Squarespace is one of the more popular solutions on the market at the moment for individuals who wants to create a website, whether you are looking to create a business website or something for personal use. It is a solution that contains everything that you need in one package to build a website, from analytics to hosting. However, just because it is one of the better-known website building platforms on the Internet does not mean that it is the best option to go for. More and more people are looking for Squarespace alternatives today because they recognise that there are better packages on the market that will enable them to do more at a lower cost. In this blog post, we will take a look at one of the better options for individuals who are looking for an alternative to Squarespace, as well as taking a look at some of the drawbacks of Squarespace in further detail.
Why are people looking for alternatives to Squarespace?
Before we can start taking a look at Squarespace competitors, it is important to take a look at the different reasons why people have started looking for alternatives to this e-commerce platform.
Poor-quality website editor
One of the main reasons why a lot of people do not like working with Squarespace is because they are not a fan of the website editor. A lot of comments on the web state that working with the editor is a rather dull experience. When you consider that this is the main tool that you will be using to build and edit your website, the poor usability of the website editor is a big concern for a lot of people and this reason alone is why many individuals have started looking for something that is more user-friendly. The convoluted interface looks grey and drab and it can take a lot of getting used to.
It costs a lot & it’s DIY!
In addition to this, there is no denying that the price of Squarespace is one of the main factors that is holding a lot of people back from using this platform. There are two main e-commerce plans, which come in at £20 and £30 for e-stores. If you do a Squarespace comparison with other builders, you will see that this is expensive. For a lot of people starting out, this does not seem like a lot of money, but when you add it up over the course of the year, you quickly see how it becomes a big figure. And when you take into account the fact that there are a lot of cheaper yet effective platforms out there, you can see why the price would be a major sticking point for a lot of people. After all, you’re only paying for the builder – you don’t even have the site yet, so it is a lot of money to spend!
Page speed and SEO problems
Aside from the points that have already been mentioned, page speed is another one of the major drawbacks associated with Squarespace. Those who are in the know regarding search engine optimisation and the different factors that Google deems important will know that page load speed is one of the most critical ranking factors today. There have been many surveys and research reports posted online that show that you can lose a significant number of website viewers for every second longer that your website takes to load. This is obviously a concern for all website owners because no matter what industry you operate in, one of the main goals is always to get as much visibility as possible on Google. The fact that Squarespace templates have a low ranking on the page speed tool that has been developed by Google is a major worry. It indicates that your website could be deemed as having a poor user experience, especially on mobile phones, and this could harm your search engine ranking. Over the past year, Google has announced that it is factoring mobile website experience and optimisation above desktop experience.
In fact, a lot of people will agree that there is an overall lack of advanced marketing tools when it comes to Squarespace. At the end of the day, people are not going to show up on your website simply because you have published it. They need to know about it and this is where having an effective digital marketing campaign comes into place. A good website builder should help you to achieve this by giving you advance marketing tools that can set your website out apart from the crowd. Squarespace does not do this, though. Yes, they have all of the basic features that you would expect, for example, the share buttons. However, there are not any advanced tools that will help you to rank more effectively than the competition.
No third-party plugins
In addition to this, Squarespace does not offer any support for extensions, plugins, or third-party applications. This means that any features that you wish to use for your website build must be rolled out by Squarespace. This essentially means that you’re going to have less control over the functionality of your website when compared with using other platforms, and that you are only going to be restricted to what Squarespace has to offer. Quite frankly, there are just some things that you cannot do with Squarespace, which is very disappointing when you consider the fact that it is deemed a premium product. Integrations with the platform are unlimited and third-party plugins are simply not allowed.
Long editing process
When you consider the fact that the main reason for using website builders like this is because of the convenience and speed that they provide when it comes to creating a website, it is also very disappointing to see that Squarespace does not have a preview feature. This means that whenever you make an edit it will become visible to the public straight away. This is worrying for a number of different reasons.
