Wix and Squarespace are two of the most popular Content Management Systems (CMS) out there for building a website. Even though both of the platforms come with all kinds of great tools, they are geared towards two slightly different ends. Let this comparison guide you choose the right platform that would cater to your needs.
So today, we are going to take an in-depth comparison of Wix vs. Squarespace so that you can decide the best choice for your website building requirements.
Wix vs Squarespace: Overview
Wix is well-known for its flexibility and ease of use, making it an excellent choice for beginners. With a drag-and-drop interface and hundreds of customizable templates, Wix allows users to build a website without any coding knowledge. It also offers a free version, making it accessible to a wide range of users.
On the other hand, Squarespace is known for their beautiful contemporary templates and a design oriented platform. This has made it one of the best CMS for creatives, and professionals that need to display their work in an elegant website. Squarespace is also beginner-friendly but it takes you more down a structured line of design than Wix.
Wix CMS Pros and Cons
Wix CMS Pros:
- Offers a free plan with Wix-branded domain.
- Extensive template selection with over 500 designs.
- Highly customizable with drag-and-drop editing.
- Large app marketplace for added functionality.
- SEO tools and guides to help boost your site's visibility.
Wix CMS Cons:
- The vast customization options can be overwhelming.
- Once a template is chosen, it can't be changed without starting over.
- The free plan has a Wix watermark.
Squarespace CMS Pros and Cons
Squarespace CMS Pros:
- Beautiful, professional-grade templates with responsive designs.
- Built-in SEO, analytics, and marketing tools.
- Excellent support for e-commerce with integrated features.
- No ads on any plans.
- Better for those who prefer a streamlined, all-in-one solution.
Squarespace CMS Cons:
- Fewer templates compared to Wix.
- Less customization flexibility as design options are more structured.
- Slightly steeper learning curve for beginners.
Squarespace vs Wix: Feature Comparison
Both platforms offer a wide range of features, but they differ in terms of flexibility, design, and user experience.
- Customization: In terms of customization, Wix has more control as its builder is purely drag and drop with which users can put any elements anywhere on the page accurately. Wix offers the most amount of customization, Squarespace is a bit more structured (for better or for worse), which can help maintain design consistency with some creative restraints.
- Templates: Wix offers templates for dozens of industries, but if you choose one and like another better later on, switching means starting from scratch. There are fewer Squarespace templates, but they're much better-designed and can be changed after the site goes live.
- E-commerce: eCommerce on Squarespace is one of its strongest features. It provides solutions like inventory management, options to check out with captive pay ports and a complete end-user perspective analytics. Whereas, while Wix does have e-commerce functions, it is best for smaller web stores.
- SEO: Both platforms offer built-in SEO tools, but Wix provides more guidance and tips for beginners, making it easier to optimize your site for search engines.
Wix or Squarespace: Storage
Free Wix offers a storage limit of 500 MB plus 1GB bandwidth. Users can increase the limit by upgrading to a paid plan . In contrast, Squarespace does not have any free storage options, but it's paid plan offers unlimited bandwidth and storage options.
Wix vs Squarespace: Design and Customization
Wix offers full creative freedom by letting you place elements anywhere on your web pages, making it ideal for those who want total control over their design. Squarespace, on the other hand, uses a structured approach with predefined element placements, ensuring a clean and professional look with less effort, perfect for users who prefer a guided design experience.
Wix or Squarespace: Which one is Easy to Use?
If we want to talk about usability, Wix definitely has the advantage as they have one of the most user-friendly drag-and-drop editors out there. It enables the users to develop and customize their website and appear professionally despite not having any programming knowledge. It also has a versatile and rather intuitive UI, so that even a complete novice can fiddle with it.
Squarespace is also very friendly when it comes to the use but has less flexibility compared to Wix, and what is provided follows the best format possible. It is ideal with users that want a simple design that does not require much alteration. All in all, Wix is better for those people who want more font freedom and, on the other hand, Squarespace is better for those people who prefer a more polished design mode.
Wix vs Squarespace: Pricing
Wix offers more affordable entry-level plans for beginners, while Squarespace provides higher-tier features suitable for those looking for a more polished and professional online presence. Here's the pricing structure of Wix and Squarespace.
Wix:
- Free Plan: Available, but includes Wix branding.
- Light: $17/month with 2 collaborators and 2GB of storage space
- Core: $29/month with 5 collaborators and 50GB of storage space
- Business: $36/month 10 collaborators and 100GB of storage space
- Business Elite: $159/month with 15 collaborators and unlimited storage space
Squarespace:
- Personal: Starts at $16/month
- Business: Starts at $23/month
- Commerce Basic: Starts at $28/month
- Commerce Advanced: Starts at $52/month
Squarespace vs Wix: Customer Support
Both Wix and Squarespace have 24/7 customer support. Squarespace has email and live chat support, while Wix offers phone customer support through spammy call-backs. This is an advantage of Wix because there are no immediate resources to help right when you need assistance like phone support
Which one is better? Wix or Squarespace
Wix and Squarespace stand out as great ways to run a website, but your choice will come down more likely surrounding whatever it is that you truly are looking for. Wix – Great for those who want free reign when it comes to creativity and customization of sites. It was designed to be as simple and clean aesthetic wise, that being said if you value design or look a lot on your site for things like blogging and ecommerce Squarespace is the way to go.