Squarespace vs Wordpress Website for Photographers, Bloggers and Creative Small Businesses
Oh the dilemma! If you're having trouble deciding between Squarespace and Wordpress, I feel ya! Reading through each comparison article you find on google, figuring out which one is cheaper in the long run and which one is better for your business. There's a lot to consider! But let me give you this to ponder on: how much is your time and sanity worth?
In this article, I'll be sharing my personal experience with both Squarespace and Wordpress in the realm of Photography, Blogging and Creatives Businesses. I'll tell you what I love about both, what I'm not such a fan of, and ultimately who is better suited for each platform.
Ps. As a Squarespace Web Designer, this article is bound to be biased towards Squarespace but I did give Wordpress a good shot. Does that even things out?
Pssst... want website leads on autopilot?
CONTENT
My story with Squarespace and Wordpress
The Pros and Cons of Squarespace vs Wordpress
Why I chose Squarespace for my Travel and Photography Blog?
Who is Squarespace best suited for?
Who is Wordpress best suited for?
1. My Story with Squarespace and Wordpress
Before Squarespace came along, I had a short fling with good old Wordpress - but that ended in exasperated frustration. Then, as a typical photographer would, I fell for SmugMug and we built a beautiful little photography portfolio together. But the time came when I felt like SmugMug just wasn't enough - I needed a platform that could grow with me and that I could really customise to my heart's desire.
This is when I decided to let Wordpress back into my life and give us another shot. Needless to say, it ended the same way. Disheartened that I would ever build my dream website because technology was just so darn evil and complicated, I almost gave up on the idea altogether.
Right about this time (mid 2017), Squarespace was growing fast and picking up traction. I caught a whiff of it's clean, modern and minimalistic design and I was sold. With the promise of no more wasting time on complicated tech stuff, backed by an amazing support team and an intuitive platform that would allow me to just focus on design and writing - I signed up immediately and never looked back.
Photo by Christin Hume
2. The Pros and Cons of Squarespace vs Wordpress
Keep in mind that this 'review' is not one of technicalities and features, but one from an emotional standpoint. If you are after a more tech break down of specs and features, then you will love this Squarespace vs Wordpress comparison article by WBE.
Let's start with Wordpress shall we? What attracted me to Wordpress in the first place?
the fact that EVERYBODY was using it so it was more out of FOMO
because it's so popular, there's also a TONNE of resources out there
it was cheaper in the long run (template costs are a one-off expense), you only pay for the yearly domain and hosting costs.
some people had BEAUTIFUL sites made on Wordpress
you could fully customise your Wordpress site and it's able to grow with you
What I really DISLIKED about Wordpress - sorry, not sorry Wordpress users!
WHY does it have to be so freaking COMPLICATED? I mean, seriously!?
trying to blog on Wordpress was like all my tech nightmares come true - what you see is not what you get. Lots of going back and forth between editing mode and public view mode. Ain't nobody got time for that!
talked way too much to the computer: "why won't you just do what I want you to do?!"
no help from a support team, you're on your own mate. Good luck filtering all the outdated and irrelevant info you need about Wordpress! That was a jungle in itself.
Wordpress doesn't have an approval system for all the templates and plugins out there. Which means, you do so at your own risk.
Security is your problem. You sort it out and if someone robs your site or data, too bad?
Photo by Laura Mancke
Phew, ok feeling good to get that off my chest! Now let's turn to Squarespace. What benefits led me to defy what the masses were doing and go down the 'unconventional' route?
Here are the reasons why I prefer Squarespace:
you can manage everything in one centralised place: domain, hosting, templates, design, custom CSS, verified third party integrations, billing & account, SEO, marketing, analytics e-commerce, email campaigns and trust me... there is SO MUCH MORE!
it could grow with me and I could change templates without having to fork out hundred of dollars for one (unlike Wordpress). I learnt how to custom CSS code to make my website stand out even more - so yes, you have the freedom to totally customise your Squarespace Website!
the design panel is just SO EASY and INTUITIVE to use! This alone was reason enough to convert from Wordpress to Squarespace! Never a headache with Squarespace on this.
top notch support team! Honestly, if you ever get stuck, just message the Squarespace team - they are awesome at responding and helping you!
