Wix and Squarespace are two website builders that are worth user attention due to their advanced functionality and extensive design editing options. Platforms work great for the development of any type of project.
They also target diverse user categories – both newbies and proficient web designers. The website builders have much to offer and this is what appeals to the majority of contemporary users.
While Wix is the all-in-one system that lets you start and manage different types of website irrespective of their web design background, Squarespace mainly targets entrepreneurs and creatives willing to launch professional portfolios and business websites/online stores with the system.
Both website builders excel at functionality and deliver a broad range of tools/features needed to start and manage a quality project.
Wix and Squarespace are multifaceted services that have much in common. However, there are also some crucial features that distinguish one system from another.
Which one deserves your attention most? Which system is the best pick and what exactly do they have in stock?
To find that out and to define the best web design tool to come up to your individual needs and requirements most, have a look at the comparison of their major parameters now.
General Overview
Wix has gained the reputation of the all-in-one website builder that comes with a broad range of advanced features and design customization tools needed to start and effectively manage a broad range of projects.
The platform works great for business websites, portfolios, small and medium online stores, blogs, landing pages, promo websites and other types of projects.
Launched in 2006, Wix has quickly evolved into a powerful website builder, which has gained worldwide popularity. As of today, the number of websites created with the platform has reached 10,455,530 projects and it keeps growing with every passing year.
The service has headquarters across the globe, including the US, Canada, Israel, India, Brazil etc. It stands out from the crowd due to its intuitive web design approach and initial focus on the needs and skills of beginners.
Its use does not require coding awareness, while the availability of features and tools make wix a leader of the contemporary web design market.
Wix follows the freemium model. This means that you can test its feature for free for as long as you wish, but to start a full-featured project and to go live with it, you will need to upgrade to one of its paid subscriptions. Fortunately, the system offers several pricing options to go for.
Squarespace enjoys popularity with millions of users across the globe. The website builder can be effectively used to launch and run websites for entrepreneurs and creatives. These include portfolios, small/medium digital stores, business websites, landing pages, blogs etc.
The website builder was introduced to the market in 2003 and it has grown into one of the most popular web design platforms since that time. According to recent data, over 4,741,665 websites have already been launched with the service and many more are currently under construction.
Squarespace proves to be a good choice for those users, who intend to display their products/services in the best way possible. To be precise, this is the platform that has a clear understanding of the appealing product presentation.
All the websites created with Squarespace have cool and appealing designs and this is one of the features that appeals to the majority of the system subscribers.
Which One Is Easier to Use?
Wix positions itself as a simple platform for all user types, irrespective of their web design background and skills. And it’s really so.
When you open the control panel for the first time, you get a feeling you’ve been using it for years – it’s well organized, eye-pleasing and really motivating. It’s a real pleasure to work with it.
You can easily customize your site in a WYSIWYG editing environment simply by dragging design elements and widgets to the canvas. The flipside of this approach – called ‘absolute positioning’ – is that you can’t change your theme in the future.
You can easily customize your site in a WYSIWYG editing environment simply by dragging design elements and widgets to the canvas. The flipside of this approach – called ‘absolute positioning’ – is that you can’t change your theme in the future.
The system allows remodeling an existing theme as you wish, but there’s no way to get back to the gallery and choose a new design. The only way to do that is to build another site (from zero) and then transfer your Premium account to it.
The control panel of Wix is divided into two areas: Dashboard and Editor. The Dashboard lets you easily manage your sites’ settings, and the Editor gives you a total WYSIWYG website creation experience.
The latest update of Wix editor makes the process of website creation even easier with a more splendid outcome.
Do you require professional assistance from the Wix support team? If so, then the website builder lets you browse its powerful Knowledge Base section, but it’s also possible to get in touch with its qualified team via the Live Chat or ticketing system, if required. VIP Premium support is also available here..
Squarespace proves to be a bit more complicated as compared to Wix website builder. It definitely requires a learning curve. This especially concerns first-timers, who cannot boast extensive web design skills.
As soon as you understand its logic, however, it will be much easier for you to update and manage the site when required. Just like Wix, Squarespace is a WYSIWYG website builder, although, its editor is still less intuitive as compared to that offered by the competitor.
What’s more, you’ll have to get used to Squarespace Style Editor. It’s not that complicated, but there are still certain nuances you should memorize to effectively work with it.
For example, you’ll have to move the sections and objects to arrange them properly and customize the page as you need. However, some templates have fixed positions for all the elements and it may be impossible to move or change them, even if you want to.
All in all, it’s somewhat more complicated to design a website from scratch with a Squarespace editor.
