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Squarespace is a user-friendly website builder that helps users build beautifully designed websites, with ease. In fact, we found that Squarespace’s ultra-low learning curve, new suite of AI features, and excellent value packages starting at $16 per month, make it the best website builder for beginners.
However, while our research found that Squarespace excels at creating polished, high-performing sites, it performed worse on site speed tests than rivals like Wix and Shopify. This makes the website builder slightly less ideal for large businesses with complex site needs.
Despite these minor pitfalls, Squarespace is still, without a doubt, one of the best website builders on the market. Its attributes lend themselves better to some users than others, however, so read on as our Squarespace review dissects its suite of features, usability, and overall value.
Pros
- Easiest website builder to use across our research
- Plenty of content-focused features for blogging
- Integrates with Acuity for booking and appointments
Cons
- Limited language support for international businesses
- AI site builder creates fairly generic output
- Performed poorly on-site speed tests in our research
- 10% off with code 'TC10'
- 14-day free trial
- Personal plan: $16/month
- Business plan: $23/month
- Business plan fees: 3%
- Free domain with 1-year contract
Squarespace: Quick Fact File
To assess Squarespace’s potential at a glance, take a look at some core deciding features below.
- Ease of use: Squarespace offers the best user experience out of any website builder we tested, earning a near-perfect UX score because of its intuitive interface and helpful on-site tutorials.
- Value: Squarespace may not offer a free plan, but the overall value of its packages remains unbeaten, making it ideal for businesses wanting their dollar to stretch as far as possible.
- Customer satisfaction: Squarespace is a clear fan favorite among businesses. Aside from GoDaddy, it secured the best customer satisfaction score in our research and testing.
- AI features: Squarespace’s AI builder, Squarespace Builder, creates a site for you based on your responses to five questions. Its results are a little more generic than sites made by AI builders like Wix and Hostinger, though.
- Design: While Squarespace’s design features are very strong, they’ve slightly fallen off since our last round of testing, mainly because its AI site builder isn’t as versatile as rivals like Wix and Hostinger.
- Site translation: Squarespace requires users to translate lots of languages manually, so multilingual businesses may be better off using rivals like Wix, instead.
Read on to learn if Squarespace is likely to be a good fit for you. Or, take our free website builder quiz to find a solution matched to your exact needs in minutes.
Who should use Squarespace?
- Creative businesses with blogs and portfolios, because of Squarespace’s beautifully designed templates
- Website builder beginners, because of Squarespace’s excellent user experience and smooth backend
- Content-focused businesses, because of Squarespace’s useful blogging tools
- Professional and creative service businesses, because of Squarespace’s booking integration with Acuity
- Students building a website on the side, because of Squarespace’s generous 50% discount for verified students
Who shouldn’t use Squarespace?
- Multinational businesses that need websites in multiple languages, because many languages need to be translated manually
- Users looking to get started for free, because Squarespace doesn’t offer a free plan
- Businesses that need to set up a site in minutes, because Squarespace AI site builder isn’t as capable as rivals like Wix
- Businesses requiring large and complex sites, as Squarespace’s site loading speeds are already lower than lots of alternatives
Squarespace Review: Key Website Builder Features
Squarespace may specialize in sleek design, but the website builder offers a wide range of features designed to help users build high-performing sites. Below we cover some of Squarespace’s stand-out features.
Design templates
If you’re looking for stunning, professional site templates, look no further than Squarespace. The website builder offers over 170 bespoke website themes created by world-class designers. While this may seem like very few compared to Wix’s 800+ templates, it’s definitely a case of quality over quantity, as all of Squarespace’s themes are highly customizable and have been designed to accentuate visual elements.
If creating a highly unique website is important to you, check out our guide to the most customizable website builders.
You’re also able to filter results by website types such as online store, portfolio, and services, as well as topics like photography, professional services, and restaurants, to whittle down the options. I found this useful when searching for templates myself because it helped me quickly disregard the themes that weren’t aligned with my needs.
