Squarespace vs Wix?
This is a question many budding website builders think about. Both platforms have benefits and limitations, but which site builder comes out on top?
This article will give you a complete review of both Wix and Squarespace. You will find a comprehensive, in-depth review analyzing the features and tools present on these websites. In the end, you will have the answer to the question - is Wix or Squarespace better?
Let’s begin.
Squarespace vs Wix: What Are They?
Before we discuss the features of this site, it is important to understand the function of Wix Squarespace.
Both Wix and Squarespace are website-building tools that make it easier for anyone to create websites from scratch. You don’t need any coding skills to use any of these platforms.
The accessibility of Wix and Squarespace makes them two of the most popular website-building platforms. Despite having similar functions, there is a slight difference in how most consumers use this software.
Wix
Source: Wix.com
People who want an easy and quick way to build a website gravitate towards Wix. It is one of the platforms for beginner website builders.
Wix is incredibly easy to use and features a drag and drop method to build your site. This method allows anyone to create their perfect website easily.
Wix offers multiple features and templates that allow users to be fully creative. You can create a beautifully designed website even if you have no prior graphic design knowledge. Wix allows you to be creative in an accessible manner.
Squarespace
Source: Squarespace.com
Squarespace offers sleek and professional designs and is often the go-to option for many business owners. This platform emphasizes high-quality design and aesthetics. If you’re looking to build a well-known website for design, Squarespace is your best choice.
Squarespace’s website-building tools require learning, making it slightly less accessible than Wix. You will do great with Squarespace’s tools if you have general technical knowledge.
Both Squarespace and Wix are SaaS tools. SaaS stands for software as a service which means you have to pay a regular fee to use them. All the key features are included in your subscriptions, so you don’t have to worry about paying extra to unlock basic features.
Basic Features Of Squarespace vs Wix
Both platforms include a set of basic features for all website builders. These include:
- A domain;
- Multiple templates;
- Hosting service;
- A content management system;
- E-commerce features (this depends on your plan).
Squarespace vs Wix: Statistics
Wix was founded in 2006, but Squarespace has been around slightly longer since 2003. Despite this, Wix has more current users than Squarespace.
As of 2022, Wix has 7 million live websites, whereas Squarespace has 2.9 million live websites. This number shows us that Wix is people’s preferred choice out of the two. Wix’s large user base makes it the better choice of the two options.
Squarespace is still a great website building tool despite the lesser user base if you prefer a more design-forward approach to website building.
Squarespace vs Wix: Which Is Easier To Use?
Both Wix and Squarespace are generally easy to use; however, Wix slightly edges out due to its drag and drop feature. While Squarespace is also easy to use, you need some technical information before beginning.
Both Wix and Squarespace feature some form of drag and drop editing; however, Wix’s editing tool is far simpler and beginner-friendly. One great thing about a drag and drop tool is that you don’t need code to build a website.
If you have limited time to build a website or don’t want to go through a long building process, both platforms offer an Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) option that will generate a website for you. To use this tool, you have to answer a few questions.
Wix’s drag and drop editor is much smoother than Squarespace's. However, Squarespace developers have been updating the tool over the years, and it is possible that someday their drag and drop functions will be as user-friendly as the Wix tool.
What Is Drag And Drop Editing?
Source: Wix.com
Drag and drop editing is the simple process of selecting the element you want (this can be a text box or an image) and dragging it to where you would like it to be on your page.
This beginner-friendly functionality makes it easy for anyone to create a website. It also removes the need for coding or any other technical knowledge.
Squarespace vs Wix: Which Offers More Creativity?
Since Squarespace offers a more design-forward approach, this platform has the most creative control for its users. In comparison, Wix offers a variety of design templates, but its aesthetic lack the sophistication found in Squarespace.
Wix offers several attractive templates that give you a foundation for professional websites. Wix provides more than 800templates at a glance, while Squarespace only provides more than 100. All of Wix’s templates are mobile responsive and provide a mobile editor so you can customize your website on the go.
Despite the wide variety of templates, not all of Wix's designs are pleasing to look at, and some can even look clunky and dated. This can present a major creative limitation.
On the other hand, you are guaranteed beautiful and aesthetically pleasing design templates from Squarespace. All of Squarespace’s templates are modern, sleek, and designed to fit almost any industry.
