Choosing the right tool to build your business’s website has never been this challenging. There are so many options for ways to build a functioning website that for someone who isn’t in the web development industry, it can be difficult to stay on top of which will best suit your brand.
Since the rise of no-code, platforms like Webflow and Squarespace have made building websites even more efficient. Both platforms offer user-friendly interfaces and a range of features, but they cater to different needs and skill levels.
So, which should you choose? First, it’s important to know what your goals are. That will help you determine which platform will give you the type of website you want.
Target audience
Squarespace is best suited for:
- Beginners and those seeking a quick and easy website setup.
- Individuals and small businesses with basic website needs.
Webflow is ideal for:
- Designers and developers who want complete creative control.
- Businesses looking for sleek designs and scalability.
Webflow vs Squarespace head-to-head
Let’s look at some of their characteristics to determine which tool will align with your business’s needs.
Ease of use
Squarespace is designed for beginners and non-technical users. It offers a drag-and-drop editor with pre-designed templates that allow users to create beautiful websites quickly. The interface is streamlined, making it easy to edit text, images, and layouts without much technical know-how.
Webflow provides more customisation options. It offers a visual editor that allows users to create complex layouts, but it requires some understanding of web design principles, such as CSS and box model structures. While Webflow is more powerful, beginners may find it overwhelming at first.
Verdict
Squarespace excels in ease of use, making it ideal for beginners and those prioritising speed. Webflow offers greater design freedom but requires a more significant time investment to learn.
Design and customisation
Squarespace provides a curated selection of professionally designed templates that are visually appealing and mobile-responsive. While these templates offer a polished look, customisation options are somewhat limited. Users can modify colours, fonts, and layouts, but the overall structure remains largely fixed.
Webflow shines in its design flexibility. It allows users to create fully custom designs from scratch, giving them complete control over every element. This freedom enables designers to bring their unique visions to life without being constrained by templates. Webflow's visual interface translates design choices into clean, semantic code, ensuring website performance is optimised.
Verdict
Squarespace offers aesthetically pleasing templates with limited customisation.
Webflow provides greater design freedom, making it ideal for those seeking a truly unique website.
Functionality and features
Squarespace provides built-in blogging tools, e-commerce functionality, and integrations with social media, email marketing, and third-party applications like Acuity Scheduling and OpenTable. However, its functionality is somewhat rigid, with limited ability to extend features beyond what is offered in the platform.
Webflow is far more flexible, offering advanced design tools, CMS capabilities, animations, and interactions. It also allows for third-party integrations and API access, enabling developers to create more complex and interactive sites. Unlike Squarespace, Webflow’s CMS is more robust, allowing for dynamic content and collections.
Verdict
While Squarespace provides a straightforward feature set for users who need an all-in-one solution, Webflow offers superior functionality and customisation.
SEO capability
Squarespace includes essential SEO tools, such as meta tags, alt text for images, and automated sitemaps. However, it lacks deeper customisation options, making it harder to optimise for advanced SEO needs.
Webflow allows for complete control over SEO settings, including custom meta titles and descriptions, advanced URL structures, and automatic schema markup. Additionally, Webflow’s fast page loading speeds give it an edge in SEO performance.
Verdict
Webflow offers superior SEO capabilities for those who want to fine-tune their website’s search engine performance.
Mobile responsiveness
Squarespace's templates are, by their design, mobile-responsive, offering a quick and easy solution. Customisation is limited, but it's great for beginners.
Webflow provides complete control over mobile design with its breakpoint system, enabling highly tailored mobile experiences. Webflow's four default breakpoints are desktop, tablet, mobile landscape, and mobile portrait. Developers can click and drag the edge of the canvas on any breakpoint to test viewport widths beyond the defaults.
Verdict
Squarespace is ideal for quick, responsive sites. Webflow offers superior customisation for complex mobile designs, but it may require more technical skill.
Data portability
Squarespace offers limited data export options. You can export some content, like blog posts, but full site migrations, including design elements and site structure, are not easily transferable.
Webflow allows for more comprehensive data export, including site content and design files. While a direct, one-click migration to another platform might not be seamless, the exported files provide a stronger foundation for rebuilding or migrating your site.
Verdict
Webflow offers better data portability, giving you more control over your website content and design assets should you decide to switch platforms in the future. Squarespace's export options are more limited, primarily focusing on blog content.
Scalability
Squarespace is suitable for small businesses and individuals. While it can handle decent traffic, it might encounter limitations with extremely high traffic or complex website structures.
Webflow is designed with scalability in mind. Its hosting infrastructure can handle significant traffic spikes, and the platform's flexibility allows for complex website architectures. As a result, it is suited to organisations of all sizes from small businesses to large enterprises.
Verdict
Webflow is generally more scalable than Squarespace, making it a better choice for businesses anticipating significant growth in traffic or complexity. Squarespace is sufficient for most small websites but may present limitations for very large or high-traffic sites.
Community and resources
Squarespace has a large and active online community, with extensive documentation, tutorials, and a helpful forum. Their official resources are well-organised, and third-party tutorials and courses are available.
While Webflow’s community may be smaller than Squarespace’s, it offers in-depth tutorials and first-hand knowledge. Webflow University is a comprehensive learning platform with excellent video tutorials. The Webflow forum is active and supportive.
Verdict
Both platforms have strong communities and resources. Squarespace's large user base offers quick solutions, while Webflow's Webflow University provides a structured learning path.
Final verdict
Both Squarespace and Webflow offer solutions for building websites, but they cater to different needs and skill levels. Squarespace is easy to use, making it a great starting point for beginners and those who need a functional website immediately. It's a solid choice for individuals and small businesses with basic website requirements.
However, for those who want true creative freedom, robust functionality, and the ability to scale, Webflow is the stronger contender. While it requires more in-depth knowledge, the investment pays off with unparalleled design control, a powerful CMS, and the capacity to handle growth and complexity.
Webflow allows designers and developers to bring their visions to life, creating unique and high-performing websites. Its focus on good performance also gives it an edge in SEO.
Ultimately, the best platform depends on your specific needs and priorities. If simplicity is most important, Squarespace is a good choice. But if you value design flexibility, scalability, and control, Webflow is the clear winner.
Are you interested in finding out how a website built with Webflow can help your business grow? Contact Boost Brands today to see how this can be achieved.