Design and Flexibility
Both Wix and Squarespace are feature-laden platforms that have much to offer to their subscribers.
To understand the difference between the systems and to define the one that provides a more extensive set of features, it makes sense to compare their common parameters.
eCommerce
Wix realizes its eCommerce functionality by connecting the corresponding Wix Stores widget. It makes it possible to start and manage small and mid-sized online stores yet the integrated functionality of the system does not work well for large hypermarkets.
When launching a web store with Wix, you will be able to create and update product galleries, make use of advanced design editing options, create the show window and set up its features, adjust payment/shipping parameters, issue coupon codes, bonuses and gift certificates.
It is also possible to set up safety parameters of your online store, choose from multiple eCommerce templates, adjust mobile optimization options, import products from CSV files and set up other web store management options.
Additionally, Wix has a separate group of plans meant for the development of eCommerce projects. It’s up to you to pick the subscriptions that fits your needs and budget most.
Likewise, the website builder offers a separate category of eCommerce templates, which are mobile-ready. Customizable and free for everyone.
No coding skills are needed to edit them, which makes the system a worthy pick for first-timers. You just need to select a suitable theme with regard to your web store specialization, upload content, add products and their descriptions/special characteristics/photos and proceed to the project customization.
Have a digital shop started with another platform? Wix makes it possible to transfer it to its servers by importing products. This is done via CSV product file import/export feature, which does not take much effort, knowledge or time.
Squarespace also comes with a worthy eCommerce engine that lets you create and manage a quality online store.
The functionality is provided in terms of the subscription chosen as the system offers a special group of eCommerce plans depending upon your requirements, needs and budget.
To start a web store with Squarespace, you can provide a worthy product presentation for the items/services you would like to offer for sale.
The system also ensures quality SSL Certificate/blog connection, integrated shopping cart use, opportunity to add up to 100 various product variations/SKUs, adjust payment/shipping options, introduce loyalty offers and other eCommerce-related features.
Squarespace has a separate category of eCommerce designs, which are customizable, free and responsive by default. You can select any theme and start working on its customization.
If there is anything you don’t like about the selected design, the system allows switching to another one. The content won’t be lost, which matters a lot for every web developer.
To manage your Squarespace-based web store effectively, the website builder lets you schedule appointments without leaving the website, share news/events/updates in social networks, integrate calendars and booking tools etc.
If your online store has a local presence, you can embed the Google maps widget to notify customers about the exact physical location of your business. Integration of online forms and creation of malign lists is also available here, which contributes to more effective interaction with customers.
You don’t have to be a web design expert to set up an online store with Squarespace. Just add a “Store” collection, fill out baseline project settings (name, URL, chosen currency etc.), upload products and their special parameters.
As soon as you are done with these steps, the website builder will offer you to select a suitable subscription. Mind that the plans differ with regard to their features, tools, terms and services.
Evaluate your project features and business objectives to come up with the most suitable subscription. The more options you expect to avail and the more large-scale your digital shop is, the more budget you will have to spend.
Having defined the budget and upgraded to one of the available subscriptions, you are welcome to add payment and shipping options as well as connect a domain name. Finally, your eCommerce project can be published.
Take your time to customize SEO settings, promo parameters and marketing features to enhance your web store performance and online accessibility.
Blogging
Wix allows running a quality multifunctional niche-specific blog. The integrated blogging engine allows writing, editing, updating and scheduling blog posts. It is also possible to add a Featured posts section, a tag cloud and a custom feed, when needed.
To boost user engagement rate, you can enable Facebook and user comments options, choose from multiple customizable blog templates, integrate social media options, set up SEO parameters as well as use integrated hosting the system offers by default. This feature set is enough to start a blog with regard to your needs.
Wix Turbo feature helps boost your blog performance and online accessibility. It comes with a set of special tools and technologies, the use of which contributes to better load time of your project.
Squarespace, in its turn, is also good for blogging. The website builder can be effectively used to start a quality blog depending upon your niche/business specialization.
What you can do here is hosting blog podcasts, adding/managing blog posts, adding geolocation tags, enabling user comments and trackbacks, making use of the reblogging feature etc.
One of the undeniable highlights of Squarespace is its blog import feature that lets you transfer your blog from Tumblr, WordPress and other platforms to the website builder without any special knowledge or coding skills required.
Mobile Website Building
Wix mobile editor makes it possible to start a mobile website that will be accessible on different mobile devices. The innovative Mobile View mode allows optimizing your website both for desktop and mobile devices, making changes even on the go.
Due to the integrated drag-and-drop editor, the procedure becomes much simplified and you don’t have to possess any coding knowledge to make your website adapt to different tmobile screens and resolutions.
