Squarespace Review 2023: Is It Really Worth The Investment?

Squarespace Tutorials
Written By Kseniia Krasilich

Squarespace is one of the top website builders around, and it hosts millions of websites on the net. It is an excellent option for small business owners and stores interested in creating a professional website without knowing a single line of code. But, the question is, 'is it really worth the investment, and does it have everything my business needs?'

This post aims to answer the question as it deeply explores what Squarespace is all about, what it offers, and if it is a worthy investment for your business website.

So, if you've narrowed down your research to Squarespace and a few other website builders, and you are wondering what makes Squarespace different from the rest and if it is the best website to go with, then keep reading.

Note: This review comes from a Squarespace designer who has used Squarespace for years, carried out detailed research with persons, and tried out other popular websites to summarize a solid review that is free from bias.

 

Review Summary

Squarespace is a website builder suitable for businesses and e-commerce stores. Its cheapest plan starts from $16/month and includes unlimited storage and bandwidth. It also comes with fully customizable free templates you can use to create your website.

After an in-depth review, we discovered that Squarespace is one of the best website builders in the market that has tremendously fulfilled business owners' needs and delivered robust functionalities and features return on investments. However, it also comes with a few cons to note.

 

Squarespace Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Has the best return on investment: Although Squarespace plans may be a bit pricey at first glance, they offer more features than other platforms. For example, its cheapest plan comes with unlimited storage and bandwidth, which you'll not find on other website builders like Wix.

  • Comes with clean, aesthetic templates: Squarespace website owners have said, over and again, that Squarespace templates are one of the best templates in the market. It comes with clean, aesthetically-pleasing templates that brand your business and make it look professional. That's not all; these templates are categorized into different business needs such as Blogging, Restaurants, Realtors, etc. So, it is unsurprising to see Squarespace websites having clean and beautiful interfaces.

    Wondering if Squarespace is the best for realtors? Find out here

  • Robust Business Features: Another thing that attracts business owners to Squarespace is its powerful marketing features. Features such as SEO management, blogging features, inventory, abandoned cart recovery, powerful analytics, etc.

Cons

Site Editor requires a little learning curve: Users have commented that it requires a little time to get used to the editor, but once that challenge is overcome, customization becomes easy.

 

Squarespace Overview

Squarespace is a robust website builder that helps small business owners and creatives create functional and visually-appealing websites. You require no technical background to build a website on Squarespace; in other words, not knowing how to code doesn't stop you from creating a functional website on Squarespace.

Because of its top-notch features, Squarespace always falls within the range of 4.4 to 4.7/5 in most website reviews. No wonder Squarespace hosts more than two million websites, with the number increasing rapidly.

Although Squarespace is a powerful website builder, it could be better for some. So, let's take a detailed look at who Squarespace is best for.

 

Who Should Use Squarespace?

Squarespace, without a doubt, offers robust functionalities and features that make millions of business owners rely on the website to grow their businesses. So, let's look at who Squarespace is best for and why.

1.Blogging

Squarespace has many blogging features that are second to none in the market. In fact, Squarespace is known to be one of the best hosts for blogs that feature many images in their blog. You have access to blogging features such as SEO management, meta descriptions, Categories and tags, summary block, blog excerpts, etc.

Don't know how to create a blog on Squarespace? Check Out How To Create A Blog On Squarespace

2. Service Providers

If you are a small business owner that provides services such as a beauty salon, chiropractor, nail technician, coaches, fitness trainers, etc., then you will find Squarespace super helpful.

It has features like scheduling tools where customers can book your services, a members-only area to share sensitive and paid information, email marketing tools, Google Maps to connect your physical location to your website, etc.

3. E-commerce

Squarespace is one of the best website builders for growing online stores due to its powerful analytical tools, e-commerce-specific templates, and marketing tools. Features such as abandoned cart recovery, customer accounts, and inventory management make managing your online store easy.

One specific advantage of Squarespace e-commerce plans is that it comes in two top tiers, which offer various premium features depending on your store's growth. If you are starting and your store is in its infant stage, then there is the basic commerce plan to cater to its needs and the advanced commerce plan for bigger stores.

In addition, you can sell offline and keep track of your sales by pairing your e-commerce store with the Squarespace e-commerce app, which comes with powerful functionalities like taking card payments and keeping track of your inventories.

However, if you run a large store with complex demands, Squarespace may not be the best platform; you can try out Shopify. It is a dedicated website builder for ecommerce, so it comes with more powerful tools.

