Squarespace vs. WordPress: Which is Better for Small Business Owners
If you’re a small business owner or someone who’s gearing up to launch your own small business, you probably already know that Squarespace and WordPress are the two heavy-hitters when it comes to website builders.
Each platform has its own unique perks and plenty of features to explore—which we know can feel like a lot. Back when we were starting out, we spent countless hours researching, testing, and figuring out which platform worked best for us. Now, after years of building websites, crafting templates, and helping solopreneurs bring their visions to life, we can confidently say that Squarespace is our top pick (and for most small business owners, too!).
That said, we totally get that WordPress has its place and might be the better fit for you. That’s why we’ve put together the ultimate comparison guide—to help you make the most informed decision and feel confident about your choice.
Picking the right platform can feel overwhelming, but by the end of this blog, we will make it easy to understand the pros and cons of each website builder, and you’ll have all the clarity you need to move forward. Let’s dive in!
Wordpress.com vs Wordpress.org
Before getting started, it’s important to note that there are actually two different Wordpress platforms!
Wordpress.org is the “original” Wordpress. It’s a self-hosted platform (meaning you need a third party hosting provider like Bluehost) that’s ideal for people who want complete control over their website. For example, Wordpress.org allows full code modification (HTML, CSS, PHP), making it a great choice for a website developer.
Wordpress.com on the other hand came a couple years later and is a hosted platform (like Squarespace!) that offers slightly less control but has a much simpler software, perfect for beginners.
In this blog post, we will be discussing the features of Wordpress.com, since it’s more comparable to Squarespace and a much better option for small business owners.
Key Differences Between Squarespace & WordPress
To choose the best website platform for you and your small business, it’s important to understand what each option offers. You probably wouldn’t purchase a car without comparing it to multiple different models first, right? So, think about your website builder the same way!
Both Squarespace and WordPress have aspects worth exploring, so let’s talk about the most notable specifics.
1. Ease of use
When you’re starting a small business, everything feels daunting! Every decision feels like the most important one you’ll ever make and you don’t want to mess anything up.
Because of this, it’s important to have a website platform that eases your stress and makes getting started as painless as possible.
WordPress
WordPress is generally pretty easy to get started with. The process of creating a new website is as simple as creating an account, choosing a plan, and choosing a theme (which can be changed at any time).
Each theme also comes with an info page and demo, and you can preview multiple different themes and their features before making the choice to activate one!
When you’re ready to create your first page, you can either:
Add one of the ready-made page layouts that WordPress offers. These layouts automatically add blocks for you to edit, making design even easier.
Or, you can start from scratch with a blank canvas.
You’ll also need to separately set up a homepage using a different template than your regular pages and configure your website menu using a navigation block, which is where things can get slightly over-complicated and potentially confusing.
Onboarding steps, in general, are really crucial since most new business owners don’t want to be immediately overwhelmed, and WordPress doesn’t have the most intuitive process once you’re inside your account. But after you’ve done some research and gotten to know the platform, it should all fall into place.
Squarespace
Squarespace, on the other hand, is very straightforward from account creation to designing your first page.
To get started, all you need to do is create an account and choose a starting template! Your chosen template will automatically populate into your account and you can begin learning the software and making edits right away. You don’t even need to purchase a plan until you’re ready to go live.
To make things even simpler, check out our Premium Squarespace Templates which give you a beautifully designed, customizable website along with tutorials and materials to help you get set up.
In addition to that, Squarespace is specifically designed to be a DIY friendly website builder. Their whole business model is to empower people to DIY their website, and the software definitely backs that up! Once you have a lay of the land things become super intuitive, allowing you to quickly accomplish things that, as a beginner, might have originally felt daunting.
Creating your first page, for example, can quite literally take just minutes! You have the option to:
Use the pages that come with your chosen template and simply replace the filler content with your own copy and photos.
Add a brand new page using one of Squarespace’s pre-built page layouts so that the design work is already done for you.
Add a brand new blank page and build the design yourself.
All of Squarespace’s pages follow the same general format, so you don’t need to learn anything new in order to create a beautiful homepage, and your site navigation is conveniently managed within the same panel as your pages.
