Showit vs Squarespace. Which One is Right For Your Business?
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When it comes to building a website, there are a plethora of options to choose from. From Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, Showit, and the likes which can be overwhelming if you are just starting.
That is why I want to give you one less thing to worry about by comparing the two popular websites that are best suitable for your business-- Squarespace and Showit. In this article, I will be going over the notable pros and cons of each platform. This post will aid in your research and help you make a confident decision on the best web builder that is right for your business.
Before we start, you should put in mind that these two web builders were created for different audiences in mind therefore their functionality differs. It doesn't, therefore, mean one platform is better than the other. They both satisfy different needs.
Who is Squarespace Best For:
From the onset, Squarespace was designed for small business owners to help manage their businesses online without adding much work to their day. So, the main goal was to create an all- in-one platform that is easy to use and manage.
Squarespace is best for small business owners such as dentists, restaurants, yoga studios, salon owners, and the likes.
Squarespace Pros :
All in one platform
This is one of the biggest things Squarespace succeeded at. You can have your email marketing, blog, ecommerce, membership sites, landing pages, lead captures, and appointment schedules all on your website. You literally do not have to worry about connecting other websites to your main site. Everything can be controlled from the backend of your website.
As a web designer, I like having everything in place so that I do not have to log into 10 different platforms just to manage my business which can be stressful and possibly cause hitches to the site.
Therefore, if you don't want to spend much time managing your website on top of your daily business transactions, you should consider Squarespace.
Automatic Updates
I used WordPress for two years and with the number of plugins required to make my website run successfully, I was always afraid to update my website because something will always go wrong with either the plugin or the website itself.
But with Squarespace, one’s website is automatically updated so there’s no worry about keeping your website secure or being out of date.
Built-in Email Marketing
This may sound too good to be true but it is! You have email marketing integrated directly into your website. You can send branded emails that contain your logo and brand colors to your subscribers
You also get a chance to build your mailing lists and create a sender profile to avoid your emails landing in the spam box. If you are worried about how to get your visitors to subscribe to your mailing list, Squarespace provides a newsletter block for visitors to sign up which can be displayed on any of your website's pages.
On top of that, there are different email layout options to choose from. You can also opt-in for a blast or automated email campaign, enable the 'view in browser' mode, and review who unsubscribed from your list.
That was a total game-changer for me!
Amazing support
Squarespace has a 24/7 customer support policy that functions from 4 am to 8 pm every weekday. Coupled with that, you get access to their active forum where you can get your questions answered and also have access to tutorials and help pages. On top of that, they conduct webinars and workshops frequently to address pressing issues.
Easy blogging
I am a big fan of this feature because it makes blogging super easy. Like I mentioned earlier, you can create your blog directly on your Squarespace website thereby cutting costs. But that's not where it ends, Squarespace provides customized blog settings tailored to make your blog run effectively. You get to create excerpts, categorize your posts, change the spacing, background color, and styles. There’s also an SEO feature for your blog where you can optimize each blog post for possible ranking. You also get a chance to add a search bar to your blog page which is not readily accessible on Showit. To learn more how to can utilize Squarespace Blog features, take a look at How To Create A Blog In Squarespace article.
E-commerce integration
Squarespace provides an e-commerce feature in case you want to sell products alongside your services. They even offer basic and advanced e-commerce plans for full online stores. So, you don't have to worry about hosting your store on another website.
But if you want to go full mode on ecommerce, either Squarespace or Showit would not be able to give you what you want. Going for a software like Shopify that was built specifically for hosting stores is the best decision.
Quick and easy to make changes
First, you do not have to say a word of prayer before making changes to your website as in the case of WordPress. You can make changes to your website anytime without being scared.
Secondly, all changes can be made at the backend of your website. There's no need to run a marathon before finding the settings responsible for a particular change.
Another thing to take note of is the 'live change' feature Squarespace offers. You can see your changes live as you make them decide whether the changes are suitable or not.
While Squarespace is super easy to learn and manage, i have also created a library of Squarespace Tutorial for Beginners, to address some of the biggest hurdles Squarespace users often run into.
Easy to learn + use
Squarespace is super intuitive and helpful for those who are not tech-savvy. You also do not need to have a design background or coding knowledge to set up your website on Squarespace.
