Website Builder Battle: Wix vs. Squarespace vs. WordPress
If you’re looking to create a website, choosing between the three most popular website-building platforms, Wix, Squarespace and WordPress, can be a tough decision. As a website designer with years of experience in both Wix and Squarespace, my clients often ask me about the differences between the platforms.
Which platform is best for your business? Keep reading, and I’llI’ll give you a rundown of the advantages and disadvantages of each website builder.
About the Platforms
Wix
Wix is a drag-and-drop website builder that has been around since 2006. It was created with small business owners in mind, providing an array of features and apps to help them build their online presence.
Through an easy-to-use editor, users can customise their website using the drag-and-drop builder. It’sIt’s easy to add content blocks to pages, and there are a variety of objects to choose from, including text, photo galleries, contact forms and more.
With Wix, you have the power to create a website that perfectly represents your vision. You can choose from a wide selection of pre-designed templates or create your site from scratch using a blank template. The Wix App Market offers plugins and additional features and functionality. There is also a dedicated mobile site editor meaning you can easily customise your site for a seamless experience. For even more customisation options, Velo by Wix offers custom CSS and HTML coding options.
In August 2023, Wix released a new responsive editor that allows for even greater customisation, ensuring your website looks great on all screen sizes, no matter what device your customers use.
Getting started with Wix is free and easy. There is no need to purchase a subscription to publish a website. However, I strongly recommend upgrading to one of their may Premium Plan options to remove the Wix branding and add a more professional look to your site.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Drag-and-drop builder is easy-to-use | Can't swap templates |
| Over 500 templates are available | The mobile site editor is limited and clunky |
| Fast to setup | Wix branding ads included in the free version |
| Website hosting included in all plans | Monthly/Annual cost for premium website |
| Unlimited free trial with the free plan | |
| Wix App Market features a wide range of plugins and widgets | |
| Easy to navigate dashboard | |
| Free Domain Name with Premium Plans | |
| Unlimited bandwidth |
Squarespace
Since its establishment in 2004, Squarespace has provided all sizes of businesses with an exceptional website-building experience. With a variety of professionally designed templates to choose from, creating a stunning, professional website has never been easier.
Squarespace’s focus on aesthetics, responsiveness, and performance sets it apart. While it may not have a dedicated marketplace like Wix, it offers many options for third-party and native integrations and plugins.
As of 2020, Squarespace offers two versions of their website editor: 7.0 and 7.1. The Fluid Engine in 7.1 makes creating your website an even smoother experience with its advanced drag-and-drop editor. Squarespace has extensive support and coding options for those who want to customise their website with CSS coding since the option has been around for longer than Wix.
To launch your website, you will need to purchase a subscription. Squarespace offers a free 14-day trial to all users. As a Squarespace Circle member, Crystal Potter Design Studio provides an even longer 6-month free trial.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| More customisability through CSS coding | Only around 100 free native templates are available to choose from |
| Better and faster responsivity at all screen sizes | Limited font styling options available without additional coding |
| Fully customisable blog editing | 14-day free trial before needing to upgrade |
| Better SEO options for blogs | A more significant learning curve to learn the interface |
| Easy to swap 7.0 templates at any stage | Can’t easily restore the website from previous versions |
| Hosting is included in all subscription plans | No ability to make draft versions of pages - all edits are live on a published website |
| A free domain name is included with all subscription plans | |
| More custom coding options are already available | |
| Two different editor versions are available, 7.0 and 7.1 |
WordPress
WordPress has come a long way since its inception in 2003 as a simple blogging tool. Today it has transformed into a powerful code-based website builder.
Sites are created either from templates or through coding by a website developer. For those without coding experience, external plugins like Elementor can offer a user-friendly frag-and-drop building experience similar to Wix or Squarespace. However, updating the website can be challenging without coding knowledge, and you will likely need to re-engage your developer to make changes for you.
WordPress offers a massive ecosystem of plugins and themes and, with the help of a developer, can be used to create custom websites of all sizes.
Using WordPress is free, but there are still a lot of additional costs involved. You will likely need to buy a theme or plugins for your desired layout, and many management plugins come with subscription-based pricing. Additionally, WordPress does not provide hosting, so you must use an external hosting service like Bluehost.
Crystal Potter Design Studio aims to enable small businesses to establish their online presence through cost-effective, easy-to-manage platforms, which is why I offer Squarespace and Wix website design over WordPress.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Extremely customisable | Need a lot of technical knowledge to set up and manage your own hosting |
| Lots of pre-made themes are available | Need to know coding to customise your website |
| Easy to incorporate third-party plugins | Need to be experienced with coding or hire a developer to manage and troubleshoot your website |
| You can choose who to host your website with | High learning curve |
| Huge knowledge base available online | Can’t easily swap templates |
| Need a plugin for drag-and-drop editing | |
| External plugins need to be updated and managed to ensure compatibility | |
| Not recommended for people new to website building |
Ease of Use
Wix
Regarding ease of use, Wix is the most user-friendly platform. With a simple drag-and-drop interface, this platform is perfect for beginners who want to showcase their creativity and make their online presence a reality.
If you’re not looking to create something from scratch, Wix ADI, or Artificial Design Intelligence, can make a stunning website in no time simply by answering a few questions.
With over 510 mobile-responsive themes spread across 16 categories, Wix provides plenty of options to create a stunning website. It’sIt’s important to note that you cannot change the theme after you publish your site. There is also the option to design your site using either a blank template or starting with a completely blank site.
Squarespace
With Squarespace, you can quickly bring your website vision to life using the drag-and-drop editor. While there may be a slight learning curve, the result is a stylish and stunning website that will impress.