No matter how you choose to build your site, the DIY nature of Squarespace makes every step digestible. For a step by step guide to Squarespace, check out our blog 👉 A Beginner’s Guide to Squarespace - Step by Step Tutorial 2024.
To Summarize
In our humble opinion, Squarespace comes out on top when it comes to ease of use!
Getting started with a template or theme is fairly straightforward on both platforms, but WordPress.com can quickly branch off into too many directions, while Squarespace keeps things streamlined and user-friendly.
Committing to a website for your small business is a big step and the last thing you need is to immediately regret the decision because it feels way too complicated.
2. Design & Customization
Let’s be real, website viewers browse with their eyes before actually diving into any content!
From the moment someone lands on your website, they are judging the aesthetic, imagery, and layout, which is why having a beautiful and professional level design is nearly just as important as the actual products you sell or services you offer.
So, let’s talk about what designing your site on both Squarespace and WordPress is like.
WordPress
One of the biggest benefits to using WordPress is the potential design flexibility it offers.
While its design interface might not feel as seamless as Squarespace’s, it allows for a higher level of customization. This can be appealing to those eager to learn advanced design techniques themselves or planning to hire a professional.
WordPress’s block-style editor is somewhat similar to the classic Squarespace 7.0 editor. Content is created using individual blocks that stack on top of and around each other.
The catch? You can only make basic customizations in the WordPress editor unless you pay for a higher tier plan. To unlock more design flexibility, you’ll need to pay more.
The same goes for themes. The cool thing is that WordPress offers a really wide range of themes including ones that you can pay for! This means that you can gain access to unique, professional-grade designs without needing to hire a developer. However, again, customization options depend on which plan you’re under which can be frustrating.
If you’re planning to learn the block editor yourself and stick to basic customizations, the software is relatively user-friendly, allowing you to create simple designs without any coding!
Squarespace
Like we said before, Squarespace is built specifically with DIYers in mind. So, while the platform might be slightly more basic, all design capabilities and customization options are very user-friendly.
Their polished and professional-looking templates make life super easy for total beginners, and the additional design tools that are offered allow those who are a little more adventurous or have some design experience to play around and create advanced-looking layouts.
Plus, Squarespace still offers the ability to use custom CSS and other more advanced coding on all plans other than the lowest “personal” tier, so if you ever wanted to hire a professional or experiment yourself you totally have that option!
Here are some of our favorite Squarespace design features:
Fluid Engine: Squarespace 7.1 uses a fluid grid that allows you to drag & drop and move blocks of content around freely, creating unique layouts and interesting compositions that would traditionally require custom CSS.
👉 How to edit in Squarespace 7.1 with Fluid Engine - Best practices and tips
Color Themes: Squarespace automatically sorts your color palette into 10 unique color themes that can be applied individually to sections. This allows for so much customization with hardly any work.
👉 How to add a Custom Color Palette to your Squarespace Website
Mobile Editing: The Squarespace 7.1 Fluid Engine editor allows you to create a mobile design entirely independent from your desktop design without any coding necessary.
👉 Mobile Optimization: Creating Responsive Squarespace Sites
To Summarize
There are pros and cons to both Squarespace and WordPress when it comes to design and customization.
Squarespace is a little bit more basic and DIY friendly, whereas WordPress allows you more flexibility to implement professional techniques if you’d like.
Because design and aesthetic is such a personal aspect to owning a business, you should choose whichever platform feels most appropriate for you. However, when it comes down to it, we will always support DIY for small business owners which is why Squarespace is our winner here!
3. Cost & Value
Money (and saving it) is everything when you’re first starting a business.
There’s no way you can be throwing out dollars and signing checks without a care in the world! So let’s discuss the differences and similarities in cost for Squarespace and WordPress, and what’s going to give you the most value.
WordPress
WordPress has a good amount of subscription tiers to choose from, so anyone should be able to find something that works for them.
They do offer a free plan, however you must use a WordPress subdomain (aka “wordpress.com” will follow your business name) and the customization options are extremely limited. After that, these are their main options:
Personal: $4/month (billed annually)
Premium (most popular): $8/month (billed annually)
Business: $25/month (billed annually)
Commerce: $45/month (billed annually)
Enterprise (VIP): Starts at $25,000/year
The great thing about these options is that you can start out at a relatively low cost, which is amazing for a small business owner who’s looking to save money wherever possible!
