Author: Ian Hunt

There are various platforms to start a blog. Blogger, Tumblr, Ghost, etc., are some of the commonly known platforms. Another popular blogging platform quite famous on the internet is WordPress. When it comes to having fun or hosting a personal journal, blogger, tumbler, WordPress are some of the most preferred platforms since they are easy to manage and have free access.

However, when you want to turn blogging into a business, make money or use the platform to promote your business, these free versions aren’t much helpful. It is better to opt for a self-hosted version of WordPress. Let us first understand what the WordPress platform is?

What is WordPress

WordPress was launched as a blogging tool which later on turned to a complete Content Management System (CMS). Released in 2003, the platform has merited enormous fame and repute in the past 14 years.

There are various wondrous services offered by WordPress such as Gravatar, Jetpack, Videopress, Vaultpress, etc. However, two significant features of WordPress make the platform outstanding in the market. These are:

• WordPress themes

The platform has a big community of designers who create and offer free as well as premium WordPress themes. Thus, any day you can change the theme of your site and raise it to a master level. All it requires are a few clicks that can turn your website’s appearance to an excellent site. The themes do not demand any coding knowledge to make this platform attractive.

• WordPress plugins

Plugins are the features that you can add to your WordPress based website. All you require is to install the plugin to your website and customise them as per your requirements. Accessing the plugins is easy. You can go through each one’s directory understanding how to operate it. The platform has a big community of designers who create and offer free as well as premium WordPress themes. Thus, any day you can change the theme of your site and raise it to a master level. All it requires are a few clicks that can turn your website’s appearance to an excellent site. The themes do not demand any coding knowledge to make this platform attractive.

WordPress plugins

Plugins are the features that you can add to your WordPress based website. All you require is to install the plugin to your website and customise them as per your requirements. Accessing the plugins is easy. You can go through each one’s directory understanding how to operate it.
WordPress has two different variations in its software, that is, WordPress.com and WordPress.org. The WordPress.org is a self-hosted WordPress site. Let us understand the difference between the two.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org

WordPress.com is a free platform to start blogging. Anyone can create a blog within 2 minutes and start blogging. It is a paid platform if you decide to own your own domain.

On WordPress.com, one needs to install WordPress on their hosting server. Some hosting servers may ask some coding, but some apparently have a one-click install available.

One creating a blog, you will have a web address like name- www.wholesalecommunity.com. Thus, the blog is hosted on the WordPress server. You can create a custom domain name like name.com.
=It is a perfect platform for anyone who wants to record their personal writings or merely want to blog just for the sake of writing.

=It is a perfect platform for anyone who wants to blog with the aim of making money, business promotions or creation of an e-commerce website.
=The blog as paid add-ons available. You can also buy a custom domain name, themes, etc. Unlimited ad-ons are available to create an appealing and an attractive website.

Setting up using resources from WordPress.Org (A community for wordpress developers) 

As there are various limitations on managing the website like the third party plugins that might really help you add an amazing feature is not possible and the access to limited choices. However, it is a perfect choice to make from the perspective of a personal blog. It removes all the limitations present in WordPress.com version and is completely controlled by the owner of the blog. You can install third party plugins. The website can be monetised any way you choose like AdSense, affiliate marketing, etc.

Choose your platform
Now that you are aware of the pros and cons of each of the platforms, it is easier to decide which one can fulfil your requirement. Thus, if it is all about personal blogging and no aim to make money, it is always suggested to opt for a WordPress.com platform. It can later be converted to WordPress.org platform if you intend to make money.

However, if you want a custom domain name, want to use the blog for monetary and marketing purposes, then WordPress.org is an ideal solution. It is easier to get the complicated tasks done by third parties such as WordPress website design on Fiverr.

You can the complete ownership of the platform. Though this platform is very demanding, it also gives you an opportunity to make up the returns. However, the case is not the same as the former version. It is a free platform and has a limited scope of getting returns.

Both Squarespace and WordPress are the ultimate platform for creating the fully functional website. But both of them have some advantages and disadvantages in term of interface and performance. If you are a website developer, then it is very important for you to choose the platform wisely and also it is very important to know what you get from the platform.