Here is A Complete Guide To Setting Up A Store on Squarespace

4. Business

There is no doubt that Squarespace is the best website builder for business owners because of its robust business features. Not only do you have business-specific templates that allow you to choose the best template to brand your business niche, but you also get a lot of marketing tools that make growing your business super easy. You have access email campaigns, third-party integrations, Squarespace analytics, SEO tools, and e-commerce features if you sell a few products. In other words, you don't have to subscribe to an e-commerce plan on Squarespace if you want to sell products alongside your main business.

5. Personal and Portfolio

Hands down, Squarespace is the best website builder for photographers and other creatives looking for a home for their work. The personal plan caters to all your personal needs. So, if you are a graphic designer looking for a website to serve as a portfolio, or a solopreneur who wants a robust website for themselves, say no more! Squarespace has every possible feature to impress your clients and reach more audiences.

The templates are customizable, and you can edit them to create a unique appearance; needless to say, you can integrate with other third-party apps for smooth running.

 

Is Squarespace Website Scalable?

No one has plans for their business to stay in one spot for years; therefore, it is important to consider the scalability of Squarespace sites when it comes to business growth.

First, Squarespace offers unlimited storage bandwidth starting from the lowest price, so you do not have to worry about using a third-party extension or running out of storage. Not just that, you can sell unlimited products on the Squarespace commerce plan with no transaction fee to eat up your profits. In other words, if your online store is focused on adding more products every year, you have nothing to worry about; Squarespace can cater to your needs.

Without an iota of doubt, Squarespace was built with scalability in mind so that you can become

 

SEO & Analytics

What is the use of a site builder that doesn't rank websites on search engines or provide you with the opportunity to apply the SEO strategies that can accelerate the business's goals and bring in more sales? Fortunately, Squarespace is not one of them.

You'll notice Squarespace has robust SEO (Search engine optimization) management that can make your website rank if you apply your strategies well. While Squarespace SEO features require a learning curve, especially if you are new to the world of SEO. However, there are SEO courses and tutorials to get you right on track.

However, to make the best use of Squarespace SEO features, you must know a little about how search engine optimization works. You get access to site title, google indexing, meta title for each page, meta description for your site and pages, editable URLs to enhance your keyword ranks, headings, image alt texts, responsive layouts (mobile responsive), 301 redirects, social media integrations, etc.

Another thing is the robust site analytics that gives you insight into how your website is performing. You know how many visitors are coming to the website, their locations, page conversions, sales, bounce rates, conversions, and the like. What makes it more appealing is that you get it in a clean, understandable visual form that gives you an overview without becoming tedious. You can check out everything that is included in the analytics here.

Also, Squarespace allows you to integrate with other powerful analytics apps such as Google Analytics, Google Search Consoles, Keyword search panels, etc.

 

Ease of Use: Squarespace Site Editor

One minor turnoff for users in the past was its website editor. Users complained that the editor is quite restrictive and demands a little learning curve, but thanks to the Squarespace team, which has drastically improved the editor and made it much more beginner-friendly. Now, most Squarespace users have little or no complaints about the editor.

Squarespace's website editor is where all the action takes place. It allows you to customize your template, drag and drop elements, change colors and fonts, add widgets, plugins, etc. Everything you need to create a stunning website is available in the editor.

You must know that the editor is divided into categories depending on the section and page you want to work on. For example, you can choose the type of blog layout you want, pair custom fonts, change background colors, customize elements, etc.

Another useful thing that makes Squarespace easy for beginners is the friendly prompts on your screen when getting started with Squarespace. The little boxes tell you what to work on and how to go about it. In addition, you get a beginner website checklist and a Squarespace tutorial that tells you everything you need to put in place for the full functionality of your website. Besides, Squarespace has an extensive library of video tutorials on YouTube to help you along the way.

Customization and Design Freedom

There are no hidden games with the site editor. Squarespace website builder is a drag-and-drop platform, meaning you don't require any line of code to build or customize any element; you can quickly move elements around without hassle. However, there were limitations to how you drag and drop elements, meaning you cannot just drag and drop elements compared to Wix. From my experience, this actually gives you a solid structure to ensure that your website turns out well and reduces your being overwhelmed due to too many design features.

Fortunately, things have changed because Squarespace has introduced the Fluid Engine that allows you to drag and drop elements anywhere you want. It is particularly helpful for designers who want to get creative with their websites.