Firstly, you have to consider the fact that it is going to take a lot longer for you to do updates and carry out edits on your website. Time is of the essence in the current day and age and so this is something that business owners do not need. You also need to consider the fact that this makes it exceptionally difficult to test things before they go live. You may want to see how a certain element of your website would look in a number of different ways. However, as there is no preview mode, it means that whenever you make a change, this is going to go live. Therefore, if someone is browsing your website at this time, it can create confusion and it may cause them to exit your site and not return again due to poor performance. There is then also the matter that you could make a mistake and then have an error published on your website until you are able to fix it. All of this is eliminated by choosing a website builder that enables you to preview your work while you edit rather than forcing you to make everything live straight away.
Security and backup concerns
In today’s day and age whereby data breaches are extremely common, it is also worrying that there are not any features available in terms of backing up your content or restoring your content. Instead, the website builder recommends that you paste all of your contents into a Google document so that you do not lose them. This sort of amateur advice is incredibly surprising when you consider how big Squarespace is today. You also cannot expect any assistance over the telephone if you’re having problems with your website. This means that you have no method of receiving immediate support if there is an issue that you need to troubleshoot. There is a chat mechanism, and it is a pretty good one, but as you know, speaking to someone via a chatbot is not always as effective as getting the assistance you require over the telephone.
Other drawbacks
There are lots of other small drawbacks that are associated with Squarespace that may not matter so much for your website but can be a concern for specific types of website. For example, if you have a large website and you require a deeper menu hierarchy, you will not be able to use Squarespace because it only has one sub-navigation. There are a number of other features and elements that disappoint as well. The depth of navigation is a major drawback with Squarespace and a lot of people are unimpressed with the newsletter tool. This is because it only enables you to connect to an existing MailChimp account.
Finding the best Squarespace alternative
As you can see, there are a lot of drawbacks when it comes to Squarespace. What seems like an affordable and easy way to build a website can soon become confusing and complex because there are a lot of restrictions and there are a number of features that aren’t as intuitive and effective as they should be. If you take a look on the Internet, you’ll see that there are a lot of Squarespace competitors and different website builders out there. One of these is Wix, if you are considering using Wix, I recommend you read our blog “Looking for a Wix Alternatives“. You will also see that there is a recurring theme and that these websites are not as quick and easy to use as they are marketed. You will need to spend a lot of time working on your website and updating it, and this means that you are being taken away from your core business activities and what makes you profit. The best thing to do is to look for a company like Currant Web whereby you can have a website created for you so that you don’t have to do anything. Instead, all you need to do is pay a small monthly fee and you can sit back and enjoy your optimised and effective website.
Introducing CurrantWeb
With a solution like this, you will get all of the amazing features that you would get with a website builder, for example, you will benefit from a website that is fully responsive so that it looks and works effectively on smartphones and you will get all of the extra services that you need, for example, web hosting and domain name registration. The difference is that you will not have to use a website builder yourself and get to grips with all of the different features that come with it. You also won’t be restricted in terms of the different features that you can make the most of and you won’t have to spend any of your precious time on creating and maintaining a website. CurrantWeb are a leading cheap website design company.
You also have the peace of mind that you know that there is somebody you can contact to discuss your website via telephone so that any issues can be resolved immediately. As mentioned, telephone support is not something that is offered by Squarespace, nor is it offered by a lot of the different website building solutions that are out there at the moment.
Moreover, at CurrantWeb, unlike Squarespace, we recognise that everyone has different needs in terms of the website that they need to be created and that everyone has different budgets. This is why we have created for different website packages for people to make the most of. Our lowest pay monthly website package comes in at £15 per month. This is lower than Squarespace, and you will actually have your website built when you choose our service. It is a no-brainer. Our packages are as follows: “Get Started,” “Light,” “Ultimate,” and “E-commerce package.” You can view the features of each package so that you can understand what is included and determine which solution will be right for your needs and budget. You can easily switch to a different package in the future if you would prefer.
For more information, please do not hesitate to give us a call on 02476 55 22 22.