There is one crucial thing you should bear in mind, though, when working with the mobile editor of the system. All the edits you make here won’t be displayed in the desktop website version while those you make in the desktop mode will be immediately displayed in the mobile website.
Another highlight of the website builder is its Wix Chat for Mobile option. The app lets website owners react to users’ questions, using their mobile devices. This is a handy option for most website owners, who are frequently on the go.
Squarespace grants access to the advanced mobile application that allows managing and updating your website on the go any time of the day. You can do this from any mobile device you have at hand, if you have the app installed there.
By using the website builder, you can update your website content, add new posts, integrate new widgets and applications, edit and customize website pages and complete other website-related actions.
What’s important, all the edits you make via your Squarespace mobile app will be saved automatically, even if there is something wrong with your Internet connection.
Multilanguage Website
Wix Multilingual tool lets everyone start a professional looking website in multiple languages without the need to write or edit a line of code. Each user can cope with the task independently, following the guidelines the tool generates by default.
With Wix Multilingual Application, users can actually create several versions of the same website in the required languages. Using the tool is simple and fast as it does not imply any programming proficiency or preliminary preparation. All in all, it is currently possible to translate your web project into more than 180 languages.
Along with website content, Wix allows translating other project entities (product descriptions, titles, blog posts, SEO characteristics etc.). This is done with a few clicks due to the intuitive nature of the website builder.
Squarespace also makes it possible to start a multilingual website. The website builder offer two options to choose from.
The first one implies integration of the Weglot tool, which allows generating translated website versions in several languages.
Website visitors will be able to switch between the available translations using the drop-down menu displayed in the website header. This ensures that your project will become multilingual to provide an opportunity for international audiences to enjoy the content.
Weglot can translate up to 2,000 words into one language at no cost. If you need an advanced translation or if you plan to have the website available in several languages, then it is reasonable to choose an affordable subscription.
Mind that Weglot integration is possible only if you use Squarespace version 7.1. If you have another version or if Weglot does not work for your current requirements for some reason, you will have to create a multilingual website manually. This is the second option Squarespace provides.
Manual website translation requires through translation of content for every page. What’s more, you may encounter certain limitations as not all the entities may be translated manually. So, it is recommended to use the Weglot tool for this purpose.
How to Start a Multilanguage Website Using Wix and Squarespace
Wix ensures quite a simple and convenient process of multilingual website creation. To set up the one you will initially have to launch a standard website to further add language versions.
An important aspect is that projects created with Wix ADI and Editor X do not have multilingual support. It is available only for websites started with a Standard Wix Editor. Keep that in mind when setting up your project.
As soon as you are done with your main website version, complete the following steps:
- Enable the Multilingual Feature. This is done in the Settings section of the website editor. This is also the place where you can select the “Multilingual” tool, the initial language your website is created in and the one you intend to translate it to. Then click the “Get Started” button to add the selected language. If needed, you can switch between the available language versions – just access the required variant in the top right corner.
- Select the Translation Option. Wix allows activating the “Auto-Translate” button that will automatically translate your website in the selected language, using Google Translate. This is a perfect solution, if you don’t know the language. On the other hand, Google Translate cannot be considered a reliable solution. If possible, make the edits manually afterwards.
- Choose a Plan. Having translated the website, save the result and upgrade to one of the premium plans.
- Publish. The final step is your project publication, which takes a few seconds only. By the way, you can manage your website languages in the website dashboard, if required.
An important nuance is that not all Wix website entities are translated in the Editor. Some of them should be translated in the Multilingual Dashboard, but there are also those, which cannot be translated at all.
The same is about certain dashboard features and Wix applications, such as Wix Hotels, Wix Restaurants, Online Programs, Content Collections, Pricing Plans, Wix Video, Wix Site Search, Wix Music Player, FAQ App, Wix Bookings, Wix Forum, Members Area, Third-Party Apps and Facebook Ads. In this case, you will have to make the translation manually.
Speaking about the cost of the Wix Multilingual tool, it is absolutely free for everyone. You have to pay for your subscription only to use the feature.
Squarespace recommends translating its websites with the Weglot tool. To connect to it, complete the following actions:
- Access the Settings in the home menu;
- Click Languages & Region;
- Click “Connect” button under the “Multilingual by Weglot” button in the Site languages;
- Create a Weglot account. If you have a paid one already, sign in and create a new project then;
- Select the original language from the corresponding drop-down menu;
- Select the language you need for translation;
- Save the settings. Right after that, you will see a language switcher in the website header;
- Check the way your website is displayed in the translated version and make edits, if required.
