Squarespace vs WordPress 2024 Comparison: Who’s Better?

Are you looking to create a stunning website but can’t decide between Squarespace vs WordPress?

Out of the two, we recommend WordPress because it offers more functionality, flexibility, and ownership.

Don’t write Squarespace off completely, though! It is ideal if you want stunning and high-quality templates. Additionally, as a website builder, it’s really easy to use.

Read our full WordPress vs Squarespace comparison and find out which of these two is best for you!

Note: This comparison is between Squarespace and self-hosted WordPress (not WordPress.com). See the difference between the two in our detailed article WordPress.org vs WordPress.com.

Ready? Let’s get started with the main difference between the two.

What is the Main Difference Between Squarespace and WordPress?

The primary difference between Squarespace and WordPress is that Squarespace is a website builder with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor. WordPress is a content management system (CMS) with more flexibility and customization options, but it needs more technical knowledge.

Squarespace is perfect for beginners and those looking for a straightforward solution. WordPress is better suited for people who want greater control over the functionality and design of their website.

Squarespace vs WordPress: Ease of Use

Most beginners are unfamiliar with HTML, CSS, and other code-related things.

They want a user-friendly website builder that allows them to create a website without hiring a developer.

Let’s see how WordPress and Squarespace do in this category.

Squarespace Ease of Use

Squarespace is easy to use, as one would expect from a website-building platform. For setting up your website, simply sign up for an account.

When you register, the system will ask you a number of questions about your website preferences. It will then use this information to select the best templates for your Squarespace site.

When you select your chosen Squarespace template, the Squarespace editor will open on your screen. The editor features a menu-driven interface that shows all of the tools needed to build and manage a website.

Squarespace Dashboard

Furthermore, clicking on the Edit button will open Squarespace’s WYSIWYG builder. It uses a block-based structure, allowing you to drag and drop elements directly onto the page.

The drag-and-drop editor may feel limited since it does not allow you to move content elements exactly where you want them. However, it makes it easy for non-designers to maintain the layout to appear proportional and professional.

Furthermore, each element has its own set of customization options for configuring its look. For example, if you choose a Text block, you will see options for changing the font size, paragraph alignment, and typeface style.

Aside from the user-friendly interface and editor, Squarespace offers managed website hosting. As a result, you don’t need to buy a separate hosting or maintain the back end yourself, making Squarespace a good option for beginners.

WordPress Ease of Use

The setup process for self-hosted WordPress is slightly more complex than that of Squarespace.

To start, you will need to purchase separate web hosting. Web hosting is a service that stores your website files and makes them available to the public.

For non-technical users, web hosting may appear to be a difficult work to handle. However, many hosting providers feature a beginner-friendly control panel, making handling web hosting easy for first-time users.

Once you configure the web hosting and install WordPress, you will see the admin dashboard. This is where you can customize and manage your WordPress website.

To create a page, go to the Pages tab and open the WordPress editor. Here, you will find the Gutenberg editor with a block-based, drag-and-drop functionality.

In comparison to Squarespace, customization possibilities are more limited. You can only drag and drop content blocks up and down. Furthermore, it only previews how the changes will appear at the front end.

However, some of Gutenberg’s features offer additional functionality.

For example, you can group multiple content together and move at once. Alternatively, you can assign blocks to be reused on other pages or posts, avoiding the need to create them from scratch.

The Verdict

Overall, Squarespace sites are easier to customize and manage than self-hosted WordPress sites. Aside from the user-friendly interface, Squarespace’s managed hosting solution makes it a popular choice for beginners.

WordPress vs Squarespace: Design and Templates

WordPress and Squarespace both have ready-made themes and design tools to help you build a custom website.

Let’s see which gives more options and tools for creating well-designed websites.

Squarespace Templates

Squarespace offers ready-made website templates that are nicely grouped into different categories.

It has themes for all of the most popular website categories, with professional designs that look great on any screen.

You can quickly choose a template for your Squarespace website and change it with the built-in customizer.

However, there is one area where Squarespace lacks greatly.

The number of pre-made templates is extremely limited, and your design options are limited to the features available in the Squarespace customizer.

In addition, each theme comes with a limited number of layout options. However, you can still change the colors, fonts, website logos, and other elements, but these templates are less flexible than WordPress themes.

WordPress Themes

WordPress gives access to thousands of free and premium themes. These themes are highly customizable, allowing you to use your website’s logo and colors, add your own images, and much more.