The downside is that more detailed customizations can only be made on a Business plan or higher, so things can start getting more costly as your needs grow or if you need e-commerce features. The personal and premium plans also don’t allow the installation of plugins, which is one of the platform's most desirable aspects.
You’ll also need to purchase a domain for your website (unless you want to use the free wordpress.com domain) which usually costs anywhere from $12-$20/year through WordPress. Fortunately, all of the WordPress subscription plans come with one year of free domain registration.
The last thing to consider with WordPress is whether or not you’ll need to hire a professional. Some of the more desirable website designs and layouts are going to require an advanced knowledge of coding and development that you might not have the bandwidth for as a small business owner.
If hiring a professional is even a maybe for you, then you’ll need to factor that into the amount of money you’ll be spending, and website designers can range from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars!
Squarespace
Squarespace also has different subscription tiers ranging from basic to more advanced. The plans include:
Personal: $16/month (billed annually)
Business (most popular): $23/month (billed annually)
Commerce Basic: $28/month (billed annually)
Commerce Advanced: $52/month (billed annually)
With our discount code, BIGCATCREATIVE10 you can get an extra 10% off your first year.
These plans all include a professional grade template, website hosting, mobile optimization and more, plus they all come with a 14 day free trial!
These tiers start out at a higher price point, but more is offered within each plan and the price for more advanced features isn’t astronomical.
In addition to that, you’ll also need to pay for a custom domain. These are usually around $20/year on Squarespace, and each plan includes one year of free domain registration when you purchase an annual subscription.
You also have access to other purchasable add-ons within Squarespace like scheduling, email marketing, and video storage which can range anywhere from $7/month to $89/month. These are tools that you might need when expanding your business but are not mandatory for getting started.
If you want more thoughts on how much building your website on Squarespace will cost, check out 👉 How Much Will Building Your Website on Squarespace Actually Cost
If you’re considering a premium template, keep in mind that it’s an additional cost on top of your Squarespace subscription and domain purchase. Templates typically range from $80 to $500, depending on who you're purchasing from.
For more on what building a website with a template looks like, check out 👉 How to build your dream website with a custom Squarespace template.
Our Premium Squarespace Templates are a fantastic option if you’re looking for a professionally designed website while saving money. See our blog post here on the differences, Each template is crafted by a professional designer, with attention to both aesthetics and strategy, giving you a polished website without breaking the bank.
If you more thoughts on deciding whether to go with a template or hire a designer, check out our blog 👉 Should I buy a Squarespace Template or Invest in Custom Website Design?
Overall, Squarespace offers pricing options that work for just about everyone. Plus, maintaining your site is so easy that you’re far less likely to need professional help, saving you a ton of money in the long run!
To Summarize
There seems to be a myth that Squarespace is so much more expensive, but when you take a moment to compare the basics of each platform side by side, the two are pretty equal.
WordPress has some less expensive starting plans, which is a big bonus. However, Squarespace takes the lead as you get into the pricing of more advanced features (looking at how much it's going to cost you once everything is said and done). It’s also important to remember that additional charges can come up no matter which platform you choose.
For example, with WordPress you might need to hire a developer, but with Squarespace, you might need to purchase a scheduling add-on.
If you truly want to DIY your entire site though, Squarespace is going to give you the best price with the most user friendly features that allow you to stay low cost for the longest stretch of time as you grow.
4. Flexibility & Scalability
As much as we would all like to “live in the moment”, growth and scalability are constantly on the mind of a small business owner!
It’s important to choose a website platform that’s going to offer you opportunities to expand and increase business, without having to completely redo your website or learn an entirely new software. Ideally, you’d stay with one platform for the entirety of your brand’s life, so let’s talk about what both Squarespace and WordPress can offer you.
WordPress
Like we talked about before, WordPress does have the potential to be a super flexible platform if you want to pay for the more advanced subscriptions and/or hire a professional to do the development for you!