Squarespace templates prioritize visual elements, which I think makes the builder especially great for creative websites like blogs and portfolios. Source: Tech.co’s user testing
If you don’t find a template to your liking, you also have the choice to build your own template, giving you full control over its colors and fonts, and allowing you to add all the pages you need.
Squarespace Extensions
Squarespace offers a dedicated app store that lets users extend their use of its service with dozens of useful integrations. Squarespace offers integrations specializing in shipping and fulfillment, inventory and products, and sales and marketing. Some of our favorites include Acuity by Squarespace – an online booking and scheduling software – and Google Analytics – Google’s in-house web analytics service.
Fluid Engine editor
Squarespace’s Fluid Engine drag-and-drop editor gives users a granular level of control over their site’s layout. The editor lets you add, move and adjust site elements, and also offers a variety of design options for desktop and mobile. Unlike Squarespace’s classic editor, Fluid Engine relies on a grid system and focuses on block arrangement and content optimization.
Fluid Engine’s intuitive nature and design focus make it very hard for users to create a site that isn’t aesthetically pleasing, either. This makes the editor great for beginners and those with heaps of design experience, but it’s a particularly useful tool for users with very distinct visions for their sites.
SEO tools
Squarespace offers a host of built-in SEO features to help small businesses increase their reach. From basic features like an SEO checklist and SEO mobile optimization to more advanced capabilities like SEO-friendly translations, the builder is definitely capable enough to cover your core search optimization needs.
Squarespace was also the first website builder to integrate directly with Google Seach Console, giving users the chance to view what keywords customers are using to find your site.
However, while Squarespace’s search optimization features are more than enough for a personal or local site, if you’re running a big site and require more advanced SEO features – like integration with keyword-tracking software, you’d be better off going with Wix instead.
Blueprint AI
As developments in AI continue to streamline core processes, Squarespace has improved its offering with a range of AI-focused features. For instance, Squarespace has streamlined content creation with AI email campaigns, image block captions, text blocks, and product descriptions.
The provider also offers its very own AI site builder Squarespace Blueprint, which lets users build their own template and generate text using artificial intelligence. All you need to do is answer five questions, and the builder uses advanced algorithms to create a unique website with custom copy, layouts, and color schemes.
Squarespace Blueprint asked me seven questions before creating my AI site, including what pages I’d like to add to my site. Source: Tech.co testing
After your AI site has been created, you can use the platform to generate text from prompts or rewrite text you’ve already written. In addition to writing copy for your website, you can also create AI-generated blog posts, product descriptions, video descriptions, image captions and more, all by clicking on the lighting bolt in the text toolbar.
Squarespace Blueprint let me build a site quickly, and its AI text feature generated copy to get the ball rolling. Source: Tech.co user testing
However, when we used Squarespace Blueprint, we found the site designs lacked variation compared to its normal builder. It also doesn’t let you build a site as quickly as website builders with more AI integrations like Wix and Jimdo. Therefore, if you want an AI-focused builder to take up most of the legwork, we would recommend using these solutions instead.
See how the best AI website builders compare.
Sales features
Businesses can sell with Squarespace through its Business plan, but if you want enhanced selling features and no transaction fees, you’d be better off going for Squarespace Commerce or Advanced. Squarespace Commerce offers excellent sales tools like styling email marketing templates, mobile analytics, and stock tracking, and zero product limits.
However, while its sales features have significantly improved since our last round of testing, largely due to the roll out of new subscription and checkout features, large online retailers will be better off going for platforms that support sizeable and more complex inventories, like Shopify.
Help and support
Squarespace’s help and support options are solid, with the provider offering guidance through live chat Monday to Friday, and via Twitter and email 24/7. For users who don’t need immediate help, Squarespace also offers support through its in-depth knowledge base and community forum.
