Updated June 15, 2023
Difference Between WordPress vs Squarespace
The following article provides an outline for WordPress vs Squarespace. WordPress is a robust, free, and open-source content management system (CMS) based on My SQL and PHP. There are two versions available – “Hosted,” which is available at “wordpress.com” and is a Software as a service (Saas) tool. The second version is “Self-hosted,” a piece of software that can be downloaded from “wordpress.org” and installed on a web server. It is open-source, which means the code is freely available and can be modified easily. Squarespace is a Software as a Service (Saas) tool for website building and hosting. It is an American private company that is headquartered in New York City. This tool uses pre-built website templates and “drag and drop” elements to design web pages.
WordPress was released in May 2003. It uses a web template system that further uses a template processor. Various themes can be installed, or a user can switch among different themes. Themes allow a user to change the appearance of a WordPress website without changing the code or content. WordPress comes along with a Theme directory that allows various free Themes. However, premium themes are available for purchase from marketplaces and individual developers. A developer can also create his own Theme called custom Themes.
Squarespace started its journey as a blog hosting service for personal use by Anthony Casalena. It was further developed by adding certain features like e-commerce tools, domain name services, and analytics. It removed the coding backend in favor of drag-and-drop features. It was launched publicly in April 2003. Squarespace is hosting more than one million websites as of 2016. Users of the service build websites using pre-built website templates and a variety of drag-and-drop widgets for common elements.
The wordPress community is vast and growing consistently; WordPress powers about 23% of all websites on the internet as of 2015. Like Themes, plugins are available in free and premium forms, meaning one must purchase them. A developer can access thousands of different tools and plugins to improve the websites. There are two versions of Squarespace available in the market. One need not have any web development skills to use this version. Another is the developer’s version, which allows access and manipulation of source code, which allows the addition of greater functionality to Squarespace websites and the creation of templates. It is highly suitable for experienced developers.
Head to Head Comparison Between WordPress vs Squarespace (Infographics)
Below are the top 8 differences between WordPress vs Squarespace:
Key Differences Between WordPress vs Squarespace
Let us discuss some of the major differences between WordPress vs Squarespace:
- WordPress is an open-source Content Management System tool, whereas Squarespace is not open-source, run by a private company.
- WordPress has thousands of templates, plugins, and themes available, whereas the number of themes, plugins, and templates available with Squarespace is limited compared to WordPress.
- WordPress is open-source, so anyone can modify the source code and have his own set of themes and plugins ready with maintenance work. In contrast, Squarespace works in a controlled environment with limited flexibility toward plugin and theme modification.
- WordPress comes with a maintenance nightmare since several thousands of plugins and themes are free of cost, whereas Squarespace has certain plugins and themes, thus lesser maintenance.
- WordPress has a vast community with tons of documentation available since its open-source, whereas Squarespace has a limited and organized community.
- The learning curve for WordPress can be steep for a beginner since learning code is required, whereas Squarespace requires no coding experience at all; a user can build a website with ease.
- WordPress is a highly flexible and extensible platform because one can modify the code to create almost anything. In contrast, Squarespace provides little space for flexibility since it is a close-knit community.
- WordPress has flexible plans available from various web hosts worldwide, whereas Squarespace is strict and rigid with its available plan and features.
WordPress vs Squarespace Comparison Table
Let’s look at the top comparison between WordPress vs Squarespace below:
| Basis of Comparison | WordPress | Squarespace |
| Ease of use | Offers beginners a lot of choices, hence can be confusing at first. | It fares a little better than WordPress for absolute beginners. |
| Costs | Open-source and flexible plans are available. | Not open-source, and different categories of plans are available. |
| Design | Highly extensible and flexible in terms of design. | No easy way to extend the already existing design. |
| Features | Thousands of plugins and templates are available. | Available plugins and templates are lesser as compared to WordPress. |
| E-commerce | Plenty of plugins to turn a website into an online store. | Limited plans are available for tweaking an online store. |
| Support | Big community with resources but not organized. | A dedicated team with organized resources. |
| Learning | A steep learning curve for a beginner. | User-friendly, a website can be built without knowing how to code. |
| Maintenance | The developer is responsible for maintaining an aspect of plugins and themes. | Controlled environment, managed and updated all maintenance work for a developer. |
Conclusion
Although WordPress is a lot more powerful and flexible than Squarespace, a drawback with WordPress is that it takes more time to dig through the intricacies offered by WordPress. Squarespace being costlier than WordPress involves benefits like ease of use with its drag-and-drop-like features.
Both WordPress vs Squarespace offers the same set of feature and functionality. It finally boils down to the requirement and resources available. Tech-savvy resources with a considerable amount of time available signal toward the usage of WordPress, whereas naive users with hovering deadlines signal toward the Squarespace path.
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