How much does Squarespace cost?
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Squarespace has grown to become a noteworthy contender in eCommerce platform services, operating under the name Squarespace Commerce. Previously, Squarespace was merely a SaaS-based content management system (CMS) and was offering blogging platforms, user-friendly website, and hosting services. Now, as part of Squarespace’s Commerce offerings, users can launch a store with ease and avail a host of striking templates too.
Anthony Casalena is the founder of Squarespace that was launched during the year 2004. Also, over the years, Squarespace has been adding updates. However, in July 2012, the biggest update was introduced by way of Squarespace 6. Well, with the addition of responsive designs and portfolio template, developers have greater control.
In the role of a content management system, Squarespace offers a range of features and combinations. Social media sites - such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook - are integrate-able with Squarespace. Even though not as customizable as Wordpress, but Squarespace has all the functionalities. Also, Squarespace boasts of more built-in tools as compared to Wordpress. Nonetheless, Wordpress offers the benefit of extensions, while Squarespace does not have any apps or plug-ins.
Moreover, as an eCommerce platform, Squarespace focuses on the vital elements of eCommerce.
Also, Squarespace serves small and mid-sized businesses while offering varied products. Another good use-case for Squarespace can be portfolio websites for creatives. Moreover, regular personal and business sites can integrate with eCommerce resources (previously, you had to pay for the Squarespace Commerce plans for such benefits).
For the Business Squarespace sites, you have to pay a transaction fee. However, if you upgrade to a basic online store, these costs are avoidable.
With respect to features, Squarespace is lightweight than Bigcommerce or Shopify. All the same, if looking to sell online, Squarespace offers all the important functions. These include customizable emails, packing slips, basic coupons, and MailChimp integration.
In fact, over the years, Squarespace Commerce has improved, offering abandoned cart recovery, SSL security, free domains, and real-time carrier shipping. Only the primary feature that Squarespace lacks is an app store.
In all, the Squarespace interface is suitable for small and midsized stores for having a striking website sans extra development. Further, the prices are economical, with the inclusion of the essentials.
How Much Does Squarespace Cost (regular vs e-commerce)?
Squarespace has introduced four plans: two each for general websites and eCommerce. The higher you pay, the more enhanced features are on offer.
For each plan, you have term options and can pay on a monthly or annual basis. However, opt for the annual plans for higher savings. Yes, they are cheaper; and also, you can avail a free domain name for a year. By choosing the right annual plan, you can save up to more than 50%.
Also, earlier, you could receive payments only via Squarespace Commerce. Nowadays, all Squarespace plans have an eCommerce functionality.
Through the Business Plan, you can sell online too. Also, you can simply embed a Paypal option into the Personal account. Thus, you do not require further eCommerce support. However, note that the Business plan may have has a lower monthly fee, but you have to pay a transaction fee.
The Personal Plan ($12/month) offers a website containing 20 pages, in addition to a range of products. Also, you can avail a tool to accept donations. Though this plan has no eCommerce tools anymore, an SSL is provided, thus you can add a Paypal button.
To sell online, simply upgrade to the Business Plan ($18/month). This plan suits businesses who want to sell a single product and need eCommerce functionality. Other benefits of the business plan are Google Adwords credit, Google email accounts, and promotional pop-ups. Moreover, you can sell unlimited products and have a website with unlimited pages.
Now, this is a good option for companies who want to enter the eCommerce world. Only you need your Squarespace website to test the products that will record good sales. Also, you may have to bear the transaction fee, but your monthly expenses remain constant at least.
Now, for the regular Squarespace Commerce plans, you have the advantage of improved functionality and that too, without transaction fees.
Squarespace’s Basic Plan ($26/month) for fully-operational online stores comes with several management tools - such as customer accounts, integrated accounting, and mobile-optimized checkouts. More so, you can avail all the features of the Business plan without transaction fees. The checkout is in your domain as well.
With the Advanced plan ($40/month), you can increase your sales. The features - including flexible discounts, gift cards, and cart recovery – are sure to attract customers to your store. Besides, the plan has all the features of the previous plans, in addition to the checkout in your domain.
