Website Builders: WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace
Creating a website has become essential for businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals alike. Fortunately, you no longer need to be a coding expert to build a professional-looking site. Website builders offer user-friendly interfaces and pre-designed templates to simplify the process. Among the most popular options are WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace. This article compares these platforms, evaluating their ease of use, customisation options, features, SEO capabilities, and pricing to help you choose the best fit for your needs.
1. Ease of Use and Setup
The first impression matters, and the initial setup experience can significantly impact your overall satisfaction with a website builder.
WordPress
WordPress.org (the self-hosted version) requires a bit more technical know-how than Wix or Squarespace. You'll need to purchase a domain name and hosting from a third-party provider, then install WordPress. While many hosting providers offer one-click WordPress installation, it still involves more steps than the other two platforms. The WordPress dashboard can feel overwhelming at first, but with practice, it becomes manageable. WordPress.com offers a more streamlined experience, but it comes with limitations on customisation and monetisation, especially on the free and lower-tier plans.
Pros: Highly flexible once set up; vast community support.
Cons: Steeper learning curve; requires more initial setup.
Wix
Wix is known for its drag-and-drop interface, making it incredibly easy to use, especially for beginners. The setup process is straightforward – simply sign up, choose a template, and start customising. Wix's visual editor allows you to move elements around the page with ease, providing a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) experience. However, once you choose a template, you can't easily switch to another one without rebuilding your site.
Pros: Very user-friendly; intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
Cons: Template limitations; less control over code.
Squarespace
Squarespace offers a balance between ease of use and design sophistication. The setup is simple, and the platform guides you through the process of choosing a template and customising your site. Squarespace's editor is less free-form than Wix's, but it enforces a more structured design approach, which can be beneficial for users who want a clean and professional look without having to worry about misaligning elements. Squarespace is known for its polished and aesthetically pleasing templates.
Pros: Easy setup; elegant templates; structured design approach.
Cons: Less flexible than Wix in terms of drag-and-drop functionality; fewer third-party apps.
2. Design and Customisation Options
Your website's design reflects your brand and plays a crucial role in attracting and retaining visitors. The level of customisation offered by each platform varies significantly.
WordPress
WordPress offers unparalleled customisation options. With thousands of themes available (both free and premium), you can find a design that perfectly matches your brand. Furthermore, you can customise themes extensively using code (HTML, CSS, PHP) or by using page builder plugins like Elementor or Beaver Builder. This level of flexibility allows you to create a truly unique website. However, it also means that you'll need to invest time in learning how to use these tools or hire a developer to help you.
Pros: Limitless customisation; vast selection of themes and plugins.
Cons: Can be overwhelming; requires technical skills or hiring a developer.
Wix
Wix provides a wide range of templates that are professionally designed and mobile-responsive. The drag-and-drop editor allows you to customise these templates to your liking, but the level of customisation is limited compared to WordPress. While you can move elements around and change colours and fonts, you don't have direct access to the code. Wix also offers Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence), which can automatically create a website for you based on your answers to a few questions. Learn more about Modus and how we can help you decide which platform is best.
Pros: Wide selection of templates; easy to customise; Wix ADI.
Cons: Limited customisation compared to WordPress; can't easily switch templates.
Squarespace
Squarespace is renowned for its elegant and modern templates. While the selection is smaller than Wix's, the quality is consistently high. Squarespace's editor is more structured than Wix's, which can be both a pro and a con. It enforces a more consistent design but offers less freedom in terms of drag-and-drop functionality. Squarespace also allows you to customise your site using CSS, but it doesn't offer the same level of code access as WordPress.
Pros: High-quality templates; structured design approach; CSS customisation.
Cons: Smaller template selection; less drag-and-drop freedom than Wix.
3. Features and Functionality
Beyond design, the features and functionality offered by a website builder are crucial for meeting your specific needs. Consider whether you need e-commerce capabilities, blogging tools, or advanced marketing features.
WordPress
WordPress excels in terms of features and functionality. With its vast library of plugins, you can add virtually any feature you can imagine to your website, from e-commerce functionality (using WooCommerce) to contact forms, social media integration, and SEO tools. This extensibility makes WordPress a powerful platform for businesses of all sizes. However, managing plugins can also be a challenge, as you need to keep them updated and ensure they are compatible with each other.
Pros: Highly extensible; vast library of plugins; suitable for any type of website.
Cons: Plugin management can be complex; potential for plugin conflicts.
