Making a decision between two incredible website builders can be a bit tricky.
Maybe it’s worth considering all your options before deciding on the perfect site builder for you.
During this quarantine period, I had the chance to delve deep into researching two well-known website builders. It allowed me to gain a comprehensive understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of each platform.
Let’s begin with WordPress.
WordPress is used by nearly 37.5% of all websites online, making it the top choice for website building.
However, keep in mind that there are numerous other remarkable website builders available in the market, such as Squarespace and Wix. So, while WordPress is a great option, it’s not the only way to create an awesome website.
In this article, I’ll provide you with 6 comparisons between Squarespace and WordPress.
Let’s jump right in.
Ease of Use
WordPress is known for its user-friendly interface, making it a popular choice for website building in comparison to Joomla or Magento.
Squarespace, on the other hand, outshines WordPress in this aspect. While WordPress prioritizes giving developers maximum control, it may not be as beginner-friendly.
Since WordPress is an open-source platform, you will need to buy a domain name and hosting. Additionally, it does not provide a WYSIWYG (What you see is What you Get) environment. To see how your site will look when it’s live, you’ll have to check the preview mode.
Squarespace offers a comprehensive package that is extremely user-friendly.
With its drag and drop features, you can preview how your site will look live, unlike WordPress.
Simply drag and drop content into designated spaces known as Content Boxes. Squarespace is more intuitive than WordPress, making it the preferred option in this category.
Flexibility & Control
As I mentioned before, WordPress is an open-source platform. This means that its source code is accessible for editing, thanks to the GPL license.
With WordPress, you have the power to customize your website in any way you want. Plus, there are plenty of third-party plugins and themes available to make your website truly amazing.
Squarespace, on the flip side, offers a complete package with all the tools you require.
Straight out of the package, it does lack flexibility and offers limited control to the user.
Furthermore, Squarespace does not support the use of third-party plugins or themes. You are only able to use the plugins and themes that Squarespace provides, whether they are free or paid.
Apart from these two major differences
WordPress and Squarespace can also be compared based on their functionality.
Discover how these platforms excel in SEO and security features. Let’s uncover the variations and determine which one suits you best.
 SecurityÂ
Security should always be a top priority when you’re planning to build a website.
It’s quite astonishing to learn that there is a hacking attempt every 39 seconds, according to statistics. Unfortunately, this vital aspect of website development is often overlooked by many. The good news is that most site builders understand the significance of security and provide built-in features to protect your site from potential data breaches and hackers.
Your WordPress security is in your hands and also in the hands of your hosting provider.
There are several ways you can protect your website and numerous WordPress security plugins available for you to choose from.
While using plugins or themes, it’s crucial to be cautious. There’s a possibility that some of them may include harmful code. Additionally, if you’re using an outdated plugin, it becomes simpler for hackers to infiltrate your site. Always download plugins from authentic and credible sources.
Squarespace, on the other hand, is a self-hosted platform that takes full responsibility for your website’s security. Their dedicated team is in charge of handling all security aspects, including data backups, updates, SSL certificates, and more.
Rest assured, the Squarespace security team takes care of everything related to the security of your site. They not only develop and implement an information security program but also ensure its maintenance. So, you can focus on your website without any worries.
Themes, Plugins & Design
Squarespace provides sleek and modern themes that are easy to personalize.
Squarespace provides a selection of 70 themes that are both sleek and appealing. These themes are versatile and can complement a wide range of websites. From fonts to images to action buttons to hover animations, everything is designed to work seamlessly.
The plugins available on Squarespace are limited, but chances are you won’t need them very often.
This platform has a highly intuitive interface that makes it a breeze to navigate. With the easy-to-use style editor, you can effortlessly customize the layout of your site to your liking.
WordPress, on the flip side, provides an abundance of themes and plugins. There’s practically a plugin for every need. You have the option to build a WordPress website using a pre-designed theme.
With a whopping 11,000+ themes to pick from for WordPress, it’s worth noting that while most are free, I personally suggest going for paid options for better reliability.
Additionally, you have the ability to tailor these themes and structure the elements to your liking, by exploring the CSS code.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Without search engine optimization, your website won’t make it to the first few pages of search results. This means you won’t get any organic traffic.
WordPress reigns supreme in the realm of SEO.
WordPress offers an array of exceptional plugins for search engine optimization. One of the best ones is Yoast, which not only evaluates the quality of your on-page SEO efforts but also provides valuable suggestions for improvement.
Unfortunately, Squarespace SEO doesn’t offer any dedicated plugin or built-in functionality.
Another important point to note is that in WordPress, alt tags and meta-data are identified by their correct names. Unfortunately, Squarespace does not provide the option to specify a value for your image alt attribute.
They go by the names of captions, descriptions, and extracts. Occasionally, they make their way onto the page. Squarespace implements a few strategies that contribute to good SEO.
Squarespace creates a .xml file and utilizes clean HTML coding. It loads swiftly and is highly compatible with mobile devices. Therefore, you can enhance a website using Squarespace. It might require a bit more effort and time, but it’s definitely doable.
Migrations
Migrating a website from one platform to another can indeed be quite a challenge. It’s always wise to make the right choices from the start, rather than going through the hassle of switching from one website builder to another.
If you find yourself in a situation where you need to switch to a different platform, don’t worry – it can be done. There may be some restrictions, but they are manageable.
Transferring content from Squarespace to WordPress can be quite a challenge, even with the built-in importing tool that Squarespace provides.
The process of migration involves taking one step at a time, and its level of complexity varies based on the type and size of your website.
You have the option to transfer pages, comments, images, text blocks, galleries, and more.
In addition to that, there are many other things to handle, so make sure to select the best builder right from the start.
Moving content from WordPress is a breeze. If you’re on a hosted version, your hosting provider can take care of the migration process for you. You can effortlessly transfer pages, blogs, tags, images, comments, and more.
Finally
The comparison between WordPress and Squarespace goes much deeper than what I’ve covered so far. I’ve only just started to uncover the major distinctions between the two, but there is still so much more to delve into.
Each platform has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it’s crucial to select the one that best fits your specific requirements.