In Squarespace vs Wix, the creativity debate Squarespace is the clear winner as they emphasize quality over quantity. This quality ensures that the work end product always looks beautiful. Even though Squarespace has a smaller template range than Wix, professional designers have created all of them.
Despite not offering as many high-quality designs, Wix templates provide a lot of customizability. If there is a certain design feature that you don’t like, you can always customize your Wix site to change that feature.
This level of customizability is not available in Squarespace; however, this platform doesn’t require any improvement as most of their designs are up to the mark.
Squarespace vs Wix: What Is The Pricing Model?
Note: the prices mentioned reflect the annual payment method.
Price can sometimes be the biggest determination when it comes to deciding between these platforms.
Wix offers seven different pricing plans, whereas Squarespace offers only four.
Wix provides users with a free plan with a limited selection of features. This free plan is unlimited, meaning that it is not a trial period, and you can use the plan as long as you want.
Squarespace also offers a free version; however, they only provide this in the form of a 14-day trial period. After this trial period, you have to select a paid plan to use the platform.
Wix’s paid plans start at $14, and Squarespace also starts at $14. If you want to create a website for personal use, Wix Squarespace offers individual plans. With Wix, you get two personal plans called Combo and Unlimited.
The Combo plan is priced at $14, and the Unlimited is priced at $18. The main difference between these two plans is that the unlimited offers extra analytical and planning tools while the combo only has basic tools.
Squarespace only offers one personal plan called priced at $14. Unlike Wix’s plan, Squarespace’s plan is cheaper and offers basic analytical tools at a lower price point.
For non-e-commerce business plans, both platforms have several options available. Wix offers two business plans called Pro and VIP. Pro costs $23, and VIP is priced at $39.
The only difference between these two plans is that VIP offers more storage space and video hours (35GB and five hours) than Pro (20GB and two hours). Apart from this, you get all the same benefits.
Squarespace offers only one business plan for non-e-commerce sites. This plan is priced at $23.
For e-commerce websites, there are multiple plans to choose from. Each platform offers three different plans for potential e-commerce business owners.
Wix Business Plans
Wix offers three business plans. These include:
- Business Basic at $17;
- The Business Unlimited at $25;
- Business VIP at $35.
The Business Basic plan is perfect for e-commerce businesses starting out and having minimal sales. This plan offers only basic functional tools and is a scaled-back version of the other business plans. You might need to upgrade to a better plan when your sales increase.
Business Unlimited is an upgraded version of the Basic plan, and it is recommended for stores that are experiencing a steady growth in their sales. You can add product reviews and even shipping options to your site with this plan. Unlimited also allows your customers to subscribe to products.
Business VIP is a much pricier plan than the other two, offering advanced sales features. With this plan, you can increase transactions, add more reviews and include automated sales tax. These tools are perfect for large businesses that keep expanding.
Wix also offers an Enterprise plan priced at $500 for large businesses. This plan is extremely expensive, and you get better value if you use a dedicated e-commerce platform instead.
Squarespace Business Plans
Squarespace also offers three business plans. These include:
- Business at $23;
- Basic Commerce at $27;
- Advanced Commerce at $49.
The Squarespace Business plan is similar to the one mentioned before. While non-e-commerce sites mostly use it, it can also be used to start your online shop. However, this plan does not include many good e-commerce functions, so you must upgrade your plan.
Basic Commerce includes all the necessary tools required for an online store. This is your plan if you are running a new or mid-sized e-commerce business. The Commerce plan includes payment and checkout systems that make your sales process easy. You can also add customer reviews to your site.
Advanced Commerce is a great option for steadily growing or large businesses. With this plan, you can access all of Squarespace’s sales tools and multiple shipping options. You can also add an advanced cart recovery feature, an essential tool for many businesses.
Which Platform Has Better Pricing?
Now that you know all the details about every price plan, you might wonder if Wix or Squarespace is better? The answer depends on your website’s needs.
Due to its reasonable price, Wix’s basic plan might be attractive to many first-time website builders. However, this plan also includes ads on your website, so you will need to upgrade if you want to create a serious blog.
You will also use a Wix subdomain on the basic plan; this is not a great option for professional websites.
