Squarespace vs WordPress: which should I choose?

When it comes to building a website, there are countless options available. Most notably, two of the most popular website builders on the market today are Squarespace and WordPress. These platforms are hailed as the cream of the crop for creating a beautiful website with loads of features. However, both options offer powerful features and customization options, making it difficult to determine which one is the better choice for your website.

In this article, we will compare Squarespace and WordPress, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses, to help you make an informed decision on which website builder is right for you. We'll also introduce IFTTT, our free automation service that has been helping designers and small business owners revolutionize how they build websites.

Squarespace: a comprehensive website builder

Squarespace is a popular website builder known for its sleek, professionally designed templates and ease of use. It is an all-in-one platform that allows users to create, manage, and host websites without needing extensive technical knowledge. Squarespace is particularly popular among creatives, small business owners, and individuals who prioritize design aesthetics.

How much does Squarespace cost?

Personal Plan ($25 when paid monthly): This plan provides access to all core features, including a free custom domain, SSL security, and unlimited bandwidth and storage. It’s ideal for individuals or those with simple website needs.

Business Plan ($36 when paid monthly): The Business plan includes all features from the Personal plan, plus professional email from Google, advanced website analytics, and the ability to accept donations and sell unlimited products with e-commerce tools.

Commerce Basic Plan ($40 when paid monthly): Tailored for small businesses, this plan includes all features of the Business plan, plus additional e-commerce capabilities like integrated accounting, customer accounts, and powerful merchandising tools.

Commerce Advanced Plan ($72 when paid monthly): This top-tier plan offers advanced e-commerce features such as abandoned cart recovery, advanced shipping options, and subscription products, making it ideal for growing businesses with more complex needs.

Pros of Squarespace

Design quality: Squarespace is renowned for its high-quality, visually appealing templates. The designs are modern and responsive, ensuring that your website looks great on any device.

Ease of use: Squarespace’s drag-and-drop interface is intuitive, allowing users to build and customize their sites without needing to code. The platform also offers a range of pre-built sections and layouts that make site creation even simpler.

All-in-one solution: Squarespace provides everything you need to build, host, and maintain a website. This includes web hosting, domain registration, security features, and customer support.

E-commerce ready: Squarespace offers powerful e-commerce tools, making it easy for users to set up online stores, manage products, process payments, and track orders.

Cons of Squarespace

Limited customization: While Squarespace offers a range of design options, it can be restrictive for users who want full creative control. Advanced customization often requires coding knowledge or third-party plugins.

Pricing: Squarespace’s pricing is higher compared to some other website builders, especially if you need advanced e-commerce features or additional customization.

SEO limitations: Although Squarespace includes basic SEO tools, it is often considered less flexible and powerful than other platforms like WordPress when it comes to advanced SEO optimization.

Performance: While generally reliable, Squarespace sites can sometimes be slower than those built on other platforms, particularly when heavily customized or filled with large media files.

WordPress: A popular content management system

WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) that powers a staggering 40% of all websites on the internet. WordPress enables users to easily create, edit, and manage digital content, and is put to work worldwide. It provides a user-friendly interface, allowing individuals with limited technical expertise to maintain their websites.

How much does WordPress cost?

WordPress.com offers a free plan with a subdomain (e.g., yoursite.wordpress.com). However, it comes with limited features and includes WordPress.com ads. There are other paid options, including:

Personal Plan ($4 when paid monthly): This plan removes ads, allows you to use a custom domain (e.g., yoursite.com), and provides basic customization options.

Premium Plan ($8 when paid monthly): The Premium plan includes additional features such as advanced customization options, the ability to monetize your site with ads, and more storage.

Business Plan ($25 when paid monthly): The Business plan is suitable for small businesses and includes advanced customization, unlimited storage, e-commerce capabilities, and more.

Pros of WordPress

Ease of use: WordPress offers a user-friendly interface at an approachable price point, making it easy for beginners to create and manage their websites. It also offers a wide range of themes and plugins to customize your site.

Large community: With its popularity, WordPress has a large community of users and developers who can provide support and resources for building and managing your website.

SEO-friendly: WordPress offers built-in SEO features and plugins, making it easy to optimize your website for search engines. This can help improve your website's visibility and drive more traffic to your site.

E-commerce capabilities: Similar to Webflow, WordPress also offers e-commerce capabilities, allowing users to create online stores and sell products directly from their websites.

Cons of WordPress

Security concerns: WordPress is a popular target for hackers, making it vulnerable to security breaches. This can be a major concern for businesses that handle sensitive customer information.

