Is Squarespace the best platform for service-based businesses?
Squarespace is my platform of choice and the one that I specialize in, so you’re likely not surprised to hear I often recommend it. But, it isn’t for everyone! It is important that every client is choosing the right platform for them, not just the one that I prefer, so let’s go over the main reasons I love Squarespace, how it competes with other platforms, and who it may not be the best fit for.
The main perks it offers to service providers
Beyond the platform being organized, flexible and providing trendy design templates, there are lot’s of built-in functionality options for service providers and easy integration capabilities too:
Built-in scheduling software that you can easily upgrade to use.
Built-in email marketing software and code block capability to integrate external email marketing software if you prefer.
Membership functionality that allows you to create subscription-based content for paying members of your audience.
E-commerce functionality so you can add in a few digital or physical products to boost passive income.
Check out my Full Squarespace Pricing Breakdown blog post here for more details on how much these features cost.
Some other great things about Squarespace that are great bonuses for any kind of business:
The new design editor allows you to truly drag and drop any element (text, images, shapes, videos, buttons, etc) and provides tons of design flexibility, while also retaining structure that ensures even DIY edits look professional and on-brand.
You can duplicate, re-order and save design sections to reuse throughout different pages.
There are new features being dropped every week making unique site customizations easier and more fun.
You have easy access to SEO best-practice documents and tools to dig into this area.
There is excellent customer service with live chat options and tons of articles that can help you figure almost anything out.
Now here is the biggest downfall- there is no “draft” mode. So any updates you make to a page on your site will have to go live as soon as you save the page, there is no way to save it as a draft to publish later. But with the improvements that Squarespace is always making and with a few workaround options, this isn’t a deal-breaker for me.
How it competes with other website builders
Wix is very similar to Squarespace in that it has drag and drop design capability using a grid system and lots of built in functionality like e-commerce, blogging, scheduling and email marketing. However, I find the Wix interface a little harder to understand and learn with more hidden functionality and room for error when editing yourself. I would say it’s “clunkier” than Squarespace, and in general isn’t at the cutting edge with their design templates or style, although it is improving a lot and I do work with some clients on this platform.
Price wise, Wix plans are slightly cheaper. However, what is included in each plan differs between the two platforms so you should compare Wix pricing to Squarespace pricing using the exact functionality you make a true comparison.
Showit is incredible for design flexibility. It works almost like Photoshop with pixel to pixel manipulation, so you can create really unique designs with outside of the box functionality. The downfall is that because it’s so flexible you have to edit the size and placement of each individual line, text box, canvas and image, both on desktop and mobile. The formatting is completely in your control, which can make updating and maintaining the site yourself a bit more challenging. It also requires blogging to be done through a Wordpress integration, and if you want any other integrations like e-commerce or scheduling, it also has to be managed and paid for separately.
Showit’s prices start a little bit higher than Squarespace, but are in the same ballpark.
Webflow is a relatively new platform that is definitely bringing some serious value to the table. I have limited experience with it at this point but I will definitely be learning more as it’s design capabilities are really detailed, similar to Showit, but it has even more built in functionality. It would be an awesome option for a service provider, but the key is finding a designer who specializes in it.
Webflow’s prices are very similar to Squarespace, which is awesome for how much it offers.
Shopify is wonderful for e-commerce based businesses, but has more functionality than you need as a service provider. I usually recommend Shopify for those whose main revenue stream and priority is e-commerce, but if your primary business focus is providing a service with maybe a few digital or physical products mixed in, Squarespace is what I’d choose instead. You can design more flexibly without coding in Squarespace and don’t need all the bells and whistles that you’ll pay for with Shopify.
Squarespace is cheaper and simpler than Shopify for a service provider who uses e-commerce as a secondary income stream.
Wordpress is the original and one of the most well known website builders out there, but it has struggled to keep up with new competitors in terms of ease of use. I started building websites using Wordpress, but the designs are very rigid and often frustrating to customize, a lot of functionality is managed through additional plugins that have to be updated and monitored regularly, and you often need a developer to really make the site look and work the way you want it to.
I don’t work on Wordpress sites anymore, I leave that to the Wordpress design experts, but if you’re curious about pricing you can see Wordpress plans here. They do have a free website option which is extremely basic, and a couple of really cheap monthly plans, but in order to use any plugins (which you’ll likely need) their business plan is more expensive than Squarespace.
Who Squarespace may not be the best fit for
Someone who will be e-commerce focused either now or down the line - if you know you’re building up a product-based business as the end goal, you may as well start on Shopify so that you don’t have to switch platforms in the future.
Someone who wants to create very intricate and unique designs with really custom functionality - if your priority is design with minimal coding, or you came across a site you love and it’s built with Showit, and you don’t mind managing a few separate accounts for additional functionality, Showit will be a more preferable platform for you.
Someone who already has a website built on another platform who is happy with the user interface and functionality but just needs a website refresh - if you are familiar with another platform and don’t have a functional reason to switch, then I would look for a designer who specializes in that platform and see how they can help you revamp what you currently have without starting over!
Why I ultimately recommend Squarespace
I love all of the functionality integrated in one platform that’s easy to use, looks clean and professional, and stays on top of new design trends and functional abilities. It puts a lot of power in the business owner’s hands but not too much to the point that it becomes daunting to manage and update.
So in my opinion, YES, Squarespace is overall the best platform for service-based businesses!
Madie Lerue
Designer & Founder of Lerue Creative
