Out of the tonnes of website building platforms available in the market, we have finally narrowed down to the two most reliable and trustworthy ones- WordPress and Squarespace. In this article, we’ll discuss the pros and cons for both and have a mini battle: WordPress vs Squarespace. Then leave the final decision up to you, to decide which one is better, as per your requirements.
Before jumping directly into the topic, let us first know what WordPress and Squarespace actually are.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a SaaS (software as a service) type of website building platform. Here the user pays a monthly fee for all the templates, content management system, a domain, e-commerce, etc.; everything that is required for the maintenance of a website. 
Squarespace comes in two versions:
- Standard Squarespace: mainly for the beginners, who lack web development skills.
- Developer’s Squarespace: For the experienced users, which allows them to modify the source code and add in a wider range of functionality.
Official Link: Squarespace
WordPress
WordPress is another giant in the website building category. WordPress also comes in two varieties:
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Hosted WordPress
This can be accessed via WordPress.com and is a SaaS type of website building platform, very similar to Squarespace. It allows easy integration with third-party applications and hence is more flexible than Squarespace. But on the contrary, the user gets access to a lesser number of tools and functionalities as compared to Squarespace.
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Self-Hosted WordPress
This can be accessed via WordPress.org and it is primarily for the advanced users with proper skills in web development and allows the user to modify the source code for adding in a wider range of flexible functionalities.
Official Link(s): WordPress.com, WordPress.org
Now, let us begin: WordPress Vs Squarespace
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User-friendliness
In this WordPress vs Squarespace showdown, Squarespace offers a better user-friendly interface to the rookie programmers. Squarespace (standard version) is extremely beginner friendly and is based on the drag and drop type of website building.
On the other hand, WordPress requires some basic technical knowledge, before the rookie users can develop their websites. The user needs to know about the ways to update plugins manually; know about FTP for uploading files to the platform, etc. So WordPress is for the users with at least some basic technical skills.
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Addition of Shopping Cart for E-Commerce
When it comes to E-Commerce, Squarespace provides a much easier approach to doing so. The user can easily add a Product Page to their website for creating an online store; then add necessary items to the same. Squarespace allows easy integration with other applications like MailChimp, Xero, etc.
However, there is one major drawback of Squarespace; which is the lack of integration with Paypal. The customers can use different types of debit cards (like Visa, Mastercard, etc.) for payment but the lack of PayPal can create problems in many cases.
Here’s where WordPress has a higher hand. Using WordPress the user can develop a more flexible online store with a higher range of functionalities. WordPress allows easy integration with other services like Bigcommerce, Shopify, WooCommerce, etc., which allows the user to perform a wider range of functionalities like easy flow of product data in and out of the platform, managing tax settings, etc.
So in this WordPress vs Squarespace showdown, WordPress offers higher functionalities in the E-commerce sectors.
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Customization
Squarespace offers beautifully designed templates which the user can add to their websites. However, the templates are limited in number, and the range of customization is also limited.
WordPress, on the other hand, provides access to a larger number of templates with endless customization range. However, the user needs to have basic skills in HTML and CSS to implement all those templates and customization into their websites.
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SEO
In this highly competitive market sphere, only the fittest can survive, and this is where SEO becomes important. Squarespace allows easy implementation of SEO features like customization of URLs, editing title tags, adding meta description, redirecting in case of 301 errors, etc. However, when it comes to blogs and E-Commerce, Squarespace fails to provide the necessary SEO practices.
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WordPress, on the other hand, provides more flexible and powerful SEO features; like manual tweaking of HTML, adding Plugins, real-time based analysis, the addition of image titles, easy optimization, XML sitemaps, etc.
So in this WordPress vs Squarespace showdown, WordPress provides much better SEO implementation than Squarespace.
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Customer Support
In this WordPress vs Squarespace battle, Squarespace offers more dedicated Customer support via e-mail, live chat, etc.
When it comes to WordPress, there is no dedicated support. However, the user can avail support from the large community, but finding answers to a particular problem becomes very time consuming and exhaustive. Moreover, the user needs to have some basic technical skills in CSS, HTML, in order to converse with the large community of developers properly.
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Price Tag
Probably the most important question is Which one of the two is cheaper?
Well, the answer depends on your requirements. On an average Squarespace has a cheaper price tag but the range of customization and functionalities is somewhat limited. For complete details about the various price plans offered by Squarespace refer to the Official Site.
On the other hand, the price tag of WordPress is higher, but it offers a greater range of customization and functionalities; which is necessary for more professional websites. For complete details about the price, plans refer to the Official Site.
Conclusion | Wordpress vs Squarespace Battle
Both WordPress and Squarespace offer a great range of functionalities and customization. The Squarespace is a better option for the beginners and when you’re planning for a website in a lower budget.
WordPress is a better option for creating more professional based websites when the budget is not an issue.