Lastly, Squarespace is a WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) editor, which means you instantly see the changes applied as you make them. Also, you don't have to worry about mistakes because you can easily undo your edits.

So, regarding the Squarespace editor, you have all you need to create a stunning website without a single line of code.

 

Squarespace Tools and Features

Apart from aesthetics and ease of use, the features and tools that can contribute to the growth of your business online are super important to any business owner. What is the use of a website builder if it comes with unnecessary features? Let's dive deeper into the features and tools you stand to enjoy on your Squarespace website.

  1. Squarespace Template

Squarespace has the highest review when it comes to templates compared to other site builders, thanks to its gorgeous templates. Squarespace boasts of more than a hundred templates categorized into different niches. Apart from its aesthetics, one thing that makes Squarespace stand out is the functionality of each template. Unlike other website builders, Squarespace categorized template serve their purposes. For example, if you use a restaurant-themed template on Squarespace, you get all the necessary pages and aesthetic layouts that a professional restaurant website should have.

Also, another commendable feature of Squarespace templates is that you can edit them all the same. In the past years, during the Squarespace version 7.0 era (Squarespace's version is currently 7.1) some don't come with a blog sidebar. However, every template on Squarespace version 7.1 can be edited to fit into your business theme, no matter which category you choose it from.

In addition, all Squarespace's templates are mobile responsive, so you don't have to bother designing a different interface for mobile and bigger gadgets. The elements and pages automatically resize to the screen used to view your website.

Lastly, creatives and designers alike enjoy working with the templates because of the abundance of whitespace and minimalistic look that unleashes your creativity.

2. Customization

One of the things to pay attention to in website building is the degree of design customization. Squarespace's templates allow you to make specific customization, such as changing fonts, colors, and layouts. However, you cannot just drag anything anywhere except using the Fluid Engine, which allows you to customize and move any element around in any template. Both solutions are great for different purposes. For example, you won't be able to create an ugly design with restrictions, but the Fluid engine is perfect for creatives and designers who want a whole different look.

3. Adding Codes

Squarespace gives further customization freedom, using codes for those with technical backgrounds. You can decide to use the CSS and JavaScript options to create unique alterations to your websites. Nevertheless, it is better if you only use code to change superficial elements in your website because changing the website's entire backend may have harmful effects.

In addition, codes are optional for customization on Squarespace. However, for those with technical backgrounds, it only makes sense to allow them to express their skills and create unique websites.

4. Social Media Integrations

Like other site builders, Squarespace allows easy integrations with various Social Media. You can add over 20 social media platforms to your website, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. In addition, you can import content directly from social media, add your Instagram feed, and even display your products on other social media for direct purchase.

For podcasts, Squarespace provides a platform to host your podcasts and share them on popular podcast sites such as Spotify, Apple, and Google podcasts.

5. Email marketing

Are you wondering whether Squarespace will be perfect for your email marketing goals? You have absolutely nothing to worry about. First, Squarespace runs its in-built email campaigns, which means you can grow your business and audience from the comfort of your website.

One thing that distinguishes Squarespace email campaigns is the robust functionality it offers. You can choose a stunning email layout that closely resembles your website, which is particularly helpful in maintaining your brand's look. You can manage your customers, track their growth and send targeted email campaigns to custom audiences because Squarespace allows you to create audience sets.

The email analytics helps you track how your email is performing. You can analyze your metrics, track the traffic coming in from your campaigns, etc. Lastly, editing, customizing, and sending emails have never been easier.

Alternatively, Squarespace allows you to integrate with Mail Chimp if you already use the software or want a third-party email provider. When it comes to email marketing, Squarespace did a great job.

6. Extensions and Addons

Squarespace features a store where you can integrate third-party apps into your website to improve, grow and manage your website. There are over 30 Squarespace extensions that you can install on your website. They fall into four main categories.

  • Sales and Marketing

  • Finance

  • Shipping

  • Inventory and Products

Some Squarespace extensions allow you to send and accept customer reviews, enhance your drop-shipping business, keep track of orders and manage your inventory systems, make accounting easy, and keep track of shipping.

7. Plugins

There are third-party plugins offered by external sellers that you can add to enhance your website. A good place for that is SQSthemes.com. Things such as a light box, countdown timer, etc., are available. However, you must be careful where you get your plugins to ensure they are compatible with your website. Regardless, Squarespace features are enough for the smooth running of your websites, which means that you do not need plugins except if you want a specific effect on your website.

