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Squarespace Review 2024 Does It Live Up to the Hype?

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This article has been written and researched by our expert tooltesters through a precise methodology. Learn more about our methodology

Robert Brandl

Robert Brandl

Author

Inka Wibowo

Inka Wibowo

Researcher

Tooltester is supported by readers like yourself. We may earn an affiliate commission when you purchase through our links, which enables us to offer our research for free.

You can say what you want, but Squarespace’s homepage is certainly nice to look at. Among all the website builders we’ve tested, hardly any other company understands how to stage its product with such perfection.

And endorsements from celebrities like Zendaya, Idris Elba and Keanu Reeves certainly don’t hurt this image. But does Squarespace’s own website design indicate what’s possible for your website?

Let’s find out if the website builder follows suit.

Although it initially gained popularity as ‘a website builder for creatives’, Squarespace has steadily become a solid all-rounder in the web platform space. With the release of its new 7.1 version, Squarespace introduced some useful additions to the editor such as pre-built page sections, and more versatile templates.

This comes after it launched its new Fluid Engine editing system, which converted its classic editor into a more flexible drag-and-drop editor (similar to what you’d find with Wix).

Other features, such as ecommerce, member areas, appointment booking, restaurant reservations (thanks to its recent acquisition of Tock), social media templates, and an email marketing tool, also help Squarespace serve an even wider range of users.

These are just a handful of the features on offer - so let’s check out Squarespace’s pros and cons in full.

Squarespace Review Summary

Squarespace’s blogging feature is more powerful and versatile than most competitors, and it also scores well for support. The builder offers 140+ flexible templates that fully adapt to mobile devices. The Fluid Engine editor lets you drag and drop elements where you want on a page, while the new feature, Squarespace Blueprint, lets you build custom templates from scratch.

The builder has been significantly improved in recent updates, but getting used to the platform can take a while due to a few usability issues. Pricing starts at $16/month.

Squarespace positions itself as THE website builder for blogs, portfolio sites, and online stores. This review will give you an overview of the main aspects of the latest version.

Videos

  • Video Review
  • User Review
  • Wix vs Squarespace
  • Tutorial
  • In 90 Secs
Video Review video

Try Squarespace 14 days for free

Screenshots

Squarespace Pricing

$16

Personal

A good solution if you don't need an online store. All plans include up to 1000 pages.

$23

Business

Adds marketing features like Pop-Ups and the Announcement Bar. Online store with a transaction fee of 3%

$27

Online Store (Basic)

Sell online without transaction fees.

$49

Online Store (Advanced)

Everything included: Use advanced ecommerce features

Monthly prices based on 1-year contracts; Domain name registration included for free the first year.

Only new domain names can be registered through Squarespace. Existing ones need to be pointed to your Squarespace website from a different registrar.

Save 10% using our exclusive voucher code TOOLTESTER10. Find more details on how to redeem it here.

Try our Smart Finder to discover the most suitable plan for your project:

squarespace pricing quiz

> In 2022, Squarespace went through several price hikes. Find a detailed and up-to-date analysis of Squarespace’s pricing plans here.

Pros & Cons of Squarespace

  • Pros
  • Cons

Pros

  • Templates and Designs

    Squarespace offers more than 140 sophisticated themes that are optimized for tablets and phones. They seem to strive for perfection of every little detail in their designs; fonts, sizes, images: everything just fits. Their templates are also highly customizable through the Design menu.

    Do keep in mind that the templates often rely heavily on the images used. If you replace the ones they provide, your website’s look will be completely different.

  • Blogging feature

    If a blog is going to be one of your central website elements, Squarespace is a great choice. They have a feature-rich commenting feature, multi-author functionality, the ability to schedule posts, AMP support, you name it. Nice touch: You can even host your own podcast on Squarespace!

  • Support

    Thanks to live chat, you can get an answer almost instantly. Our experiences with their support team were overall very positive when we did a support test over several weeks.

    Their support team even sometimes takes the time to record quick screencasts, showing you the exact steps to follow.

  • Mobile Apps

    Currently there are four different Squarespace apps. The most useful one, simply called Squarespace is available for iOS and Android. It allows you to edit almost all aspects of your website, including pages, blog and store.

  • Squarespace Blueprint

    Squarespace’s latest feature release is its customer template builder. You can build your own website template using Squarespace Blueprint, which provides a step-by-step guide to choosing your own fonts, design, layout, and color palette.

  • Generous page limits

    Unlike Wix, which has a 100-page limit, Squarespace in theory can support up to 1,000 pages. This means that it can support larger sites. However, they recommend 400 as the absolute maximum in order to keep your site running smoothly (which is still a decent amount). More info here.

