Squarespace is a popular tool that allows customers to build an attractive website without coding. Squarespace offers hosting, domain registration, themes and templates, e-commerce, SEO, and blogging capabilities.
However, Squarespace has limitations, and many creators are looking for alternatives.
Why Should you Look for an Alternative to Squarespace?
Squarespace offers an easy-to-use drag-and-drop website builder. Users can choose their theme and use different templates to build their website quickly. While Squarespace offers popular integrations and offers the ability to add an e-commerce option, it doesn't offer the flexibility that other competitors do.
Squarespace can be challenging to customize. It's hard to add specific features or functions to your website. While sites like WordPress provide endless customization options, Squarespace is more limited. In addition, Squarespace doesn't offer free options, and their prices can be a little high if you are beginning to grow your online presence.
Squarespace offers e-commerce add-ins. However, if you're focused on building an online store, there are better options.
Here is the list of the Best Squarespace Alternatives:
There are dozens of Squarespace alternates, and different website builders have different features. As you look through the list, consider what your goals are with your website.
Are you looking for a free website? Are you looking to build an e-commerce site? Do you want the easiest builder, or do you want the option to customize code on the back-end?
1. Pixpa - Easy to Use, Feature Rich and Affordable
Name: Pixpa
Why Pixpa is an ideal Squarespace alternative: Pixpa is easy to use, feature-rich and offers affordable pricing
Introduction to Pixpa
Pixpa is an all-in-one portfolio website builder with built-in e-commerce, blog, and client galleries. Pixpa is a user-friendly Squarespace alternative for photographers, creators, and businesses who want to create a professional portfolio website, sell their work and grow their business effortlessly. Here are 25 top reasons why photographers and creators choose Pixpa to build their portfolio website.
Pixpa features customizable themes and professionally designed templates. Use the drag-and-drop website builder to customize your website in no time. For example, you can effortlessly start a blog with embedded photos and videos. Photographers can create public and private galleries to share their work with clients. Clients love the custom galley app! With Pixpa, you can easily add pop-ups and announcements.
Pricing Plans
Pixpa users can start with a no credit card needed 15-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pixpa's Light plan is just $3 a month. This plan includes mobile optimization, beautiful, customizable themes, menu options, domain connection, SSL security, custom CSS & HTML editing, 24/7 support, and basic mailing list features.
Pixpa's Personal plan is $7 a month and includes 301 redirects, file storage, unlimited blogs, and e-commerce.
The Expert plan is $10 a month and offers unlimited gallery images, advanced email marketing, expert website set-up, and custom photo apps for clients. The Business plan is $16 a month and includes advanced discount coupons, store inventory management, abandoned cart recovery, and unlimited custom photo apps for clients.
| PROS | CONS |
| Great Support with 24X7 live chat | Can’t use the same photos on different galleries |
| Stripe, Paypal and similar payment gateways | No drag and drop website-builder editors like Wix |
| Can add more storage at any time | Can’t publish anything in the trial period |
| Can connect Shopify to Pixpa |
Pixpa Website Examples
Check out Pixpa's website examples and see how photographers, designers, architects, artists, and stores are using Pixpa to make connections.
2. WordPress for Endless Customization
Name: WordPress
Why WordPress is an ideal Squarespace alternative: WordPress offers endless customization
Introduction to WordPress
WordPress is best known for its blogging capabilities. Countless bloggers have started their blogs on WordPress, and it is one of the internet's biggest website builders.
Whether it's your neighbour creating a beautiful blog, or your CEO friend managing a massive storefront, we guarantee you know someone who uses WordPress.
WordPress offers endless themes and plug-ins. This means you can start a simple website for free, and add on different capabilities as your business grows.
Pricing Plans
You can start a blog or simple website on WordPress for free. The Personal plan is $4 a month and includes hosting and a domain. The Premium plan is $8 a month includes Premium themes. The Business plan is $25 a month and offers access to Wordpress's 50,000 plug-ins. Finally, the E-commerce plan is $45 a month.
| PROS | CONS |
| Relatively Cheap Web Development Solution | Keeping Up With Updates Is a Major Concern |
| Beginner-Friendly and Easy to Get Started | Optimizing Site Speed Can Be Challenging |
| Highly Modular (Thousands of Plugins and Themes) | Custom WordPress Solutions Can Be Expensive |
| Frequent Updates and Increased Security | WordPress Is Prone to Hacking |
WordPress Website Examples
WordPress is used by neighbourly bloggers as well as worldwide corporations. Check out BBC America, which brings British shows to American audiences. The Walt Disney Company and singer Katy Perry use Wordpress.