If reliable support is a top priority for you, Wix may be a safer bet. Wix’s help center performed better than the provider in our research and testing, largely because of its 24/7 AI chatbot, and useful phone channels, which are open between 6 am and 5 pm PST.
| Plan | Price paid annually The price per month you'll pay if you choose to be billed annually | Price paid monthly The price per month you'll pay if you choose to be billed monthly | Domain included | Hosting included | Bandwidth | Storage | Abandoned cart recovery | Gift cards | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | | ||||||||
| Personal | Business | ||||||||
| $16 | $23 | ||||||||
| $25 | $36 | ||||||||
| With 1-year contract | With 1-year contract | ||||||||
| | | ||||||||
| Unlimited | Unlimited | ||||||||
| Unlimited | Unlimited | ||||||||
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Squarespace Personal
- Best for: Users creating a blog, portfolio, or very small business site
Squarespace’s cheapest web building tier, Personal, costs $16 per month when charged annually. This plan comes with a free custom domain, mobile-optimized web-building features, and SSL security. Squarespace Personal also provides unlimited storage for video and image uploads and lets two contributors work on your site.
Squarespace Personal costs the same as Wix’s entry-level tier: Wix Light. However, as Squarespace’s plan places no limits on bandwidth or storage, the package is the optimal choice for businesses managing high-traffic sites on a budget.
As its name suggests, this Squarespace package is a solid option for solo entrepreneurs or very small teams able to get by with a no-frills package. However, users looking to grow their business with advanced website analytics and checkout options will be better off upgrading to Squarespace Business.
Want to create an online store? Learn about the provider’s ecommerce packages in our Squarespace for Ecommerce review.
Squarespace Business
- Best for: Users with more complex site needs, that take the occasional sale
Squarespace Business is the provider’s advanced website building tier. At $23 per month when charged annually, its pricepoint is notably steeper than Squarespace Personal, but this extra cost unlocks a raft more useful features including professional email options, shared calendars functions, and access to Squarespace’s advanced website analytics – allowing users to gain powerful insights into their site’s performance.
While this package isn’t a committed ecommerce plan like Squarespace’s Commerce Basic and Advanced, it also lets businesses take payments through their site by giving them the option to funnel customers to a secure checkout page.
Squarespace Business also offers more advanced design elements to enhance site functionality. For example, Business users can connect the platform with third-party apps to take reservations and add records to a customer database. These features, alongside the plan’s checkout option, make it a great choice for businesses running a powerful site, that takes the occasional payment.
Dedicated eccomerce businesses would be better off opting for one of Squarespace’s Commerce plans: Basic ($27 per month) and Commerce ($49 per month). Not only do these packages offer built-in sales tools, but they also don’t charge transaction fees for sales of physical products and services.
Learn more about Squarespace’s pricing.
Is Squarespace good value for money?
Squarespace may not offer a free plan, but our research concluded it is the best value website builder on the market, because of the amount of high-quality features you get for its price. You don’t have to splash the big bucks to unlock Squarespace’s best web-building features – like unlimited storage – either, unlike Wix which charges up to $159 per month for the same privilege.
Does Squarespace Have a Free Plan?
Unfortunately for users looking to forgo costs completely, Squarespace doesn’t offer a free-forever plan, unlike other website builder platforms like Wix and Hostinger. Squarespace does give users the option to test out its software for free with a 14-day free trial, however, before committing to paying the full price of its Personal or Business plans.
For those making passive income online alongside their studies, verified students are also able to bag a 50% discount on Squarespace for an entire year, as long as they agree to pay for the whole year in one installment.
If you’re committed to getting started for nothing, learn about other free website builders.
How Does Squarespace Compare With Other Website Builders?
Squarespace is the most beginner-friendly builder we’ve tested, and the favorite choice among customers – but it doesn’t triumph across the board. Wix is our best-rated website builder overall, because of its superior web-building features and customization options. Unlike Squarespace, Wix offers a free – albeit limited – free plan. This makes Wix a no brainer for businesses looking to cut back on costs completely.