Furthermore, many WordPress themes come with several layout options, a drag-and-drop editor, sliders, photo galleries, and several other features.

For the best WordPress theme, we recommended Astra, one of the most popular multipurpose themes.

No matter what kind of website you need, you will find thousands of professionally designed templates for the job.

However, many beginners find this bit overwhelming due to the abundance of choices. Here are some of our top picks for the best WordPress theme for various websites.

The Verdict

While Squarespace features designer-made templates, WordPress wins this round due to its extensive theme library. Plus, WordPress themes are available in more styles and designs, and many of them are more feature-rich.

WordPress vs Squarespace: Plugins and Extensions

In this section, we will focus on plugins and extensions, which are add-ons that enable specific features that are not available in the core software. They offer users more flexibility over how their site is built and customized.

Squarespace Extensions

Squarespace offers 40 extensions, all of which connect your website with a third-party service. Extension costs vary. Some charge a monthly or per-usage cost. Others might offer a free plan or a trial period.

Most extensions are commercial or marketing-oriented. Therefore, they benefit freelancers, entrepreneurs, and businesses most.

For example, Mailchimp extensions allow you to create targeted email campaigns, while TinyIMG helps you improve your store’s SEO and site speed.

WordPress Plugins

WordPress has over 59,000 free plugins in its official directory, and there are many more available on third-party marketplace.

Furthermore, the reason behind such an extensive library of WordPress plugins is that WordPress is an open-source software. This means that developers can contribute to the software by creating plugins and extensions.

Whether you want to add eCommerce functionality to your site, add a photo gallery, or display customer reviews, there is a plugin available.

Here are some of our top picks for the best WordPress plugins for various websites.

The Verdict

WordPress is clearly the winner, with a great ecosystem of thousands of plugins and integrations available.

Squarespace, on the other hand, offers a few integrations, and many of them are very limited.

Squarespace vs WordPress: Pricing

Budget is an important factor when deciding where to create your website. WordPress and Squarespace have quite different pricing structures. With Squarespace, you will pay more when first setting up your website.

WordPress, on the other hand, is free to use, but hosting, domain registration, and premium plugins and themes are all extra costs.

Let’s take a look at the costs associated with building and managing a site on both platforms below.

Squarespace Pricing

Squarespace, unlike other website builders, does not offer a free plan. However, it offers a 14-day free trial.

Squarespace personal plan starts from $16/mo (billed annually). That’s a little more when compared to a shared hosting plan for WordPress.

However, unlike shared WordPress hosting, this Squarespace plan has limited features.

You can only add just two contributors to your site, and you cannot sell items.

In comparison, WordPress allows you to start an online store for less than that.

Squarespace business plan starts from $23/mo (billed annually). It includes eCommerce support, but there is a 3% fee per transaction. This is separate from the fee charged by your payment processor.

The business plan includes unlimited contributors, pages, and advanced features.

They also offer a commerce plan for online shops that starts at $27/mo (billed annually) with no additional transaction fees.

Start Squarespace Free Trial

WordPress Cost

Although the WordPress software is free to download and use, you will need to pay for hosting and a custom domain name in order to start your site.

Depending on your requirements, you may select between shared hosting and managed WordPress hosting. Most personal and small-business websites can be hosted using shared hosting services.

The cost of web hosting and domain names varies based on the hosting provider. You decide how many resources you need for your website and how much you want to spend on them.

We recommend getting started with Bluehost or Hostinger. Both hosting companies provide a free domain name (first year) and an SSL certificate.

One of the reasons for WordPress’ popularity is the inexpensive cost of building a website with WordPress.

Aside from that, you may switch hosting plans as your site expands. This means you only pay for the resources you use, making it easier to manage your website’s expenses.

Start With Bluehost

The Verdict

WordPress outperforms Squarespace as an open-source platform, with flexible price options offered by a range of web hosting providers. Squarespace is more expensive than WordPress and offers less flexibility.

Squarespace vs WordPress: SEO

After creating high-quality content, the next step is to optimize it for search engines before publishing. This increases your chances of ranking higher on Google and other major search engines, boosting your website’s exposure and organic traffic.

Let’s compare WordPress and Squarespace’s SEO features to find which is better for your site.

Squarespace SEO

Squarespace allows you to change the title, meta description, image alt text, URL of your posts and pages, etc, which is important for on-page SEO. You can also use 301 redirects to avoid broken links and 404 error pages, as well as mobile-optimized templates to create a responsive website.

Furthermore, you won’t have to manually create a site map since Squarespace handles that.

