Today I want to talk about WordPress vs Squarespace. And when I say “Squarespace”, I mean Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, or any other web-based website solution.

These companies have spent millions of dollars advertising themselves as a great solution for people that need a website, but are they really a good deal?

The simple answer is, no. If you want the complicated answer, take a look at the recent article over on WPMU that covers the 27 reasons why WordPress wins every time. It’s a great read and I highly encourage you to take a look.

However, I try to keep things simple and streamlined for the fine folks at WordPress Success Path, so instead of doing an item-by-item comparison, I want to talk about just TWO reasons why you need to go with WordPress.

 

WordPress Vs Squarespace

 

Reason #1: Cost.

Every business is concerned about cost, so the amount you pay for your website solution is almost certainly a concern. In the WordPress vs Squarespace battle, the winner is… It depends. Either WordPress wins easily, or it’s a tie. It just depends on how you look at it.

It’s a tie if you are going to build a single, general website. Once you crunch all of the various numbers you’ll end up paying about the same for both. However…

WordPress wins handily if you ever want to have multiple websites.

You see, Squarespace charges you per website, whereas most WordPress hosting plans offer you unlimited websites.

Let’s say you have a website that will work out to a cost of about $30 per month once everything is factored in. You can go with either WordPress or Squarespace and the cost will be about the same.

But now let’s say you have a side project that you want to build a site for, or you have a family member that is building their own business and you want to support them.

If you work with Squarespace then your $30 cost will suddenly double to $60 for 2 websites or $90 for 3 websites, and so on.

HOWEVER, if you are on WordPress then your cost remains at $30 per month, even though you have 2, 3, or even 20 websites.

Now, you may only plan on having one website (just like I did when I first started), but if you’re anything like me you’ll likely end up with several websites once you get the hang of building them, so you will be kicking yourself if you don’t go with WordPress because it will save you A LOT of money.

And since the best Squarespace can do on a cost basis is a tie, the clear winner of the WordPress vs Squarespace battle is… WordPress.

 

Reason #2: Control.

I started with “Cost” because it tends to be a big consideration for a lot of people, but the truth is the #1 reason why you MUST choose WordPress in the WordPress vs Squarespace battle is because of the control that it gives you.

“Control” may not seem like a big deal now, but it WILL be a big deal eventually.

With Squarespace (and all of the other companies like it) they put very strict controls on you and your website. Here are some comparison examples between Squarespace and WordPress (taken from the WPMU article listed earlier):

1) Want a different hosting solution? Too bad. Squarespace requires that you use their hosting.

2) Want to edit your code? Too bad. Squarespace allows for some customization of HTML, CSS, or Javascript, but it is very limited.

3) Want to build your own theme? Too bad. Squarespace only allows you to use their themes.

4) Want to build more than one website? Too bad. Squarespace only allows one website per subscription.

5) Want to keep your copyrighted material intact? Too bad. Squarespace has the right to use any or all of your site for their own advertising, regardless of your copyrights. You can “opt out” but it’s not a simple process and most people don’t even know that Squarespace is doing this.

6) Want to sue your host? Too bad. Squarespace forces you to use mediation first, limits the amount you can sue for, and makes it so you cannot participate in a class-action lawsuit.

7) Want to have massive amounts of traffic to your site? Too bad. While Squarespace does allow for “unlimited” bandwidth, the small print says it is only for “normal” amounts of traffic (which they never define). That means if your website gets really popular Squarespace can shut you down.

8) Want to install a robust SSL certificate on your site to protect your visitors? Too bad. Squarespace doesn’t offer a lot of features and warranties that people want on their SSL certificates.

9) Want to “own” your domain? Too bad. Squarespace automatically becomes the registered owner of any domain registered through them. While it is possible to change this, it is NOT an easy or fast process.

10) Want to have 100 pages on your website? Too bad. Squarespace limits you to 20 pages. To get more you will have to upgrade and pay more per month.

11) Want to use Google Analytics to monitor your website traffic? Too bad. Squarespace only offers their own analytics tool which is not nearly as robust as Google Analytics.

I could go on and on, but let’s stop there, because that is plenty. Now let’s see how WordPress stacks up on those control issues:

1) You can switch hosting companies any time you want with WordPress.

2) You are welcome to change as much of the core code as you want with WordPress.

3) You can build, buy, or acquire any theme you want with WordPress.

4) You can build as many websites as you want with WordPress (please check your hosting plan for possible limitations).

5) WordPress does not have the right to use any of your material, copyrighted or otherwise, in any way.

6) WordPress puts no limitations on your ability to sue them or anyone else.

7) WordPress puts no limitations on the amount of traffic you receive (please check your hosting plan to see if they have limitations).

8) You can install just about any kind of an SSL that you want on WordPress.

9) WordPress does not make themselves the registrar of your domain. That means it “belongs” to you.

10) WordPress places no limitation on the number of pages you can have on your website.

11) Adding Google Analytics (or any other analytics product) to a WordPress website is fast and easy.

It really comes down to this: As the owner of a website, do you really want your hosting solution dictating what you can and cannot do? Do you really want to give them the ability to put a stranglehold on you and your business?

Clearly, the winner for “control” in the WordPress vs Squarespace battle is… WordPress.

 

WordPress vs Squarespace: Conclusion.

As we’ve seen, when it comes to cost and control, WordPress is the clear winner in the WordPress vs Squarespace battle. And those are just 2 of the many reasons why you should always pick WordPress over Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, or any other company like them.

If you’ve found this information useful, and you’re considering using Divi or another Elegant Themes theme, then I would appreciate it if you would use one of the affiliate links on this page to make your purchase. This will help me to continue to provide useful information to you and others.

And if you don’t yet have a hosting plan, I’d appreciate you using this link to get a new hosting plan from our one and only preferred hosting company.