This is a brief tutorial on how to translate your Squarespace-based project with Weglot. Mind that the 10-day trial version allows translating up to 10,000 words into one language only.
Upon the end of the trial, you can keep using Wegot for free, but you won’t be able to translate more than 2,000 words. That is why, it makes sense to upgrade to a premium plan, if you intend to work with multilingual websites afterwards.
Although, Weglot translates almost the entire content, there are still some entities it does not translate. These include customer email notifications, scheduling, email campaigns, Member Areas login screen, third-party content blocks like social networks, for example. Thus, you will have to translate these entities manually.
In case you cannot use Weglot for some reason, you will have to complete your project translation manually. This will take some effort and time, though.
What you need to get started is to create a website and upload the content in the main language it will be available in. You also have to take care of preparing the translated versions of your project as well as the outline of your website navigation structure (including URLs and Titles).
What you have to do next is to reach the navigation settings and follow the steps the system generates to help you create website pages in different languages. That’s quite easy, fast and convenient and this doesn‘t require any coding awareness at all.
Email Marketing
Wix offers a real highlight for all entrepreneurs willing to use the system and its advantages.
The system grants access to its advanced Ascend tool – the all-in-one solution that encomapsses over 20 tools needed to start, manage and promote business websites. These include integrated online forms, live chat, inbox and contact manager options.
Email marketing feature is also available here, letting you notify your customers about all the industry-related news and updates.
Additionally, Wix lets you use the ShoutOut and Smart Actions features that help create custom newsletters to match your website style, using the ready-made customizable templates.
Squarespace also provides the email marketing feature that comes with multiple comprehensive tools. They help you effectively grow the target audience, organize and hold successful email campaigns.
What you can do here is importing your website content (blog posts, products, services, logos, social icons, customer lists etc.) to create email drafts and then start email campaigns.
Third-Party Apps and Extensions
Wix makes it possible to create a website in one sitting without writing any codes at all. Its integrated App Market with multiple add-ons and widgets will help you pick and integrate the third-party extensions (both free and paid) to reach the required functionality level of your project.
Here are some sample apps from the Market you can make use of: Form Builder, Site Search, Newsletter Signup Form, Customer Reviews, Appointment Booking, Get Subscribers, 123 Form Builder, Event Calendar, Comments, Wix Hotels, Wix Restaurants, Forum, Wix Bookings, Wix Photography, Video, Wix Music and many more. All in all, there are over 300 extensions available in the App Market.
The only downside about the Market is that to get the full-packed experience of the app, you have to pay for it on top of the standard Wix fee.
This means your monthly fee can go up to thirty or even forty dollars based on your installed apps. The good news is that most of the apps come with free basic versions.
Apart from the App Market extensions, it is possible to simplify the process of website management by means of Wix Owner app use. This is an innovative mobile app presented by Wix website builder that allows controlling websites and making edits even on the go.
With the Wix Ower app, you have full control over the website management process, staying connected with the target audience, sharing business updates and introducing new innovations. The app will especially come in handy to the owners of blogs, business websites, landing pages, web stores.
Additionally, Wix has announced the launch of its new applications for mobile devices. These are Fit, Dine, Wix Spaces and more.
Squarespace offers a pretty nice set of add-ons and widgets to choose from. These include widgets for photo and image galleries, social media buttons, eCommerce tools for cafes and restaurants and many more.
The website builder also grants access to the integrated tool that helps track visitors’ stats. The tool allows integrating Google analytics or choosing Squarespace Metrics App, if required.
There is also access to the in-built online contact forms, which are easily customizable to meet users’ needs.
Squarespace comes with extensive social media integration options, advanced image editor, Cover Page builder, online calendar, Google Maps embedding feature.
Acuity Scheduling platform will help you create online appointments directly on the website, while the Unfold app (an advanced storytelling tool) can be effectively used to create and share stories in social networks.
Does your project require an impressive visual presentation? Then don’t pass by the opportunity to integrate an innovative Video Studio App. It lets everyone create and share video presentations to showcase user talents, creativity, best product/services samples and other related info.
Logo Maker
Wix has recently introduced the advanced Logo Maker you can use to create individual logos for your website. This is an intuitive tool that is quite easy-to-use even for a newbie.
To create unique logo design, the tool will ask you to provide website/business-related information to automatically generate a set of logo variants based on your answers.
After the logo is ready, you will be able to customize and personalize it as needed.
Another option is to download your own logo to make the website reveal your brand identity. To create your website logo, only several steps are required.
Just enter the name of your business, fill in your industry/biz-related data, pick suitable description or motto and get ready to choose from several logo design variants the system will generate. That’s easy, fast and convenient, indeed!
