Why I chose to use Squarespace for my website

Nov 22

OK so it took me a long time, and a lot of dithering, but when I finally updated my website earlier this year I chose Squarespace.

The main reasons I chose Squarespace were that:

I knew I could create the clean, professional and modern design that I wanted;
everything is built-in and all in one place; and
no coding or design expertise is needed to build a website on Squarespace.

It did take time to find my way around the Squarespace system and not everyone will have the patience or time to fiddle on designing their own website. So, while it might not be rocket science using a template-based platform like Squarespace, it still takes a while and you might not have enough of that!

Below are some of the reasons why I believe Squarespace is the best website platform for the types of small businesses I work with.

Everything is in one place

Yes really … Squarespace has everything in one place which certainly gives peace of mind. It offers:

a fully-managed platform, so no need for updates, plugins, widgets etc;
fast, secure and reliable hosting;
beautifully-designed templates to choose from that are all very adaptable;
templates are automatically optimised for any device;
blogs, image galleries, videos are all there (again without plug-ins); and
there are free SSL certificates on all websites; and did you know that Google shows a preference to secure sites in rankings.

A bit more about templates ...

Squarespace offers a great selection of clean and modern templates to choose from so you are bound to find one that suits you and your business.

These templates are just the starting point as they can be easily customised. However my advice would be to really drill down what you need from your website before you start and then choose an appropriate template. While all templates offer the same features and design options, you can’t switch between templates once you have started!

You can select base fonts and sizes as well as colours and themes ... and you also have the option to really customise all these features to make your site even more bespoke and branded.

Everything is built in

If you need a website that is very specific with unusual requirements then WordPress, with all the plugins (over 50,000), may be best for you. BUT most businesses don’t need this specificity and a well-designed website on the Squarespace platform will be more than adequate.

Furthermore as Squarespace is a fully-managed platform there is no need to update software, plugins or widgets and no worries that changing one component might break something else!

If I was to build your website for you it is easy for you to take over the updating, adding blogs etc going forward.

Service or product-based businesses

Squarespace is suitable for both service and product-based businesses, but if you are selling products I have read that Squarespace is probably most suited to small-scale operations rather than BIG business.

The websites I have designed so far have been for service-based businesses so I don’t yet have my own experience with this.

Pricing is reasonable

With the Squarespace template system a huge amount of your website is done before you even get involved in setting up your website. As a result the cost for you to build your site will be much less compared to building a WordPress site.

Yes there are ongoing costs … once you have built your Squarespace site you will have to pay Squarespace fees (monthly/annually) for hosting, domain, email etc. Having said this, the pricing is transparent and simple and includes everything you need, no add-ons.

WordPress hosting may be cheaper when compared alone but if you need to add monthly support from a web developer (see below), and factor in any additional licences and that it may be more prone to downtime and issues … which is better? I know which one I would choose.

Restrictions versus responsibility

We all know that WordPress is a hugely powerful platform and is infinitely customisable with all the available plugins. However, with this comes responsibility and issues that may be outwith your skill-set. You may, therefore, have to allow for additional ongoing costs for someone to maintain your website for you on a monthly basis.

In comparison, while Squarespace may be (slightly) more restrictive than WordPress it is unlikely to ‘break’, it just works, there aren’t all the individual plugins that might conflict etc.

Simple to use

The Squarespace platform is extremely intuitive and simple to use, even for complete technophobes … believe me! However, not everyone wants, or has, the time to create their own website.

No matter how simple any system is to use, it might still be much more cost-effective for you to concentrate on other aspects of your business than spend time designing your website.

One HUGE advantage of Squarespace is that I can design your website for you and it is straightforward for you to take it over once I am done! Easy for you to make edits and add blogs yourself without having to get me involved to help with small tweaks.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Yes I guess I should mention this … even though I’m not an SEO expert! However, I have read that from an SEO perspective Squarespace has much of the SEO built-in but you can, if you choose, have quite a lot of control.

Support

Squarespace support is excellent … there is a comprehensive library of step-by-step guides, video tutorials and also 24/7 free live chat and email support.

This support is useful for you building your own website and/or when you take over a site that I have built for you.

So …

Some people say that Squarespace is the Apple of website builders: intuitive, curated and thoughtfully designed, and fro my experience I would agree.

I most certainly don’t claim to know everything about Squarespace, I am still learning, but I have learned quite a lot creating my own website and a few for clients!

If you are considering where to build your next site I would highly recommend Squarespace ... take a look at what is on offer here. If you need a new website and just can’t face the learning curve to create your own, or don’t have the time, then I could build it for you … so do get in touch.

Since I created my website I have designed websites for clients who are then able to take it over and manage/edit it themselves … see below.