Everything is cohesive and can be accessed from the backend of your website which is very easy to learn and navigate. I had had clients message me after designing their Squarespace website amazed at how easy it was to add and edit things on their own.
There's no doubt that Squarespace is beginner-friendly.
It may sound like Squarespace is the perfect website but it also has its shortcomings. Here are some things I didn't like about Squarespace
Squarespace Cons :
Design Limitations
Squarespace will not be the best platform if you are looking for full design flexibility because it is template-based. There is a considerable amount of changes that can be made and if you want to go full customization, some codes are required.
You've probably heard that most Squarespace websites look the same. This is not entirely true but free templates offered on Squarespace look similar and this is because all templates are an extension of one core template. Well, if you want a unique design, it is hundred percent using Premium Squarespace templates offered by third-party templates shops. These premium templates have been modified using codes to look different and satisfy a specific business need.
For example, if you need a Salon Squarespace template, there are hundreds of third-party templates designed specifically for salons. All you need to do is purchase one, it would be installed for you and what is left for you to do is to edit the text and images.
Bulk Product Editing
At the moment of writing this article, Squarespace does not have bulk editing available for product pages in your store. That is, you would have to edit each product separately.
Also, Squarespace doesn’t have a media library where you can access all your media such as images, videos, galleries, etc. If any editing needs to be done, you would have to go to the page where the images are to edit.
I for one do not have any issue with this but in case your website is images and videos intensive, this may be a thing of concern.
Less Mobile control
While Squarespace will automatically adjust your design to a mobile view version, you do not have control over how it will look. Whereas, Showit gives you the chance to design your mobile view separately from the website view.
But when we look at it from another perspective, the Squarespace automatic mobile view is super useful if you do not have the time and energy to build the second version of the same site. Now that we've taken a look at Squarespace, let's consider the second popular web builder for small businesses and whether it is just what you need.
showit vs squarespace. Quick Video Platform overview
Who is Showit Best For
While Squarespace was designed with small businesses in mind, Showit was initially designed for photographers and designers whose main priority is to have full control over the design process.
Showit Pros:
Full design flexibility
Welcome to the paradise of unlimited design options! One of the things that are awesome about Showit is that you do not have any design limitations.
You can design a complete custom website, and when I say complete, I mean it. It is like designing a website on Photoshop.
Trust me when I say this—Showit killed it when it comes to the vast range of design options available. This is super useful for designers and photographers that want to highlight the visual
aspect of their website. And what makes it more desirable is that it is a drag and drop platform with no coding is required!
So, if you are looking for a website builder where your design options are limitless, Showit will do the job.
SEO settings
If you are using Showit for your blog, it does a good job in SEO. While everyone out there is buzzing about how amazing WordPress is for SEO, I have decided to include it as a pro for Showit but there is an important factor to consider when it comes to SEO and websites.
I used WordPress for my blog for two years before switching to Squarespace and during those two years, my blog did not rank at all. It was not because WordPress was bad, I just did not have an idea about keywords and how to optimize my blogs.
When I finally switched to Squarespace, I dedicated a lot of time researching and learning SEO and in less than a month on Squarespace, my article ranked number 2 on search results. I couldn't believe it! So, what I am trying to say in essence is-- no matter the platform you use, if you have no knowledge of SEO and how it works, your website will not rank. Just because you use one platform over the other isn’t a deciding factor. You still need to dedicate time to write a blog and optimize it.
With a good knowledge of SEO, your website will rank no matter the platform.
No coding knowledge
This is another thing to give showit credit for. They did a good job by ensuring you need no code for both design and customization. Apart from having fuller design flexibility, you also do not have to worry about writing codes to get some parts working. In contrast, Squarespace requires some codes for fuller customization although there are hundreds of blogs offering these codes.
All you need to do is google the code needed for customization and paste it into your CSS block. But, when you want to customize some little elements in Squarespace like adding a count-down timer for your ecommerce store, you’d need to go dev mode.
Amazing support
Showit does a great job in providing top-notch customer care to its subscribers. Their customer support can be messaged directly from the help center or in the showit app. They reply one to two hours during normal business hours from Monday to Friday
You can also email them if necessary.
True that Showit has a lot to offer but let's take a look at what it lacks in functionality.