Squarespace also offers an opportunity to make use of its integrated Logo Maker. It allows creating your company logo and integrating it into your website afterwards.
The tool uses the company name you provide and offers several parameters for you to set up. These include versatile logo elements, style, color scheme, background etc.
What you need is to make the required settings and publish the ready-made logo. Additionally, it is possible to download and save the logo to use it further.
Design Set Up and Customization
Wix has one of the most impressive template collections in the modern web design market. As of today, it encompasses over 800 high quality themes and the gallery is regularly updated. The templates fall into thematic categories to simplify users’ choice.
If you don’t manage to find a theme that comes up to your needs and specialization or you just wish to give your website a unique look, you can select a blank theme to design your project from scratch.
All Wix templates are divided into several niches based on the topics they refer to. It’s also possible to browse new and most popular designs to pick those templates you are interested in most of all.
As mentioned above, the system doesn’t offer a template change option, so take your time to make a smart choice from the very beginning. Wix has an easy-to-use mobile editor that allows users to fine tune the optimized view of the site using the same drag-and-drop tools. You can resize, relocate and show/hide items without affecting the normal view of your site.
Wix has much to offer to non-techies and web design pros in terms of design customization. There is a Standard Editor that works best for proficient web designers, willing to deeply customize their projects.
Likewise, newbies can use a high end Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) tool to get started with their websites. This is a revolutionary solution that allows creating tailored websites by learning information about the website’s person or business.
No coding skills are required to launch websites with Wix ADI. The tool will guide you through the entire web creation process, providing step-by-step tips and recommendations.
What you need is to submit your website-related information to let the system understand what kind of website exactly you need. Building projects with Wix ADI is stunningly easy and convenient.
This matters most for non-techies, who are just making their first steps in the web design niche and wish to create DIY websites with no coding skills or experience required.
The website builder is right about to introduce its Editor X feature – an advanced functionality provided in terms of the Business package. The updated Wix editor will ensure enhanced control over all the web page elements.
Users will be able to edit all website versions, including tablet, desktop and smartphone. It will offer docking functionality, flexible canvas, control over the project sizing and layout etc.
This complex of features will eventually result in the ability to develop more stylish projects that will have great impact upon users.
Apart from these features, Wix grants access to its Velo platform for professional app development. It offers a set of tools meant for diverse user categories.
There is also an opportunity to use Wix Marketplace (a community of web designers) to hire niche professionals to help you grow your business.
Squarespace templates feature rich imagery, refined fonts and minimal layouts. I’m in love with their designs. However, it is fair to say that their templates are monotonous.
The good news is that custom CSS can be applied to any template design. All Squarespace templates are designed with the multi-screen world in mind.
They are all responsive. However, users can’t edit the mobile view – at best, they can enable the Mobile Information bar.
The real highlight of the website builder is its advanced Cover Page Builder. It lets you create visually-appealing cover pages to match any type of project you design. This can be done by choosing and designing content blocks that make up your cover page style.
Additionally, you can insert media files, add business-related info, edit settings or HTML/CSS code (if needed) and complete other must-have steps to design the Cover Page of your website.
Cannot find time to design an impressive template independently? Need a high end project to comply with your special goals? Then hiring a web design expert will certainly help you out. Just access a separate “Hire a Squarespace Expert” page to find a professional to complete the task for you.
General Pricing Comparison
Wix pricing policy is versatile and affordable to everyone. The website builder has a completely free plan, which will come in handy to those users willing to test the functionality of the system before upgrading to one of its paid plans.
As soon as you decide what project type exactly you intend to start and what budget you are ready to invest into it, the system will let you choose one of its paid options applicable for standard websites and for business/eCommerce projects. Have a look at them now.
Website Wix Plans
- Combo ($22/mo) – a bonus for advertising in Google Ads, removal of ad banners, 30 minutes of video hours, 2GB bandwidth, 3 GB storage space, free hosting and domain etc.;
- Unlimited ($27/mo) – 2-hour bonuses for advertising in Google Ads, applications for increasing productivity and analyzing visitors, unlimited bandwidth, 50 GB disk storage video etc.;
- VIP ($45/mo) – priority support, logo maker, additional 100 GB of disk space, unlimited video, bandwidth and subscription options.
Business/eCommerce Plans
- Business Basic ($27/mo) – free domain (with annual subscription), acception of online payments, 50 GB of disk storage space, 5 hours of video, unlimited bandwidth, analytics tools, productivity increases etc.;
- Business Unlimited ($32/mo) – special apps for entrepreneurs, integrated eCommerce platform, 100 GB of disk storage space, 10 hours of video, business development tools, logo maker etc.;
- Business VIP ($59/mo) – complete Wix Suite, unlimited bandwidth and video storage space, priority support etc.;
- Enterprise ($500/mo) – powerful and feature-rich business solution, which guarantees excellent performance and maximum amount of built-in tools.