They offer a lot of desirable tools like plugin and widget integration and the ability to sell with WooCommerce.
They also have a robust blogging system with extensive tools for content creation, community engagement, analytics, and more. WordPress is probably the most comprehensive platform when it comes to blogging, as it was originally built specifically for that reason.
However, If investing more monetarily isn’t something you’re willing to do, then there’s only so much you’ll be able to accomplish within the WordPress platform because unfortunately, flexibility and scalability = $$$ on this platform.
Squarespace
One of our favorite things about Squarespace is the fact that they can see you through every single stage of your business! It’s a great platform for Day 1 and it will still be a great platform in year 10.
Not only are you able to upgrade to more advanced subscriptions if that’s something you want, but there are tons of built in features (regardless of which plan you have) to help you build and cultivate new aspects of your business wherever you’re currently at. Plus, it’s all super intuitive. So, if you know how to operate within Squarespace, learning these new features as you grow will be a piece of cake. Here are just a few of our favorites:
E-Commerce: Squarespace allows you to create a shop at any point in time where you can sell physical products, services, downloads, and more. You have the ability to offer discounts and shipping, and can even track your sales and download data to make accounting a breeze.
Courses & Memberships: Create unique courses and paid memberships for your clients and customers. This is an amazing feature if you want to start offering a paid online library of classes or a premium online training. Once you’ve gained a dedicated audience, you can utilize these spaces to launch new products and expand even further.
Invoicing: Create proposals, contracts, and invoice clients all from the comfort of Squarespace. This feature is especially popular with photographers, event planners, and freelancers who need to have a trustworthy way of presenting business ideas and collecting payments. As your business grows, so will your influx of payments and Squarespace can help you manage it all!
Blog Monetization: Squarespace makes it super easy for bloggers to monetize and collect payments for their content. As you expand your business, you can create certain categories of content that are locked behind a paywall so that your audience has the opportunity to create an account and pay to view.
👉 How to add a Shop to Squarespace - Step by Step Walkthrough (7.1 and 7.0)
👉 How to Host a Course on Squarespace - New Squarespace Courses Feature
To Summarize
If money isn’t an issue for you, WordPress offers some really amazing tools for growth and scaling your business, specifically if you’re a blogger.
However, Squarespace allows you to scale at any point and offers a ton of free opportunities to expand your business which honestly, is priceless! Small business owners need to be able to try out new things and take risks with their products and services, and Squarespace lets you do that without draining the bank.
5. SEO & Performance
SEO refers to how well your website will rank on search engines like Google, and obviously, the goal is to rank as high as possible in those search results.
But SEO can feel overwhelming if you’ve never worked with it before, and it can be hard to know where to even begin. This is why it’s amazing to have a website platform that automatically helps you out!
Let’s see how WordPress and Squarespace compare when it comes to SEO...
WordPress
All of the WordPres subscription plans include basic SEO features like automated sitemaps and permalinks, which is super helpful!
Beyond that, you’re able to access more advanced tools (like keyword optimization!) with the Premium plan or higher, and if you have the Business plan or higher, you can integrate SEO plugins that change the game.
One of the SEO plugins that is most popularly paired with WordPress is Yoast which helps you improve your website’s SEO with straightforward tools and training.
Yoast utilizes AI software to generate optimized SEO titles and descriptions, optimizes your pages for your viewers and search engines, automatically handles all technical SEO, and more.
Another big aspect of website performance is mobile optimization, which is kind of a hit or miss with WordPress. You are able to choose mobile-friendly themes, however there isn’t a separate mobile editor, so any changes you make on desktop will (hopefully) automatically reflect on mobile.
At that point, you’re kind of at the mercy of the theme you’ve chosen, which can be stressful. But some form of mobile optimization is better than nothing!
Squarespace
It is somewhat true that Squarespace might not be the best platform for you if you want to implement a super complex SEO strategy for your website. This is because the underlying CSS and Javascript codes, that make editing your website DIY friendly, can’t be tweaked.
On the other hand, Squarespace has some really awesome SEO features built into the platform that make improving SEO very easy and accessible for everyone.
