Are you wondering which is better between Squarespace vs WordPress? If you’re confused between these 2 site builder platforms, then you’ve landed on the right page.

Squarespace and WordPress are both popular platforms for building any type of website. These platforms allow you to create stunning websites in the most beginner-friendly way.

 

However, they’re not just the same. They provide different ways to build your site and also have major differences and similarities. Now, you may wonder which is the better option for you. Well, that depends on what you’re looking for!

 

So, in this article, we’ll compare Squarespace vs WordPress side by side. We’ll explain its functionality, pricing, support, pros, cons, etc. to help you figure out which will be suitable for you. Let’s dig in!

 

IN THIS ARTICLE: hide

A). Squarespace vs WordPress – Brief Introduction

B). Squarespace vs WordPress – Ease of Use

C). Squarespace vs WordPress – Flexibility and Functionality

D). Squarespace vs WordPress – Plugins and Extensions

E). Squarespace vs WordPress – eCommerce

F). Squarespace vs WordPress – SEO

G). Squarespace vs WordPress – Pricing Plans

H). Squarespace vs WordPress – Support

I). Squarespace vs WordPress – Pros and Cons

J). Recommendation

Conclusion

A). Squarespace vs WordPress – Brief Introduction

Let’s begin with a brief introduction to each site builder.

 

Introducing Squarespace

Squarespace website builder was founded in 2003. It has helped millions of people to launch their websites. This site builder provides you with an all-in-one set of tools that allow you to access everything you need to develop a site. You can get from best template design, fonts, colour palettes, styles, and so on to hosting services.

 

Introduction to Squarespace

Its main idea is to allow people to build a site code-free i.e. without touching CSS and JavaScript. Hence, you can stay away from techy stuff and make a site easily without much hassle. Moreover, it’s a “Software as a Service” (SaaS) platform. This means you can pay a monthly price and use everything you need to create and maintain your site.

 

Furthermore, you can also market your website and business easily. You’ll be able to make an impression in every inbox and social feed. Also, it makes it easier to retain your customer and build audiences with on-brand email campaigns and social media tools.

 

Introducing WordPress

WordPress is the most popular website builder platform on the market today. Basically, it’s a powerful Content Management Software (CMS)that’s designed to manage simple to complex websites. That’s why over 42 percent of all the websites on the internet are built using WordPress.

 

WordPress.org Website

WordPress gives you complete control over building and customising your website. You can simply use any pre-built template and use style, design options; representing your company’s identity on the site.

 

Nonetheless, it’s important to note that you can find WordPress in 2 different forms: Fully Hosted WordPress.com and Self-Hosted WordPress.org.

 

If you choose the fully hosted WordPress.com, then you can make a website in a fully managed platform for some fee. Whereas self-hosted WordPress.org means you need to set up your website yourself which involves buying a hosting plan, installing WordPress, and maintaining it. For more information, check our article on WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.

 

In this article, we’re talking about self-hosted WordPress.org and comparing Squarespace with it.

 

B). Squarespace vs WordPress – Ease of Use

A platform should be easy to use so you can quickly set up and get started with building your website. Or else, you might get stuck in the setting up process.

 

Also, the platform that requires more technical stuff might be difficult to maintain. This might distract you from promoting your website and the services that come within it.

 

With that, let’s move on to comparing Squarespace vs WordPress; which one is easy to use.

 

Is Squarespace Easy to Use?

Undoubtedly, Squarespace is one of the easiest website builders as you won’t need any expertise and also saves your time.

 

It’s also a user-friendly platform that offers a drag and drop builder. Also, being a fully hosted platform, you don’t need to purchase and configure web hosting or external software.

 

All you need to do is go to Squarespace.com and log in to your account. If you don’t have an account, simply go to the log-in page where you can also see Create Account. Then, you can access the dashboard where you need to go to create a website.

 

Login to Squarespace

There, you’ll need to select the type of website you’re going to build and also select a suitable template.

 

Site Title to start website

Now, Squarespace allows you to start building your site with the selected template. You simply need to fill in the site title and then edit and style your site. Also, you can go through each menu like pages, design, commerce, marketing, and so on and edit your content accordingly.

 

Show Page Menu of Squarespace in Squarespace vs WordPress

For example, in the “page menu”, this platform gives you the option to create about us, contact, etc. pages for the site. The same goes for the rest of the menus. Hence, editing and customising have never been easier.

 

Is WordPress Easy to Use?

As we’ve mentioned earlier, WordPress is an open-source platform that is available to download and use freely. So, to start with WordPress, you simply need to purchase a domain name and a web hosting service.

 

There’re many domain registrar companies such as Namecheap, Domain.com, and so on. You can get yourself a pretty decent domain name from any of those companies.

 

For the hosting services, there’re companies like Bluehost, DreamHost, SiteGround, and more. You can easily purchase the hosting service from any of these companies at an affordable price. Also, most of these companies provide you with domain services as well. So, you can simply look out for them.

 

Dreamhost (Cheap and Best Web Hosting Service) (Cheap and Best Web Hosting Service)

After that, you need to install WordPress on your hosting account within a click in most of the hosting service providers.

