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Originally Posted On: WordPress vs. Squarespace | Rounded Digital (wearerounded.com)

WordPress and Squarespace are similar, but which is better? This depends on your end goal. For small businesses, flexibility and the ability to easily upgrade in the future is indispensable. Plus, business owners are not usually going to have time to work on a website. This fact really complicates things. Taking these things into consideration, let’s take a look at how well each of these website platforms stacks up against each other.

1. Which content management system is more friendly to visitors?

WordPress and Squarespace websites are going to look similar when displayed in a browser. Most of the similarities end right there. The code of a Squarespace website is bloated. That is, there is a lot of extraneous code behind a Squarespace website when it is presented to a visitor. This is also true when a search engine bot comes to visit. Wordpress can be just the opposite depending on the theme used and the wisdom of the webmaster. This is a point where the knowledge of a web developer can help in the long run.

Since most people using Squarespace are simply trying to avoid using a webmaster, this problem of a slow loading page will not go away easily. Google does not like a slow loading website. But, inexperienced people take the easier route because they have to. The visitor to the website is the one who suffers because of this inexperience.

Business owners will be naturally be attracted to using the easiest website method because they do not have time to do a “real” website. This is a losing strategy because the person to please is ultimately the visitor, not the web site owner. Would you want to visit a website that loaded slowly on your smartphone? This is why an experienced web development company like Rounded Digital is key for a small business.

2. Which is better for Search Engine Optimization?

While it is important for your website to have a good design and a quick load time, it is imperative that your site is findable online. There is no point in owning a Ferrari if you’re just going to keep in the garage. If you build it, they will not come. Once your website is built, Google needs to be able to crawl and index your site before people will actually be able to find it. Because Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is so important, it’s crucial that your site is built with SEO in mind. How do Squarespace and WordPress compare when it comes to SEO?

• Squarespace – The content management system was not initially built with SEO in mind but basic improvements have been made in recent years
• Squarespace – Drag-and-drop site building adds additional HTML that is not needed and page templates score low on Google’s Page Speed Tool
• Squarespace – All websites are required to host with Squarespace, limiting performance, Security, and as a result, SEO
• WordPress – SEO capabilities are 100% customizable and scalable based on your unique website needs
• WordPress – Open-source plugins like Yoast add additional functionality in creating custom page titles, meta descriptions, etc.
• WordPress – WordPress websites can be hosted anywhere and offer more control over how Google indexes the site

4. Which has more design capabilities?

A Squarespace website can achieve acceptable good looks. The interaction between a visitor and the webpage will consist of the four major files. These are video, text, graphics, and audio. There are some customization options, but in reality, the custom coding abilities within Squarespace are very limited. For the things that deeply interact with a website visitor, WordPress beats Squarespace. For instance, if you as a website owner need GPS input from the website visitor, you must use WordPress. If your small business has a specific bit of information that needs to be extracted from your website visitor you will likely need WordPress.

WordPress is backed up by open-source software. Literally, anything you can think of can be created by installing a plugin or custom development. Through WordPress, Rounded Digital has the ability to create a very customized interaction between your visitors and yourself. This is the power of open-source software. The code is viewable by all and modifiable by a trained individual to get exactly what you the website owner needs.

5. Choose the superiority of WordPress

Most small business owners do not have the time or in-depth knowledge to create a mobile responsive and search engine optimized website that is designed to convert. While Squarespace can offer ease of use in the initial development of the site, you are sacrificing performance, customization, and search engine visibility in the long term.

At Rounded Digital, our developers work with clients around the world to develop high performance, user-friendly websites and track conversions. Our abundant experience developing within WordPress allows us to create lightweight websites that are highly customized to your unique business, services, and needs.