8. Squarespace Domain

A domain serves as an online address for your website, and there is a famous domain hosting platform, such as Godaddy, where you can purchase a domain. Fortunately, Squarespace also has its domain hosting platform that allows you to buy a domain for your website.

However, you get a free custom domain for the first year when you subscribe to any of their annual plans. After the first year, you pay $20 to $70 annually, depending on the TLD you are using. In other words, you get a free domain for your first year of subscription.

Squarespace hosting domain is quite pricy compared to other domain hosting platforms. Still, one advantage is that you pay a consistent fee each year for your custom domain without any hidden cost, and you have the convenience of having an in-house domain which is worth the price in the long run.

9. Squarespace Mobile App

Squarespace has a mobile app that allows you to manage your website on the go and without hassle. You can make changes to your website,

  • upload a blog post

  • add images

  • review traffics, and site analytics

  • manage orders and inventory from your store.

Squarespace has also recently released a video maker app that allows you to create videos for your business while maintaining a clean template similar to your website.

Note: The video maker app is only available on iOS.

10. Squarespace Scheduling

If you are a service provider with a physical business or thrive on customer appointments, you don't have to pass through hell to ensure your customers book for your services. Squarespace has a scheduling feature that allows your customers to check your availability and book an appointment based on your schedule. It also allows them to make payments and reschedule if the time is no longer conducive. With the Squarespace scheduling feature, you can manage all your appointment in one place.

 

Squarespace Pricing Plans

Squarespace pricing plans are divided into three distinct tiers; personal plan, business and e-commerce plans. These plans come with premium features and are perfect for various business needs. Let's take an in-depth look at what you get on each plan.

1.Personal Plan

The personal plan is the lowest, starting at $16/month if you pay annually and $23/month for recurring monthly payments. The personal plan has many premium features that make it stand out from other site builders.

Unlimited storage: You don't have to worry about running out of bandwidth with Squarespace's plans, which is one of Squarespace's biggest flex. Unlike other website builders that provide limited storage (an example is Wix which comes with 3GB storage for its cheapest plan) at a lower cost, you have no limit with Squarespace

30-minute video storage: Most personal websites don't exhaust the minute. Regardless, you get 30 minutes of video storage with the personal plan, which is a great deal.

Other features you have access to are customer merch, two contributors, basic website analytics, access to all templates, etc.

A few limitations with the personal plan is that you cannot sell products on the plan. Also, the personal plan is perfect for blogging, portfolio, photography, wedding invites, etc.

2. Business Plan

The business Squarespace plan is $23/month for the yearly plan and $33 for monthly plans. It comes with all the features available on business plans and other additional features.

The first advantage of a business plan is that it comes with an online store to sell products, in case you are selling a few products alongside the services you provide, and it comes with advanced website analytics to grow your business. You also get access to a professional email and coding customization.

The business plan comes with a store that allows you to sell online at 3% transaction fees. If you are selling a few products per month, this will be fine, but if you are a big online store, then it is best to go for Squarespace e-commerce plans.

 

3. E-commerce Plans

The Squarespace eCommerce plans are the perfect plan for an online store because it comes with a lot of necessary ecommerce tools and analytics to help build successful ecommerce sites. They are divided into two tiers

  • Basic commerce plan

  • Advanced plan

3.1. Basic Squarespace e-commerce plan

The price is $27/month (annually) or $36/monthly. There are no transaction fees, and you have full access to the ecommerce functionality and tools. Some of the features include

  • Point of sale

  • creation of customer accounts

  • checkout on domain

  • Advanced merchandising features

  • Sell on Facebook and Instagram

  • Limited availability labels and

  • advanced website analytics

3.2. Advanced commerce plan

The advanced commerce plan is perfect for large online stores that have plans to grow their ecommerce business. It comes with extra premium features such as;

  • Abandoned cart revoery

  • Ability to sell subscriptions

  • Advanced shipping

  • Advanced discounts

  • Commerce APIs

You can check out the pricing plans on Squarespace to learn more about the prices.

related article: 21+ Best Squarespace Blog Templates (Free & Premium)
 

Is Squarespace Pricing Plans Worth The Investment?

Compared to other web builders, Squarespace offers excellent value for money. However, it isn't the cheapest website builder out there. Other competitors such as Wix, Goddady, and Showit have far cheaper plans than Squarespace, but the trade-off is the features. A clear example is Wix, which offers 3GB storage for its cheapest plan, while Squarespace has unlimited bandwidth.