However, because no SEO plugins or add-ons are available, you are limited to Squarespace’s in-built functionality. For example, you cannot install tools on your site that will automatically recommend where to place internal links or optimize your images.

As a result, Squarespace is a great option for those who are already familiar with SEO best practices.

WordPress SEO

WordPress is a more versatile platform for building an SEO-friendly website. Like Squarespace, it allows you to add image alt-text and meta descriptions to your posts and pages, as well as create unique URLs and design your site with responsive themes.

What differentiates WordPress is the ability to improve your site in two ways: from the backend or through plugins. If you have web development knowledge, you can update any element of your site’s underlying code to remove any unnecessary code that is slowing down the site or preventing search engine bots from crawling and indexing it.

If you have no prior knowledge of web development, you can download WordPress plugins. Plugins like Yoast SEO, WP Rocket, and Redirection make it easier to optimize your content, pictures, page speed and redirects.

For example, if you use the Yoast SEO plugin, you can get an on-page analysis of each post and page on your site. Then, it provides recommendations to help you in improving your SEO.

Downloading and purchasing these tools takes time and money, but they can significantly improve your site’s on-page.

Furthermore, self-hosted WordPress gives you complete control over your technical SEO configuration. This means you can choose a hosting provider that provides the fastest page load speeds while still ensuring your site is configured to meet Google Core Web Vitals criteria.

The Verdict

We think it’s a tie when it comes to SEO between WordPress or Squarespace. While WordPress is well-known for its great SEO capabilities, Squarespace claims to have more built-in features.

WordPress vs Squarespace: Ecommerce Functionality

As online shopping becomes more popular, many people want a platform to create their own online store. When looking for the top eCommerce platforms, make sure they can sell items or services and offer a simple purchase experience for customers.

So, how do Squarespace and WordPress compare in terms of ecommerce?

Squarespace eCommerce Functionality

Squarespace, as an eCommerce platform, has all of the tools required to create an online store.

The plans come with:

User-friendly shopping cart system
Sell an unlimited number of products
0% transaction fee for physical products and services (Basic Commerce or Advanced Commerce plan)
Checkout on your domain
Customer accounts for faster checkout
Abandoned cart recovery (on Advanced Commerce plan)
Sell on Facebook and Instagram (Basic Commerce or Advanced Commerce plan)

However, Squarespace’s eCommerce also comes with some significant limitations. This includes:

No multi-currency payment options
It doesn’t support Google Pay
Point of sale features only work in the USA

Overall, if your needs are simpler and you’re happy to sell online in a single currency, you’ll undoubtedly love Squarespace’s ecommerce features. They’re easy to use, work well, and allow you to easily create stunning product pages.

WordPress eCommerce Functionality

WordPress lacks an ecommerce feature by default. However, you can enable them with an eCommerce plugin.

The most popular option is WooCommerce, which has more than 5,000,000 installations in the official WordPress plugin directory.

Some of the best WooCommerce’s features include:

Advanced shipping and tax options
Supports multiple languages and currencies
Built-in analytics and reporting tools to track sales, customers, and website performance
Supports a wide range of payment gateways
Manage customer accounts
Features for creating and managing discounts and coupons

All of these WooCommerce features are free and enough for simple online shops. There are also WooCommerce extensions available to customize the online selling experience and help your business grow.

The Verdict

Overall, WordPress outperforms Squarespace in terms of eCommerce functionality. Despite providing all of the basic selling options, Squarespace only offers some of its advanced online tools to higher-paying customers.

Meanwhile, WordPress provides a wide range of eCommerce plugins that are good for every business owner and are all free to use. Furthermore, WooCommerce users may download add-ons to enhance the online store’s functionality.

Squarespace versus WordPress: Blogging

Many individuals and businesses use blogs to extend their brand and as an important element of their marketing strategy. If you plan to start a blog on your website, you need to know how Squarespace and WordPress are set up for blogging.

Squarespace for Blogging

Squarespace blogging tools include blog-specific templates, author permissions, post categorization, tags, and social media integration. The tool also allows you to track your content performance and schedule blog posts for later, making it simple to manage your content strategy more effectively.

Furthermore, blog layouts are also responsive, which means your content will look good on any screen.

Squarespace’s on-page SEO tools can also help you optimize your blog for search engines. You may create unique meta titles and descriptions for each of your new blog posts, as well as alt text for your images.

WordPress for Blogging

WordPress was originally built primarily for blogging, making it one of the most popular blogging platforms available today.

