Intro
Most people who think of starting a website consider WordPress as the single best option. It is like this because people don’t know of any alternatives even though there are several. One alternative that has become quite popular in recent times is Squarespace. A platform that is still quite new. But it has been making waves recently due to the unique features it provides. Now the question that arises is, which platform is better? The first things to learn about are the pros and cons of each service.
Pros and Cons
WordPress Pros
As far as one would think about WordPress, one of the major benefits of this platform is that you can open up your very own blog. Though a basic one, but for no cost at all. WordPress provides you with the themes and templates you would need to set up your site. And you are only gonna have to spend money if you want something premium or high end. In a lot of situations, people that are using WordPress don’t have to pay a single penny because they are fine with the free features that are being offered.
WordPress Cons
One of the major disadvantages that can be noted while you are using the WordPress platform for your site. It is the fact that unless you host your site on a third-party platform, the content that you post is not going to be your own. This makes it difficult to control what happens to your content. To maintain control of whatever you post on your site and own the rights to it, you are gonna have to go for the more expensive wordpress.org. And it is simply not viable for people who are not looking to make an actual financial investment into their site.
SquareSpace Pros
The plugins that SquareSpace offers are made by the company itself. This means that no matter what plugin you use, you can rest assured that it’s going to be optimized for your specific use. It also ensures that you would have the option to use any plugin that you want and rest easy knowing that it would work perfectly. This makes it easier for you to reduce loading times and optimize your site for search engines. SquareSpace is also known for its easy to use interface which makes web design so simple that pretty much anyone would be able to do it.
SquareSpace Cons
If you want to know one thing that lots of people have a problem with when it comes to SquareSpace. It is the fact that opening even a basic website on the platform is going to cost you money. There are no free options here at all. You will have to pay a minimum of twelve dollars a month to have this service host your website for you. Additionally, because of the fact that you are using plugins designed solely by the company, your options are going to be a little limited.
How Do They Compare?
There are five basic areas where these two platforms can be compared.
Usability
In this aspect, SquareSpace wins for sure. WordPress is not difficult to use by any means. But you also need to realize that it is going to take you some amount of time before you can properly design the site that you are actually aiming for. With SquareSpace this is going to be far easier. As the user interface has been designed to provide a number of drag and drop options. That is for users that are not familiar with web design and the like.
Versatility
WordPress has a slight edge in this regard. This platform is incredibly versatile. It allows you to make pretty much any site you would have in mind. While SquareSpace offers you a selection of templates. This selection makes it very diverse. But you are still going to end up making pretty much any kind of site that would be ideal for your situation. While WordPress is more versatile. So differing from the standard template even slightly would need you to install a plugin. Whereas SquareSpace offers you flexibility without having to do anything extra. Hence, in this category, both platforms remain roughly equal.
Aesthetics
With WordPress you are going to get a lot of themes for free, but these themes are going to be very blend. There are thousands of premium themes offered. The drawback here is that you are once again, going to have to work hard to customize your site to fit in with each theme. SquareSpace requires a paid subscription to build a site, but you do get several dozen beautiful templates. That on par with WordPress’ premium themes, for no extra charge. Additionally, you would find it much easier to use these themes. And this gives SquareSpace a narrow victory in this category.
Approachability
This is perhaps the only category that has a decisive winner, and that winner is SquareSpace. This platform is incredibly easy to use. But you also have a variety of ways to contact someone if you need some help including live chat options and a number you can call. WordPress is not nearly as approachable. It offers you a lot of prerecorded tutorials. But it is not really giving you the option to easily talk to somebody if you need immediate assistance. You are going to have to get this assistance from user forums instead.
Cost
WordPress definitely wins in this category because of its free basic template. At the same time, you need to realize that if you want premium templates SquareSpace might end up costing less in the long run. You don’t have to pay extra for premium themes with SquareSpace. Paying for premium themes with WordPress gives you far more options. But the several dozen premium themes SquareSpace offers from the get-go are actually good enough to allow you to incorporate any kind of design into your site. Remember, there is such a thing as too many options, so you are probably not going to need the vast majority of the premium themes WordPress offers. Still, WordPress nudges ahead in this category because of its free basic package.
Final Result
SquareSpace is great for beginners and intermediate designers. Someone who would especially love the customer support that would help them when they are a little confused. Whereas WordPress is definitely a great option for experienced individuals. Individuals that want complete customizability. Beginners that want to start a new blog might be enticed by WordPress offering a free basic template but paying just twelve dollars a month for SquareSpace allows access to a much more premium level of design. So SquareSpace manages to win by hair overall although it is definitely not perfect by any means.
Cost for Each Platform
WordPress
Once again, it does not cost anything to create a basic website using WordPress. However, upgrading is going to cost a lot of money. And since this platform is not as easy to use as SquareSpace you might end up having to hire someone to develop your site for you.
Premium themes start at five dollars a month, but these themes are still not quite as high end as they should be. You might have to end up paying upwards of twenty-five dollars a month for the top tier themes. Additionally, plugins are going to be necessary for high-end sites especially if you want to use different themes. Since you are going to be using quite a few of them with a business site so the cost is going to go much higher. You also have to pay for a custom domain name.
SquareSpace
There are four basic packages that you can choose from. The personal package is the basic template although it does come with some gorgeous themes and is quite intuitive and easy to use. This package costs twelve dollars a month. The business package is higher-end and costs eighteen dollars a month. There are options for online stores as well, with a basic store costing twenty-six dollars a month. And the advanced store, the most advanced package offered. It is available for forty dollars a month.
If you pay for a year in advance, you can get a custom domain name at no extra charge. That actually makes this platform cheaper than WordPress if you are thinking of spending money in the first place. You also get responsive design incorporated into each theme automatically rather than having to pay a web developer to do it for you.
Conclusion
The choice comes down to which of these services is more suitable for your needs. While WordPress is generally more versatile, Squarespace is easier to use. Squarespace costs less in the long run, but WordPress offers free basic service which would certainly be invaluable to a great many people. The fact of the matter is that both platforms are a match for one another, though WordPress does have an edge because it is better established. Whichever one of these platforms you go with is definitely going to be suitable for your particular needs.