This is especially important for small business owners, who have much more important things to worry about than spending hours on end researching and implementing SEO strategies!
Some of the built-in SEO features that Squarespace offers are:
Site and SEO Titles
Site and Page Descriptions
Business Information
SSL Security
Connected Social Media Accounts
Easy Image Optimization
Custom URL Slugs
404 “Not Found” Page
Google Search Console
In addition to these built in features, Chrome users also have the ability to download the SEOSpace plugin for Squarespace. This is an amazing tool that conducts SEO audits for any page on your website and gives you a breakdown of what to improve.
👉 Squarespace SEO: Boosting your Site’s Visibility with our go-to SEO Checklist
Squarespace also makes it really easy for you to optimize your website for mobile, which is a huge plus.
Ensuring an optimized mobile view helps viewers have the best possible user experience, which in turn boosts your site’s performance! The Squarespace 7.1 fluid engine editor allows you to customize your mobile design independently from desktop, which means you can tweak your mobile design to be exactly what you want without any coding necessary.
Pro Tip: All of our Premium Squarespace Templates have been designed to be completely optimized for mobile. Prioritizing responsiveness, fast loading speeds, and easy to read layouts.
👉 Mobile Optimization: Creating Responsive Squarespace Sites
To Summarize
Again, there are pros and cons to both platforms when it comes to SEO, however neither of them completely miss the mark!
No matter which platform you’re using, there are key practices you can implement to boost your SEO and help your website get noticed:
Include descriptions for all your content: Whether it’s pages or photos, adding short, clear descriptions helps search engines figure out what your site is about, which can boost your visibility.
Provide detailed business information: Make sure it’s crystal clear what you do, where you’re located, and who you serve so search engines can connect you with the right audience.
Optimize your images: Compress them for faster loading times and rename the files to something descriptive and keyword-friendly (no more “IMG_1234.jpg!”).
Focus on creating high-quality content: Use keywords naturally to help Google understand your site, and keep your content fresh—whether that’s by updating pages or adding new blog posts regularly.
One resource we absolutely love for SEO best practices is SEOspace. We’ve worked with them ourselves, and they’ve taught us so much about optimizing websites and blog content. If you’re looking to improve your SEO, they’re a fantastic place to start!
As a little bonus, we’ve got an exclusive discount for you—use our code to get 30% off your first three months with SEOspace!
6. Support & Community
Everyone needs a little help sometimes—even our team still checks out the help center now and then!
As website platforms evolve with updates and new features, it’s important to keep learning and adapting. That’s why having a strong support system in place is absolutely key.
WordPress
WordPress does have a library of support guides that walk you through everything from getting started to more advanced features like plugins. They also have a community forum where you can view questions from other users. And both of these things are accessible to anyone which is awesome!
On the other hand, their one-on-one support is slightly limited if you’re on a lower-tiered plan.
You have the ability to contact the support team regardless of which plan you’re on, however, priority assistance and live chat abilities are exclusive to the higher-tiered plans.
This is somewhat of a deal breaker for us since quick and efficient help is paramount to a small business owner.
Squarespace
Squarespace, on the other hand, has top notch support.
They have an incredibly helpful team dedicated to responding to questions about their platform and helping users quickly and efficiently. You can:
Live chat with a Squarespace Assistant
Contact the team via email
Hire an expert to personally assist you with your site
Join a community forum
Or attend a free online webinar to learn about the basics
They also have a HUGE library of articles and videos covering exactly how to use anything and everything within Squarespace. We utilize this help center and often refer clients to specific articles that are extra helpful!
Because the people who work at Squarespace are completely in charge and in control, they’re able to provide a very specialized level of support. They know exactly how everything works and can offer inside tips and tricks to help you accomplish what you need. When you’re working with their support team, you know you’re getting the best help possible.
To Summarize
For us, it’s a no brainer: Squarespace has the best support out there!
It’s so important as a small business owner that you feel confident in every aspect of your business, and the last thing you need is to feel like a low priority or like you aren’t getting the best possible help for something as important as your website.
7. Security
As a small business owner, your brand is quite literally your life. And if something were to happen to your website, it wouldn’t be only a small inconvenience!
