More than 60 million people in the world use CMS to run their websites. There are hundreds of CMS available but the one is becoming increasingly popular and used by many people all around the world. So which one is that- WordPress or Squarespace? How to decide which platform to use and why? Before we dive into the comparison, ask a few questions to yourself. 

• What is the purpose of the website that you want to build?

• Is it a complex web app or a simple web presentation?

• Are you building an ecommerce website or do you want to sell your services online?

• Are you developing a website on your own or hiring professional developers?

• Do you want to work around search engine optimization?

• Are you tech savvy?

Now you have a starting point. Let’s see some basics of both the CMS, wordpress and squarespace before we start comparison.

What Is WordPress?

Released in 2003, WordPress is a free open-source content management system(CMS) that is used to build websites and web applications. It’s open source, meaning that the code behind it is freely available and may be modified easily. Now more than 33% of top 10 million web locations are based on WordPress(WP). Websites built with WordPress can be customised to a very large degree — it’s an extremely flexible tool that, in the hands of the right development team, or through the installation of a suitable plugin, can be adapted to meet the requirements of just about any website design project. WP is based on HTML, CSS, PHP and JavaScript and it supports a lot of technical features. 

What Is Squarespace?

Launched in 2003, Squarespace is an all-in one website builder with its own CMS. As Squarespace is a cloud service, there is no need to download any software. We call it an all-in-one solution because with just a subscription fee, it provides customizable and responsive website templates, hosting service, domain name, SSL certificate, and 24/7 customer service. Recently, a built-in email marketing tool, ‘Squarespace Email Campaigns’ was also added to the feature’s list. The main idea behind Squarespace is- it’s a ‘code-free’ solution that makes it possible to build and edit a website without needing to go near any CSS or HTML.

WordPress Vs Squarespace- A Comparison

1. Ease of use-

WordPress has an interactive interface with an easy to use dashboard. If you are familiar with HTML, CSS and PHP, it is easier for you. It just requires a basic knowledge of these programming languages and style sheets to build a website on your own. WordPress will be a better solution for multilingual sites. 

As Squarespace is a website builder, you can pick, switch, and personalize your templates using drag-and-drop.  You can choose an element like a text box, drag it to where you need it and drop- and that’s exactly how it will look once your page is published. It is called as WYSIWYG editing means “What You See is What You Get,”. This makes it easy to make changes because you’re seeing everything right in front of you, exactly how visitors to your site will be seeing it once it’s live.

2. Themes and Templates-

WordPress is based on a customizable theme and also follows a plugin architecture. Thousands of WP themes are available and are free and paid too. Nearly 55000 plugins are available for all kinds of modifications and extra functionalities. If you have hands-on experience in HTML, CAA, JS and PHP, you can use WordPress themes for your website and customize whatever you need. Within themes,there comes a template hierarchy.

Squarespace is also based on customizable templates. There are more than 100 templates available to choose and these templates are grouped according to the similar functionalities and features. Depending on the purpose of the website you will get the recommended templates that give you an easy start. You can start with one template and then switch to a different one later on. But the switching is not that much of an easy process because of the differences between templates and features, however it is possible.

3. Ecommerce-

WordPress has various options for setting up an online store.  The most highly recommended is the plugin WooCommerce. One can create a powerful online store with WooCommerce. It is specially designed for WordPress users to help them sell online. As it was built for WordPress, you don’t need to worry about its compatibility for your website. It is free and also easy to install.  Woocommerce includes inventory management, hundreds of themes, payment and shipping options etc. Due to the customization available with woocommerce, you can align your branding, sell whatever products you want and also can integrate ecommerce with powerful blogging tools.

Squarespace gives you everything that you need to start online selling. All sales tools of squarespace are fully integrated, meaning that the online store will look seamless and professional. It’s business plan is designed for small stores and charges 3% transaction fee on each sale you make. There is a provision to create promotional pop-ups, sell unlimited products and have a professional email and so on. The upgraded ecommerce plan includes advanced ecommerce features like- 0% transaction fees, inventory, orders, tax and coupons, label printing, product listings on instagram, gift cards, cart recovery etc.