Rating Details

Ease of use Info popup

While Squarespace is fairly easy to use (see our Squarespace tutorial), it’s still not the most intuitive tool. The user interface is minimalistic, which is nice, but its usability could be improved. For example, I had the feeling that the editor was slowing me down by prompting me to save changes all the time.

Compared to other site builders like Weebly it will probably take you a bit longer to fully understand everything. And, while the drag-and-drop interface means you can add pretty much any element, anywhere, it can feel overwhelming trying to get it to look exactly how you want.

Choice and flexibility of design (templates) Info popup

Templates are their greatest strength. There are close to 150 to choose from, and designs look both artistic and modern.

Unfortunately, with the 7.1 update it’s not possible anymore to switch from one template to a completely different one, however its layouts are now more flexible, meaning it’s fairly easy to change up the design if needed. This is a blessing and a curse—especially for someone like me who is guilty of changing their website template every six months.

All templates are fully responsive and some of them also have special features for mobile devices. Pros can control the HTML/CSS in the “Business” Plan (via the Developer Platform).

Advertisement-free Info popup

All plans are ad-free.

Languages Info popup

Best alternative: Hostinger Website Builder

The editor supports any language. There are 11 interface languages (EN, ES, FR, DE, IT, PT, JP, NL, SV, DA, and NO).

Translations can be enabled through an integration with Weglot. This allows you to add a language switcher to your site header, and display automatic or manual translations. It’s very easy to set up, but depending on how many words you need to translate, you may need a paid Weglot plan. There are also a few potential SEO issues (see our SEO section below).

Your own domain name (e.g. .com or .net) Info popup

Yearly and bi-yearly subscriptions include a domain name for 1 year, after that prices start at $20 annually (depending on the ending). Domain registrars like Namecheap offer much better deals. Existing domains can be also pointed to Squarespace websites. They offer email addresses via Google Workspace, which cost $6/month for each account. More information.

Depth of navigation Info popup

Only one level below the main navigation. You can drag and drop pages to embed under each other or set up additional navigation layers using ‘Folders’ (as they call it), which, frankly, is more complicated than it needs to be. Some templates feature a secondary navigation underneath the main navigation.

Widgets (small tools to add extra functionality) Info popup

There are 36 apps in the Squarespace Extensions marketplace. The ones currently available are mostly ecommerce and accounting-related. For users of the Business plan (and above) there are also other add-ons, which can be accessed through the web editor: pop-ups and an announcement bar, photo galleries, appointment scheduling, social media widgets, tools for restaurants and much more.

Mobile App Info popup

  • iOS
  • Android

Squarespace offers quite a simplistic app, but you can edit all your pages directly from your smartphone or tablet. It also lets you manage your inventory and view statistics. To use it, you’ll need Squarespace version 7.0 or higher.

E-Commerce Info popup

Included in Business and above (note that the Business plan comes with far fewer ecommerce features than the dedicated commerce plans). You can easily integrate a shopping cart into your website or blog.

It features customer logins and lets you sell not only physical products, but also digital downloads, subscriptions, services and classes. There are also integrations with Instagram, Amazon, Etsy and more. Read more in our detailed ecommerce review.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Info popup

Squarespace’s SEO options are solid, you can customize aspects like the title tags, meta-description and URLs (for any page). Adding alt text for images is possible but it can be a bit tedious. 301 redirects are also possible. More information.

Note: if you’re setting up a multilingual site, you can separate languages using subdomains, but not subfolders. This may not be optimal from an SEO perspective. However, the alternative (not using a subdomain) will simply display translations without using separate URLs for each language, which definitely has no SEO benefit.

Blog

Can be a real alternative to a WordPress blog as it has the usual blogging features (commenting, multi-authors) as well as geolocation tags and the option to schedule posts. If you already have a blog on WordPress, Blogger or even Shopify, you can also import it. A really special feature is podcast hosting, complete with RSS feed and iTunes syndication.

The only real drawback is that the Fluid Engine editing system isn’t available for blog posts, meaning you get less control over the layout and design of blog pages, which can be frustrating if you’ve spent ages on the rest of your website but can’t get your blog to match.

Here’s a more detailed review of the blogging tool.

Visitor statistics Info popup

The inbuilt visitor analytics tool is comprehensive, with key stats around visitors and sales. Advanced reports include purchase funnels, search keywords, and visitor activity logs. You can also check your stats with the Squarespace Mobile app. For more details, you can set up Google Analytics and connect to Google Search Console to discover search rankings and keyword-related stats.

Contact form

Fully customizable contact form builder with lots of field options.