Both Squarespace and WordPress have different levels of security, so let’s discuss the differences.
WordPress
Even though WordPress is hosted (meaning you don’t need a third-party hosting provider), it is still technically open source. This means that the source code used to create it is accessible to the public and can be modified by other developers.
By nature, this makes the platform less safe than one that is closed source!
However, WordPress itself does manage the hosting of your website, so core updates, backups, and security patches are taken care of. And that is a big step up from its sister platform (Wordpress.org) which is entirely self-hosted, leaving all security and management up to you to figure out.
WordPress also automatically includes an SSL certificate on all websites to ensure that any connection to your site is totally secure, and the integration of Jetpack adds extra security to your site like spam filtering.
You also have the option to control more advanced security measures on higher-tiered plans.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a closed source platform, which means that only the top people at Squarespace have access and can add or tweak functions making it super safe and secure!
They also directly host all of their websites (in other words, you don’t need to purchase website hosting elsewhere), so security measures are all handled within the platform and without any effort on your part. For example, if your site were to crash for some reason, you can rest assured that the Squarespace team has it covered before you even realize anything is wrong.
On top of that, Squarespace provides free SSL Certificates for every one of its websites. This ensures that any connection to your site is completely secure and that your data, as well as your site visitors’ data, is safe.
To Summarize
The fact that both platforms are hosted is a huge plus for small business owners. This way, you don’t need to find a third-party hosting platform or worry about more advanced protection.
Both platforms also take very similar security measures, which is great.
The biggest difference is that Squarespace is 100% controlled and managed by Squarespace alone and that peace of mind is too good to pass up. With WordPress, there might always be a slight feeling of uncertainty when it comes to your site’s security.
8. Maintenance & Updates
Once your website is live, you want it to live and function on its own without glitching or freezing constantly due to updates in software.
The great thing about both Squarespace and WordPress, is that they take care of site maintenance for you! Let’s go over why this is so amazing and what you need to consider with both platforms.
WordPress
Because WordPress is hosted, all updates and software maintenance is taken care of for you.
You don’t need to worry about staying on top of version updates or software changes, because the platform will make sure it’s done quickly and efficiently.
The one variable when it comes to automatic updates in WordPress is plugins! If you have a lot of plugins integrated within your website, you’ll have to make sure that they all update automatically and have no extra maintenance requirements.
For the most part, any plugin that is part of the WordPress repository will automatically update, but since it’s an extra element, it’s worth noting that you might want to be extra aware.
Squarespace
Like we touched on a bit above, Squarespace handles everything in house with their own experts. This means that platform and software updates are taken care of seamlessly in the background, often without you ever even noticing.
If there is ever a massive update or change coming down the pipeline (like there was when Squarespace introduced Version 7.1), they will always provide notice, ample information, and time to figure out what, if anything, you need to do. There will never be any manual software updating needed, and you definitely don’t need to have an understanding of web development to maintain a website with Squarespace.
This is a huge reason why Squarespace is so perfect for small business owners. Specifically, those who are far removed from the tech world. You could, essentially, leave your website untouched for years and come back to find it still functioning on its own!
To Summarize
Both platforms are pretty equal when it comes to software updates and platform maintenance.
You can rest assured, no matter which one you choose, that the platform will take care of that techy stuff for you and that your site will still be standing no matter what changes the platform makes to its software.
9. Learning Curve
New businesses don’t pop up overnight. It takes a lot of time and energy to make that dream a reality, and some small business owners don’t have time to do anything else but form their brand and get their systems running.
Because of that, it’s important to keep in mind how much learning is actually going to be required when creating your website.
WordPress
We’ll be honest, WordPress is not the most beginner friendly. And we think WordPress users would probably agree!
There’s no way of getting around it, it’s just not the most simple or DIY appropriate platform.
Like we mentioned back in the beginning, even something like setting up your homepage and menu requires a couple of additional steps and further knowledge of the platform. All of the elements eventually come together, but you have to manage a lot of things individually.
Because of this, you need to put a lot of effort into research and learning the platform before you can even fully dive in.