3. Wix for Flexibility
Name: Wix
Why Wix is an ideal Squarespace alternative: Wix offers flexibility
Introduction to Wix
Wix is a popular website builder and one of Squarespace's main competitors. Wix has features that make it attractive to those who want the flexibility of WordPress and the ease of Squarespace. Wix offers about 2500 app integrations for users to choose from. It's not Wordpress's 50,000, but it's more than Squarespace offers.
Pricing Plans
You can build a website on Wix for free. However, free websites use a Wix subdomain, and users will have to display Wix ads on their site's front-end.
Paid Wix plans run between $14 and $49 a month. Their e-commerce plans start at $23 a month.
| PROS | CONS |
| Templates not interchangeable | Visitor analytics not available on free-Combo plans |
| Free plan forces Wix branding | Storage limits on all plans |
| Tracking and analytics require a paid plan | Can’t change templates once your site is live |
| Premium Plans are single-site only | Extend your site features with Wix App Market |
Wix Website Examples
Wix has a host of examples to check out. Evolve Clothing is a great example of an online clothing storefront. Wendy Ju uses Wix to share her design portfolio.
4. Weebly for the Easiest Web Builder
Why Weebly is an ideal Squarespace alternative: Weebly offers the easiest web builder
Introduction to Weebly
Weebly is another website builder that offers free plans. The free plan is ad-supported, and users are given a Weebly subdomain.
Weebly offers e-commerce features such as a shopping cart, coupons, inventory management, and a tax calculator.
Weebly offers a simple builder and is an excellent option for those who shy away from overly-technical interfaces. One of Weebly's biggest selling points is its straightforward usability.
If you are a beginner and looking to build a quick website on a budget, Weebly is a great alternative to Squarespace.
Pricing Plans
Weebly offers a free plan. Users on the free plan will have a Weebly sub-domain and will have to show ads on their website.
For $6 a month, users can upgrade to a Personal plan and connect to their domain.
Ads are removed with the $12 a month Professional Plan. The Professional Plan also includes a free domain and more options. The Performance Plan is $26 a month.
| PROS | CONS |
| Competitively-priced premium plans | Site has Square ads for basic plans |
| No programming skills required | Limited customization options |
| Can build & manage from mobile device | Phone support only available on Professional plans |
| Analytics help you monitor your site | Limited blogging tools |
Weebly Website Examples
Flaming Pear Software uses Weebly and offers Photoshop plug-ins. Kerlin BBQ is a BBQ restaurant that uses Weebly to build their website.
5. HubSpot for Small Business Owners
Why HubSpot is an ideal Squarespace alternative: Business owners can track customer interactions with CRM tools.
Introduction to HubSpot
Yes, HubSpot also helps you build a website. The CRM giants have an intuitive website builder that requires zero coding knowledge to use.
HubSpot offers dozens of themes, both free and paid, and you can easily customize each one with a block-style builder. You’ll be able to analyze your website’s performance without needing to install additional tools.
HubSpot has almost 200 free themes, with more customizable professional themes starting at $49. Moreover, HubSpot offers SEO recommendations, a free blog builder, and CRM integration.
Pricing Plans
HubSpot offers a free forever plan and a Starter plan at $25/month. The paid plan includes SEO recommendations and removes HubSpot branding from your website. HubSpot also offers a Starter CRM Suite for $50/month with more advanced CRM and customer service tools included.
HubSpot also offers Professional ($400/month) and Enterprise ($1,200/month) plans to help you scale your business.
HubSpot Website Examples
GoalsGetter created a dynamic website with HubSpot to offer investment services to customers in New Zealand. Suvoda offers clinical trial software to customers using its HubSpot website.
6. Webflow for Advanced Users
Why Webflow is an ideal Squarespace alternative: Advanced users can build custom websites
Introduction to Webflow
Webflow offers a flexible drag-and-drop tool that allows users to build custom websites.