Another thing that Squarespace falls short of is a free plan. Unlike other website builders, Squarespace has no free plan. However, it comes with a 14-day free trial that allows users to explore and start building their Squarespace site. However, you'll have to subscribe to a plan once the 14 days are over.

Based on my research and personal experience, Squarespace's features and value are worth the price and make life easy in the long run.

related article: 31+ Best Coaching Website Templates.
 

Security and Data Privacy

The rate of website hacks is increasing, and it is right to know that any site builder you use is secure and can protect your data.

The first security step with Squarespace website builder is an SSL certificate for all websites. An SSL certificate ensures that communication between two websites is encrypted, protecting your data from hackers. In other words, Squarespace provides that your website traffic is encrypted, preventing hackers from stealing sensitive information or breaking the connection.

Another security feature that comes with the website builder is Two-factor Authentication. You get to set an extra layer of security that protects your Squarespace account, thereby preventing hackers from tampering with your website's backend and data.

Denial of Service Protection is another security benefit that comes with using Squarespace. A Dos attack prevents legitimate users from accessing the website while they carry out data theft, but you don't have to worry about that. Squarespace protects your websites against DoS attacks and ensures your data stays secure.

Other measures like cookies, login activity details, and password-protected pages are all measures to keep your Squarespace site safe and secure.

Backup and Restores

Squarespace offers a duplicate feature that allows you to duplicate the content of your pages and back them up. You also get to back up your Squarespace site in case something goes wrong. There is also an option to restore deleted pages that are not more than 30 days old. Another thing to note is that Squarespace has an export button that allows you to export your pages directly to WordPress.

related  article: 17+ Sales Page Templates: Skyrocket Your Sales Now!
 

Squarespace Performance

A website's performance and speed depend on the content and optimization of the website. However, Squarespace is a super fast website builder optimized for fast loading time and quick and sleek performance. So, it is perfect for supporting high-traffic websites with millions of daily site visitors.

 

Customer Support and Community

Squarespace is the best website builder when it comes to customer support, and reviews and experience back this up. First, every plan on Squarespace has access to 24/7 customer support.

One major thing you'll realize with the website builder is that it has an extensive library of detailed help articles with answers to all your pending questions. Each help article on Squarespace comes with enough guides and steps to ensure you resolve your issue.

Also, it comes with 24/7 customer support on Twitter and email, an active community, video tutorials on YouTube, and Live chat from Monday to Friday.

One thing that is missing is phone support. Other website builders like Wix offer phone support, but Squarespace is yet to integrate one. Regardless, Squarespace customer support has a fast response time for all users.

 

Squarespace Alternatives

If you find out that Squarespace is not the right website builder for you, other website builders also offer great value for money. Some of these website builders are

  • Wix: Have premium features that make customization and website image easy, but the trade-off is the templates

  • Godaddy website builder: Godaddy is a domain hosting platform but also has a website-building option.

  • Zyro: A great website builder with basic features.

If you are a large e-commerce store looking for a place to host your store, but Squarespace isn't for you, I will strongly recommend Shopify. It comes with more advanced features and flexibility for long-term growth.

 

Squarespace FAQs

  • Is Squarespace Free?

Squarespace is not a free website builder. However, Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial to check out the website and determine whether it is for you.

  • Is Squarespace great for SEO

Yes. Squarespace has robust SEO functionalities that allow you to rank your website on Google and other search engines. You get access to functionalities such as meta descriptions, headings, tags and categories, custom URLs, etc.

  • Which languages does Squarespace Support?

Squaeapce is a multilingual site that supports up to fifty languages, including German, Italics, French, Spanish, and English. So, you have nothing to worry about if you are building Squarespace websites.

 

Final Verdict: Is Squarespace Worth it?

Without hesitation, Squarespace website builder is an ideal website for businesses that are serious about growing. One thing that makes Squarespace stand out is its important features that cannot be easily bypassed, beautiful templates, top-notch customer support, and e-commerce solutions for online stores.

I recommend Squarespace 100% for any business owner that wants a long-term solution. Although it falls short when it comes to some additional features, there are far more pros, making it ideal for someone who wants to build a solid online presence with a beautiful website that requires zero code.

I hope you found this Squarespace review helpful. If you did, kindly drop a comment.

 
Kseniia Krasilich https://www.kseniiakrasilich.com/
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