By Wix and Squarespace are two of the most popular website builders, commanding a substantial market share and powering millions of websites. They are often the go-to choices for individuals and businesses looking to create aesthetically pleasing websites. But how do you decide between the two?
In this guide, we will dive into a detailed comparison of Squarespace and Wix, focusing on essential factors such as ease of use, design, SEO features, sales tools, security, and more. This will help you decide which platform is best suited for your business.
Wix vs Squarespace: Key Differences
Both Wix and Squarespace are user-friendly platforms that allow anyone to build websites without any coding experience. However, they cater to different needs and preferences, which can affect your decision depending on your goals.
Wix is known for its flexibility, providing users with more creative freedom through its drag-and-drop editor. Squarespace, on the other hand, is more focused on design, offering beautifully structured templates ideal for those who value visual appeal.
Ease of Use
When it comes to ease of use, Wix takes the lead. Its intuitive drag-and-drop interface allows for more customization and control, which is great for beginners and those who want to experiment with their website design. Wix also features ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) that can generate a website for you in minutes by simply answering a few questions.
Squarespace, while still easy to use, has a more structured editor, making it slightly more difficult to customize. Its templates are beautiful but somewhat restrictive, especially if you’re looking for more freedom in design.
Winner: Wix
Build Time
If you’re looking to get a website up and running quickly, Wix is your best option. The Wix ADI tool allows you to create a website in seconds, while Squarespace, though efficient, requires a bit more time to get a site live, particularly if you are designing it manually.
Winner: Wix
Design and Themes
Squarespace is widely known for its stunning, professionally designed templates. These templates are modern and visually appealing, making it a perfect choice for those prioritizing design. The platform’s structured editor helps ensure that your site looks polished without much effort.
Wix, while offering a vast selection of templates, provides more flexibility in terms of customization. You can drag and drop widgets wherever you want, but this can sometimes lead to design issues, especially with mobile responsiveness. While Wix has many design features, Squarespace edges ahead in terms of the overall quality of its templates.
Winner: Squarespace
Sales Features
Both Wix and Squarespace provide robust ecommerce tools that allow you to create online stores. Wix offers integration with multiple sales channels, including Facebook, Instagram, and eBay, while Squarespace integrates with Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon.
Squarespace shines with its ecommerce features like built-in shipping options through USPS, FedEx, and UPS. Wix, on the other hand, offers limited shipping integrations, particularly with USPS and Correios (Brazil).
Winner: Wix
SEO Capabilities
SEO is crucial for driving traffic to your website, and both Wix and Squarespace offer solid SEO tools. Wix allows you to edit meta tags, URLs, and more, with extra features like the ability to edit the robots.txt file. Squarespace offers similar functionality but lacks the ability to modify the robots.txt file, which may be a limitation for more advanced users.
Winner: Wix
Security
Both platforms provide secure hosting, with SSL certificates included for all sites. Squarespace does have an advantage in terms of storage, offering unlimited storage for users, while Wix imposes limitations, even on higher-tier plans.
Winner: Squarespace
Customer Support
Wix provides excellent customer support, offering email, live chat, and phone support. Squarespace also provides live chat and email support, but lacks phone support, which could be a dealbreaker for some users. Wix also supports multiple languages for customer service, whereas Squarespace is more limited in that aspect.
Winner: Wix
Pricing
Pricing is another area where Wix stands out. Wix offers a free plan, along with several affordable paid plans, and a 14-day money-back guarantee. Squarespace, while offering a free trial, does not have a free plan, and its pricing starts at $18 per month for the business plan.
For those just starting out or on a tight budget, Wix’s free plan and low starting price give it an edge.
Winner: Wix
Final Thoughts: Wix vs Squarespace
After evaluating all the major features, Wix comes out ahead in categories like ease of use, build time, flexibility, apps and plugins, payment options, customer support, and pricing. Squarespace, however, excels in design and templates, ecommerce features, and security.
Final Score: Wix 8, Squarespace 5
While Wix is the overall winner, Squarespace is still an excellent choice for users who prioritize stunning design and a more streamlined user experience. If you’re looking for a platform with flexibility and scalability, Wix is your best bet. If you’re focused on building a beautiful, professional-looking site with minimal hassle, Squarespace may be the right choice for you.