 

Search WordPress Themes to Install

Now, once the installation is completed, you can access your admin panel and start with building your website. For that, select the suitable theme for your site from over 8000 free themes available in your dashboard.

 

Gutenberg Editor (WordPress Block Editor) (WordPress Block Editor)

Following this, you can start editing and customising the designs of your website. You can also edit the content using Gutenberg editor that makes it simple to make changes in your content.

 

Moreover, it also has popular page builders such as Elementor, Beaver Builder, Divi Builder, and much more. This allows you to perfectly build pages with stunning designs and styles and set up your working site easily.

 

Therefore, you can completely control the appearance and functionality of your website. Although WordPress somehow requires little technical knowledge, you can at least manage your site on your own. Also, you can install WordPress locally and test everything without any limitations.

 

Winner?

While WordPress is also an easy platform to create websites, it’s a little more sophisticated than Squarespace. You’ll need some technical knowledge and tutorial guides if you’re a complete beginner.

 

Whereas Squarespace allows you to effortlessly set up and customise your website. Also, it’s more beginner-friendly as you can drag and drop features onto pages.

 

Hence, Squarespace is a winner in comparison to WordPress.

 

C). Squarespace vs WordPress – Flexibility and Functionality

For the websites to be functional as per your need, the website builder must be flexible enough. So, it allows you to make any type of changes like appearance, add/remove elements, designs, trendy features, functions, etc.

 

Therefore, selecting the platform that can fulfil the complete flexibility and functionality is crucial. Hence, let’s begin our comparison on the flexibility and functionality of Squarespace vs WordPress.

 

Flexibility and Functionality of Squarespace

Squarespace is one of the flexible website builders. It gives you options to select the template and type of website you’re about to start building. You can also preview the template before using it.

 

It gives you the flexibility to easily make any modifications to your website though you’ve used the pre-built template you’ve selected. It allows you to tweak the styles and customise any elements from a single interface. Also, you can add your own custom CSS to create your own designs and embed them.

 

It also has more built-in features and functionalities where you won’t need to install extra plugins. It provides eCommerce features like ordering, shipping, etc., and marketing features like email campaigns, promotion, announcement, etc.

 

Functionality of Squarespace in Squarespace vs WordPress

On top of that, tracking your website, integration with social platforms, all come within it. Hence, these are some of the major functions of Squarespace which allows you to configure everything.

 

It also supports 3rd party premium extensions. However, you won’t necessarily need them as all the functions are available in themselves.

 

Flexibility and Functionality of WordPress

Although WordPress has a steeper learning curve, it offers unlimited flexibility. It has thousands of free and paid themes and allows you to customise however you want. You can design your theme with simple drag and drop elements or with coding.

 

Functionality of WordPress in Squarespace vs WordPress

Not only that, you can build your own blocks as well. It has a Gutenberg editor that allows you to add/remove blocks as per need of content you want.

 

On top of that, adding functionality in WordPress is the easiest thing ever. In this site builder, you can add any new features using plugins and there’re plenty of plugins available.

 

You can easily get the free plugins from the official WordPress plugin library. Plus, there are numerous premium plugins and extensions you can use for any kind of functionality on your site.

 

Winner?

WordPress is clearly the winner regarding the flexibility and functionality in comparison to Squarespace.

 

WordPress provides you with tonnes of features via plugins. And, adding them to expand your features and functionality is super easy. Also, the modifications can be done endlessly with or without using code.

 

Whereas Squarespace is comparatively less flexible as you can simply tweak the changes on your templates. Talking about the functionality and features, they’re also limited within it. It offers premium 3rd part extensions which offer additional features. For that, you need to purchase it.

 

D). Squarespace vs WordPress – Plugins and Extensions

Plugins and extensions usually add extra features to your website. Hence, it’s also an important factor to consider while selecting the platform.

 

Now, let’s get into comparing the plugins and extensions of Squarespace vs WordPress.

 

Plugins and Extensions of Squarespace

As we’ve discussed earlier, Squarespace has in-built functionalities, which means it comes with pre-installed apps on your site. They’ve great selections of apps and tools that provide features for blogging, performance analytics, marketing, image display, animations, and more.

 

Therefore, you won’t need to download any plugins or apps separately and take care of updating them. This is fairly considered hassle-free.

 

However, you might not be satisfied with the functions those apps have been providing. So, if you require more functionality other than that, then it has a separate store, called Squarespace extensions.

 

Extensions of Squarespace in Squarespace vs WordPress

There, you can find high-quality 3rd party apps and extensions but the number of apps is limited, i.e. below 30. So you can choose the extension from them according to your requirement.

 

Plugins and Extensions of WordPress

In WordPress, there’re tonnes of plugins available in WordPress that are both free and paid to add unlimited features.

 

There are over 59,000 plugins that can be downloaded free from the official WordPress plugin library. Also, the same number of premium plugins are available. You can simply purchase any for more features. Hence, building a website with endless features isn’t as difficult as you might’ve imagined.