All Wix premium plans come with a free domain connection option and money back guarantee feature. It lets you get the budget invested into the plan of your choice during 14 days from the moment of purchase, if there is anything you are not satisfied with.
Mind that if you make such a decision you will be downgraded to the free plan again, while the published content remains unchanged. As soon as the subscription term comes to its end, it will be automatically prolonged with regard to the terms included.
Squarespace cost is also quite affordable. Even though, it doesn’t have a free plan, it still allows testing the integrated feature set during the 14-day free trial. This is more than enough to decide on the paid subscription you would like to go for.
Just like Wix, Squarespace has several pricing options for Standard websites and for online stores. The list of Standard Plans is as follows:
- Personal Plan ($16/mo billed annually) – up to 20 pages, unlimited bandwidth and storage, SSL Security, integrated website metrics, 2 contributors, free custom domain, SEO features, 30 minutes of video storage space, Squarespace extensions, 24/7 customer support etc.;
- Business Plan ($23/mo billed annually) – unlimited pages and AdWords Credit, advanced website analytics, unlimited contributors, premium blocks and integrations, professional email from Google, fully-integrated eCommerce, 3% transaction fees, CSS/JavaScript design customization etc.;
- Commerce Basic ($27/mo billed annually) – unlimited products, storage and bandwidth, personal customer accounts, powerful eCommerce analytics, domain checkout feature, Instagram synchronization, Instagram store integration etc.
- Commerce Advanced ($49/mo billed annually) – real-time carrier shipping, subscription sales, gift cards, abandoned cart recovery, advanced shipping and discounts, limited availability labels, APIs for order and inventory etc.
The price of domain name registration with Squarespace starts at $20/year, but the final cost will depend on the selected domain zone. The cost of applying automation tools ranges between $14 and $50 per month.
If you are going to use the Unfold app, get ready to invest from $2.99 to $12.99 per month, while the cost of the email service ranges between $5 and $68 per month.
Which One Is the Best for SEO?
Wix comes as a SEO-friendly website builder, which means that it allows building projects, which are well-optimized for further search engine promotion.
The system makes it possible to fill out and edit the most important SEO parameters (meta tags for web pages and website in general, heading tags, anchors, Google Analytics, image Alt tags etc.) by using its advanced SEO Wiz tool.
It generates special guidelines and instructions on how to get the most out of your website optimization to make it indexed well by the search engines.
Apart from using the SEO Wiz tool, Wix makes it possible to pick and use special third-party widgets/extensions from the App Market (callback order buttons, social networking tools, email distribution etc.). They ensure good website SEO ranking and let you effectively promote the project on the web.
Squarespace also ranks high in terms of SEO, although, its capabilities are worse than those of Wix. The website builder makes it possible to adjust your project SEO settings both for separate pages and for the website in general.
What’s interesting, Squarespace automatically selects and uses the post heading/product name as the SEO title for a certain web page. The system does not allow editing it in the manual mode – just like the website title in general.
However, if you wish to hide your website from search engine indexation, the website builder lets you do that by adding the “noindex” tag to the required page for your website.
Which One Is Better for Small Business Website?
Wix is a great pick for small business website development. Its integrated functionality is more than enough to start and manage full-featured projects for entrepreneurs. This especially matters a lot for those business owners, who wish to offer their products for sale, be it videos, handmade products, images and what not.
Furthermore, the system will help designquality websites for the owners of small businesses, including restaurants, cafes, hotels, tourist agencies etc. With this purpose, the website builder lets you pick and integrate widgets and extensions from the App Market.
The use of the Ascend platform will contribute to better interaction with clients as well as for more effective business promotion.
Squarespace also works well for building small business websites. The system grants access to multiple features for entrepreneurs, which make it possible to launch and effectively manage small business websites.
The website builder grants access to multiple add-ons and widgets for cafes, restaurants, web stores, portfolios. Their integration contributes to successful, fast and simple promotion of these projects.
What’s more, it is possible to use social media integrations, email marketing and statistics tracking tools to control the popularity of your business website. Squarespace also grants access to its integrated Logo Maker, Google Maps embedding feature, online calendar, Unfold storytelling tool as well as Acuity Scheduling platform.
The latter is the online appointment scheduling system, which helps entrepreneurs get the most out of their project promotion. With Acuity Scheduling, you will be able to successfully complete sales, effectively interact with clients and increase your sales volume.
