encrypts website traffic for you and visitors, preventing hacking and data theft. Crucial for online sellers to secure payment details.
• GDPR Compliance: Safely stores customer data, essential for EU sales. Includes tools to publish privacy policies.
• Cookies: Enhances site performance and security, ensuring efficient and secure operation.

The Verdict

Squarespace emerges as the winner in terms of security. It actively defends against malware and DDoS attacks, safeguarding user data through SSL certificates, GDPR compliance, and efficient cookie usage. In contrast, WordPress places more security responsibility on users, although hosting providers like Bluehost can provide support.

Mobile Editor

Not all website builders have the same mobile optimization quality. Different builders have their strengths, so your choice depends on your needs. Let’s compare the mobile editors of WordPress and Squarespace.

WordPress

The WordPress Mobile Editor offers several benefits to users for editing their website on mobile devices. The app is available as a free download for both Android and iOS devices, making it accessible to a wide range of users. Users with websites on WordPress version 3.5 or higher can install the app to begin managing their site’s content directly from their mobile devices.

The WordPress Mobile Editor’s advantage is the convenient content management capabilities. Users can create, edit, and publish posts, manage media files, and even approve or delete comments from the app. This feature allows users to maintain their website’s engagement and interactivity even while on the move.

The app provides a user-friendly editing experience that closely mirrors the familiar functionality of the original WordPress platform. Drafting new posts, editing existing content, and customizing themes and menus are all possible within the mobile app.

For users who frequently work with visual content, the app offers the ability to embed photos directly from their mobile devices. This streamlines the process of enhancing posts with images and graphics, eliminating the need for additional steps or transfers.

Comment management becomes more efficient with the WordPress Mobile Editor. Users can promptly delete or approve comments, ensuring that their website’s discussion remains organized and relevant. The app’s interface allows users to handle comments with ease, similar to the interaction with many other mobile applications.

Squarespace 

Squarespace stands out with its approach to mobile editing. Unlike other platforms, Squarespace doesn’t have a separate mobile editor. Instead, it relies on responsive themes. These themes automatically adjust and optimize your site’s display for various screen sizes, ensuring a seamless experience whether you’re using an Android phone or an iPhone.

This convenience is a highlight of Squarespace. The stylish and professional design of its themes extends to mobile screens, maintaining a polished look. Moreover, Squarespace supports Google’s AMP project, enabling you to create lightning-fast blog posts by removing unnecessary elements.

While Squarespace lacks a dedicated mobile editor like Weebly, the trade-off is that you don’t need to create a separate mobile site. The platform’s emphasis on responsive design streamlines the mobile experience for both you and your visitors.

The Verdict

WordPress takes the lead with its dedicated mobile editor, allowing seamless content management, post creation, media handling, and comment management. Squarespace’s reliance on responsive themes, while stylish, lacks direct editing capabilities. WordPress offers a more versatile and feature-rich mobile editing experience, making it the preferred choice.

Help & Support 

Squarespace and WordPress both provide their own Help and Support features, which can be helpful even if you think you won’t need help with customer questions at first.

WordPress

WordPress lacks an in – house support team due to its open-source nature. Instead, you can explore WordPress forums where users and developers share insights.

WordPress offers a comprehensive community forum with a plethora of helpful information, including tens of thousands of articles that usually address your queries. However, the quality of responses may vary.

If direct human interaction is crucial and you use WordPress, relying on your hosting provider’s support is advisable; for instance, Bluehost provides 24/7 phone support for assistance.

Squarespace 

Squarespace offers comprehensive support options than WordPress, including:

• Live chat on weekdays
• 24/7 email assistance
• Free online webinar sessions
• Round-the-clock Twitter support
• Community forum for specific advice

SquareSpace has created helpful resources like guides, videos, and a forum to assist you in building your website.

Especially , when we assess on the “Help vs Price ” category, SquareSpace is outstanding. Even if their service has increased in price due to the inflation market, its support has stayed unchanged. This differs from Wix, which increased both its price and support services.

The Verdict

Squarespace wins in Help & Support with a wide range of options, including chat, email, and webinars. Its consistent support quality despite price increases sets it apart from Wix. Squarespace is the better choice over WordPress for dependable help.

4. WordPress and Squarespace: Which is Better?

WordPress is best for

• Web Design Companies: Can utilize WordPress to implement a wide range of features and solutions.
• Aspiring Bloggers: Provides an exceptional platform for blogging and content creation.
• Customization Experts: Those comfortable with PHP, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS can tailor WordPress extensively.
• Users Seeking Popularity: Widely used and supported by a large community of users.
• Small and Large Businesses: Offers solutions for various business needs and challenges.

Squarespace is best for:

• User-Friendly Experience: Ideal for users seeking an easy-to-use platform.
• Ecommerce-Oriented Businesses: Well-suited for businesses requiring e-commerce functionality.

5. WordPress vs Squarespace: FAQs

6. Bottom Line 

In the ultimate showdown between WordPress vs Squarespace, the winner depends on your specific needs and priorities. WordPress reigns supreme in customizability, advanced blogging, and e-commerce scalability. Squarespace shines in simplicity, visual appeal, and built-in SEO.