Are you searching for an alternative to Squarespace? I’m ready to guide you through the best solutions you can base your website project on in 2023.
Today’s market offers a variety of website builders. Which is the ideal one? In fact, none. Even a great option like Squarespace (see my review) has gaps. If you do not consider them, your Squarespace website might disappoint you.
Squarespace is a hugely popular solution for creating websites. It’s a modern, beginner-friendly platform that allows non-techies to create gorgeous, fully functional online sites effortlessly.
Your Squarespace plan will bring you a ready package of indispensable features. They include fast hosting, security measures, SEO, analytics, and payment options. However, you might need more. Then, this guide on the best alternatives to Squarespace is for you.
Criteria for Choosing a Squarespace Alternative
Before presenting you with the most relevant alternatives to Squarespace, I’ll outline the key factors you should consider when selecting a site builder.
Factors to Consider When Seeking an Alternative
You won’t find two identical site builders, though most of them offer similar sets of features and options today. When evaluating each set, a user should pay thorough attention to these criteria in the first place:
- Usability / Learning Curve.
- Design customizability.
- Fitting capacities (storage, hosting speed, number of transactions, etc.).
- Features’ wide choice.
- Functional aptness (for creating a blog, an online shop, a portfolio, etc.).
- Pricing and plan variety.
Provided your chosen site builder does not fully cover any of these options or does not offer any of the must-have features for your project, it may result in an unsatisfactory experience with this site builder in the end.
Thus, if you need an effortless solution, Squarespace is a great choice, but there are site builders with an even more straightforward building process offered. Squarespace offers high-quality designs, but you may need more customization freedom, and there are platforms that can grant you this freedom.
So, to get a satisfactory result, you should be picky. Your choice should be based on a meticulous comparison of several site builders fitting your project best.
Read also: What is the Best Offline Website Builder SoftwareWordPress.org
Squarespace represents an excellent compromise between functional power and beginner-friendly experiences. To simplify the site-building process, Squarespace offers predetermined designs and sets of features. If you find such an approach too restrictive, you should consider switching to WordPress.org, the most powerful CMS available in the industry so far.
WordPress.org as a Squarespace Alternative
The WordPress.org website (do not confuse it with WordPress.com) is the place from which users can download and install the WordPress CMS for free. The usage is also free – the software offers free access to code. This access, together with the plugin and theme abundance, results in practically endless possibilities for web design and site-building.
Of course, a user should be ready for a pretty steep learning curve here. WordPress (read my review) now has plugins like Elementor, ensuring a simplified creative process on the platform. Still, coding remains a must with WordPress. You need at least intermediate knowledge of web development to use the entire potential of the CMS and realize a truly complex project with its help.
WordPress requires a perfect understanding of what features are necessary for your project. First, you’ll need to pick a proper host. I recommend subscribing to a platform with separate WordPress hosting services. It will simplify the process of installing the software on your computer and provide you with enough capacity. Yet, it’s up to you to choose, and you must clearly understand why you pick this or that hosting service.
Exploring WP Customizability & Functional Possibilities
WordPress is home to 11,000+ themes and about 60,000 plugins. You won’t find another site builder with the same (or even close) choice of instruments. You can base your website’s design on a free or prepaid theme and create your own design from scratch.
As to functional freedom, its level is complete. You can expect loads of tools for security, SEO, analytics, and reports, selling and accept-payment operations, etc. The only requirement is to know what you want, and WordPress is sure to give you everything you have on the must-have list.
Pros and Cons of Using WordPress.org for Website Building
Let’s summarize by viewing WordPress.org’s strengths and weaknesses:
Pros:
- Abundant themes and plugins.
- Free access to code.
- Complete customization freedom.
Cons:
- Skills are needed.
- It’s hard to predict the final cost of your project.
So, WordPress is an excellent alternative to Squarespace when you need more functional freedom in site building. However, you need good knowledge of web design or be able to hire a specialist.
Read also: Professional migration from Squarespace to WordPressWix
No complex processes are planned for your website project? Then, consider opting for Wix, an easy-to-use platform with an ultra-modern approach to site-building.