You can add custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript on the back end if you have coding skills. Webflow is preferred by web designers who have coding skills and want control over how their website looks.
Webflow offers around 40 free templates. However, if you're looking for a high-end template, expect to pay between $19 and $149.
Webflow offers SEO marketing, a solid blogging platform, and e-commerce options.
Pricing Plans
Webflow offers a Basic plan at $12 a month. The Basic plan includes a custom domain and 25,000 monthly visits.
The CMS plan is $16 a month, and the Business plan is $36 a month. The basic plan is $29 a month Standard Ecommerce plan charges a 2% transaction fee, whereas the $75 a month Plus plan features no transaction fees.
| PROS | CONS |
| Great levels of design customization | Relatively difficult to use for a website builder |
| Excellent range of templates | Expensive plans, price range is high |
| Good autosave, backup and history features | No live chat or phone support |
| Have a comprehensive set of SEO options | Traffic limits are applied to its plans |
Webflow Website Examples
EMdash creates email campaigns and designed their webiste using Webflow. Eskimi used Webflow to build their AdTech marketing website. Belt Creative, a Webflow agency uses Webflow for their own business website.
7. Shopify for eCommerce Focus
Why Shopify is an ideal Squarespace alternative: Shopify is an e-commerce powerhouse
Introduction to Shopify
Shopify is known as one of the web's most popular e-commerce platforms. If you want to make your website a storefront, Shopify is an excellent Squarespace alternate.
Users can build their storefront and launch their website right away. Their website builder offers a drag-and-drop interface.
Shopify is focused solely on e-commerce and offers excellent e-commerce options and apps. Users can integrate their shipping tools accounting tools and quickly add an abandoned cart recovery option.
In addition, Shopify offers email list management and social media integration.
Pricing Plans
All Shopify plans charge transaction fees on top of their monthly prices. The Basic plan of is $29 a month. The "Shopify" plan is $79 a month and includes reports.
The advanced plan is $299 a month. The more expensive plans offer lower transaction fees.
| PROS | CONS |
| Provides an email marketing tool | The number of free themes provided is quite low |
| Templates are attractive and fully responsive | Key functionality requires installation of an app |
| True multi-currency selling is possible | Shopify does not support email hosting |
| Abandoned cart saving function is sophisticated | Exiting from shopify is not satisfiable |
Shopify Website Examples
Huit Denim is a U.K. store focused on selling jeans. The Package Free Shop focuses on selling and delivering zero-waste products.
8. BigCommerce for Agile, International E-commerce
Why BigCommerce is an ideal Squarespace alternative: BigCommers offers agile, international e-commerce
Introduction to BigCommerce
BigCommerce is built on an open platform and allows CMS customization. You can edit all the back-end code in BigCommerce and deliver your content across hundreds of channels like Facebook, TikTok, Google, Instagram, Pinterest, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Target.
BigCommerce will also customize the currency, content, and checkout for international customers.
Pricing Plans
BigCommerce offers a Standard plan at $29.95. The Plus plan is $79.95 and includes an abandoned cart recovery option. The Pro plan is $299.95.
| PROS | CONS |
| It comes with built-in product review functions | Widgets don’t support custom typefaces |
| Search engine optimization features are strong | Free themes in many cases too similar to each other |
| Can get good set of reporting tools on all plans | Custom styles get very costly |
| It’s really easy to create custom fields | Limits are placed on annual online sales |
BigCommerce Website Examples
American Leather sells furniture and uses BigCommerce to run its website. Annesley Surfboards also uses BigCommerce for their website.
Conclusion
If you're looking for an alternate to Squarespace, you have many options. Think of your website's primary purpose, your budget, and your technical skills, and choose the web builder that best meets your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is There any Platform Better than Squarespace?
Squarespace is good at everything, but it's not excellent at everything. If you are focused on a specific goal, such as e-commerce or portfolio sharing, you might be able to find a website builder that shares your focus.
Why Shouldn't You Use Squarespace?
If you are on a budget, you can find free or less expensive options to start building your online presence. If you are focused on e-commerce, try a platform that's also focused on e-commerce.
While Squarespace is relatively easy to use, there are Squarespace alternatives that are even easier to use. If you want complete control over your site, you might try a builder that allows you to edit your site's code. Finally, if you want more integrations, try a website builder that offers thousands of them.