Password protection & member areas Info popup

Squarespace’s Member Areas allows you to add premium, members-only content to your site, such as classes, courses and workshops as well as podcasts. It also integrates directly with Squarespace’s email marketing service. Member Areas starts at $9/month on the Starter Plan for one member’s area.

Newsletter tool Info popup

Squarespace Email Marketing offers a newsletter service that can be integrated with your website and store. You’ll also be able to connect Mailchimp via Squarespace Extensions.

Add HTML code Info popup

Enables other widgets and tools to be added. Using the Developer Platform (Business tier and above) you can also edit the source code of your template.

Storage space

Unlimited

No bandwidth and storage limit.

Backups & Restore Info popup

Squarespace does not provide a backup feature other than export of product and blog data. Disappointing as other site builders like Wix and Webnode offer pretty advanced backup solutions.

Support

  • FAQ
  • Chat
  • Email
  • Telephone

24/7 ticket system and live chat. The knowledge base is comprehensive. Personal support is also great and scored well in our extensive support tests (they were a bit slow to answer emails from time to time).

Fun Factor Info popup

Figuring out how the system works can take a while in the beginning but it’s well worth it.

Overall Rating

4.3

Although not quite as easy to use as other website builders, Squarespace is a good product for smaller websites, online stores and blogs that need to look good. Support is a big plus – both the knowledge base as well as personal support.

Squarespace Review: Conclusion

We’ll admit it — in the past, we always thought of Squarespace as being a little overrated. The rather complicated editing interface used to be a major sticking point. Fortunately, this has been improved in more recent versions.

Although still not perfect, the site builder now allows for real point and click interaction. This speeds up your website building efforts and lets you avoid unpleasant surprises.

Adding additional apps and features

There’s also been a shift towards providing a greater range of tools and add-ons, including Members Areas and Courses, online meetings (Acuity Scheduling), Email Campaigns (you can now send a campaign to 5,000 email addresses), and Tock restaurant reservation system. These, on top of existing features such as ecommerce and podcast support, demonstrate Squarespace’s goal to position itself beyond the realm of artistic portfolios as well as photography sites, towards being a complete, all-in-one business platform.

This is a trend that’s closely reflected in the real-life websites being created with Squarespace, which span a wide range of categories and purposes, but all manage to retain Squarespace’s signature bold aesthetic.

Squarespace is consistently releasing new features, detailed in its monthly “What’s New at Squarespace” column in the forum—most recently, Squarespace Blueprint and, in a move to keep up with the times, an AI feature that auto-fills text boxes based on a prompt.

The downside is the limited number of apps available in Squarespace Extensions is a little disappointing, especially if you want to integrate your existing tools that aren’t featured in the library. It’d be nice to see a larger library of integrative apps as well as the ability to autosave content while editing without having to publish it.

The Website Builder for Blogging

The blogging system is excellent, offering a lot more versatility than most other website builders except WordPress (which is much more complicated to set up than Squarespace). We also have to give Squarespace props for their content creation apps, such as the Video Studio and Unfold – these are a huge plus for anyone looking to integrate their site with social media.

However, sometimes it still feels a little too minimalistic, and can require a decent amount of trial and error until you are completely familiar with the editor. Some of the page elements are limited to an icon and don’t reveal their purpose immediately. Luckily, Squarespace provides many great tutorials that explain all the tools.

Pricing

Each yearly plan contains a domain name. Although the “Personal” isn’t exactly cheap at $16/month, it comes with up to 1000 pages and unlimited bandwidth. To add premium features, such as marketing banners and ecommerce, you’ll need the “Business” plan at $23/month. While these are the prices for annual contracts, you also have the possibility to pay month by month, with the Personal plan starting at $23 a month.

Final thoughts

Our tests have shown that Squarespace is a reliable website builder; however, its page speed needs improvement. Squarespace is not perfect, but we agree with their slogan: “Better websites for all.” You certainly can create a beautiful, SEO-optimized website and will never feel on your own thanks to their help materials and live support.

If you are looking for Squarespace alternatives, you may also want to check out Wix.com. Like Squarespace, they are very focused on design aesthetics and generally a bit more flexible than Squarespace.

Try Squarespace 14 days for free

Tip: Save 10% on your first subscription term for any plan (monthly or yearly) using voucher code TOOLTESTER10. Here’s a guide on how to redeem it.

Is Squarespace the right website builder for me?

