Before making such a rash decision, let’s take a more detailed look at two of the most popular options on the market: Wix and Squarespace.
Wix and Squarespace are industry leaders, but what happens when we put them head-to-head?
Overview
Both Wix and Squarespace are well established website builders with a large following of loyal users. Each is affordable and easy to use, even for those of us with little or no experience. Both integrate well with social networks and provide the integrations needed to run an Ecommerce store. Customer support is excellent across the board, and gorgeous website design is simple, thanks to intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces.
But for all the similarities they have, there are just as many differences.
In this comparison, we will detail those differences, so you can decide for yourself: Which is better, Wix or Squarespace?
Creating Professional Looking Websites: Which Platform Wins for Design?
Let’s face it; most of us are not graphic designers.
But this small detail shouldn’t get in the way of creating stunning, professional looking websites. Both Wix and Squarespace offer gorgeous, modern templates and easy-to-use interfaces to slot your content into.
When comparing Squarespace to Wix in the design department, it essentially comes down to the template selection.
Here’s how the two builders stack up:
- Wix offers the larger selection of website templates
- Squarespace’s templates are the most clean and elegant.
- Wix does not let you transfer content from one template to another. If you decide to change the look of your website, you’ll have to rebuild the whole site from scratch.
- Squarespace lets you change your template as often as you’d like, without losing any of the content you’ve worked so hard to create.
Wix offers a straightforward and easy-to-use website builder and a variety of templates to choose from. Squarespace offers a level of control and customization that extends well beyond the competition. This increased degree of freedom comes at the cost of a less-intuitive interface that takes a little longer to get used to than Wix’s.
This means that websites built on their platform look great and perform well whether you’re viewing on a smartphone, tablet or desktop.
Winner: Wix
Who is the Most Budget-Friendly?
In the head-to-head battle for best website builder, cost is often one of the most important considerations.
This is especially true for small businesses looking to get started on a low budget.
When it comes time to consult your wallet, the choice between these two builders might not be as obvious as it first seems.
Even Squarespace’s cheapest tier can handle a ton of traffic or feature any ads that might annoy your visitors. It also provides custom domains, Ecommerce functionality, and round-the-clock customer support.
Plans start at $12 per month.
Squarespace doesn’t offer a free plan, but it does allow curious creators a two-week trial to test out its services.
For the more budget conscious, Wix offers free plans that forego the custom domains and limit features such as content and traffic.
This is an excellent jump-point to get your website up and running before upgrading to the premium plans. Wix paid plans begin at just $3.50 per month to improve your bandwidth and permit custom domains.
For more advanced services including free domains and custom apps, Wix offers 5 different premium tiers ranging up to the elaborate VIP plan for $24.50 per month.
Winner: Wix
Third-Party Apps & Plugins
For those times when a simple page won’t cut it, both Wix and Squarespace offer a variety of 3rd-party integrations.
One of the most appealing aspects of many website builders is that they make it easy to integrate 3rd-party apps and services into sites. This extends the functionality beyond what the core setup of either platform provides.
Squarespace provides built-in additions to your website, ranging from social media integration through to Ecommerce functionality and plenty more in between—all of which are added with a simple click of a button.
Outside of the provided services, the option to customize through 3rd-party apps and plugins is somewhat limited.
The platform does provide the opportunity to offer custom code, and some independent developers have begun to develop and distribute plugins for the platform.
The app market on Wix’s platform includes hundreds of options that can help users build a better website. Among these plugins are some of the most popular Web-based services, including many social networks, communication tools, and business apps.
Wix offers an ocean of integrations and unlimited opportunities to extend and customize your website.
Winner: Wix
The Bottom Line
When pitting Wix against Squarespace, it’s quickly apparent that either of these platforms could completely satisfy your needs. Both platforms offer a ton of features and functionality; yet differ on some of the finer points.
With as little as an hour to spare, you can breath life back into your project with a few simple clicks and the right template choice.
Whether you're building a simple website, company blog or a storefront, the decision really boils down to how much control you want over your site, and how much time you have to spend learning your way around the different platforms.
Squarespace offers a gourmet selection of high quality templates to give your website a truly professional look and feel, while Wix is great for builders wanting custom third party integration options and a more budget-friendly entry point.
That said, when Wix and Squarespace are pitted head-to-head, we found Wix to be the overall winner thanks to its excellent prices and access to great 3rd-party apps.
