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Squarespace vs WordPress.
One of these is a product and the other is a platform. Most of the disagreement about them comes from people comparing the wrong two things.
Squarespace Better for design
The defaults are good enough that a non-designer can produce something genuinely smart. That is rarer than it sounds and it is what you are paying for.
WordPress Better for ownership
You hold the files, the database and the domain, and nobody can change the terms on you. In exchange you hold the maintenance too.
Side by side, honestly.
We include ourselves in the last column, and the last row is the one where we lose.
| Squarespace | WordPress | Avago | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published entry price | From £13/mo | Hosting from £5/mo | Free to build, £34.99/mo to publish |
| You maintain it | No | Yes | No |
| Looks good without a designer | Yes | Theme dependent | Yes |
| Writes your copy for you | No | No | Yes |
| Own your files | No | Yes | No |
| Blogging depth | Good | Best in class | Good |
| Export your site elsewhere | No | No | No |
Competitor prices are the vendors' published UK list prices and change often. Check before you buy.
Where both of them lose.
This is the honest bit, and the last one applies to us too.
Both start empty
Neither reads your Google listing and builds you a first draft. You are still the one filling in the pages.
Squarespace is a walled garden
When it does not do the thing you need, there is often no route to the thing you need. Ownership is the trade for its polish, and the same trade applies to us.
WordPress rewards attention
An unmaintained WordPress site becomes a liability rather than an asset. If nobody is going to update it, do not choose it.
So which one?
Questions.
Can I move from Squarespace to WordPress?
Partly. Squarespace can export blog posts and basic pages in WordPress format, but not your design or most page layouts. Treat it as moving the content and rebuilding the site.
Which is better for a small business brochure site?
Squarespace, for most people, because it will actually get finished. WordPress wins when you need something specific that a closed platform cannot do.
Does WordPress need a developer?
Not to start, but usually yes at some point. Plugin conflicts and update problems tend to arrive at the worst moment, and that is when the hourly rate appears.
Other comparisons.
Wix vs Squarespace →
A comparison from someone with no affiliate deal on either. Real pricing, where each one wins, and the thing both of them get wrong for small businesses.
Wix vs WordPress →
One you can use this afternoon, one you will still be configuring next month. Which suits a small business, and what each really costs to run for a year.
Wix vs Shopify →
Shopify is a shop with a website attached. Wix is a website with a shop attached. Which way round you need, and what each costs once the fees land.