Limited design flexibility: While WordPress offers a wide range of themes and plugins, it can be difficult to customize your website beyond these options without coding knowledge.

Maintenance and updates: WordPress requires regular maintenance and updates to ensure your website is running smoothly and securely. This can be time-consuming and may require technical knowledge.

WordPress vs Webflow: A CMS comparison

Now that we have explored the pros and cons of both Webflow and WordPress, let's compare them side by side to determine which one is the better website builder.

Design and customization

When it comes to web design and customization, Squarespace tends to offer less customization, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, Squarespace is a great choice for those without much technical website building ability. With the click of a button, Squarespace can provide a straightforward, all-in-one solution with beautiful templates and built-in features.

WordPress, on the other hand, offers a wide range of themes and plugins for customization. However, it can be difficult to customize your website beyond these options without coding knowledge.

Ease of use

Both Squarespace and WordPress offer user-friendly interfaces, making it easy for beginners to create and manage their websites. However, WordPress may have a steeper learning curve for those who are not familiar with website design. Additionally, Squarespace can fully develop a website for you if a completely hands-off experience is what you are looking for.

SEO capabilities

Both Squarespace and WordPress offer built-in SEO tools and features, making it easy to optimize your website for search engines. However, WordPress has a larger community of SEO experts and developers who can provide support and resources for improving your website's visibility.

E-commerce capabilities

These platforms also offer built-in e-commerce capabilities, making it easy for businesses to sell products directly from their website. However, Squarespace may have an advantage with its prebuilt e-commerce features, while WordPress may require additional plugins for full e-commerce functionality. With this being said, WordPress is the more capable option for larger stores, while smaller stores could get away with what Squarespace offers.

Integrations

While both Squarespace and WordPress offer integrations with third-party tools and platforms, WordPress has a larger library of plugins and integrations available. This can be a major advantage for businesses that rely on specific tools for their operations.

Additionally, WordPress can integrate with IFTTT, which is a game changer when it comes to automating your website. IFTTT is a free automation solution trusted by millions worldwide, and we can help streamline many aspects of your website building experience with just a click of a button.

Which website builder is right for you?

Ultimately, the choice between the two depends on your specific needs and preferences. Think about your budget: both are pretty affordable for smaller plans but think about potential costs as you expand. For those needing an absolute free solution, WordPress will be your best bet.

If you prioritize design and want a more visual, design-centric approach, Squarespace could be the better choice. With its drag-and-drop interface and built-in design tools, Squarespace offers an easier building experience compared to WordPress. Users can create unique and visually appealing websites without any coding knowledge.

On the other hand, if you value a strong content management system, a vast ecosystem of plugins, and a large community, WordPress might be more suitable. WordPress offers a wide range of themes and plugins for customization, and it has a larger community of users and developers who can provide support and resources for building and managing your website.

Consider your project requirements, your comfort level with design and development, and the long-term scalability of your website when making your decision. However, rest assured knowing that either platform is a great starting point to build your first website.

Free WordPress upgrades with IFTTT

If you're looking to take your WordPress website to the next level, consider leveraging the power of IFTTT. IFTTT, which stands for "If This, Then That," is our free automation service that allows you to connect different apps and services to create custom workflows.

With IFTTT, you can automate tasks such as posting new blog articles to social media, syncing data between platforms, and much more. By integrating IFTTT with WordPress, you can streamline your website management and save time on repetitive tasks, allowing you to focus on what matters most: creating great content and growing your online presence.

Getting started with IFTTT is easy, simply:

Create an account:

Visit the IFTTT website (https://ifttt.com/) or download the mobile app.

Sign up for a new account using your email address or a social media account.

Explore Applets:

Once logged in, explore the IFTTT platform to discover pre-made applets. These are ready-to-use automation recipes created by the community.

Create your own Applet:

If you want to create your own applet, click on your profile icon and select "Create" from the menu.

Read on to hear our top picks for WordPress Applets with IFTTT

Top website building Applets with IFTTT

Automatically share new posts to a Facebook Page

It's easy to keep your community updated: This Applet will share a link to your new WordPress blog with your Facebook Page.

Archive new posts to an Evernote notebook

Live your life out of Evernote? This Applet will send the content of your new posts there, with the URL — so you can keep everything in one place.

Automatically tweet your new blog posts

Don't let your followers miss an update: When you publish on Wordpress, this Applet will automatically send a tweet from your account with the post title and URL.

To enable these Applets and millions more (yes, millions), try IFTTT today for completely free!