Both 7.0 and 7.1 offer a range of professional-looking templates and themes to choose from, or if preferred, you can start your design from a blank layout. The block-based drag-and-drop editor in 7.0 ensures a consistent and polished look. While the new Fluid Engine editor in 7.1 is slightly easier to use and offers more flexibility and creative freedom.
With custom CSS coding, it’s easy to customise your website beyond the standard editor and let your creativity and personal touch shine through. A vast resource of tutorials and forum posts is available to guide you along the way. Even without any coding knowledge, Squarespace can help you to create a stunning website.
WordPress
WordPress is a self-hosted builder requiring an external website host to power your site. It lacks a native drag-and-drop editor, requiring customisation with code or third-party plugins like Elementor. A steep learning curve is involved, and if you don’t have any coding knowledge, it can be challenging to edit your website content by yourself.
If you have any issues, you must do your own research or hire a WordPress expert, as there is no dedicated support team.
WordPress is best suited for those who require a highly customisable website and are willing to hire a developer or have extensive coding knowledge.
SEO
All three platforms offer SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) options to help websites rank higher on search engines like Google. Good SEO practices are essential for your business and ensure that customers can easily find your website while searching for your products or services.
Wix offers a dedicated SEO manager called the SEO Wiz that guides you through the SEO process. The SEO Wiz helps create a personalised SEO strategy tailored to your unique needs by selecting a few keywords that best represent your website.
Squarespace lacks a dedicated SEO tool like Wix but provides helpful guides and numerous SEO editing options to improve your Google ranking. You can also engage external plugins such as SEOspace to help you improve your website’swebsite’s SEO ranking.
Both Wix and Squarespace provide essential SEO features that can help you optimise your website. You can easily update your URLs, customise your SEO titles and meta descriptions, and edit your alt-image tags for Google Image Search categorisation.
With WordPress, you have the freedom to explore more SEO options, but it requires more technical know-how than Wix or Squarespace. You can add external subscription-based plugins such as Yoast SEO to WordPress. But for a more straightforward SEO experience, Wix’s SEO Wiz may be a better fit.
Pricing Comparison
When considering pricing, it’s essential to carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each website builder.
Wix offers a free plan with limited features and bandwidth that includes Wix branding at the top and bottom of your website. You can remove the branding with any of Wix’s Premium Plans for a more professional result. These subscriptions start at just $10 USD a month and are available on monthly or annual payment plans. Website hosting is included in all subscriptions, with different plans available for different needs. For product-based businesses, eCommerce plans start at $18 USD a month.
Unlike Wix, Squarespace does not offer a free plan. Instead, you can take advantage of the standard 14-day free trial or a 6-month free trial for Crystal Potter Design Studio clients. Keep in mind that certain restrictions apply during the trial period, such as the inability to publish your website or connect a custom domain name. Once you are ready, Subscription Plans start at just $16 AUD a month, with monthly and annual payment options available. All plans include website hosting, and for those looking to sell products online, eCommerce plans start at $34 AUD a month.
It isn’t easy to estimate the monthly cost of a self-hosted WordPress website, as it depends on your choice of web host and any themes or plugins from third-party options. Basic hosting plans from a reputable provider such as Bluehost start at $16.42 AUD a month. However, the WordPress software itself is free to use.
| WIX | SQUARESPACE | WORDPRESS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Included in Premium Plan | Included in subscription | Externally from $5 AUD/mo |
| Domain Name | Free for 1 year with Premium Plan upgrade | Free for 1 year with subscription | Not included |
| Email Address | $5 USD/mo each | Available through G Suite | Not included |
| Subscription | From $10 USD/mo | From $16 USD/mo | N/A |
| Themes | Free | Free | Free to $5,000+ |
| Plugins | Varies between plugin | Third-party available | Varies between plugins |
| Technical Support | Free | Free | Hiring an expert required |
Comparison Overview
Choosing the best website-building platform for you ultimately depends on your specific needs and budget.
If you’re new to website building and less tech-savvy, Wix is the ideal choice. It’sIt’s the perfect platform for beginners, with a user-friendly interface and a wide range of templates, plugins and widgets. Plus, with its easy-to-follow SEO Wiz, you can rest assured that your website will be optimised for success.
Squarespace is the ideal option for those seeking a visually appealing website that adapts flawlessly to all screen sizes. Although a slightly more challenging learning curve exists, the drag-and-drop editor is user-friendly. Additionally, with Squarespace’s CSS coding integration, you can effortlessly customise your website’s fonts, colours, and layouts, ensuring that your online presence accurately reflects your brand identity and unique style.
WordPress is an excellent option for users with extensive coding knowledge who want to take control of their website’s performance. It is also ideal for those who want a sizeable custom-built website and are willing to hire an expert developer to achieve their goals. Squarespace and Wix are far better options for those just starting out with creating an online presence.
| WIX | SQUARESPACE | WORDPRESS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ |
| Flexibility of Templates | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Features | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ |
| Widget Functionality | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ |
| eCommerce | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ |
| Blog | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ |
| SEO | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ |
| Analytics | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ✗ (Available via plugin) |
| Coding Options | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Storage Space | 500 MB+ | Unlimited | Depends on hosting |
| Backups & Restores | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ (Available via plugin) |
| Support | FAQ, Email, Phone | FAQ, Chat, Email | ✗ |
If you’re still uncertain about which platform to select for your website design project, don’t hesitate to fill out the contact form for tailored guidance. Made a decision, and you’re ready to get started? Reach out to begin building your dream website today!