Which One is The Best for Ecommerce – Wix or Squarespace?
Wix delivers an extensive set of features needed to start and manage a quality online store. The website builder lets you realize this option by means of integrating the Wix Store widget. It makes it possible to integrate a shopping cart, create multiple product cards, show windows etc.
You can also set up the required web store parameters here and pick some of the widgets from the App Market that will enhance your Wix online store performance.
The website builder lets you sell physical and digital products, create and implement multiple discounts, special offers to boost customer loyalty, adjust payment/shipping parameters, issue gift certificates etc.
With Wix, you will also be able to get access to the set of statistics tracking and analytic tools, email marketing and networking features, advanced product management solutions, specific eCommerce templates and design customization tools needed to give your web store the desired performance and visual appeal.
These features, however, are enough to start small and medium web stores. If you need a large hypermarket, then it makes sense to look for specialized eCommerce niche solutions.
Squarespace also also has a pretty nice potential for web store development. Just like Wix, the website builder allows creating and managing small and mid-sized eCommerce projects, offering a broad range of tools for this purpose.
The website builder lets you create/update/manage product lists, assign special product categories, add images and product descriptions, introduce loyalty options, integrate social media accounts, embed the commenting feature and Google Maps, if required.
Which One to Choose for Blogging – Wix or Squarespace?
Wix blog examples are the best proof of the fact that the website builder is a nice pick for the creation of this type of project. The platform has a quality blogging engine, which allows starting and updating a feature-laden blog related to your niche specialization.
The website builder makes it possible to schedule, add, edit, manage and update multiple blog posts.
You can also create blog sections, add custom feeds, assign blog categories, sort out the already-published publications, set up SEO parameters etc. To encourage readers for interaction, the system allows enabling the commenting feature.
It’s also possible to give your blog the required design by means of picking and customizing one of the blog templates available in the catalog.
Do you already have a blog built with WordPress or any other platform? If so then Wix allows transferring it to the website builder with a few simple steps.
Squarespace blogs also have appealing design and they are also feature-laden to deliver the required functionality. Among the features you can set up here, the following ones should be the first to mention: addition of geolocation tags, activation of trackback feature, embedding comments and RSS feeds, using the iTunes tagging etc.
Just like Wix, Squarespace lets you import blogs from WordPress, Tumblr and other platforms not to lose previously submitted content. Users, who have accounts in social networks, can integrate them into their blogs built with Squarespace to keep their readers aware of all the news, updates and other blog/business related info.
Which One is the Best for Portfolio – Wix or Squarespace?
Wix website builder makes it possible to start and manage a professional and feature-laden portfolio website, no matter what niche you specialize in, the platform will make it possible to launch a quality portfolio to display your works/services in the most favorable light.
Powerful and intuitive, the website builder works great for creatives, artists, models, photographers and other users, who have an intention to present their works or services to the advantage, thus, attracting the attention of potential clients.
Just have a look at the most remarkable Wix portfolio samples to realize what features exactly the system has in stock. Wix comes with a splending collection of customizable and mobile-ready portfolio templates.
While browsing them, you will find multiple quality themes for photographers, graphic and web designers, resumes, artists, journalists, models, stylists, illustrators, musicians, art directors, business consultants etc.
The website builder also lets you connect a blog to your portfolio website to encourage user communication. There is also an opportunity to create and upload impressive galleries and slideshows as well as get access to multiple widgets available in the Wix App Market.
HD video hosting, customer testimonials feature and integrated eCommerce engine contribute to the efficacy of the portfolio creation/management process, while the built-in SEO Wiz tool allows for more effective website promotion process.
Squarespace is also a nice pick for portfolio creation. The website builder works pretty well for the development and effective management of portfolios launched with it.
The gallery of Squarespace portfolio samples is the best proof of the system’s functionality. The service grants access to the rich integrated set of portfolio-focused features.
These include multiple widgets and add-ons (including those for image/video galleries, social media buttons, statistics collection tools, Contact Forms etc.). Selection of portfolio templates is pretty rich here as well, while all the available themes are 100% customizable and responsive.
The website builder is also known for its advanced Style Editor that lets you choose from several types of pages your portfolio will contain. These include Product Pages, Cover Pages, Events Pages, Blog Pages and many more.
One of the most distinctive Squarespace highlights is its Cover Page Builder. It lets you create an impressive cover page for your web-based portfolio, picking from multiple color schemes, content blocks, post upload options, media files, images/videos, layouts and other must-have elements.
The website builder also grants access to the integrated eCommerce engine, professional show window design options, extensive social integration opportunities and other features that contribute to the effective portfolio development process.