Additional Squarespace Costs
Squarespace has fixed monthly costs and no hidden fees. Also, for Squarespace’s different plans, taxes are applicable. However, you have the option of paying on a monthly or annual basis. Besides, with Squarespace’s annual plans, you can enjoy up to 30% savings.
With the Personal Plan that is priced at $12 per month, you can save up to $48 annually. The Business plan offers savings to the tune of $96 annually. Similar to the Personal plan, with the Basic Commerce plan, you can enjoy savings of $48 annually. And the Advanced Commerce plan helps to save $72 annually.
Further, you can avail discounts for long-term contracts. Moreover, with your annual purchase, you can enjoy the benefit of one-year free services for any new domain registration.
Squarespace, also, offers cloud hosting services with their plans, so your website is accessible at all times. Thus, you do not need another web host. Also, you can pay extra to avail other services such as Email Marketing, Domain Name, and e-commerce.
Comparison with Wix, Webflow, Weebly
Wix Vs Squarespace
The main difference between Wix and Squarespace is the Editor. With Squarespace, you cannot drag elements anywhere on the page because of structured design. On the contrary, Wix allows you to drag elements anywhere on the page.
Besides, Squarespace has a vast collection of elements or Content Blocks and nothing is half-baked. Also, Squarespace has a focal point to crop around and is handy. On the other hand, Wix offers a multitude of options, but they can get confusing; also, some elements are half-baked.
In terms of flexibility, Wix is far more flexible than Squarespace.
Where pricing is concerned, Squarespace offers transparent pricing while Wix is not as transparent
Under themes, Squarespace offers 70+ themes that are well-defined. On the contrary, Wix has 50+ themes; also, they offer more flexibility.
For blogging, Squarespace has the edge because they have more features than Wix.
In all, both Wix and Squarespace have good eCommerce. However, Squarespace is more intuitive and fully-featured than Wix.
Webflow vs Squarespace
Both Webflow and Squarespace are professional website builders. However, Webflow is more complicated than Squarespace. Thus, Webflow is recommended for the web design experts; and Squarespace; for the amateurs.
Designed for professional web designers, Webflow boasts of more comprehensive features and powerful customization tools for launching websites. And Squarespace is more suited for non-experienced website designers, with a flexible, practical and intuitive feature set.
With regard to design, both Webflow and Squarespace have their pros and cons. Nonetheless, Webflow’s template gallery and design customization tools score higher over Squarespace.
In terms of customer support, the knowledge base of Squarespace is more extensive as compared to Webflow. Also, Squarespace has live chat options while Webflow does not.
For pricing policy, you can build free websites using Webflow while Squarespace does not offer any such option. You can avail Squarespace’s different plans for standard and eCommerce websites, having varied features, as per your choice.
Overall, Squarespace does not match up to Webflow in terms of design customization tools, features, and functionality. However, both offer quality and professional services. You can test both systems and opt for the one that suits your needs the best.
Weebly vs Squarespace
The main difference between Weebly and Squarespace is that the former rates higher than the latter in terms of the easy-to-use features. All the same, Weebly is adjudged to be more intuitive than Squarespace that has a minimalistic design and makes it harder for beginners to learn the basics.
Additionally, for SEO, Weebly seems to be a better choice, with a free plan – Squarespace has no such option. Also, Squarespace has some missing SEO features, thus Weebly is the obvious winner here.
For themes, Weebly has around 40 designer templates; and Squarespace, around 90.
In terms of support, Squarespace provides better service than Weebly.
In terms of design and flexibility, they are rated equal. They have responsive templates that fit all screen sizes. Also, for their eCommerce features, you can call it a draw between the two. With Weebly, setting up a store is easier while Squarespace boasts of having customer logins.
For blogging, Squarespace is the winner over Weebly. The former’s features are cooler than the latter so.
In terms of free support, both platforms offer the service. Nonetheless, if you have to choose a winner, then Squarespace wins for offering more options to learn the various tools. Even so, Weebly’s editor is easier to manage, thus you do need much help.