 

Plugins of WordPress in Squarespace vs WordPress

Hence, you can simply select the plugin which might fit your site’s needs. Also, setting up those plugins is quicker and effortless.

 

On top of everything, you can also create a custom plugin yourself if you can’t find a suitable plugin on the market. Develop it yourself or simply hire a developer if you’re a beginner. In a nutshell, possibilities are endless in WordPress.

 

Winner?

WordPress offers a limitless number of plugins and extensions. Whereas Squarespace offers fewer plugins and extensions.

 

So, in this case, WordPress is the winner compared to Squarespace because WordPress’s plugins and extensions are available even for free. But if you’ve to use Squarespace’s extensions, then you must pay for it.

 

E). Squarespace vs WordPress – eCommerce

You might want to add eCommerce features on your website. Or you might want to make a purely online store. For that, the website builder platform should be capable of supporting all the features required for an online store or business.

 

So, we need to compare Squarespace vs WordPress to know which platform provides better eCommerce features.

 

eCommerce Features in Squarespace

Squarespace allows you to easily set up your eCommerce store and start selling online. It provides you with everything required to start building your business or store. However, for that, you need to have at least a Business Plan or above.

 

The Business Plan gives you all the functions but is most suited for smaller stores or start-up companies. However, for larger stores, you need to upgrade it to Basic Commerce or Advanced Commerce Plan according to your need.

 

eCommerce of Squarespace

It gives all the sales tools that are fully integrated which makes your online store look great. You can add and sell unlimited products, promotional pop-ups, receive payments (PayPal, Stripe, Square), email addresses, etc. For further setup of shipping, tax, abandoned cart recovery, and other functionalities, you can also surf the Squarespace extension marketplace.

 

Hence, all of these are included within the Squarespace and you won’t need to install any additional plugins. This helps you to immediately create your website and start selling products.

 

eCommerce Features in WordPress

We know, WordPress gives your website functionality via plugins. So, for the online store, it offers a number of eCommerce plugins such as WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, etc.

 

Among many plugins, WooCommerce is popular and specially designed for WordPress users. It’s suitable for small to medium-sized WordPress-based online shops of all sizes.

 

WooCommerce Most Popular eCommerce Platform

WooCommerce comes with all of the tools you’ll need to get started with your eCommerce business. It’s totally customizable, allowing you to match your brand, sell any products, payment and shipping options, order and inventory management, etc.

 

Additionally, there’re a plethora of WooCommerce extensions to add a variety of useful features to your eCommerce site. You can also integrate your eCommerce site with powerful blogging tools to attract even more customers.

 

But if you want to use plugins other than WooCommerce, then you can go for Easy Digital Downloads or Ecwid. It’s mainly a suitable option for selling digital products such as ebooks, software, and much more.

 

Another alternative option is creating a store using eCommerce website builders like BigCommerce or Shopify and integrating it with WordPress sites.

 

Winner?

Squarespace is the most suitable for the smaller business and to quickly start selling your products. So, if you want to set up your online store quickly then, Squareapce is recommended.

 

Meanwhile, if you want a completely good set of features, then WordPress with the WooCommerce plugin is recommended. Because you’ll have a lot of flexibility to set up and customise. And, you can use it for both smaller and bigger businesses.

 

Therefore, WordPress is the winner as compared to Squarespace.

 

F). Squarespace vs WordPress – SEO

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the must-have aspect for all websites. It helps your website rank higher in search results. Even if your website doesn’t rank better, you can analyse and improve your rankings with the help of SEO features.

 

Therefore, it’s crucial to choose the website builder that offers proper SEO tools. Because even though your website is stunning with all features, you’ll need to rank high to reach more audiences.

 

So, let’s compare both of these website builders.

 

SEO in Squarespace

Squarespace comes with built-in SEO tools to help your site rank in search engine results. So, let’s discuss some of its SEO features.

 

SEO of Squarespace in Squarespace vs WordPress

A sitemap is a list of sites’ different pages that search engines use to figure out how they’re all related. So, Squarespace creates and links a sitemap.xml file that includes and optimises every URL and image for optimal indexing.

 

Similarly, it creates pages with clean HTML that search engines can easily index. You simply need to choose the Heading styles and the tags will be generated. The same goes for images. Images with adequate alt and title tags are better for search engines.

 

Furthermore, the meta titles and descriptions are also customizable. In Google search results, it represents the title and paragraph that describes a page. So, you can change them easily.

 

Also, you’ll need to have a clean URL, which allows you to set your own URL. You can make your URLs more readable for search engines by cleaning them up. For example “example.com/pricing”.

 

You can also easily redirect the pages for your users. Squarespace allows you to update the URL of any page. When users go to the older URL, they’ll be redirected to the updated URL.

 

Other features are built-in mobile optimization, structured data, keyword analytics, and so on.

 

In conclusion, Squarespace includes plenty of SEO features and you won’t need to install any extra plugins or extensions.

 

SEO in WordPress

WordPress also comes with built-in SEO features and WordPress websites are optimised for search engines by default.