Shopify is another excellent alternative, that has improved significantly since our last round of testing. Shopify offers better website features and help and support tools than Squarespace, as well as a much more competitive sales toolkit for ecommerce businesses. Shopify design tools lag behind Squarespace, however, and its pricey plans will likely be offputting to many.
See how the website builders compare in our Shopify vs Squarespace price and feature comparison.
There are loads of other capability builders out there, though, including quality, free options like GoDaddy. See how our top picks weigh up in our comparison table below:
| Test Score Our score is based on independent assessments of ease of use, features, ecommerce functionality and value for money | Starting Price | Pros | Cons | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEST OVERALL  |  | |  |  |  |  |
| Wix | Shopify | Squarespace | Hostinger | GoDaddy | BigCommerce | Square Online |
| 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.6 |
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What is better Wix or Squarespace?
Wix and Squarespace are in tough competition, but our research found that Wix was slightly better overall, because of its seamless AI functionality, excellent SEO features, and flexible customization options. Squarespace remains a better choice for beginners to web building software, and creative businesses, however, because of its intuitive backend and professionally designed website templates.
Learn about how the website builders compare in depth in our Wix vs Squarespace guide.
Can You Cancel Squarespace?
Yes, Squarespace users are able to cancel their website subscription at any time. Doing so will immediately take your site offline, so it’s essential businesses back up their site and export their content before taking the action.
If you’re subscribed to a Digital Product plan, you will enter a 30-day pause state after you cancel your sit. This will save you customer subscriptions for 30 days, but no new customers will be able to subscribe to your plan.
Our Methodology
We take our impartial research and analysis seriously, so you can have complete confidence that we're giving you the clearest, most useful product recommendations.
After conducting an initial exploration to identify the most relevant, popular, and established tools in the market, we put them through their paces with hands-on testing to see their real strengths and weaknesses. In this case, we put 16 website builder products to the test across 398 areas of investigation.
Based on years of market and user needs research, we've established a website builder testing methodology that scores each product in six core categories of investigation and 33 subcategories; this covers everything from customer feedback to design, ease of use, and more.
Our main testing categories for website builders are:
- Website Features: the capabilities and functionalities offered by a website builder, e.g. blog functionality, SEO capability, and marketing capacity.
- Design Functionality: the aesthetic appeal and visual layout of a website created using a website builder. It encompasses aspects such as page templates and customizable themes.
- Customer Satisfaction: external customer opinion. This is the feedback and ratings given by customers who have used a particular website builder – the market position and reputation a website builder holds.
- User Experience: how user-friendly and intuitive a website builder is for people with varying levels of technical expertise.
- Value for Money: the balance between the cost of a website builder and the benefits it provides. It considers factors such as pricing plans, subscription models, and available features.
- Help and Support: the assistance and resources available to users when they encounter issues or need guidance while using a website builder.
When it comes to calculating a product's final score, not all testing areas are weighted evenly, as we know some aspects matter more to our readers than others, which are simply "nice to have." After hundreds of hours, our process is complete, and the results should ensure you can find the best solution for your needs.
At Tech.co, we have a number of full-time in-house researchers, who re-run this testing process regularly, to ensure our results remain reflective of the present day.
Squarespace Review Verdict: Is Squarespace Worth It?
Whichever website building plan you opt for, Squarespace will definitely be worth it. The builder offers just about any web-building feature you’d expect from a solution of its kind, and its beautifully designed templates make it an asset to creative businesses like designers, freelancers, and artists.
Combine this with a near flawless user experience and affordably priced plans, and we’d also recommend Squarespace to any user trialing web building software for the first time. However, for businesses building and managing large and complex sites, it might be safer to go for builders like Wix and Shopify which offer ever more advanced website building features, enhanced AI capabilities, and more third-party integrations.
There are lots of great web builders to choose from, so if you’re still yet to find your perfect match you can take our free website builder quiz to receive recommendations based on your specific user needs.
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