8 Reasons I Recommend Squarespace for Small Businesses
Last Updated: July 29, 2024
Planning a website build can be overwhelming, amiright? I remember when I decided to take on my first Squarespace website for my previous small business.
I pulled up Google and started a deep dive comparison on all the service-based web builders. At the time Wix, Squarespace and WordPress were the top contenders and now we have Webflow, Wix Editor X, Showit and more.
What’s the right answer? Well, I’m biased as I now exclusively design in Squarespace, so you know what this blog post is about. However, I chose Squarespace over Wix because the reputation was better and I liked that I could change my template. I like flexibility and mixing things up so I wanted that versatility. I’m not going to pretend WordPress isn’t great, it is one of the best blogging platforms there is and you can build whatever you truly want - if you know what you’re doing or want to hire a developer…all the time.
As someone who likes to do things myself and empowers others to do the same, Squarespace is a no-brainer.
Without further adieu, here are the top reasons I recommend and design websites in Squarespace:
It’s User-friendly
Squarespace was built to function as a DIY platform. With its easy drag-and-drop functionality and point-and-click interface, once you get over the initial learning curve, it is easy to maintain. In addition, as part of my website design packages, I offer a video walkthrough of your website to ensure that you’re comfortable moving forward and able to regularly update photos, events or content.
You might be wondering why you should hire me after I just praised how easy it is to make changes; solid question.
I will touch on this again, but if you just drag and drop in your photos and content, you will have a pretty website, but a pretty basic website that looks like a bunch of other businesses.
Ideally, you want a website with a bit more custom styling using CSS and custom code to make it unique, as well as a thought-through strategy behind your words, images, and customer journey through your site. A website should be a solid marketing tool, not just pretty photos and some words.
This is something a designer can help you achieve by increasing a quality outcome and without sacrificing your time.
Built - in SEO
Search engine optimization, or your rank on Google, is what we're talking about here. Squarespace includes essential built-in features so you can cover the basics with ease. Everything from automatic image tagging, clean HTML markup (your H1, H2, H3 headers), SSL certificates (see below), AMP pages for blogs and an auto-generated sitemap are a few mentions.
When your site is complete I submit your website’s sitemap & connect Google Search Console & Google Analytics so you can monitor your traffic and have additional results to analyze. Google will also send emails if they detect any errors with your pages.
In addition, there are SEO essentials I always include to optimize your site which you can read in my FAQ’s.
After all, traffic = leads = sales.
Take your Squarespace SEO to the next level with SEOSpace
Mobile Responsive
Google is now focusing more on mobile-first indexing, meaning the bots are crawling your site for information using your mobile view before desktop. You can read more here.
What does this mean for you?
These days, websites need to perform across any device and screen size. Squarespace’s built-in responsive designs ensure visitors can read, navigate, and engage with content, whether they’re accessing the website on a computer, tablet, or mobile device.
With the newest release of Fluid Engine, the ultimate drag-and-drop functionality you’re now able to design your mobile layout separately from desktop. It can take a bit longer to design this way, but ultimately there’s more control at the end to layer images, swap the order of text and images or even hide images you don’t want to shown on mobile without the use of custom code.
The new Squarespace Fluid Engine interface - their answer to drag and drop with ease
Security
Squarespace automatically secures your eligible domain and website with an SSL Certificate. This is shown by the lock icon in the search bar next to your URL. With some providers, this is an additional plug-in and requires monthly updates to ensure your website is protected from hackers. There is no security concern with Squarespace, as they handle this and ensure that no one can steal the data of yourself or your customer.
In addition, having a secure website improves your ranking on Google and is essential for SEO best practices.
Personally, if a site isn’t secure I won’t visit and definitely wouldn’t submit payment information. These days, data theft is all too common and not a risk many are willing to take.
Also, Squarespace and its payment providers, Paypal and Stripe, are PCI compliant, a security standard.
Inclusive All-in-one Platform
When you purchase your desired Squarespace plan you get hosting, an optional domain, a security certificate (SSL), free GSuite for one year (on the business plan), email campaigns, Acuity scheduling & appointment integrations, analytics, blogging capability, Member Areas, Digital Products and Courses and e-commerce options.
Add on 24/7 customer support and training and you’ve got all the perks, none of the worry.
What does all this mean?
It means tech issues and widget updates are a thing of the past. Squarespace does perform updates to their platform, so if you have added CSS and Javascript on your own, it may have to be updated, but it is rare. Otherwise, keeping everything in-house prevents a host of technical issues commonly found elsewhere. That saves time and money in the long run.
Integrations
There are a tonne of integrations you can add to Squarespace that make connecting to additional platforms and running your business easy.
Anything from Instagram, Mailchimp, Acuity, Google Drive, OpenTable, Zapier, Video, Soundcloud, Shopify Buy, Stripe, Paypal, UPS and the list goes on. These are all secure so no worry about widgets needing updating.
Analytics
I touched briefly on connecting your sitemap to Google Analytics for the most advanced metrics. Included with Squarespace, you get access to information on traffic sources, visits by device style, popular content, geography, form conversions and more.
Reviewing your analytics provides important insight into your visitors and allows you to make tweaks to optimize their experience and see where improvements to your site may be needed.
Here’s an example of my Squarespace dashboard so you can see the backend metric options. From here, showing the traffic, you can drill into additional SEO metrics along the left-hand side.
It’s (relatively) Affordable
Sometimes it’s the dollar bills that do the talking. Squarespace is a great value with a starting price for a personal plan at only $21 USD/month on an annual plan. I recommend the Business plan or higher, valued at $32USD, for advanced analytics, customization and marketing features. Check out all the details here.
If you’re comparing bare bones to WordPress it may sound expensive. However, you want to revisit all the included features and no longer need a skilled developer, monthly maintenance and many required widgets and plugins as many of these features are included with Squarespace.
Think of Squarespace like Apple and WordPress like a PC in terms of security and add-ons.
As a Squarespace Circle member, my design clients get 20% off the first year of annual plan!
Or, use code BIRCH10 for 10% off!
The Wrap
I could go on, but I won’t. Choosing a web hosting platform is a personal choice. Each has its perks and comes down to what you need. Squarespace is not for everyone. If you are primarily an E-Commerce business, I would recommend Shopify and if you want to primarily blog and need an extremely customizable and robust blogging platform, WordPress may be for you.
I’m here to help you build the website your business needs and can guide you through the decision of whether it is the right platform for you and the best way of moving forward. My client’s interest is always my first priority and if Squarespace isn’t what you need to succeed, I’ll be the first to tell you.
All in all, I’m #teamsquarespace for the majority of small businesses as I’m all about making life easier.
Still not sure if Squarespace is right for you?
Feel free to schedule a call or check out my design packages.