  • Recommended If
  • Not Recommended If
  • You’re a looking for something easier than WordPress

  • You are a blogger or podcaster and need a platform for easy publishing

  • You want to create a stylish website

  • You need customer support 24/7 and don’t mind paying a premium

  • You are a service business who needs appointment booking features

Real Squarespace Example Sites

squarespace sites - rose design

Rose Design

Design and good looks is what this website is all about. Rose is a UK-based design and branding agency. They even feature a small online store on their Squarespace site. The website also works perfectly on mobile devices thanks to Squarespace's responsive templates.

Industry

Portfolio

Traffic

400

squarespace website - alex honnold personal site

Alex Honnold

Alex Honnold is a professional adventure rock climber who uses his Squarespace site to showcase photos and videos. He also promotes his book and offers speaking gigs.

Industry

Portfolio

Traffic

1.300

best squarespace examples - dudley's restaurant

Dudley’s

This New York City-based restaurant uses Squarespace to promote their food and drinks menu. It's a stylish website where you can order takeout meals and buy gift cards.

Industry

Hospitality

Traffic

6.800

squarespace sites examples - ing media agency

ing.

ING is a PR and communications agency that uses video backgrounds to illustrate their portfolio. The site features its list of services, clients, employees, and company updates (using Squarespace’s blog function).

Industry

Professional services

Traffic

500

squarespace websites - narciso rodriguez

Narciso Rodriguez

Narciso Rodriguez is a world-famous brand from New Jersey that is making clever use of accessibility features to accommodate a wider audience. Other functionality included on the Squarespace site are an Instagram gallery feed and a store locator.

Industry

Ecommerce

Traffic

52.000

best squarespace websites - encore digital media

Encore Digital Media

This Squarespace-hosted website uses a futuristic design and color scheme. There are case studies (which make use of animated icons for that extra level of engagement), a blog, and a ‘Contact Us’ call-to-action button that stands out on every page.

squarespace website examples - museum of vancouver

Museum of Vancouver

Visitors can browse through the museum’s various exhibitions (including virtual ones), learn about its upcoming events, and even purchase tickets online. Other handy features include an FAQ, gallery map, self-guided gallery activities, and a Facebook Chat button.

Industry

Tourism

Traffic

7.000

Squarespace User Reviews

4.3

Average Rating

Based on 9 reviews

5
4
4
4
3
1
2
0
1
0

Mark

It will require a lot of time to get to know the system, but when you are serious that won’t be an issue.

Derby

Templates are too inflexible

Jan

Pricing is fair.
Read More

FAQ

Squarespace uses SSL encryption in editing mode – a feature that sets it apart from most other tools. Both their Unlimited and Business plans support unlimited traffic and can handle tremendous amounts of concurrent website visitors. If you have used WordPress in the past you will probably appreciate this.

Yes, their layouts are responsive and will adapt to the screen size of your visitor’s device. They also offer mobile apps for the iPhone, iPad and Android that allow you to edit your site on the go.

No, you will have to set it up elsewhere. They recommend Google Workspace. Alternatively you can purchase your domain name through a registrar like Go Daddy or Namecheap and let email run through them.

Yes, with Squarespace’s Member Areas feature (an additional service starting from $9/month). This allows you to offer premium content, such as classes, workshops and videos, to paying members. You can find out more here.

Yes, you can set up URL mapping. If you are moving your site over from a previous system, you can redirect old URLs that would otherwise lead to an error page.

Yes, Squarespace has a direct integration with Disqus.

Using Google AdSense or other banner ads. You can also add affiliate links to your website.

Yes, Squarespace supports imports from. WordPress, Tumblr, Squarespace 6, Blogger, Shopify, and Big Cartel. Squarespace also allows you to export your blog.

Unfortunately, Squarespace’s templates aren’t built for accessibility right out of the box. You can make manual adjustments to make some elements more accessible (colors, spacing, font sizes etc) but to make Squarespace websites fully accessible you’ll need to use a third-party app. Squarespace have stated that they are working to improve template accessibility, so we hope to see these features introduced soon.

Techie Stuff (Mainly for Geeks)

  • Uptime Test & Response Time
  • Page Speed Test

squarespace uptime response time

Here you can see the uptime of our Squarespace demo website for a period of about half a year. The best result would be 100%. The uptime should ideally be above 99.90%. Squarespace’s 99.96% are a pretty decent result.

Response time: That’s the time it takes to receive a response from Squarespace’s servers. A good value would be 700 milliseconds. 1000ms and more could feel slow to your visitors. Squarespace’s servers are located in the US.

Squarespace Alternatives

Wix’s core strength is its great looking templates that offer pixel-perfect customization options. With their unique App Market you can easily add third party applications to your website. Read our Wix vs Squarespace comparison.

