Wix vs. Squarespace

Wix vs. Squarespace – What is the Right Choice for You?


Abhinav Girdhar
By Abhinav Girdhar | Last Updated on August 1st, 2024 11:57 am

Website builders have become increasingly popular these days as more and more businesses are logging on to the internet. Platforms like Appy Pie Website Builder, Wix and Squarespace have become increasingly popular among users for their no-code functionalities. The drag and drop features of these platforms allow you to create your website in minutes.

Introduction

Wix and Squarespace are the two of biggest website builders in the market. Together they power 55% of websites that are built with a website builder. Squarespace is more curated and design-oriented while Wix is occasionally chaotic but allows for a lot of freedom to customize.

Squarespace was founded in the US in 2003 while Wix, founded in Israel in 2006. The internet statistics company BuiltWith estimates that there are over 8.25 million live websites on the web created with Wix. Builtwith’s equivalent figure for Squarespace is around 3 million live websites.

How Does Wix’s Editor Works?

With Wix you can move any element anywhere on your page even moving elements by one pixel if you want. It’s an unstructured editor. Being able to drag an element anywhere on a page feels freeing but it can also lead to frustrating problems. You might have to make the same changes twice for desktop version and mobile version respectively.

The standard version of Wix doesn’t let you create responsive websites, the company recently released version of a new edition of their platform called ‘Editor X.’, which does. Wix’s unstructured editor may give you more flexibility but it introduces a cascade of knock-on problems— such as having to make the same edit twice.

How Does Squarespace’s Editor Works?

Squarespace provides users with a structured editor. In Squarespace, you can’t move an element anywhere on a page. Instead Squarespace only allows you to drag elements called Content Blocks into rows and columns. There’s an inherent and sensible structure that you stay within.

With Squarespace’s ‘Fluid Engine’ editor, you can position and overlap content on your page wherever you like, too; however the Squarespace editor deploys a more structured, ‘snap-to-grid’ style approach than Wix’s.

Wix vs. Squarespace – A Comparison

Above, we have discussed a little about both the apps and how similar they are in their intent. But, the apps differ in how they work to achieve the project goals. Let’s discuss these points in detail now:

  1. Ease of Use

  2. Wix is quite beginner friendly thanks to its simple drag-and-drop editor. Wix ADI means you could have a website live in an afternoon. Squarespace has made massive improvements in its UX, meaning that it's now easier to use than ever. However, it can still take a while to find your way around the editor though.
  3. Design Flexibility

  4. Wix has over 800 templates to choose from. They’re attractive and easy to customize, but lack in quality. Squarespace has a smaller range than Wix, but the designs are consistently stunning.
  5. Features & Tools

  6. Wix has a good number of built-in features covering customization, ecommerce, marketing, and more. It also has a huge app market is perfect for expanding your website's functionality. Most of Squarespace’s features are built-in, and they’re the best quality features on the market.
  7. Ecommerce

  8. It’s easy to add an online store to your Wix website. Squarespace has all its ecommerce tools built-in, and is great for showing off products. You can also use Appy Pie Connect to add third party API integrations to boost your store's functionality.
  9. Marketing

  10. Wix’s marketing tools include SEO, its own email marketing system, and an all-in-one business solution, Wix Ascend. Squarespace has its own marketing tools such as SEO, social media integrations, and its own email platform.
  11. SEO

  12. Wix has built-in SEO tools, plus in-depth support resources to guide you through optimizing your website. Squarespace has built-in SEO tools to use, and has designed its pages to be SEO-friendly. It also has in-depth support resources to help you.

What are the Pricing Plans for Wix?

Wix plans and fees vary by location — but the pricing structure is fairly similar in most countries. In the US there are currently 9 Wix plans available:
  • Free: $0 per month
  • Combo: $16 per month
  • Unlimited: $22 per month
  • Pro: $27 per month
  • VIP: $45 per month
  • Business Basic: $27 per month
  • Business Unlimited: $32 per month
  • Business VIP: $59 per month
  • Enterprise: negotiable, but starting at $500 per month

Wix also offers discounts for the paid plans are available if you pay upfront for a year or more’s service, with the precise discount depending on the plan and the time period involved. You will get a free domain with all the Wix paid-for plans.

Wix will email an offer a few days after you sign up for its free trial, or make news of particular promotions available through its website. The emailed discounts tend to be rather more generous.

What are the Pricing Plans for Squarespace?

Squarespace offers 4 pricing plans:
  • Personal — $23 per month
  • Business — $33 per month
  • Basic Commerce — $36 per month
  • Advanced Commerce — $65 per month

Top App Integrations for Squarespace

Final Thoughts

The information provided above can help you make an informed decision about which website builder to choose. Both platforms can help you create the perfect website for your business or personal reasons. Third party API integrations from Appy Pie Connect can help you integrate your favorite apps together. This way, you can manage your business operation in an effective manner.

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Abhinav Girdhar

Founder and CEO of Appy Pie