Why choose Squarespace over WordPress?
Prior to 2016, my web experience was based in the corporate world, using complex CMSs, and also WordPress.
Since 206, I’ve been building websites for small businesses and community organisations since, using a range of website builders like Squarespace, Wix, WordPress and Weebly. In relation to my current work for small business clients, these are the reasons why I opt for Squarespace over WordPress (and other website builders).
There are a significant number of content management system (CMS) website builders available to use today, and the options are growing. Squarespace, Wix, WordPress, and Square are just a few.
After establishing the purpose of a new website, the decision of which website builder to use is an important one. The decision might be influenced by any prior experience the site owner has with a certain website builder — familiarity and confidence with a CMS can be a good reason to choose that one, depending on the new site’s purpose.
We know that WordPress is the most popular website builder in the world; it has a huge market share of more than 60% of the websites built in a CMS. Both design and functionality of WordPress is almost unlimited … depending on your budget! WordPress also offers scalability, and complex and specific functionality that is outside the standard suite of business solutions available for websites. But that does make it the best? No, not necessarily, and I dare to say, not for the majority of small businesses.
Affordability, value and efficiency
The decision about what website builder to choose is not just about affordability; it’s more about quality, efficiency and value.
When we buy any product or service, buying the most affordable option isn’t necessarily going to be the best.
Similarly, buying the most expensive option isn’t necessarily going to work for us! Nor is it a given that the expensive option will offer value for money.
Here are seven reasons why I opt for Squarespace over WordPress:
1) Affordability, time saving, and user friendliness
If you’re with me with understanding that in business time=money, Squarespace beats WordPress hands down. WordPress is a complex beast that needs taming much of the time … too much of the time.
WordPress
Many WordPress site owners find the editing of their site hugely difficult, so not user friendly: WordPress websites are frequently built and designed with a both a specialised site builder (like Elementor Pro or Divi), pkus the Gutenberg block editor. Web pages built with Elementor Pro can’t be edited using the block editor. This can cause confusion for some site owners who want to manage their own content.
WordPress is an open source system — thousands of developers around the world contribute to the 10,000s themes and plugins available to use on any Wordpress.org website. Plugin conflicts requires time to troubleshoot and fix.
Sure, there are free WordPress themes and plugins that you can use. Invariably you need to upgrade to the paid premium plugin, with ongoing annual costs, if you want full functionality. Without full functionality, the performance can be lacklustre.
The expense, including the time spent on getting your WordPress site right, goes on and on. With WordPress, hosting and maintaining your own site is a lot of work. Installing WordPress plugins, updating plugins and themes, dealing with plugin and theme compatibility issues and bugs, contacting the hosting service when your site is down or slow, and so on, the list goes on. This complexity is a regular part of a WordPress site owner’s life.
Squarespace
Squarespace, on the other hand, does security updates and bug fixes for us. Zero security maintenance for the Squarespace site owner.
Squarespace is easier to use and this saves time. Yes, you may need to buy a plugin to enable pulling in, for example, Facebook reviews, but the integration is so much easier, simpler.
Does simplicity = dinky? My attitude is that keeping it simple can yield a cleaner, more enjoyable experience — and this extends to user experience. As long as all the website functionality works, and the site achieves its purpose, and it looks smart … happy days!
2) Style and responsive design
Squarespace themes and content blocks are responsive, with design tweaks for mobile devices easy to achieve. Squarespace is easy to customize, even at the code level if coding is required for functionality or design. You can integrate HTML, CSS and Javascript into your Squarespace site without the predictable issues that can arise with a web builder like WordPress.
Squarespace's editing tools are elegant and simple to use — everything makes sense.
By the way, and from experience, the Squarespace responsive styling is also superior, far more user-friendly and efficient, compared to Wix or WordPress.
3) Site speed
WordPress can be slowed down by too many plugins, incompatible plugins/themes, and cheap hosting server issues.
Squarespace's servers are fine-tuned, fit for purpose. However, the downside for Australian Squarespace websites is that the servers are located in the United States, and this can slow down the site speed somewhat. But it’s not a deal breaker for me: I am very conscious of optimizing content for maximizing site speed.
4) Security
WordPress is prone to hacker attacks and requires protection plan addons which contribute to cost, time, and anxiety.
Squarespace handles all the security your site needs including the SSL certificate which is built in to your subscription. If somehow Squarespace does get hacked, they will fix it — one less (big) problem for site owners to worry about.
5) Support
There is a wealth of online how-to content for both WordPress and Squarespace, including troubleshooting advice.
With WordPress, if you have premium (paid for) themes or plugins or hosting, you get good support via chat or email.
Squarespace offers a well-maintained online knowledge base. They offer email support which, admittedly, may not offer a solution immediately. But the support responses are good.
6) Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Squarespace wins over WordPress, hands down, with SEO. The work you need to do within your Squarespace site (other than writing great web content and maintaining social media engagement) is much more intuitive and integrated seamlessly and efficiently with Squarespace.
7) Business solution integration
Squarespace allows website scalability to ecommerce (physical and digital products, online courses), scheduling, selling and private areas for wholesaling, and more. Of course blogging has always been a given with Squarespace.
These points aren’t in any particular order, each contributes something important to my point of view: that Squarespace offers an excellent solution for small business and anyone wanting a good looking, sharp, and functional website that works, that’s fit-for-purpose.
One important proviso to add is: choosing the correct website builder depends on the purpose of the website and any known plans for future site development.
We’re always happy to chat about your plans. We’d love to help with a new build or website revamp or upgrade.