Zyro is one of the newer website builders in the market, offering modern designs and affordable prices. While it’s light on features compared to Squarespace, it scores points for ease of use and AI-powered extras such as a logo designer and content suggestion tool. We would recommend Zyro for anyone looking to create a simple, good-looking website without all the bells and whistles. Learn more in our Zyro review.

Webflow is another website builder that’s favored by designers, and is an interesting alternative if you’re looking for more design control. Check out our Webflow vs Squarespace comparison to learn more.

GoDaddy Website Builder is an interesting alternative for small businesses. It lets you set up a website rapidly, and offers a range of interesting marketing features at an affordable price. Compare Squarespace vs GoDaddy here.

And then there is WordPress, of course. It’s more complicated to set up but provides a lot of flexibility. Find our Squarespace vs. WordPress review here.

Find more in our Squarespace alternatives article.

Still unsure of what website builder you should use? Let our smart finder decide for you in 5 easy questions.

The authors

Learn more about us

Robert Brandl

Founder and CEO

Hi, my name is Robert Brandl! I used to work in a digital marketing agency where I managed website and email marketing projects. To optimize my client's campaigns, I always had to find the optimal web tools. Tooltester offers this knowledge to you, hopefully saving you endless hours of research.

Inka Wibowo

Content Manager

Hi, I'm Inka! I started using website builders and content management systems over 10 years ago, when I managed websites for clients in my first marketing role. Since then, I've worked on hundreds of web and digital projects. Now, at Tooltester, I'm happy to be able to use my experience to help users like you find the right website builder for your needs.

Learn more about us

We keep our content up to date

10 Feb 2024 - Intro update
17 Jan 2024 - Squarespace's online scheduling solution is now called Acuity Scheduling (again)
21 Aug 2023 - Launch of Courses, Squarespace's platform for creators.
16 Aug 2023 - Full update, reflecting Squarespace Blueprint, pricing changes and other improvements
23 Feb 2023 - In-depth review of the blog editor added
14 Nov 2022 - Added new user review video
06 Sep 2022 - Updated loading speed tests.
12 Aug 2022 - Introduction of Fluid Engine editor
19 May 2022 - Multilingual features now available
18 Apr 2022 - Website examples added
05 Apr 2022 - Squarespace overall rating now 4.3
02 Mar 2022 - General updates
22 Feb 2022 - New Squarespace website examples added, FAQs updated
17 Dec 2021 - Mobile app rating added.
09 Sep 2021 - Squarespace in 90 seconds video added.
29 Jul 2021 - Page limit added as 'Pro'
13 Jul 2021 - Smart Finder added
22 Jan 2021 - Minor updates
26 Nov 2020 – New Member Areas feature
27 Aug 2020 – Update in templates
12 Aug 2020 – Squarespace app available for Android too.
02 Apr 2020 – Updated video review.
12 Dec 2019 – Launch of the Extensions Marketplace.
05 Sep 2019 – Improved SEO.
11 Jun 2019 – Complete update.
04 Jun 2019 – A few minor updates.
23 Oct 2018 – Added comments about our support test.
03 Sep 2018 – Further updates in SEO.
28 Feb 2018 – Updated uptime section
28 Sep 2017 – Updates in SEO.
15 Feb 2017 – Prices have increased.
17 Jan 2017 – We’ve added the Backup & Restore category in the table
04 Jan 2017 – Update in cons (preview mode)
28 Oct 2016 – Free SSL certificates available.
08 Sep 2016 – Squarespace new SEO rating is 4
18 Jul 2016 – Squarespace now overall rating is 4.2
19 Apr 2016 – Squarespace now also sells (expensive) domain names
03 Mar 2016 – Downgrade in Widget rating
03 Feb 2016 – New use case section added
22 Dec 2015 – Added pros and cons, uptime and response time, page speed results and some pricing updates.
11 Sep 2015 – User reviews section added
04 May 2015 – The “Personal” plan has no bandwidth and storage limit any longer
02 Dec 2014 – New video review added
21 Nov 2014 – Overall review update (V7), New rating 4.4 Stars (before 4.1)
28 Mai 2014 – Information on podcast hosting added.
31 Jan 2014 – Online store is available in all three plans.
20 Aug 2013 – The online store is now also available in the UK.
30 Mar 2013 – Video review of the online store added.
13 Feb 2013 – We added information about password protection.
20 Feb 2013 – Squarespace adds a shopping cart with their Business plan.
10 Oct 2012 – We’ve created a list of shopping cart options for Squarespace.
06 Aug 2012 – Initial tests of version 6.

THE BEHIND THE SCENES OF THIS REVIEW

This article has been written and researched following a precise methodology.

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