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Squarespace

Website Builders & CMS

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★★★★☆ 4.4 / 5 on G2 · 4.6 on Capterra (1,000+ G2 reviews)
4.4 / 5
G2 rating, 1,000+ reviews [source]
2003
Founded [source]
$16
Paid from / mo [source]
Design
Beautiful templates [source]

Quick facts

CategoryDesign focused website builder
VendorSquarespace
Founded2003
Starts atFrom ~$16/mo
Best forBeautiful design
DeploymentCloud (hosted)
Free planNo; trial available
IntegrationsExtensions, commerce
G2 rating4.4 / 5
Capterra rating4.6 / 5

What is Squarespace?

Squarespace is a website builder known for beautiful, designer templates and a polished all in one platform, suited to creatives, small businesses and anyone wanting a stylish, professional site with ease. Founded in 2003, it provides elegantly designed templates and a refined, structured editor, with hosting included, plus e commerce, blogging, scheduling, email marketing and domains, all in one polished platform, so users create stylish, professional looking websites without code. Especially popular with creatives, portfolios, small businesses and brands that care about design, Squarespace emphasises aesthetics and a cohesive experience. For beautiful design, Squarespace is a leading choice.

Squarespace's distinction is beautiful, designer quality templates and a polished all in one experience. Its templates and design are notably elegant and cohesive, and the platform integrates hosting, commerce, scheduling and marketing in one refined package, so design conscious users get a stylish, professional site easily, which more utilitarian builders do not match for aesthetics and polish. That design quality and polish set it apart.

Squarespace at a glanceSquarespace is a website builder known for beautiful, designer templates [Squarespace]. It holds a 4.4 out of 5 rating across more than 1,000 reviews on G2 and 4.6 on Capterra, a leading choice for beautiful design.

Who Squarespace is best for

Squarespace is best for creatives, portfolios, small businesses and brands that want a stylish, professional, designer quality website easily, with a polished all in one platform including commerce, scheduling and marketing. It suits beautiful design. It is a weaker fit for those wanting a flexible CMS they own, where WordPress fits, the most flexible drag and drop, where Wix fits, a dedicated store at scale, where Shopify fits, or designer level control and clean code, where Webflow fits.

Key features

The core strengths are beautiful, designer templates, a refined, structured editor, hosting included, e commerce, blogging, scheduling (Acuity), email marketing, domains, and a cohesive all in one platform, with AI assistance. Squarespace offers stylish, polished all in one building. Its design quality, polish and all in one integration are its defining advantages.

Squarespace pricing

Squarespace is subscription based (no free plan beyond a trial), from around 16 US dollars a month (billed annually), rising through tiers for commerce, more features and lower transaction fees, with hosting and a free domain (first year) included. So it is an all in one subscription. Costs scale with plan and commerce. Confirm details on the Squarespace pricing page.

Integrations and ecosystem

Squarespace offers extensions, commerce integrations, built in scheduling (Acuity), email marketing and domains, within its all in one platform. Its all in one, polished ecosystem, which bundles the tools a design conscious site or small business needs, supports its cohesive positioning, though it is less open than WordPress's plugin ecosystem.

Squarespace and design

Beautiful, designer quality templates and a polished all in one experience is the signature strength: Squarespace's templates and design are elegant and cohesive, and it integrates hosting, commerce, scheduling and marketing in one refined package, so design conscious users get a stylish, professional site easily, which utilitarian builders do not match. For beautiful design, this is the main reason to choose Squarespace.

Ease of use and support

Squarespace is well rated for its beautiful design, templates, polish and all in one convenience, popular with creatives, with good support, though reviewers note it is more structured (less freeform) than Wix and less flexible than a CMS. Its G2 reviews praise design and polish, with less freeform flexibility the main consideration.

Is Squarespace worth it?

For creatives, portfolios, small businesses and brands that want a stylish, professional, designer quality site easily, Squarespace is an excellent choice. The main caution is less freeform flexibility and ownership than Wix or a CMS, so those wanting a flexible CMS may prefer WordPress, maximum drag and drop Wix, a store Shopify, and designer control Webflow, but for beautiful design Squarespace leads.

Pricing

Personal / Core

$16
per month
  • Beautiful templates
  • Hosting and domain
  • Stylish sites

Business

$23
per month
  • More features
  • Commerce
  • Lower fees

Commerce

$28+
per month
  • Full e-commerce
  • No transaction fees
  • Stores

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Beautiful, designer templates
  • Polished, cohesive platform
  • All in one (commerce, scheduling, marketing)
  • Easy for design conscious users
  • Good support

Cons

  • More structured (less freeform than Wix)
  • Less flexible than a CMS
  • No free plan (trial only)
  • Less open ecosystem than WordPress

Squarespace alternatives

These website builders & cms tools come up most often against Squarespace.

Squarespace FAQ

What is Squarespace used for?
Squarespace is used to build stylish, professional websites easily: choosing beautiful designer templates and editing in a refined platform, with hosting, e commerce, blogging, scheduling and email marketing included, popular with creatives, portfolios, small businesses and design conscious brands.
How much does Squarespace cost?
Squarespace is subscription based (trial, no permanent free plan), from around 16 US dollars a month (billed annually), rising for commerce and features, with hosting and a free first year domain included. See the Squarespace pricing page.
Squarespace vs Wix, which is better?
Squarespace emphasises beautiful, designer templates and a polished, structured platform, while Wix offers more freeform drag and drop flexibility. Squarespace suits design conscious users wanting elegance; Wix suits those wanting maximum editing flexibility.
Is Squarespace good for portfolios?
Yes. Squarespace is especially popular for portfolios and creative sites thanks to its beautiful, designer quality templates and polished presentation, making it easy to showcase work professionally without design or coding skills.
Does Squarespace have e-commerce?
Yes. Squarespace includes e commerce on its commerce plans, with products, payments and store features, plus built in scheduling (Acuity) and email marketing, though for large dedicated online stores Shopify offers more depth.
Is Squarespace free?
Squarespace does not offer a permanent free plan, only a free trial, with paid plans from around 16 US dollars a month (billed annually) that include hosting and a free first year domain. For free options, consider WordPress.com's free tier or Wix's free plan.

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