So in this article, we provide you with enough information so that you can easily distinguish the platform according to your choice and the platform which gives you the desired results.

Is it really a compromise?

Whenever you want to try Squarespace or WordPress, your choice must be clear about the things like what the specific platform will be provided to you. Firstly, you decide whether you want to create a website in a simple way or you want some flexibility to add exact styling and features in your website according to your need. These two aspects help you to choose the best platform between Squarespace and WordPress for your website designing.

Talking about the Squarespace, this platform is very easy to use and provide you with the simplest method to create a website but in order to this, it offers you a closed environment and due to which you cannot work according to your need.

On the other hand, WordPress is complicated for the beginners, but it provides you with an open environment to work and there is no boundary at all for the developer just like in case of Squarespace. WordPress offers you the thousands of theme and plugins so as to customize the site according to your need.

There are some other aspects which a customer can consider like:

Price of the platform, maintenance and security gave by the platform’s owner, how good a content has been provided etc. But in general, the separation of the platform is based on the ease of use and flexibility given and these two aspects are enough to shape the decision of the individual. Now let’s talk about how these differences will actually cost you when you are going to build a website.

How a customer Build a Website using these 2 Platforms?
In terms of how easy one can build the platform, the Squarespace is slighter better than WordPress. But WordPress is still easy for most of the beginners, the setup process is more involved because in WordPress, you’re responsible for the certain technical detailing like hosting and purchasing a domain name for your website.

Squarespace

Whenever you build a website with the help of Squarespace, you don’t need to worry about the technical details at all. Once you signing up for the Squarespace account, then immediately Squarespace will offer you the vast variety of templates to use on your website. You can also customize your desired templates pages by just clicking and typing on it. If you want to create your own layouts, then also you can do it by using the drag and drop editor.

Now Let’s talk about the 2nd platform: 

WordPress: Working with WordPress is not easy but quite interesting because you’ll need to complete some technical details before you work on your website.

These technical details are:
Choosing and signing up for your web hosting, purchasing a domain name for your website &
installing the actual software for WordPress.

How to add functionality to the Website with Each Platform?
While Squarespace has the slighter edge over the WordPress term of simplicity and how easy to use it, but WordPress dominates in term of extending your website with the use of new functionalities.

Squarespace
Since Squarespace is a closed environment, you are unable to install and implement your own functionality in it. It provides you with an option to add your own client-side code. But Squarespace at least provides you with some inbuilt functions to extend your site. Squarespace is also useful to set up an e-commerce store where you can start selling your items through your own website.
Some additional pre-built modules for basic functionality are also provided like:

Contact forms
Social share buttons
Newsletter subscribe forms

Irrespective of the above points, Squarespace is way behind than WordPress in terms of potential functionality.

Related: Wix vs WordPress – Which is good for my Singapore Business?

WordPress

WordPress will provide you with the full access to the massive plugin of its environment. One of the biggest advantages of WordPress is that whether you know the code or not these plugins add all the functionality of your website and offers you a fully fleshed new website.

At recent times, there are 52,000 plugins with thousands more premium plugins. Due to these plugins, people find the WordPress as a better platform in term of functionality because you can add these functionalities to your website and make the interface beautiful and eye-catchy.

Read too: Cost of building a website

How these platforms Handle Data Ownership
Whenever you have to choose one of the platforms between Squarespace and WordPress then you have some concern regarding the data ownership and privacy of the platform.
Talking about the WordPress, it provides all the access to you regarding your data. In this platform, you can do whatever you want and you can easily manipulate it according to your requirement.

Squarespace
Now let’s talking about the time when you want to move away from the Squarespace platform to some other platform then what happens to your existing content? Now you can export your content as an XML file as this authority is given by the Squarespace to their clients. Currently, you can transfer the following items:

Gallery pages
Comments
Text and Images blocks
One blog pages and all its posts

But there are some contents you cannot export like:
Products pages
Index pages
Event pages and folders
Album pages and cover pages present.
Drafts
Custom CSS
Audio and Video Blocks

This limitation suggests that you can never make the backup of your entire website. And due to this reason, Squarespace is not good and not reliable in term of handling the Client’s data.

