Squarespace vs WordPress: which is right for a small business?
Choosing the right platform for your website can feel like a bigger decision than it needs to be.
If you've started looking into getting a new website, you've probably come across the same two names over and over again: Squarespace and WordPress.
Both are good. Both can produce beautiful websites. Both can be used for small businesses.
So which one should you choose?
Well... I'm going to admit something upfront.
I'm a Squarespace designer.
So yes, I'm probably going to lean that way. But I don't think Squarespace is right for every business, and I'd much rather explain why I recommend it for most of my clients than tell you that it's automatically the best option for everyone.
Here's my honest take.
First things first: what's the difference?
At a very basic level, Squarespace is an all-in-one website platform. Your website builder, hosting, security and a lot of the tools you need are brought together in one place. Squarespace also has built-in SEO features and tools to help you manage your site's visibility in search.
WordPress is an open-source platform that gives you much more freedom to customise and extend your website. There are thousands of plugins and themes available, which means you can add an enormous range of functionality.
And that's really where the difference starts to become interesting.
Squarespace
Why I love it for small businesses
The biggest reason I use Squarespace is simplicity.
Most of the businesses I work with don't want to become website developers.
They want a website that looks brilliant, works properly, brings in enquiries and is easy to update when they need to change something.
That's where I think Squarespace really shines.
You don't need to worry about finding separate hosting, installing a theme and then adding a collection of plugins to get your website working. Squarespace provides managed hosting, SSL and built-in security features as part of the platform.
And once your website is live, you can log in and make changes yourself.
That's a big deal for a small business.
If you've got a new service, want to change some wording, add a new project or update your contact details, you don't necessarily need to send an email to a developer and wait for them to get around to it.
You can just do it.
Or, if you'd rather not touch it at all, you can get someone like me to do it for you. 😉
But what about WordPress?
This is where I'm going to be fair to WordPress.
WordPress is incredibly powerful.
It's open source, highly flexible and has a huge ecosystem of themes and plugins. You can add functionality for pretty much anything you can think of.
If you have a particularly complex website, need very specific functionality or have a developer who wants complete control over how the site works, WordPress can be a brilliant choice.
It's also worth saying that WordPress isn't difficult because it's "bad".
It's more that there's more to manage.
Depending on how your WordPress site is set up, you may have themes and plugins that need updating and maintaining. WordPress itself provides automatic update options for plugins and themes, but keeping everything secure and working properly is still something that needs consideration.
For some businesses, that's absolutely fine.
For others, it's just another thing on the to-do list.
And let's be honest — most small business owners already have enough on their to-do list.
What about SEO?
This is one of the questions I get asked most.
"Is Squarespace bad for SEO?"
No.
That's an old misconception that really needs to go away.
Squarespace has built-in SEO tools and supports things like page titles, descriptions, alt text, clean indexing and Search Console integration.
WordPress can also be excellent for SEO, particularly if you want to use plugins and have more control over the technical side of your website.
But here's the thing:
The platform isn't going to do your SEO for you.
A badly written Squarespace website won't suddenly rank because it's built on Squarespace.
And a badly written WordPress website won't rank just because you've installed an SEO plugin.
Good SEO still comes down to things like:
Useful, relevant content
Good page structure
Descriptive page titles
Proper headings
Fast, usable pages
Good internal linking
Helpful image descriptions
Relevant keywords
Quality content that actually answers what people are searching for
So if someone tells you "you need WordPress for SEO", I'd be a little sceptical.
Squarespace vs WordPress: the quick comparison
Ease of use
Squarespace ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
WordPress ⭐⭐⭐
Design
Squarespace ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
WordPress ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Flexibility
Squarespace ⭐⭐⭐⭐
WordPress ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Easy to manage yourself
Squarespace ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
WordPress ⭐⭐⭐
Plugins & integrations
Squarespace ⭐⭐⭐⭐
WordPress ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
SEO potential
Squarespace ⭐⭐⭐⭐
WordPress ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Maintenance
Squarespace ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
WordPress ⭐⭐⭐
Great for small businesses
Squarespace ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
WordPress ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Complex/custom websites
Squarespace ⭐⭐⭐
WordPress ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Obviously, these are my own ratings rather than some official scientific measurement. 😂
But they're a pretty good reflection of how I see the two platforms when I'm choosing one for a client.
So which one would I choose?
For most small businesses, I'd choose Squarespace.
If you're a photographer, designer, consultant, tradesperson, salon, nursery, café, independent shop, professional service or pretty much any other business that needs a beautiful, professional website without a huge amount of technical maintenance, I think Squarespace is a really good fit.
You get the flexibility to create something that feels completely bespoke, without having to manage a complicated website behind the scenes.
And that's exactly why I use it at GoGoose.
I can focus on the things that actually matter:
How it looks.
How it feels.
How easy it is to use.
How clearly it communicates what you do.
And whether it actually helps your business grow.
When would I recommend WordPress instead?
There are definitely situations where I'd say go with WordPress.
For example, if you need:
Very complex functionality
A large content-heavy website
Highly customised features
Complex integrations
A large ecommerce operation
Something that needs extensive development behind the scenes
WordPress can give you the flexibility you need.
And if you already have a really good WordPress website that's working brilliantly for your business, I wouldn't tell you to rip it out and start again just because I prefer Squarespace.
That would be ridiculous.
The right platform is the one that works for your business.
My verdict
If you're a small business owner and you're starting from scratch, I'd put Squarespace at the top of your list.
It's flexible enough to create something genuinely bespoke, but simple enough that you're not taking on a second job just to keep your website running.
And perhaps most importantly, you can actually enjoy using it.
Your website should be something that helps your business, not something you spend your evenings worrying about.
So yes, I'm biased.
But there's a reason I chose Squarespace as the platform I build my clients' websites on.
It's a really good fit for the businesses I work with.
And if you're still not sure which platform is right for you, that's exactly the sort of thing I'm happy to talk through before you spend any money.
No hard sell. Just an honest chat about what you actually need.