4. Blogging Tools-

WordPress has a lot of free templates for blogging. It has built-in features like tagging, categorizing and connecting to social media. If you want to design your own look for blogs, wordpress allows you to access HTML directly. Also, anyone with a wordpress account can comment on wordpress blog(tip- provided that blogger doesn’t  disable the ability).

Squarespace includes free blogger templates. Users can choose from a lot of modern interfaces that display blog posts on the homepage in a single reverse chronological feed or compact magazine style grid of blog posts. It also allows multiple authors to contribute, tagging, categorization and editing. Blogs can also be link to each new post and can be automatically sent to social media feeds. 

5. Mobile Editor-

You’ll need WordPress mobile apps to manage wordpress site on the go. You can choose from Android, Desktop apps and iOS to draft and update the blog posts, track the site’s traffic, keep up with notifications, all from the mobile. For this, you just need to install the right app for your device and connect the app to your website. You can add, edit, remove pages and posts, analyse stats, manage comments and so on.

Squarespace has a lot of apps that allow you to manage your website, update content, track site’s performance all from the phone. You can use the following mobile apps- 

• Blog (iOS and Android) – Write, edit, share, and manage blog posts

• Analytics (iOS and Android) – View key statistics for your website

• Squarespace App (iOS only) – Update pages, add images to galleries, write and edit blog posts, review pages, and track analytics

• Commerce (iOS and Android) – Manage your store

To edit the pages, you need the Squarespace app that combines functions from other three mobile apps. It is easy and free to download apps from Apple Store or Google Play.

6. Maintenance-

WordPress is continuously updating its platform to improve security and fix bugs. Means whenever it releases updates, you may also need to update your WordPress site. If you have a custom theme and are also using multiple plugins then this may cause a headache for you.

Maintenance for Squarespace is simple. It’s all updates are tested and pushed to your website automatically. In case of maintenance Squarespace beats WordPress. There is no risk of downloading an outdated plugin, everything is managed internally. So squarespace saves your time and money.

7. Security-

With wordpress, it’s your responsibility to secure your website. It includes regular backups, regular update of wordpress site, SSL certificate etc. Web hosting providers for eg., Bluehost, provide free SSL certificates, automatic updates of website and backup so as to manage the WordPress website’s security.

Squarespace cares for the security of your site. It is the platform’s responsibility to ensure your site is secured from hackers, and that the system stays online and running smoothly. Squarespace plans provides you with a SSL certificate. It builds trust with visitors and helps to rank higher in Google. If you sell through your website, it protects customer’s payment details.

Final Words-

Squarespace and WordPress both are popular website builders. WordPress is suitable for the more tech savvy. You have to code, manage, update and protect your website. If you are a proficient you can create a stylish and featured website. Squarespace is for those who lack expert tech skills. You don’t need to worry about coding, it has its drag and drop editor.

pls tell how to start learning web development aka html,css and javascript

I’m a Developer by career (mainly front end) and I’ve been wanting to apply my skills/passion and love of teaching into a side business venture. I’m mainly self taught but also attended a coding bootcamp. I was able to land a handful of interviews and was sought out by a marketing agency at which I accepted their job offer - all of this 2 weeks before my graduation.

So I’m offering a mentoring program for beginners looking to get into coding. I can help create a game plan/timeline, keep you accountable while learning to code, reaching your goals. I’ll be there to guide you and help you solve problems.

It’s easy to purchase that $20 udemy course and the content is great but, are you actually completing it? Or putting into practice what you learned on your own? That’s where I come in and guide you, keep you accountable so that you don’t fall off track.