WordPress
In WordPress, you can easily get the backup of your data and you have 100% ownership. In this, you can easily access your data and export every single bit of your data present on your website. These features make it more reliable as compared to Squarespace.

How much you have to pay for Each Platform

Since both the platforms are very good in their fields so there is no clear answer regarding which platform is cheaper. Price will change according to your need, a basic WordPress site would be cheaper but you buy premium hosting and themes then WordPress could cost you more as compared to Squaresp

The internet is solely rooted in the notion that content is king. This is largely due to the fact that everything we see on the internet is made in such a way so that it should attract us to have more immersion. This is why websites use content that’s catchy and in-trend. Others make sure it is a lead generation magnet.

When building a website or publishing your own works on the web, many tools help you in doing so. Let it be blogs or other informative web pages, and you can avail the services of such tools to see your ideas come to fruition. This is why anyone who is in the process of starting their own website or blog would never go by without hearing the word “WordPress” even once.

WordPress had its set of competition over the years, many have not reached the position that WordPress has among the users, and hence they have all withered at some point of time. But, some contenders are doing a great job at what they do, and they have put some serious competition towards WordPress. One such service provider is Wix.

Wix is regarded as one of the best website builders available on the market. This is due to the advances they have brought into the game. Wix is made around the notion that not everyone knows coding this has helped them to create Wix as a tool for creating beautiful websites for those who do not know how to code. For users who are inexperienced in coding, which is many, this is something of a dream come true. Now you don’t have to go to the intricacies of website building to get your website up and running!

But both WordPress and Wix have their share of pros and cons. This is why we are going to put them against each other see how to fare in a head to head comparison.

Wix vs WordPress Pricing

WordPress: WordPress serves as an open source website builder. Hence you don’t have to pay for WordPress itself. But if you want to host your website, then you will have to buy a hosting plan. With the hosting plan, you will get your own domain and hosting services.

Wix: You can create a free account at Wix and start publishing your work without hassles. The only drawback to a free account is that Wix will host their in-house advertising on your web page. If you choose to go for a paid account, you can use your own domain, and the Wix ads will be removed from your web page.

Ease of use:

WordPress: If you know a bit of coding, WordPress provides the most flexible developer environment you can also use plugins to make yours much more attractive. Then again for a beginner, the aesthetics of the website depends on the template he/she has chosen. In editing the web page, you can’t just drag and drop stuff in WordPress; it takes a bit of a learning curve. If you know coding, then WordPress gives you full freedom over their tools.

Wix: Wix is built from the foundation to help those who aren’t well acquainted with coding. With Wix, you can create your website with no knowledge of coding as the tools helps you to drag and drop the required styles and effects.

 

User support:

WordPress: With WordPress, help comes in the form of WordPress veterans. WordPress has got itself a large community that helps in solving and help out with queries. The forums and related topics hosted on WordPress are enough to help you out with any issues you face.

Wix: Wix has a dedicated customer care support facility. This helps you to get in contact with them very easily. Also, there is a training program called WixEd that will help you get the grasp of Wix in no time at all. The guide’s posted at Wix covers almost all the confusing bits of creating a website.

Flexibility:

WordPress: if you know your hand at coding, then WordPress becomes the increasingly attractive option as there are a ton of customizable themes and templates for you to modify and edit. Another key characteristic of WordPress is that it provides thousands of free plug-ins for you to add to your website.

Wix: Wix does not entertain open source plug-ins to be used on the website. All the plug-ins are monitored closely, and you can’t modify the available tools as only developers have access towards modifying them. This also implies that if you ever face an issue with plugins or tools, the dedicated customer care is there to iron out the discrepancies as they come.

Which one should you choose?

WordPress and Wix, both have their ups and downs. But if you are not versed in coding and need a carefree approach to website building with 24/7 customer support, then Wix is the one that’s best for you. Hence if you are a beginner, Wix is the best place to start hands down.

When you need a need a website where you can add a lot of features and technicalities, WordPress is up to the job provided you know how to code those features into the system. Enjoy the t