When it comes to building your website, choosing which platform is a crucial first step. And it’s not one you want to get wrong…
Wix and Squarespace are two of the most popular website builders out there, and for good reason. But they both have their own strengths and weaknesses. So let’s break it down to help you decide which one is best for you.
Both website builders have strengths in key categories.
Ease of use
Wix offers a drag-and-drop interface that is incredible easy to use, even for complete beginners. You start with a blank slate, and can place exactly what elements you want where you want them. They do offer a few template components you can use, but it’s very focussed around you building a completely custom site. This is great if you have a design in mind, and want to build that exact, unique design into Wix, but it can be overwhelming if you’re a complete bigger and need a bit of a helping hand to know where to start, what to put on your page and where to put it.
With Squarespace, you still have the option to build through a fully drag-and-drop method, but Squarespace focuses more on providing structured templates and components that you can customise yourself. Whilst slightly less intuitive, this means you can maintain a professional look without much effort by utilising their templates (if you’re not concerned about having a website that’s potentially very similar to a competitors).
Design and flexibility
Squarespace is known for its sleek, modern templates. If you want a website that looks like it was custom-built, when in reality could be created by a beginner with minimal time, then SquareSpace is for you. On the other hand, Wix offers more flexibility in design with its more ‘open canvas’ approach. This makes it a lot more flexible, but also requires more effort to maintain that cohesive look.
Integrations
Both website builders offer a range of integrations, and they have similar features and pricing across the two. In my personal experience, I’ve found Squarespace slightly more helpful with providing clear recommended integrations for each use (often their recommended integrations are actually the best ones too, rather than just a company that’s paying for promotion). But, these are often from third party providers and come at an additional charge. With Wix, you can get very good integrations for features like bookings, orders and blogs all under one roof, with the basic packages for many of these at no extra cost. In reality, you'll get very similar results from integrations on either platform.
Pricing
Both platforms offer tiered pricing platforms, with a couple of weeks free trial at the start before a monthly fee for the most basic website. At the time of writing, the Squarespace 'personal' plan is slightly cheaper than the Wix 'light' plan, but if you need advanced features and extra plug-ins, the costs can add up.
Whilst there are costs attached to using a website builder, I definitely think their costs are worth it. You can get a professional, functional website on either platform for a relatively small monthly fee, and a user-friendly tool to quickly make any amends or launch new services or products on.
So, to wrap up…
Choosing between Wix and Squarespace ultimately depends on your business needs. If you want more design flexibility and a drag-and-drop experience, I recommend you go with Wix. But if you’re looking for a more polished, professional look right out of the box, or want some help with inspirational templates, then Squarespace is your best bet.
As a website designer, I find I can have so much more creative control in Wix. It’s also super easy to set up blogs (like this one!), shops, bookings and more. But if you don't have web design experience, then I think Squarespace has better templates and is easier and quicker to launch a professional-looking website. For this reason, some of my clients also prefer for me to use Squarespace as it's easier for them to manage going forward, and the reduced flexibility can be a benefit for them by ensuring any new additions they make will match the style of my original work (even if I of course always recommend you returning to your designer for any updates or new pages).
Decided which one you want to use, but need help building it in?
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