WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace: What should you build your website on?
Meta description: Looking to build a website? Check out an honest comparison between WordPress, Wix and Squarespace to decide which you should use
You’ve finally decided to build a website. Great! You do some research and it seems like everyone has an opinion. “WordPress is too technical,” “Wix looks unprofessional,” “Squarespace is too expensive!” How could one person have such a complicated opinion? It seems like no matter who you ask, you get a conflicting answer
Here’s the thing – all three things can build a great website. It’s just a matter of which you should choose based on your own personal preferences and needs. Let’s look at exactly what that means now
The Quick Answer
Use WordPress if you want full flexibility, have some technical knowledge or don’t mind learning it.
Use Wix if you want the absolute simplest drag and drop builder with no technical knowledge needed at all
and
use Squarespace if you want great looking templates with a slight learning curve
The More Detailed Answer
WordPress is actually two different websites that many people confuse
WordPress.com is a hosted, simpler version that many new users get started on
while
WordPress.org is the version you host yourself that provides true flexibility.
WordPress has several major strengths. Foremost is its flexibility – thousands of themes and plugins let you do almost anything you want. It powers a huge percentage of websites on the internet, and it’s widely supported, so getting help is easy. You maintain full control and security of your site, and it can scale easily with you from a small blog to a large business website. However, WordPress does have some downsides. Since it is self-hosted, you need to have a hosting provider, which you have to sign up for and pay for yourself. Though WordPress itself is free, it does have a steeper learning curve than some other platforms. You also have more responsibility for maintaining and securing your website unless you use a managed WordPress hosting service, which usually comes at an additional cost. WordPress is best suited for bloggers, businesses that expect to grow substantially, and people who want true flexibility and customization as they build their website.
Wix , on the other hand, is meant for those who want the absolute simplest builder. It truly is as simple as dragging and dropping elements onto your website. There’s no technical knowledge needed at all. The hosted nature of Wix means you never have to worry about hosting costs or technical details – they are all handled by Wix for you. They offer a large number of templates to choose from, and have some artificial intelligence features to help you build your website faster too. However, there are some downsides to Wix. If you ever want to change your template significantly, you may find that Wix’s options are more limited than WordPress. It doesn’t offer the same level of flexibility. It can also become more expensive as you want to add more features.
Squarespace is focused on providing simple, clean, beautiful templates. Many creative professionals use Squarespace for their websites, as it makes building a sophisticated looking website easier than with some other platforms. It has some truly fantastic looking templates in its library, ready to be customized the way you want. It includes many tools for building a portfolio, online store, or blog as you’d want for a professional looking website. Hosting is also handled by Squarespace, at no additional cost to you. It’s a little more difficult to customize than Wix, but still significantly simpler than WordPress. It has excellent pre-built tools, but is somewhat limited in terms of plugins or customization options. It’s a fantastic option for anyone who wants a professional looking website, but doesn’t have much technical knowledge or want to spend too much time learning how to build a website
Here’s a helpful side by side comparison
WordPress
Wix
Squarespace
Simple to use?
Somewhat
Very Simple
Somewhat
Very Flexible?
Yes
No
No
Hosting?
Self-Hosted
Yes
Yes
Lots of templates?
Yes
Yes
No
Best for large-scale sites?
Yes
No
No
E-Commerce capabilities?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Let Your Preferences Guide You
Instead of thinking, “what is the best platform,” think to yourself
“I want the absolute simplest way to build a website, and I have no technical knowledge at all.” – Wix
“I care a lot about the aesthetics and presentation of my site, and I’m somewhat design savvy.” – Squarespace
“I want something very flexible that will grow with me, and I’m willing to spend the time to learn how to use it.” – WordPress
“I’m a blogger who wants to monetize my blog someday.” – WordPress
“I’m a photographer who wants a beautiful portfolio up and running as soon as possible.” – Squarespace
Some Common Mistakes
Choosing based on a friend’s recommendation, without considering if it’s a good fit for you.
Not thinking ahead – if you think you might want to grow your website significantly in the future, you should start on a more flexible platform, even if it has a steeper learning curve.
Thinking something is cheap when it’s not
and
overthinking the whole process, when really all three are great options and you can’t really go wrong with any of them
My Final Thoughts
There’s no one true “best” option for building a website – it’s always based on your individual preferences and situations. WordPress gives you the most flexibility, but requires a little more technical knowledge. Wix gives you the absolute simplest, most drag and drop friendly builder, and Squarespace strikes a happy medium between the two. Whatever you choose, remember to choose based on your own preferences and what you’re looking for, not what you think other people may want. Whatever option you pick, the most important thing is to just get started, instead of spending ages trying to decide which platform to learn
Your Turn Now
What website builder did you choose to make your site with, and would you choose it again? Feel free to share in the comments below!