While Squarespace plans are pricier than Wix plans, they offer a lot more features making it easy for you to create a professional website. From their starting price, you get options to create a well-designed website.
When choosing between the two platforms, think about your budget and your goals for the website. This will help make the best choice.
Squarespace vs Wix: Which Platform Is Best For E-commerce?
Most people who use Squarespace and Wix do so to create an e-commerce website. Both these platforms offer multiple tools to help businesses succeed. With Wix Squarespace, it is easy to add e-commerce functionality to your website and get your business up and running.
When it comes to payment methods, Wix offers more options than Squarespace. With Wix, you get access to payment methods such as:
- Wix Payments;
- PayPal;
- Stripe;
- Square.
Squarespace also includes Paypal and Stripe, but it also uses Apple Pay as a payment method.
Both Wix and Squarespace allow you to offer various products to your customers. You can provide goods in the form of physical, digital, and services via the booking application on the website.
Some important Wix sales functions include:
- Unlimited bandwidth;
- 0% commission fee;
- No Wix advertisements;
- Up to 50GB of storage;
- Google analytics;
- Access to the Wix e-commerce app market.
Some important Squarespace functions include:
- 0% transaction fees (on upgraded plan);
- Unlimited bandwidth and storage;
- Abandoned cart recovery;
- Customer accounts;
- Gift card option.
Wix charges no transaction fees on any plan, whereas Squarespace charges a 3% fee on the basic program. If you want 0% transaction fees, you will need to upgrade your Squarespace plan.
Wix and Squarespace differ slightly in their business plan’s price, but Wix is more generous with their tools. Wix is a better value for budget-conscious e-commerce businesses.
Squarespace offers tools that are important for growing businesses. If you think your site requires advanced e-commerce tools, you should use Squarespace.
Squarespace vs Wix: What Integrations Do They Offer?
Once you build your website, you might want to add extra features to elevate your existing website. Both Squarespace and Wix offer several apps and integration to improve your website.
Squarespace and Wix offer their website developers access to their app market. These app markets contain a lot of helpful tools that improve the functionality of your website. Wix offers over 200 apps, while Squarespace provides only 23.
Wix’s app store includes a mix of paid and free options, so there is something for everyone. You can use apps for bookings and events. You can also integrate third-party apps on your Wix website.
Squarespace doesn’t have a lot of app options because they have added all the necessary tools in your editing suite. Any extra app you might require is already included in your editing tools to make the website building process easier.
Squarespace offers several in-house-built apps on their app market if you want different integrations. Squarespace offers several plugins that also go great for an e-commerce site. You can use plugins like reviews to enhance your site.
You can also add third-party integrations to your website. Squarespace’s app market is categorized into four parts:
- Shipping and Fulfillment;
- Finance;
- Inventory and Products;
- Sales and Marketing.
This makes it easier to find any integration easily. You can use these integrations to optimize your website and grow your business.
Both Squarespace and Wix have mobile apps that make the editing process easier. You can access and edit your website while on the go.
Squarespace vs Wix: Which Ranks Better On Search Engines?
Optimization is important if you want your website to perform better. If you create a website with either Wix or Squarespace, you might wonder which platform will help you perform better. For that, let’s look at how these platforms optimize your site.
Both Wix and Squarespace offer built-in SEO tools to improve your website’s ranking. You can use mobile responsive pages, alt text for images, and optimized headings to optimize your site.
One thing that sets Wix apart from Squarespace in this category is SEO apps. Wix offers separate SEO apps in their app market to ensure optimization for your website. You don’t get an app like this with Squarespace.
However, Squarespace provides other ways to optimize your site. Squarespace’s SEO knowledge center helps you make the best choice to improve your site’s optimization.
Wix also offers SEO Wiz, which helps you understand and apply basic SEO improvements to your website.
Both Squarespace and Wix are equally matched regarding their search engine optimization abilities.
Squarespace vs Wix: Final Takeaway
Now that you’ve read out article, you have the answer to the question is Wix or Squarespace better?
Wix is great for beginner website-builders, and its tools make it easy for anyone to create beautiful sites. Squarespace offers sleek editing software that requires some technical knowledge but creates a professional-looking website.
Weigh both platforms against your website goals to see which one works best for you.
Tags: squarespace, squarespace vs wix, Wix
