An author’s website is one of the most critical components of your online branding strategy. It can help you express your authority as a thought-leader in your niche.
You could pay a techie to design one for you, you could design it yourself using WordPress, WIX, or Squarespace. In this article, we’ll focus on Wix vs Squarespace, and we’ll answer the question: WIX vs Squarespace, which one’s better?
Let’s cut to the chase…
Wix vs Squarespace: What are the Pros and Cons of each?
Ease of Use
Both are website builders that simplify the process of getting a website up. They’re both templated systems. This is one of the reasons they’re great for many beginners. Compared to other ways of getting a website up and running, both are easy to use. But, the truth is that Squarespace is a tad more difficult to use. In other words, WIX is a better choice in terms of being beginner-friendly. It uses a drag and drop approach, while Squarespace has a grid layout, and it’s a bit more challenging to position design elements.
Design
Both platforms have scintillating designs. No doubt. But, Squarespaces’ templates are of a higher order. WIX has about 300 different templates/designs for different niches, which is great. But there are a few cons. WIX templates are not as responsive as one would like. That means they’re not easy to manipulate and customize. You also can’t change a theme, once you’ve chosen it, you’re stuck with it. If you’re a CSS/HTML wiz, you can’t apply those skills here. Squarespace on the other hand has about 100 templates and they’re more responsive. You can also change your template whenever you like.
Ecommerce functionality
Interestingly, both platforms offer impressive eCommerce functionality. And, this is a good thing, because apart from content creation, at some point, you’d probably like to monetize your site. So, it’s good to choose a platform that helps with that. Both offer a lot of eCommerce features, such as payment gateway integration, conversion tracking, ability to sell digital and physical goods, abandoned cart recovery, point of sale integration, customer accounts, and a lot more. However, on the whole, Squarespace seems a better choice if eCommerce is a key consideration for you.
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization is a vital consideration in choosing a website builder, after all, you’d like your site to rank high, and thus more accessible to a lot of people. Both platforms are good when it comes to SEO. One isn’t better than the other. In the past, Squarespace had some gaps. But, they’ve improved, so it’s no longer an issue. Both platforms provide SEO for virtually all the pages of your website.
Blogging
Virtually all good website builders allow you to blog easily. Most websites these days are often blogs, or some have a section that’s devoted to blogging. Both platforms are good for blogging. But WIX is a bit restricted. Squarespace is awesome in terms of the capabilities it offers. You can schedule your posts and also sort them into categories. But, the text editor is a tad difficult to wield.
Cost
WIX has a free option you could get started with. Squarespace has no free option. And, when you upgrade to premium, WIX is cheaper than Squarespace. But, the cost differential is not so huge. So, cost shouldn’t be the sole criteria. The most important thing is for you to first devote some time to conceptualizing your author website and planning how you want it to serve you in the long run. Then, look for which platform will help you realize your vision.
WIX
Website plans
- Combo ($14 a month)
- Unlimited ($18 a month)
- Pro ($22 a month)
- VIP ($39 a month)
Ecommerce plans
- Business Basic ($23 a month)
- Business Unlimited ($27 a month)
- Business VIP ($49 a month)
The prices are based on yearly plans.
SQUARESPACE
- Personal ($12 a month)
- Business ($18 a month)
- Online Store Basic ($26 a month)
- and Online Store Advanced ($40 a month)
Support
Both platforms offer great support. They have step-by-step guides, videos, forums, articles, and tutorials. So, you can easily navigate the process of setting up a site. Should you run into a hitch, you can call, chat, email, and access their FAQs.
APPs and Widgets
WIX has an app market that you can access for free and paid apps to enhance the functionality of your website. They’re a great addition to the platform, especially since you can’t change a theme. It’s good that, at least, you can make the template you’ve selected more functional. Squarespace also has its equivalent, known as Squarespace extensions. It doesn’t have as many apps as WIX’s, though.
Conclusion
From our review above, we can see that both platforms are equally good and have their pros and cons. I’d suggest that you shouldn’t be hasty in choosing any. You could devote a weekend to exploring both and checking these features out yourself. I won’t advise either if you want to have a world-class author website. WordPress is better for that. You’d find at least two articles of mine on WordPress. One is a step-by-step guide that walks you through the process of setting up your website.