Wix as a Squarespace Alternative
If you need a fair balance between customization freedom and usability, Wix (read my review) must go first in your list of fitting site builders. The platform offers a simplified creative process, but your design and functional possibilities will be truly rich. Wix allows users to create effective, fully-equipped websites in the following domains:
- Online stores.
- Blogs.
- Business projects of any complexity.
- Portfolios.
- Educational platforms.
- All sorts of non-profit projects, etc.
Not a site builder, including Squarespace, can compete with Wix in this respect, and it only yields to WordPress.org in the level of offered freedom.
Wix Drag-and-drop Editor and Other Advantages Over Squarespace
Wix offers over 900 quality designs, complete sets of features for professional websites working in any area, free hosting, an API platform for developers, and many more. Still, the platform remains easy to use. Even a beginner can create a website with the help of the Wix Editor. It is based on drag-and-drop tech and will let you build a professionally-looking website by simply inserting all the necessary blocks and elements into your chosen template.
Yet, you can choose an even simpler way! Wix also offers the ADI Editor empowered by AI technology. In fact, it can build a fully workable website for you. Your mission here will be to answer a couple of questions about your project’s needs, and that’s it! In minutes, you’ll get a beautiful website ready to perform all the necessary operations.
Many users praise the Squarespace templates but do not doubt the quality of those offered by Wix. Moreover, their number is much larger. I find Squarespace’s editor interface more perplexing. Together with this, its drag-and-drop possibilities are more limited.
Pros and Cons of Using Wix for Website Creation
Wix is an effortless site builder with myriads of options:
- 900+ high-quality themes for all domains.
- Over 500 integrations.
- Great online store functionality.
- Freebies like hosting, a domain, and more.
- Enough customization freedom.
- No skills needed to create a website.
So, I’d recommend Wix as the #1 choice for beginners. The platform may also ideally suit users who wish to build an effective eCommerce or business website.
Read also: Professional migration from Squarespace to WixWeebly
If you are planning a simple website with a couple of selling options or even without them, Weebly may be your perfect match. The site builder has no rivals in simplicity, but it’s capable of building professional websites.
Overview of Weebly as an Alternative to Squarespace
Weebly is a much easier-to-use alternative to Squarespace (and most site builders in general). The platform has all the attributes of a modern drag-and-drop website builder: it offers well-arranged plans, free and fast hosting, a simple editor, and more.
The platform is far behind Wix and WordPress when it comes to feature supply. Weebly (read my review) cannot compete with them in a number of themes as well. However, most websites do not need sophisticated equipment, and Weebly is ready to serve with good faith and fidelity. It will let you create a simple but effective site in any domain.
User-Friendly Interface, eCommerce, and Other Weebly Options
Weebly is not perfect from a customization freedom perspective. Yet, it offers a straightforward building process thanks to its extremely simple editor with an easy-to-manage interface and all options in hand. Yes, the editor is fully structured, but this is a great choice for beginners who won’t be able to spoil anything and create a fully workable and good-looking website.
The platform is now part of Square Group and offers impressive eCommerce functionality. It includes the simplest options, but they all are available even in the Weebly free plan. By the way, Weebly is one of the most affordable site builders in terms of cost.
Pros and Cons of Weebly as a Squarespace Alternative
Need a simple but fully workable website with the ability to conduct all the basic eCommerce transactions? Choose Weebly since its advantages over Squarespace and other builders include the following:
- A simple-to-use editor.
- A free plan and a budget-friendly pricing scheme.
- Quite a fitting eCommerce outfit for modest projects.
So, you can prefer Weebly to Squarespace if your project does not require complicated designs and features. With the help of Weebly, you can open a small but efficient online store for zero cost.
Comparison Table
What about comparing Squarespace, WordPress.org, Wix, and Weebly side by side? Let’s stack them up to see who is the best alternative for your project.
So, each of these platforms can perfectly fit your tasks. However, I recommend Wix as the best value-for-money platform.
Conclusion
Squarespace is a great option for website building, but it has enough alternatives that may suit you more. If you place design freedom into the top position on your preferences list, opt for WordPress.org with its massive sets of plugins and themes.
Yet, if you need a simpler tool with enough instruments and design customizability, choose Wix. The platform allows for creating whatever websites and offers a variety of free basics, specific features, top-popular apps, and more.