Showit Cons :
Not an all in one platform
Showit does not have an email marketing feature, built-in e-commerce, blogging, and many other things that you get on Squarespace. If you want an e-commerce feature, you will need to use Shopify and if you want to add a blog, you have to go for WordPress. You also have to signup for an email marketing platform to send emails. You can connect all these platforms to your
Showit website but you have to log in separately to these platforms if you want to update and manage anything. For example, for you to update your blog, you will need to log in to your WordPress site.
I consider this stressful. Besides, one of the platforms may choose to malfunction causing an extra inconvenience to the business. WordPress will likely be the culprit. Also, if you want to display your Instagram feed, you will need a plugin for that.
All in all, if you are looking for a simple, effective website where you can access these features in one place, Showit may not be the right choice.
More Expensive
While the pricing may look moderate at first when you consider the plugins that you will need to install to make your website function properly and the other platforms you will subscribe to for other features like blog, e-commerce, and so on. The monthly add-ups are expensive when compared with Squarespace.
Not to mention the various plugins that are needed for a smooth experience which you would have to pay for as well.
You need to design mobile view separately
Showit won't automatically adjust your website to a mobile screen view. You will have to design your website twice if you want this feature. Also, the editing is done separately. What I mean is, if you make changes to your website version, it won't be reflected on your mobile version and vice versa. You have to make changes twice.
The mobile option is amazing because it gives you the chance to design a beautiful mobile interface but it is also time-consuming.
More tech-savvy
Ever used photoshop? If you've used photoshop or any of the other adobe software, you will agree with me that it is not the most intuitive software. It requires some level of practice before you can navigate your way. The same with Showit, the editor looks like photoshop in a way and
it isn't the best option for beginners who want to design their websites themselves. You will have to dedicate some time to figure the editor out or give your website to a showit designer.
Another thing to consider is the other platforms you will be needing for other features. You will need to learn two or three platforms to run your website effectively. Shopify— for your e- commerce store, WordPress—for your blog, and Showit—for your website.
No integrated commerce options
You cannot offer products and services on showit currently. You will need to subscribe to an e- commerce website like Shopify to be able to host your products and services.
In contrast, Squarespace offers some cool ecommerce options you can opt-in for in case you want to sell some products alongside your services but if you want to go full mode, there are basic and advanced ecommerce plans to choose from.
Your website and blog are in 2 different places
I will consider this as one of my biggest pet peeves because it can be quite annoying hosting your blog and website on different platforms. Unlike Squarespace, you will need to connect to WordPress and manage your blog from there.
No built-in Analytics
Well, if knowing your traffic statistics and where they come from is one of your priorities, it doesn’t come free on Showit. Showit doesn’t offer built-in analytics to view your traffic. You would have to integrate Google Analytics for that.
In contrast, Squarespace offers built-in analytics where you can view each page’s traffic, geography, activity log, form and buttons conversions, site search keywords, and RSS subscriber analytics data. And if you want higher enhanced features, you get a chance to integrate Google Analytics into your Squarespace website.
No Drop Down Menu
Well, this may not be a pet peeve to most people but I’d like to include it to keep things fair. Showit does not have a drop down menu although you can find your way around it. But in Squarespace, there’s a drop-down menu option
Now that we've considered the two popular website builders for small businesses, let's move to how to decide the platform best for your business because you probably may have discovered both platforms offer features your business will benefit from.
How to decide which platform is best for you
To find out what you need, you should ask yourself these questions
What is your overall goals and needs for a website:
Is it to highlight your work in an appealing way or to run a day to day business
Would it be better to have the all-in-one platform with some design limitations or more design capabilities and separate software for your other needs?
What could this preferred platform give me that others can't that is necessary to manage my business
Do I need a shop? If you do need a shop, you should determine how many items you are likely to offer. And whether you are offering physical or digital products. If the total number of products is between the range of 200 downward and they are digital products, Squarespace will be the best platform to opt for. If otherwise, it will be best to consider using Shopify because it is a platform designed specifically for online stores
Just like every other website builder, Squarespace and showit were designed with a specific audience in mind. What works for a particular business may not work for another. It is up to you to decide the best platform for your business.
Like I said earlier if you prefer functionality over design. Squarespace will be the best choice because you get to host your blog, email campaigns, and online stores from the website. Showit will be the best option for your business if you want more control of the design and won’t mind spending extra time and money on other platforms and plugins.
I hope this article helped you in deciding the best platform. If it did, let me know in the comment below.
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