There’s a much steeper learning curve since the majority of design aspects in the platform are set up for advanced customization and the integration of code and plugins is prioritized. Essentially, it’s an advanced platform that’s made itself accessible to beginners, so there’s always going to be a slightly complicated feel to the tools.
Squarespace
In addition to having the most detailed help center, Squarespace also makes starting a website extra digestible by guiding you through each step of the process.
You’ll find built-in help tools and tutorials all throughout the platform (which itself isn’t super techy or confusing) including “learn more” tabs and even a setup guide that provides a checklist for getting started and helpful articles for building and customizing your website.
You could, quite literally, create an account with Squarespace having less than zero knowledge of the website building world, and have the bones of a site set up within a day. That’s pretty awesome if you ask us!
Pro Tip: Our Premium Squarespace Templates make the learning process even easier. When you purchase a template you receive a library filled with resources and detailed video tutorials walking you through the setup and customization processes.
To Summarize
It’s definitely possible to master the WordPress platform, but you’re going to have a much steeper learning curve than you will with Squarespace.
Squarespace is specifically designed for DIYers, which makes it perfect for small business owners who want a user-friendly interface and easy-to-follow tools!
No matter which platform you end up choosing, it’s good practice to spend some time early on learning all of the basics. This way, when you’re ready to start adding content and designing, you’ll already have an understanding of what needs to be done rather than learning as you go.
You can always visit our blog, where we have an entire section on "Squarespace Tips" or take our free training for those wanting to DIY their website. 👇
10. Integration With Marketing Tools
Marketing is one of the most important aspects of running a small business! It’s key early on to know what tools and strategies you want to utilize and how you want to implement them.
The last thing you need is your website making things more difficult for you, so let’s go over marketing integration for both Squarespace and WordPress.
WordPress
WordPress does have some built-in marketing tools like the ability to create newsletters, social media integration (easy sharing to Instagram, Facebook, etc), and analytics for post performance and site traffic.
You’re also able to access more advanced marketing features like Google Analytics, promotional pop-ups, and Mailchimp integration on higher-tiered plans!
All in all, if you’re willing to invest a little more money into your site, then WordPress has some great features and plugin opportunities to boost your marketing strategy. It’s also a great platform choice if you already use a lot of external tools and don’t need a ton of built-in features.
Squarespace
In addition to built in marketing features like connected social accounts and promotional pop-ups, Squarespace has a small library of extensions (aka plugins) that can be connected directly to your website to boost your marketing strategies. Some of their marketing extensions include:
These extensions are built and managed by the third-party provider and make it super easy for you to integrate their tools and features directly into your Squarespace site.
And for platforms that don’t have an extension available, you can utilize the Squarespace code block!
The code block allows you to copy and paste custom code from a third-party provider in order to display their widgets or products. For example, if you use Flodesk as your email marketing platform, you could create a sign-up form within Flodesk and then copy and paste the connected code into a code block to collect emails straight from your site.
Squarespace also makes it super easy to collect analytics for site engagement, viewer behavior, and more.
For free, you can view data for your site traffic, traffic sources, and locations! You can also verify your website with Google Search Console in order to receive further analytics relating to keywords.
And the best part is that all of this is done 100% within Squarespace. You don’t need to hire a professional to help you make sense of it all or research code snippets for hours just to get your newsletter sign-up in place.
To Summarize
Both platforms have basic built-in marketing features like social sharing and newsletter blocks, however WordPress has a larger plugin library that might come in very useful if you’re willing to spend a bit more money.
Squarespace, however, does make it really easy to integrate third-party platforms into your website using simple copy and paste code, which makes up for the limited amount of extensions offered.
At the end of the day, you’ll need to spend some time creating a solid marketing strategy in order to know what’s most important for you and your business. Then you’ll be able to choose which platform most meets your needs!
Specific Industries: Should You use Squarespace or WordPress?
It’s great to have all the facts, but what if you’re still not quite sure which platform is the best fit for you and your business?
Different industries have unique needs and priorities, so let’s explore some of the most common ones and discuss which platform might work best for your specific goals!
Creative Entrepreneurs
If you’re someone who functions in a really creative, aesthetically centric industry, Squarespace is probably going to be the better fit for you.
