WordPress and Squarespace are two different platforms for building websites. What’s the same? What’s different? Here’s what you need to know!
WordPress Review
WordPress has been around since 2003. You may know it only as a blogging platform, but WordPress can do so much more! WordPress is a Content Management System or CMS. When you have a website of any kind you are going to need a place to store and organize your content. Through the dashboard we can access and control our posts, media, pages, tags, and comments.WordPress can be used to write a blog or a highly professional website for your client. There are actually two types of WordPress. WordPress.com is when you simply want to implement a blog of some sort, while WordPress.org on the other hand offers much more customization, opportunity, and growth. Here are 30 Famous Sites That Use WordPress.
Squarespace Review
Squarespace is a publishing platform for the “non-techie”. You can write a blog, have a store, or even run a business. Their claim to fame is their dead simple editor where you plug and play to build. With Squarespace however, you are required to host through them, WordPress you host elsewhere.
Ease of Use: CMS vs. WYSIWYG
One of the reasons why so many people enjoy using WordPress is the ease of use. You don’t need to be a coder to use the platform, if you do code, there is an option to do that as well. When writing an article, the editor has a very familiar feel akin to any text editor. WordPress is a simple platform, albeit a powerful one. This is why it continues to be a very popular option for creating and growing websites. To get started all you need to do is simply download, host it on a server, choose a theme, and you’re up and running.
Squarespace uses a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor. You can have a site up and running in minutes. They offer beautiful designs and their simplicity allows for people with non-technical backgrounds to build websites with ease. Due to the “live” nature of the building stages, you can instantly see how your site will operate, perfect for the ADHD generation.
Look and Feel: WordPress Themes vs. Squarespace Templates
WordPress Themes are the look and feel of your site. Without knowing how to hard code with HTML and CSS, you can choose from thousands of available themes (some are free, some are paid), simply click “apply” and your fancy new site goes live!
Take a look at a few popular WordPress themes:
Squarespace calls there themes “Templates.”
Here are a few examples…
Customizable: Plugins vs. Blocks
Plugins are pieces of software you can install to add or enhance functionality on your WordPress site. There are thousands of free plugins to choose from in the directory. There is the option for paid plugins that provide support if need be. Plugins can be great additions to your website and the library continues to grow.
Much like plugins, Squarespace uses Content Blocks. With these “blocks” you can add information such as text, video, forms, and images. They are fairly similar to plugins, yet are perhaps a bit more intuitive in nature. They too create a more dynamic feel to your domain.
Pricing
When deciding on WordPress vs. Squarespace, you’re going to need a place to park your domain (e.g. http://www.example.com). If you want WordPress you’ll have to sign up for your own hosting platform. A few popular options are either Bluehost or HostGator both of which come with the “1 Click WordPress” installation.
With Squarespace hosting is automatically included. If you’ve never touched a server before in your life, and don’t ever want to, Squarespace makes installation simple.
Support: WordPress vs. Squarespace
The free version of WordPress doesn’t come with support, but you can install the Jetpack plug-in and for only $9/m your can have WordPress support, added security (VaultPress), spam blocking (Askimet) and improved site performance.
Squarespace has a customer care center to help you along the way.
In Conclusion and Moving Forward
These two platforms offer excellent means to getting a site up and running. Depending on your wants and needs, each can provide something a little different. Both WordPress and Squarespace offer simple solutions for you Web needs. Like anything else, it is a matter or preference.
If you would like to dive deep into WordPress, One Month now offers an online training course called One Month WordPress! As for Squarespace, there are countless of articles on their site.