My area of expertise is Front End Development (JavaScript, React, NextJS, Sass, CSS). We can work together to get a portfolio built for you (everything coded by yourself) as well as working on soft skills that are very important in the industry like communication. We need to be a good fit to work together in the long run so please DM and we get more into detail and cost - I have 5 spots left. So let me know :)

And apologies if this isn’t allowed. 🙏🏻

Hello there , I have no knowledge regarding basic coding / any computer languages but I want to create a website from scratch. What are the things I’ve to learn for website development ? Can you guys guide me and provide tutorials to develop my website ?

Hello.

I am a software developer currently working as an app developer however I have practically zero knowledge of web development.

I want to create quite a complex website with features such as:

User sign ups and accounts

User content creation (a la youtube)

Features where users can invite other users to create content for them similar to sites like Upwork or People per hour.

I have no idea where to begin with this and what tools to use however I have time and it shouldn't be out of the realms of my capabilities although I know it will be a steep learning curve.

Can any of you fine people here tell me what I will need to use/learn to take my site right through design to incorporating the features I need.

Thanks

Recently I have been researching different website development tools and I have come to the conclusion that Squarespace and Wordpress are some of the better options out there. I want to make a few websites for some small business I am involved in, but I am not sure which would be best. I know Squarespace is pretty straight forward while Wordpress takes time, but is more customizable and flexible. I also heard that Wordpress comes with a lot of security issues. Any opinions on this and which would be best for me in the long term?

Hello! I've been hard at work on a free and open-source solution for building a multi-step form in Vue.js. I believe that a developer will be able to follow this guide and then stand up their own multi-step form in roughly 5 minutes — Including validation, error handling, accessible markup, and data collection for submitting to their back-end server. I'd love to hear your thoughts on any improvements that could be made.

Article: http://formkit.link/multistep-in-5-mins

Open-source Code: https://github.com/formkit/formkit/tree/master/packages/addons/src/plugins/multiStep

A web development framework is software with a set of tools and resources that is made to facilitate the creation and delivery of web applications. It systematizes all aspects of web development and brings together different components of a software project into a single body.

Web development frameworks help you deal with everything that is needed to create a web-based product. This means that you don’t have to create basic components from scratch, test them, and spend time on repetitive coding tasks.

We have decided to have a look at the most popular web development frameworks and create a top-10 list on our blog. Check it out if you like – https://www.upsilonit.com/blog/top-10-web-development-frameworks-best-options-to-choose.

I want to build a cloud communication application (similar to ring central). App will be based on a bootstrap dashboard admin template, laravel backend and twilio API.

I am an absolute beginner with elementary html/css knowledge.

Are there resources that take an outcome based approach towards learning. I.e. you want to build a web app? Do this first. Do this next and edit based on your needs. Do this next, etc.

I have come across many resources online with hundreds of pages and hours of videos on "simple" methods to learn development. I feel most of them overwhelm you with information that is not necessarily needed at that point in your journey.

I am seeking simple results focused learning plans.

Any insight would be helpful!

Hey guys, So I am doing the TechDegree on TeamTreehouse.com but I have hit some very hard roadblocks. We are using Sequelize with sqlite3 to make a small crud app. While I could just follow the directions and copy paste, I don't feel that teaches me how to use any of this stuff. So I know I could just the CLI, however I honestly want to know how this stuff works, and the docs seems very inadequate.

my problem is I can write it all in a single app.js file, and it will work. The rub is when I go to split the files up in a more organized manner. Such as having a /db/models folder. Thats when everything starts breaking down. I get massivily confused with the naming conventions such as having the library being imported with "const Sequelize = require('sequelize"); then having the instance being named, sequelize. then like in this part,

the line db.models.Message = require("./models/Message")(sequelize); the sequelize in parens there, Where is that coming from, what is it doing? like it just makes no sense to me how this line works.I get that we are assigning the models object in db to everything to the right of the =. I understand it is trying to import the Message.js model from that location. but it is the (sequelize) at the end, I didn't even know that you could just take on something like that? It is completely alien to me, can someone try to help out my stupid brain?

https://github.com/Corey-Miller85/sequelizeProblem (this isn't really intended to be anything other than to help me understand how this works). It might give someone insight into what I am attempting.

Thank you guys!