Squarespace vs WordPress: Which is Best for Your Business?

Your website is your initial point of contact with your audience. And no one wants to make a bad first impression. Using the correct content management system (CMS) can help you create the best website for your business. Let’s explore Squarespace vs WordPress.

An Overview of WordPress Features

WordPress is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) that lets anyone easily build and manage websites. Since it was launched in 2003, it’s become one of the most popular CMS, powering over 43.5% of all websites on the Internet. 

Whether you have extensive coding knowledge or are learning how to code, WordPress has options to help you create and customize your site. 

An Overview of Squarespace

Squarespace is a different website builder that, like WordPress, provides everything you need to build a website. It allows people who have little to no technical knowledge to quickly build and launch a custom site without worrying about day-to-day management.

Squarespace vs WordPress: Which is Better?

Ease of Use: WordPress

WordPress uses the Gutenberg block editor for creating pages and posts. Each block represents a distinct element like text, images, or buttons, offering granular control over content structure. With over 60,000 plugins and countless free and premium themes, WordPress empowers you to build your website to your exact needs. 

Ease of Use: Squarespace

If you aren’t familiar with designing or building a website, it can seem like an intimidating process. However, Squarespace prides itself on being user-friendly and can help anyone build a website. 

Winner: Both

WordPress is a great tool if you have some web development and coding skills. If you’re still working on those skills, or trying to find them, Squarespace has everything you need to help you easily build your new site. 

Customization: WordPress

Your website needs to work for you. WordPress gives you total control over the design and functionality of your site with thousands of themes and plugins. You don’t have any limits with coding, which allows you to create customizations like lists, video insets, and tables that will set your business apart from its competition. For example, if you’re selling a product with a specific feature, you can create a video inset showing off that feature so the customer can get a full view of your product. 

Customization: Squarespace

You don’t want your website to look like everyone else’s. You want to stand out from the rest. Squarespace offers many different layouts, templates, and themes to help you create a custom look.

Winner: WordPress

Squarespace offers basic customization, but WordPress takes it to another level. From plugins to coding, you have the ability to create the exact website that works best for you.

Pricing: WordPress

WordPress is generally more affordable than Squarespace, with lower upfront costs and flexible monthly plans starting from $4. While the core platform is free, you’ll need to pay for website hosting and a domain name. Additional features like custom domains, extra storage, and e-commerce capabilities can be added through premium plans.

Pricing: Squarespace

With Squarespace, your plan’s price is what you pay for everything, including hosting, templates (site themes), integrations, extensions, and a content delivery network (CDN) for swift page-loading times.

Winner: WordPress

Squarespace is one of the more expensive CMS systems on the market. While having one price for everything is convenient, WordPress gives you more cost-saving options.

SEO and Internet Marketing: WordPress

WordPress excels in SEO and internet marketing. Its SEO plugins like Yoast and Rank Math offer advanced features for optimizing your site. For e-commerce, WordPress integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce and CRMs like HubSpot, enhancing marketing efforts.

SEO and Internet Marketing: Squarespace

Unlike WordPress, Squarespace has the basics covered but that’s it. You’ll be able to do a few foundational tasks to support your site in search and other digital marketing initiatives. But you won’t be able to do more technical internet marketing work.

Winner: WordPress

Squarespace is one of the more expensive CMS systems on the market. While having one price for everything is convenient, WordPress’s open-source nature and vast plugin ecosystem provide unparalleled flexibility and advanced features, surpassing Squarespace’s internet marketing capabilities.

Security and Maintenance: WordPress

If you choose WordPress, it’s up to you to keep your security updated. The positive is this gives you more control over your website.

Security and Maintenance: Squarespace

Squarespace reverses the process by handling many of the security updates itself meaning you can be more hands off.

Winner: Depends on Your Needs

Both sites have many of the same security features. If you’re someone who isn’t afraid of getting into your site and keeping things updated then WordPress will work for you. However, if you would rather let someone else assume that responsibility, then Squarespace has you covered.

So Which is Better?

Squarespace is a great option for creating your website. It’s a user-friendly platform that offers basic SEO features and strong security.

However, for a more flexible and powerful solution, we recommend WordPress. It provides greater customization options, advanced SEO capabilities, and a wider range of e-commerce features to cater to your business needs.

Your website should help grow your business—not cause problems.