Wix
Wix offers a range of built-in features and apps that can be added to your website. These include e-commerce tools, marketing automation, and booking systems. While the selection of apps is smaller than WordPress's plugin library, Wix carefully curates its app store to ensure quality and compatibility. Wix also offers Ascend by Wix, a suite of marketing tools designed to help you grow your business. Consider our services to help you integrate these features.
Pros: Good selection of built-in features and apps; Ascend by Wix marketing tools.
Cons: Smaller app selection than WordPress; less flexibility.
Squarespace
Squarespace offers a solid set of built-in features, including e-commerce tools, blogging capabilities, and marketing integrations. While it doesn't have as many third-party apps as WordPress or Wix, Squarespace focuses on providing a seamless and integrated experience. This means that the features it does offer are typically well-designed and easy to use. Squarespace is a good choice for users who want a streamlined platform without the complexity of managing numerous plugins or apps.
Pros: Seamless and integrated experience; well-designed features; good for e-commerce.
Cons: Fewer third-party apps than WordPress or Wix; less flexibility.
4. SEO Capabilities
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is crucial for driving traffic to your website. The SEO capabilities of a website builder can significantly impact your site's visibility in search engine results.
WordPress
WordPress is generally considered to be very SEO-friendly, especially when combined with SEO plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math. These plugins provide tools for optimising your content, managing meta descriptions, and generating sitemaps. WordPress also allows you to control your permalinks and create SEO-friendly URLs. However, it's important to note that WordPress itself doesn't guarantee good SEO – you still need to put in the effort to create high-quality content and optimise your site properly.
Pros: SEO-friendly platform; excellent SEO plugins available; full control over SEO elements.
Cons: Requires effort to optimise; can be overwhelming for beginners.
Wix
Wix has made significant improvements to its SEO capabilities in recent years. It now allows you to customise meta descriptions, create SEO-friendly URLs, and generate sitemaps. Wix also provides built-in SEO tools to help you optimise your content. However, some SEO experts still argue that Wix is not as SEO-friendly as WordPress, particularly in terms of code customisation and control over technical SEO elements. Consult the frequently asked questions for more information.
Pros: Improved SEO capabilities; built-in SEO tools; easy to use.
Cons: Less control over technical SEO elements than WordPress; some SEO limitations.
Squarespace
Squarespace offers a solid set of SEO features, including the ability to customise meta descriptions, create SEO-friendly URLs, and generate sitemaps. Squarespace also provides built-in SEO analytics to help you track your site's performance. While it may not have as many advanced SEO tools as WordPress, Squarespace provides a good foundation for SEO success.
Pros: Good SEO features; built-in SEO analytics; easy to use.
Cons: Fewer advanced SEO tools than WordPress; less flexibility.
5. Pricing and Value for Money
The cost of a website builder is an important consideration. Each platform offers different pricing plans, with varying features and limitations.
WordPress
WordPress.org is free to use, but you'll need to pay for a domain name and hosting. Hosting costs can range from a few dollars per month to hundreds of dollars per month, depending on the type of hosting you choose (shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting). You may also need to pay for premium themes and plugins. While WordPress can be very affordable, the costs can add up quickly if you need a lot of premium features.
Pros: Free to use; affordable hosting options available; pay only for what you need.
Cons: Costs can add up; requires more technical management.
Wix
Wix offers a range of pricing plans, including a free plan with limited features and storage. The paid plans offer more storage, bandwidth, and features, such as e-commerce functionality and the ability to remove Wix branding. Wix's pricing is generally considered to be competitive, but it's important to note that some features, such as e-commerce, are only available on the higher-tier plans.
Pros: Range of pricing plans; free plan available; all-in-one platform.
Cons: Free plan has limitations; some features only available on higher-tier plans.
Squarespace
Squarespace offers a range of pricing plans, all of which include hosting and a domain name. The plans vary in terms of storage, bandwidth, and features, such as e-commerce functionality and marketing integrations. Squarespace's pricing is generally considered to be more expensive than Wix's, but it offers a more premium experience with higher-quality templates and features. Modus can help you assess the value for money.
Pros: Premium experience; all-in-one platform; high-quality templates and features.
Cons: More expensive than Wix; fewer third-party apps.
Ultimately, the best website builder for you depends on your specific needs, technical skills, and budget. WordPress offers unparalleled flexibility and customisation, but it requires more technical know-how. Wix is incredibly easy to use and offers a wide range of templates, but it's less flexible than WordPress. Squarespace provides a balance between ease of use and design sophistication, but it's more expensive than Wix. Carefully consider your priorities and choose the platform that best aligns with your goals.