Web Development

The Difference Between Webflow vs Squarespace

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The Difference Between Webflow vs Squarespace

You get more design freedom with Webflow.

When it comes to Webflow vs Squarespace, you're limited to templates in Squarespace. Bring your website to life with Webflow.  

So you’ve decided to take the plunge and create your own website. While it may seem intimidating at first, there are many website design platforms that have made it very simple and easy to create your own website, in fact, the choices are almost endless. 

This is a great article for those of you who have narrowed it down to Webflow and Squarespace as your top choices. We highlight the differences between Webflow vs Squarespace so you can start building your website today and get the most out of it. 

Decide what kind of website builder you are looking for 

There are a few factors you should consider when choosing a platform for the creation of your website. Choquer Creative has created criteria for you to use when analyzing a website builder. 

User-friendliness 

How user-friendly is Webflow vs Squarespace if you are a beginner website designer? Does it have enough functions, features and advanced design control if you are a more advanced website designer? 

Your response will depend on your experience creating websites and what kind of website you are looking to create. 

Customizable design 

Are you looking for total design freedom or to utilize a template? How customizable are Webflow and Squarespace templates? 

You may want to completely use a template or you may need to make some changes. Keep design customization in mind when choosing a website builder. 

Integrations

Can you install plugins? Do the third-party tools affect the functionality of your website? Adding integrations and animations to your website can really bring it to life and enhance your visitor’s experience. 

E-commerce 

Do you require an e-commerce function? If you need an online store or are planning to have one in the future, it’s a good idea to think about it ahead. You wouldn’t want to create an entirely new website again just because you chose a platform that doesn’t allow that integration. 

Customer support 

How quickly and easily can you get help with your website? When your website malfunctions it’s easy to panic. You want to be able to receive help from your website platform as quickly as possible. Look at customer reviews to learn more about their support. 

Pricing 

How much does it cost to create your website? Is it a monthly subscription? What features do you gain by upgrading? Some website builders offer free websites but they are usually quite basic and do not come with a custom domain. 

The Pros of Webflow

Experience greater design freedom

Webflow utilizes the latest layout technologies to allow its users to create a fully custom web design. You can start from a template or even a blank canvas and create, well, anything. 

You can get creative, make it colourful and keep peace of mind that your web design will be completely responsive. You can use Webflow’s content management system to create dynamic content as you drag and drop elements into your website. 

Get creative with animations 

Webflow allows you to build completely custom interactions and animations without the need for coding. Without the limitations of a template, you can completely customize how your visitors interact with your website.

You’re not bound by templates

Have you ever found a really beautiful template but get disappointed when it isn’t responsive or is missing an element you really need? While Squarespace offers a variety of templates, Webflow’s templates are far more customizable. 

This is really handy when you already have a vision for your website but need some help putting it together or you’ve found the perfect template and need to make some big or small changes. 

At this point, we also want to mention that free website templates are not ideal. For more information on why, read this blog.

Your website can be totally free. 

Yes, you heard us correctly, you can create a website with Webflow at no cost.

Integrate content and products seamlessly

Seamlessly feature your products within your content, so every blog post, look book, and case study becomes a sales page. You can turn visitors into leads with Webflow’s content management system by integrating product highlights, add-to-cart buttons, and more. 

Start turning your visitors into leads 

Webflow gives you all the tools you need to rise to the top of relevant search results. Webflow websites load fast, are mobile-friendly, and give you all the content tools you need to give people the answers they’re looking for. 

Webflow keeps in mind the need for you or your businesses to be seen in your customer’s search results, so it has created its own features for its websites to help you do that. We go a step beyond this by offering our Choquer Framework for our client’s websites.

Market your business across platforms with built-in integrations

Webflow comes with built-in integrations for your social media accounts. Allow people to access your business’s Instagram and Twitter account for example, just by clicking a logo. It also has integrations for email and analytics. 

Have your website be responsive for any device

Nowadays, the majority of internet searches come from mobile devices. In fact, Google ranks responsive sites higher than un-responsive sites. So while you are building your website on your desktop computer, you need to keep in mind that it won’t look like that on other devices. Webflow knows this and therefore makes all their websites responsive across all devices.  

The Cons of Squarespace

You must be willing to pay a monthly subscription fee

Squarespace offers a free 14-day trial, but once that’s over you will need to start paying a monthly subscription fee. 

Their lowest package, if you plan on committing to a 1-year contract, comes to $12 per month for a personal website, while a business website is $18 per month. 

If you want to pay monthly without the year commitment, you will need to pay $16 per month for a personal website and $26 per month for a business website. 

If you are going to need a store function for your website, commerce websites begin at $35 per month and $26 per month if you pay annually. 

You are limited in design customization if you can’t code  

Squarespace is limited to the use of templates unless you can code your own theme from scratch. This lack of customization can make your website look and feel like other websites. 

You can control HTML5, CSS and JavaScript on Webflow, but with Squarespace, the code can become cluttered by the extensive need for plugins. 

If you are looking to embed products into blog posts to make your content drive more sales, that will be very difficult to do in Squarespace, unless you know how to code. 

So while Squarespace markets itself as a very user-friendly website builder, there are a few features that are inaccessible unless you have web development experience or knowledge of coding. 

Limited Website Size

If you are creating a large website with a complex structure, Squarespace can’t handle it.

Squarespace websites only offer one navigation system, so if you need a website with a deep menu then we wouldn’t suggest it. 

Slow Loading Times

If you are an international company or are looking to have your website translated into multiple languages, we wouldn’t suggest Squarespace either. 

Get hypnotized by the spinning wheel as you wait for your website page to load  

The longer your site takes to load, the higher your chances are of losing a potential lead. Squarespace doesn’t have the cleanest backend, and this can cause your website to load slowly, especially if you have a bunch of third-party plugins. 

Next Steps

As you can see, creating a website isn’t all that easy, especially if this is your first time doing so. Your website is a direct visual representation of your business, and with that comes a pretty big responsibility for it to not only look good but capture your brand story. 

Our team at Choquer Creative can help with that. We can handle the web design, the development, and even the content. Plus, we offer an ongoing subscription service that ensures that your website continues working for your business and bringing in leads. 

You never have to worry about your website again, let the web design experts take care of everything. If you need weekly blog posts, we got you covered! If you decide you want to add an e-store to your website, we can get that up and running smoothly. 

Think of your website as a tool for your clients, a way to connect with your brand and instill trust in your service or product. We implement what is called our Choquer Framework right into your website, and it is designed to convert more visitors into leads. 

Our web design agency is certified as Webflow Experts, which means that we know the ins and outs of the Webflow platform, making it easy for our team to create a fully custom and responsive website for your business. 

Get in touch with a team member for a free website audit where we will help you identify current problem areas and provide solutions, with no strings attached. 

Coming from WordPress? Then don't forget to see our services for migrating from WordPress to Webflow.

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