If apps are important to you, go for Weebly. Squarespace does not have an app store as of now.
In terms of pricing, Weebly is the better option because of their free plan with ads. Also, their plans are cheaper than Squarespace. You can save more with Weebly by availing their two-year plan subscription too.
To sum it all up, both Weebly and Squarespace come with their strengths and weaknesses. Now, for beginners, Weebly serves as a good option; and for designing an aesthetic site, choose Squarespace.
Additionally, if you love blogging, Squarespace should be your choice. And for an affordable option, Weebly wins.
Is Squarespace better than Wix?
When comparing Wix to Squarespace, keep in mind that Wix provides a greater degree of control where you can devise your theme from scratch. As an alternative, Squarespace offers a curated degree of control with smartly-designed defaults. Though, Squarespace is better than Wix. However, you will be happy with both website builders.
Are Squarespace templates free?
Yes, you can avail Squarespace free templates. However, they cater to beginners, who are looking for basic websites. But, if you are looking for robust and specialized features, the premium templates are a viable choice.
Keep in mind that with free templates, you have to figure out how to use the tools on your own. Fortunately, Squarespace is easy to maneuver, so you only need to invest extra time to get acquainted with the system.
With premium templates, you get help all the way via video tutorials and instructions.
Also, with free templates, you only have to plug in to get started. On the other hand, with premium templates, a lot if DIY is involved that helps to become familiar with the platform.
In a nutshell, you must decide whether to opt for the premium of free templates depending on your business needs. Surely, you get so much more with premium templates, but at a price.
FAQ:
Is Squarespace free?
Squarespace provides no free plans. However, you can avail a 14-day free trial to check out the different features and whether they are suited to your needs or not. Also, you do not need to enter your card details to avail the trial run.
How do you pay for Squarespace?
You can pay via card for any of Squarespace’s plans. After expiry of the 14-day trial period, you can enter your card details to make payment and activate the plan of your choice. Moreover, Squarespace accepts four currencies: British Pound Sterling, US Dollar, Australian Dollar, and Euro.
What happens if my Squarespace trial expired?
If you have availed the 14-day free trial, you’ll get a mail a day before the expiry date. The following are your options:
You can upgrade to paid service and continue using your site’s full version. Also, before the trial period expiry, you can upgrade. More so, for trial sites that have Premium features, you can choose the Website Business plan for uninterrupted services.
The trial period is extendable by seven days for users who need more time to decide on their plans.
You can also allow the site to expire. However, your site will not be public and all content gets marked for permanent deletion if you do so. Moreover, after expiry, you can upgrade and continue to use the site, but that depends on the time-lapse after expiry.
How do I cancel my free trial on Squarespace?
Canceling your trial site is easy. All you have to do is access your Account Dashboard and select the trial that is to be canceled. Go to the Home Menu and click Settings, follow by clicking on Billings and Account. Now, click Billings and, then, select Cancel Trail. Subsequently, you need to furnish the reason for canceling from the drop-down menu; or else, you can click on Skip. The next step is to click Cancel Trial. You will yet be logged in and can view the message "Your website subscription has expired" at the bottom. Also, on visiting your site, users will see the message “Website Expired”.
Moreover, you can delete your trial site and remove the same from your account. Only you need to click on ‘Delete Site’ by going to the Dashboard and selecting the trial to be canceled. In the Home Menu, you must select ‘Settings’ and follow by clicking on ‘Billing and Account’. Here, click on the ‘Delete Site’ option. Also, the system will prompt you with a final warning. Go ahead and click on ‘Delete Site’. The ‘Site Deleted’ message appears on the screen. Visitors on your site will see this message as well.
After canceling or deleting an account, your content is queued for permanent deletion. Within 30 days or so, your content is removed from the system.
Conclusion
Squarespace is synonymous with quality. As compared to other website builders, Squarespace offers a host of remarkable features, tools, and templates. Nevertheless, Squarespace is not for you if looking to develop a free site. Only if you are creative and want to develop a professional site, Squarespace is your best bet.