Similar to Squarespace, it has an array of blog-specific themes for almost any type of blog you can think of. The dashboard also allows you to apply custom CSS to your chosen theme. As WordPress is a content management system, it has all of the tools needed for effective categorization, tagging, and file management.

In addition, you can install WordPress plugins to improve search engine optimization and promote your blog on social media platforms.

The Verdict

While both WordPress and Squarespace provide decent blogging features, WordPress offers greater blogging functionality overall. Since WordPress was designed specifically for blogging, it has more specific tools, themes, and plugins for bloggers.

Squarespace vs WordPress: Security

You want your website to be safe no matter what type it is. Nothing on the web can ever be 100% safe. Instead, your goal should be to achieve the best level of security possible.

Let’s look at how Squarespace or WordPress handles the security aspect.

Squarespace Security

Squarespace is a strong contender in the security category. Because the platform is all-inclusive, you will not need to take any further actions to secure your website.

Instead, Squarespace scans your site for vulnerabilities and malware and protects it from DDoS assaults. Users get SSL certificates for their websites, which ensures that visitors are safe when browsing Squarespace sites. This is especially crucial for online stores that collect sensitive information, such as payment information.

Squarespace also uses cookies to guarantee that your website runs effectively and complies with GDPR in EU countries.

WordPress Security

A WordPress website’s security is entirely your responsibility. Fortunately, this does not need you to become a web security specialist. If you select your web host correctly, you could enjoy the same benefits as a fully managed platform.

For example, decent WordPress hosting includes an SSL certificate, automatic backups, and DDoS protection. It is still best practice to update your WordPress site on a regular basis and closely analyze any plugins or add-ons you add to it.

Furthermore, by implementing the WordPress security best practices from the start, you can easily enhance your site and data security.

The Verdict

While both platforms include extensive security measures to secure your website, Squarespace may appear to be a more appealing option for beginners because you do not have to set anything up yourself.

While WordPress does not come with any built-in security measures, WordPress web hosting is difficult to beat. Since a good web hosting plan can handle a lot of your WordPress security, you can get all of the security features you need and more from your host.

WordPress versus Squarespace: Content Ownership

If you create a website using any online platform, you should review their content ownership policies: you don’t want to mistakenly give up rights to your own work, after all.

Here’s how each platform approaches the content ownership issue.

Squarespace Content Ownership

Squarespace operates as a fully hosted platform, meaning that all your site’s data is stored on Squarespace’s servers. According to Squarespace’s terms of service, users retain ownership of the content they create and upload. However, by using the platform, you grant Squarespace a broad license to distribute, store, and showcase this content.

Squarespace simplifies website creation and management but imposes limitations on exporting data. You can export certain content types, but the platform’s proprietary nature means some elements, like custom CSS or certain integrations, may not transfer if you choose to move your site.

WordPress Content Ownership

WordPress, on the other hand, is an open-source platform that offers greater flexibility and control over content. By using WordPress.org, users host their website independently, retaining full ownership and control over their content and how it’s stored.

This independence means you can export your entire website, including all posts, pages, and media files, and migrate to another host or platform with relative ease.

The Verdict

Both platforms provide nearly the same (excellent!) value. However, WordPress wins since its open-source status means you’re fully free of license conditions. However, it’s wise to check if the same is true of your hosting provider.

Squarespace versus WordPress: Ongoing Maintenance

Regarding the ongoing maintenance of a website, Squarespace and WordPress offer different approaches and levels of user involvement.

Let’s check out which is better in terms of the ongoing maintenance category.

Squarespace Ongoing Maintenance

Squarespace simplifies the maintenance process for its users. Being a fully hosted platform, it handles all the technical aspects of running a website. These include security updates, platform updates, and hosting. Users don’t need to worry about applying updates manually. Squarespace automatically updates its platform, ensuring that all sites run the latest version.

This is one of the main reasons why many users choose Squarespace over WordPress.

WordPress Ongoing Maintenance

In contrast, WordPress, being a self-hosted platform, requires more hands-on management from the user. This includes regularly updating the WordPress core, themes, and plugins to ensure security and functionality.

While this provides greater control and customization options, it also means that users need to be proactive in maintaining their site. Failing to keep WordPress updated can lead to security vulnerabilities and compatibility issues.

The Verdict

All of Squarespace’s updates are managed for you, while WordPress updates need to be done manually.

Squarespace vs WordPress: Customer Support

When comparing Squarespace and WordPress, it’s crucial to consider the level of customer support each platform offers, as this can greatly influence user experience, especially for those new to managing websites.