Photographers, for example, need to maintain a really strong brand identity in order to attract new clients, and Squarespace makes it so easy to plug in your branded elements (colors, fonts, logos, etc) and utilize them consistently throughout your entire site.
And with the DIY nature of the platform, you can also create unique, professional-feeling page layouts to showcase your work and sell your services without needing to learn complicated coding or hire a web designer.
Squarespace is going to allow the most creative freedom that a DIYer could ask for and give you the chance to maintain a functioning website without taking any focus away from building your empire!
Here are some of our favorite Squarespace templates for photographers 📸
Tech Savvy Entrepreneurs
If you’re an educator or coach with a background in web design or just someone who is eager to learn all that there is to know about building a website, then Wordpress.com might be more what you’re looking for.
You’re going to have a steeper learning curve, but once you’ve become comfortable with the platform, the possibilities will be virtually endless using custom code and advanced plugins.
Squarespace does also offer the option to use custom CSS coding, however the open source nature of Wordpress.com makes it possible to manipulate the design beyond CSS. This means that you can create customized layouts and designs that wouldn’t ever be achievable on Squarespace.
Bloggers
The blogging industry is unique, because the most important requirement really is just the ability to write solid content that is easy to read, which can be accomplished on both platforms.
Wordpress.com is a great choice for a blogger because it was originally created specifically for blogging. This means that the blogging features and tools are a priority and more advanced. If you’re willing to spend a little more money, you can integrate blog specific plugins and create more optimized designs and blog layouts.
This is a huge benefit for full-time bloggers who rely on high quality content to earn a living.
Squarespace, on the other hand, makes it really easy to monetize your blog without spending any more money! Their blogging platform is also super comprehensive and has everything you would need in order to write, design, organize, and publish your posts.
Squarespace is also much less tech heavy, so it’s pretty easy to start and maintain a successful blog while still providing opportunities for growth.
👉 How to Start a Blog with Squarespace in 2024
Here are some of our favorite Squarespace templates for bloggers 💻
E-Commerce Store Owners
For online store owners, choosing the perfect platform is going to come down to what works for you personally.
The way you want to go about making sales and dealing with the intricacies of shipping, finances, and everything else that comes with e-commerce is something you need to determine for yourself and your business. This means that there’s the potential for either Squarespace or Wordpress to be the right choice.
Squarespace might be best if:
You value design over anything else. In Squarespace, your shop can be customized just like any other page on your website. You can add as many blocks, sections, and layouts as you’d like to create something truly unique and custom.
You don’t have time to get too complicated. Again, Squarespace is made for DIYers! This means that you can put together a professional looking online shop quickly and without needing any complicated and expensive development.
You don’t want to use multiple platforms. Everything is taken care of directly within the Squarespace platform, so you don’t need to sign up for any third-party providers in order to get a shop up and running.
WordPress might be best if:
You plan on creating a super large store or you want a more flexible e-commerce platform. WordPress offers the ability to integrate with WooCommerce, which automatically allows your website to support a more robust shop with a high volume of products and sales. This really is the main draw for using WordPress for your online store. Since WooCommerce is also open source, it has the capacity for more of everything, including customization and flexibility. You must pay for a higher-tiered plan in order to access WooCommerce integration.
Okay, there you have it! A full run down of both Squarespace and WordPress.
By now, it’s probably pretty clear why we’re such big fans of Squarespace, but that doesn’t mean WordPress doesn’t have its strengths. What matters most to us is making sure small business owners like you are informed, set up for success, and able to achieve ease and value in the process.
That’s also why we’re so passionate about Squarespace Templates!
They simplify the DIY website-building process even further, offering a perfect solution for anyone who wants professional results without the cost of hiring a designer. Check out some of templates below! 👇
Creating a website is such an exciting time in your business journey, and we hope that this guide on Squarespace v WordPress has helped make things a little less stressful and your choice of platform a little easier to make.
Loved that post? Check out the blog posts below! 👇
How to easily transfer from Wordpress to Squarespace
5 Awesome features you can add to ANY Squarespace Site to boost your biz
Squarespace VS Shopify — Which Platform is Better for an Online Store?
8 pages you should have on your website as a small business owner
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