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If you’re doing research on how to start a blog, you might be overwhelmed with information. Particularly when it comes to which platform to use to launch your blog. WordPress vs Squarespace? What’s the difference anyway?

In this post, I’m going to break it down for you. What IS the difference, and is one really better than the other?

I think that you can be successful on either platform, so it isn’t really a question of WordPress vs Squarespace in the sense of which one will make you a better blogger- it is a question of which one is right for YOU.

A little bit about my blogging journey & Experience with WordPress + Squarespace

I started my first blog in 2013, using the free version of WordPress. I didn’t know the difference between self-hosted and free WordPress back then.

Since 2013, I’ve created five blogs. It’s been a long journey, and I’ve spent a lot of time figuring out the world of blogging and what works best for me.

I was always so adamant about using WordPress because it’s the industry standard in blogging. But last year, I decided to do an experiment and try Squarespace for one of my blogs.

I ended up converting that blog to WordPress self-hosted just a few months after I started it, but not because I didn’t love Squarespace. They were great, and I have nothing bad to say.

I just find that I am better with WordPress, it’s more familiar to me and I feel the most comfortable with WP self-hosted.

Here is my honest review of the differences between WordPress vs Squarespace

WORDPRESS

WordPress.com and WordPress.org are two very different things. The main difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org is who’s actually hosting your website.

The main difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org is who is actually hosting your website.

With WordPress.com takes care of your hosting for you, but this means you don’t own any of the content + you have less creative freedom as far as how your website looks and functions.

With WordPress.org, you host your own website (self-hosted).

I recommend self-hosted, using Namecheap + EasyWP which makes it incredibly simple to start a blog.

You could consider using wordpress.com, but it comes with a few very significant downsides.

• Less freedom to customize
• No custom domain (unless you pay extra)
• Limited options for plugins
• You don’t own the content (if WordPress.com ceased to exist, so would your website and everything on it)

Plugins for WordPress

Think of these like apps you would download on your phone. Your phone is WordPress, plugins are the apps. You can download plugins for everything from tracking your analytics to creating pop-up boxes to helping you with SEO.

Basically, plugins are there to help you design + run the most efficient website possible.

With Squarespace, you don’t have access to the millions of plugins available on WordPress.

Pricing

WordPress.org software is free to download, but a little bit confusing if you aren’t very comfortable with computers.

The best way to create a website or blog with WordPress self-hosted is to use a WordPress management service like EasyWP.

WordPress.com is not free to use, and their plans run from $4/month to $25/month, billed annually. If you want any type of customization, you’ll need to subscribe to their more expensive plan to have access to some customization options.

WordPress is definitely the industry standard when it comes to blogging. But not every blogger uses it, and you don’t have to if you don’t want to.

WP offers the best customization options, you own all of your content and you have endless plugins at your disposal to create the most efficient website that functions exactly how you need it to.

 

SQUARESPACE

Setting up a blog with Squarespace was incredibly simple, and even though at first I was a little confused on how to use the dashboard and link up my domain, I quickly figured everything out thanks to the super helpful FAQ. Any questions I had were answered promptly and in plain English.

This is probably my favorite thing about Squarespace. Any time I was having trouble with a feature, a quick search of their Help section cleared things right up for me.

Squarespace offers up different themes based on what your individual goals are. Whether you’re looking to start a blog, a wedding website, or a real estate website Squarespace offers free themes for whatever type of website you want to create.

Click to Create

This is the best way I can describe the Squarespace interface. It allows you to basically click through a series of prompts until it creates your perfect website.

It took me all of 5 minutes to set up my website on Squarespace.

Once you have it set up, you have to figure out how to configure it to your liking. This isn’t too hard, you’ll just have to look through the options.

Squarespace allows you to basically ‘drag and drop’ everything into place. It shows you what your website will look like in real-time as you make changes to it.

DOMAINS

With Squarespace, you can either purchase a domain through Squarespace or use one that you already own. If you don’t already own a domain name you can either purchase one through Squarespace or use Namecheap.

If you already own a domain, or you want to purchase it elsewhere, you’ll have to connect your domain to Squarespace in your settings.

Pricing

Squarespace offers different plans for different needs.

For a website, which is what you want if you’re starting a blog, you can go with either the Personal plan or the Business plan. You can choose either monthly or yearly billing. The yearly will save you a little bit of money, but if you don’t have a lot of money to start with, the monthly plans are just $16/month for Personal or $26/month for Business.

Which plan you decide to subscribe to is totally up to you and depends on what you need to use your website for and how much you are willing to spend.

For someone new to blogging, it is a good choice. There is no software to download, nothing complicated about signing up and you can start your free trial with no credit card required.

FINAL THOUGHTS

WordPress self-hosted using Namecheap + EasyWP would be my recommendation. The learning curve is a little steeper, but once you get the hang of it, it’s simple to use.

If you’re looking for a user friendly, all in one, click to create a platform, go with Squarespace. You can set up your domain and website all in the same place, and use the FAQ and help resources to answer any questions you have while setting up and using your website.

Whether you choose WordPress, Squarespace, or another host entirely, the important thing is that you’ve done your research and chosen the one you feel most comfortable with.

If you decide to go with Squarespace for now and then, later on, want to switch to WordPress self-hosted, you can certainly do so and it is not as hard as you might think

I hope this post has helped you with your research on WordPress vs Squarespace, and hopefully you’re closer to a decision!

As always, thank you for reading.

XO, M

blogging squarespace wordpress