Squarespace Customer Support

Squarespace is known for its robust customer support system. As a proprietary platform, it offers direct support to its users through multiple channels, including 24/7 email support, live chat support during business hours, and an extensive knowledge base filled with guides, tutorials, and videos.

This direct support model is particularly helpful for users with little to no technical background, as it provides a straightforward way to resolve issues and get answers to questions. The hands-on assistance Squarespace offers ensures that users can rely on timely and efficient help when needed.

WordPress Customer Support

WordPress, being an open-source platform, has a different approach to customer support. The official WordPress.org site offers a comprehensive support forum where users can post questions and get help from the community.

Additionally, there are countless online resources, blogs, forums, and groups dedicated to WordPress troubleshooting and tips. However, for personalized support, especially for technical issues related to specific themes or plugins, users often need to reach out to the developers directly.

Managed WordPress hosting providers also offer their own support, but this varies widely in terms of responsiveness and expertise.

The Verdict

Squarespace offers numerous support channels, such as live chat and email help. All support channels are available in one place, making it faster and easier to get help when you need it.

With WordPress, you may need to search the documentation and forums before finding the right answer. You can look out for community-based resources online or contact your hosting provider for help, but it will take longer.

Choosing Between Squarespace vs WordPress

Both Squarespace and WordPress are good options for starting your website-building journey. After all, they’re the most popular website builders for a reason. The choice between the two boils down to what you want from your site builder.

If you just want to make a simple website as quickly as possible and don’t care about flexibility or content ownership, Squarespace is an excellent option. That is what it’s good for. However, WordPress is better suited for the vast majority of webmasters. Yes, the open nature of WordPress involves a slightly higher learning curve, as well as a greater focus on security, performance, and maintenance.

However, the WordPress core team has made significant progress in making WordPress an accessible tool for beginners. And just because Squarespace is easier does not mean that WordPress isn’t. Overall, when you use WordPress, you will have more:

Functionality
Flexibility
Ownership

And you might even save money, too!

We hope our comparison of WordPress vs Squarespace helps you find the right website-building platform for your site.

For more, check out these other helpful resources:

Lastly, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on the latest WordPress and blogging-related articles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Squarespace Better Than WordPress?

When choosing between Squarespace and WordPress, the best option for you will be decided by your needs. Squarespace is better for individuals searching for an easy way to go online, but WordPress is better for those wanting for complete control and the ability to expand.

Does Squarespace Own My Content?

No, Squarespace does not own your content. When you use Squarespace to build and manage your website, you retain ownership of all the content you create and upload, such as text, images, videos, and other media. Squarespace’s terms of service clearly state that they do not claim ownership over any content you post on your site.

However, by using their platform, you grant Squarespace a license to use, host, and display this content as necessary to provide and operate their services.

Do I Own My Domain Name With Squarespace?

Yes, when you register a domain name through Squarespace, you own the domain name. Squarespace acts as a domain registrar in this case, meaning they facilitate the registration of the domain on your behalf, but you are the owner of the domain as long as you keep it registered.

How Long Does It Take to Build a Website on Squarespace?

It might take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks to create a professional website with Squarespace. The time needed depends on the developer’s skill level and the complexity of the project.

Is WordPress Cheaper Than Squarespace?

WordPress is a free, open-source platform that simply requires web hosting. However, this doesn’t always mean that using WordPress to create and manage a website is less expensive. This is because, unlike Squarespace, which includes everything for a single monthly charge, WordPress incurs additional expenses such as a domain name and an SSL certificate, as well as optional extras such as premium themes and/or premium plugins.

Can I Switch my Squarespace Website to WordPress?

It is possible to move a Squarespace website to WordPress. Some material will be migrated automatically (for example, blog pages and gallery pages), but in others, you will need to do so manually (style changes, custom CSS, product pages, etc.).

Is WordPress Still the Best Option?

Definitely, WordPress continues to power more websites than any other CMS or website builder—not even close.

Which is Better for eCommerce, Squarespace or WordPress?

Squarespace has robust built-in ecommerce functionality that WordPress lacks; these are fairly easy to use and will satisfy the needs of many merchants. However, there are eventually more eCommerce options available to WordPress users, thanks to a wide collection of plugins that allow you to build online stores on your site.

Murtaza Malek

Web Engineer, Evid Learner and Reader, Techentreprenuer, Tech Evangelist.

16 February 2024