Moving from Squarespace to Wix
Starting a website with Squarespace is a pretty good idea as the website builder ranks high in the list of contemporary web building tools. The website builder covers a broad spectrum of web creation tasks, offering a rich integrated toolset.
Wix, in its turn, is a simpler and more convenient web design solution, especially for beginners. So, if you have already started a website with Squarespace and then decided to move to Wix for some reason, there are several ways to do that with almost no hassle at all.
The first option you can go for is to switch between the platforms on your own. This solution may take some effort and time and it also implies at least the basic programming awareness.
If you are ready to give it a try, you can follow the instructions that will help you switch from Squarespace to Wix with minimum effort/time/budget investment.
Do you feel that you are not ready to cope with the task on your own? If so, then there is a great opportunity to order website transfer from professionals – either freelance specialists (read on to find out how to do that properly) or from Wix experts (follow the guide on how to do that correctly).
When picking the best website transfer solution, it really makes sense to decide which option exactly will be more suitable and more secure for you. If you are a non-techie, however, then entrusting a responsible Squarespace to Wix migration process with professionals is the best option you can go for.
Key Differences Between Wix and Squarespace
| Wix | Squarespace | |
| Ease of Use: | Wix is a good choice for beginners and proficient web developers, although, it may take time to get used to it. The system offers an advanced Wix ADI tool that helps start a new website from scratch in the automated mode, using the info submitted by a user. Standard Editor is also available here, letting users get access to deeper design customization options. Wix works well for business projects, forums, blogs, portfolios, landing pages and small online stores. | Squarespace is a simple drag-and-drop website builder. The system works well for users with diverse coding skills, making it possible to launch blogs, business projects, web stores, landing pages etc. |
| Functionality: | The website builder comes with high end integrated functionality. Apart from powerful design customization features and tools, the system offers access to its rich App Market, Velo by Wix and Ascend platforms. | The website builder comes with a convenient WYSIWYG editor, built-in blogging and eCommerce engines, SEO, statistics tracking tools, Cover Page Builder, Logo Maker, Unfold App, social integrations, advanced marketing as well Google Maps embedding features and powerful Acuity Scheduling platform. |
| Design: | The template collection of the website builder currently encompasses over 800 free niche-specific designs, which are customizable and mobile-ready by default. | Squarespace template collection is somewhat limited, but the designs are quality and responsive. They make it possible to start different projects, which are fully-customizable and professional. |
| eCommerce: | Wix Store allows creating small and medium online stores, granting access to lots of eCommerce tools and features. | Squarespace eCommerce engine makes it possible to launch and update small and medium online stores, assigning their crucial parameters. |
| Blogging: | Wix blogging platform allows launching blogs for personal or business use, applying the advanced feature set of the system. | With Squarespace, you can also start a quality blog. It’s up to you to update it with new posts when required as well as to customize its design based on your niche preferences. |
| Small Business: | The website builder is good for small business projects as it offers multiple business-specific widgets, niche templates, advanced Ascend platform and other business-related features. | The platform works well for small business website development. It allows integrating multiple business widgets, media files, Acuity Platform as well as useful email marketing and statistics tracking tools. |
| Pricing: | Wix has a free plan and two groups of subscriptions for Website and Business/eCommerce websites. Their cost starts at $22/mo. | Squarespace has a 14-day free trial and several pricing plans for standard and eCommerce websites. Their cost starts at $16/mo. |
| SEO: | The platform includes the high end SEO Wiz tool to simplify the process of website SEO optimization. | Squarespace is a SEO-friendly website builder. Apart from filling out the main SEO parameters for better project promotion, it also allows hiding your website or its pages from indexing by the search engines. |
| Customer Support: | Powerful Knowledge Base, ticketing system, VIP support. | 24/7 Live Chat, FAQ section, Ticketing System, Email Support, Community Forum. |
Comparison Conclusion: Which One Is Better?
So, which one is more effective: Wix or Squarespace? The choice mostly depends on your needs and your budget as both website builders are worth the attention.
Wix and Squarespace are both the renowned representatives of the web design market, each targeting a certain audience.
Wix, however, has much more to offer in terms of functionality, flexibility, design customization and pricing. Chances. It works equally great for non-techies and web design pros.
The system makes it possible to launch all kinds of websites, letting you choose from lots of design and functionality options. It lets you play around as long as you need to see if it fits your needs.
With its design editing options, powerful blogging and eCommerce engines, hundreds of mobile-ready customizable templates, advanced Ascend platform and versatile pricing options Wix definitely deserves user attention as the best all-in-one website builder.