Squarespace regularly updates their resources page so you always know that you have the most up to date information about the platform
you can trust that any third party integration has been thoroughly tested for and approved by Squarespace, so you know it's 110% vetted and recommendable (eg. their MailChimp Integration).
I am HAPPY to pay Squarespace a premium every month because it saves me a ridiculous amount of time, which ultimately allows me to focus on creating content and building my business rather than stressing over the nitty gritty tech stuff with no help (ahem - Wordpress, I'm looking at you!)
Photo by Andrew Neel
Ok I get it Em, you love Squarespace and we love that for you. But can you tell us about the disadvantages of Squarespace compared to Wordpress? There must be some disadvantages right?
Sorry, I tend to get carried away when talking about Squarespace. But yes, there are a few minor disadvantages with Squarespace and these are:
less compatibility with various softwares - just because Squarespace is so exclusive with who they partner up with. They prefer quality over quantity, but yea that definitely prevents some people from migrating over.
in order to really customise your Squarespace site, you will have to know some sneaky CSS hacks (eg. mobile responsiveness or using your own customised fonts). You can browse my library of Squarespace code hacks here.
it IS pricey if you're not planning to make money with your website in the future. If you just wanna create a website for your hobby photography, then I'd suggest starting off with SmugMug or Showit until you feel ready to make an ROI.
Photo by Bonnie Kittle
3. Why I chose Squarespace for my Travel and Photography Blog?
So, obvs no brainer which platform I chose. But I still wanted to share a brief story about why I've stuck with Squarespace and would never consider Wordpress for my business again.
The number one reason why I chose Squarespace was the fact that I KNEW how much time it would save me. Time, which I could spend on photography and writing instead. Despite knowing that I'd be paying much more in the long run, it was worth it. Because I knew that if I went with Wordpress, I would NEVER publish anything for sheer frustration and tech implications. So really, I'm paying for time and sanity :)
Second major reason would be how EVERYTHING is integrated into your Squarespace Account platform. I even bought my domain and created a G-suit account within Squarespace! Everything syncs beautifully and I don't have to log on to a dozen different softwares anymore because it's all centralised in my Squarespace account!
Third reason why I chose Squarespace is it's amazing and intuitive design platform. I dislike spending hours and hours on unnecessary design aspects, but I'm also super OCD about it, so having Squarespace offer colour palettes, font pairings, and recommended settings - uh, it makes life SO much easier.
If I didn't have Squarespace, my travel and photography blog would probably never exist and neither would this one. It's the ease of blogging, editing, integration and publishing that makes consistency possible, and consistency is what ultimately contributes to success.
Photo by Content Pixie
4. Who is Wordpress best suited for?
If you are a Wordpress pro and that is the language you speak, then you will probably not take to an unconventional platform like Squarespace so well. I find Wordpress very 'traditional', but in saying that, there are also very modern websites and start ups that have been created on Wordpress.
In general: Wordpress is more suited to those who have some IT or tech knowledge because it's hella confusing for someone who doesn't have a tech background.
5. Who is Squarespace best suited for?
Squarespace has very pro-actively aimed their services at musicians, artists, photographers, creative entrepreneurs and wellness businesses. Surprisingly, they don't focus much on marketing for bloggers because Wordpress has gobbled up that market - but I think Squarespace is SO awesome for blogging.
So if you're in the creative space and your thinking about selling your services or products, then Squarespace is the future of websites! Squarespace is also perfect for non-tech creatives. You have amazing support from the tech team and it's super intuitive to DIY your own website.
Let me know if you have any questions and if you're still stuck between building your site on Squarespace or Wordpress, leave me a comment below and I'll get back to you! You can also message me here @arohavisuals.
