Why We Recommend Squarespace.
With so many options to create websites out there for small business owners, why do we recommend Squarespace? What are the benefits of Squarespace over the other options available? In this article we break down some of the reasons we work with Squarespace to build websites for our clients.
Ease of Use
The main reason we use Squarespace to build websites for our clients is because of its ease of use. Mainly its WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) style editor. With other options such as Wordpress you manage your content in a backend. In Squarespace you manage your content directly on your website in the Squarespace editor so you know what the site will look like on the screen whether on desktop or mobile while you work! (More on the mobile experience below) Squarespace’s Content Management System is also very user friendly to navigate to find what you're looking for. In most cases we can train anyone on our clients team to manage and update the site themselves within an hour. These tasks include making updating website content, managing online stores, managing memberships and much more.
Customizable Design
Although Squarespace offers many beautiful templates as starting points, that’s exactly what they are, starting points. There are thousands of ways that we can make a clients website unique to them and Squarespace is constantly innovating to launch more. That means we can design a site that is uniquely yours all without touching any code. Other website builders such as Wordpress require you to use free themes, purchase a premium theme or design your own theme. Once those themes are chosen there is very little customization that can be made without coding so your site ends up looking like hundreds or thousands of other on the web that use that same theme.
Automatic Mobile Site
Over 60% of all web traffic is on a mobile device. That means the way your website builder displays your site on a mobile device and whether you can edit that layout is very important. Not only does Squarespace create a mobile layout of your site automatically, but you can also customize it to read the way you want it to on mobile. You can even create a mobile first experience depending on your product or service.
Integrations & Built-In Functionalities
Squarespace has a number of built-in functionalities for its website builder as well as many connections to third party apps making it an extremely powerful tool. Best of all these apps and integrations are kept up-to-date by Squarespace or the third party. No need to make sure your countless Wordpress apps are up-to-date. Squarespace has a number of native functionalities including domain registration, e-commerce, scheduling, newsletters, membership portals and more.
Squarespace also expands its functionality through connections with third party service providers such as Printfull, Art of Where and more for custom merchandise and print on demand; AfterShip, Easyship, Ship Station and more for shipping; connections to QuickBooks, Freshbooks and more for accounting and Mailchimp for email marketing (if you don’t want to use there amazing built in email marketing functionality). They even connect to Weglot Translate, an app that can translate your website into various languages automaticly or with the assistance of a translator. These are only a few of the integrations that Squarespace offers.
On the Go
Squarespace offers an easy to use mobile app for business owners on the go. This app can be used to update websites and even easily upload photos from your phone to a website. The app on a tablet can also be used as an in-store point of sale machine.
Automatic Updates
Squarespace is always adapting to the needs of businesses whether they are selling online only, online and in-store, selling services, selling time or even selling memberships. Squarespace has all the tools and makes any updates necessary to keep them up-to-date and secure. Unlike other website builders such as Wordpress where business owners are responsible for making sure any widgets or other tools required for the sites functionality are updated. Squarespace takes care of all the work for you!
Security & Backup
With Squarespace there is no need to worry about the security of your site or having to consistently backup your site. Security is included with a Squarespace subscription including automatic SSL certificates, protection from denial of service attacks and the option to utilize two-factor authentication to sign into accounts. OmniWorx Design utilizes two factor authentication to sign in to our clients sites through our portal and recommends that our clients also enable two factor authentication on their accounts. In terms of operations, Squarespace has a team monitoring for security threats 24/7 and complies with global data privacy laws such as GDPR and is compliant with PCI-DSS. You can visit the Squarespace Security page here for more details.
About the Author - Jack C. Henry
A graduate of OCAD University’s Graphic Design program, Jack blends art with real-world business strategy. The result? Creative solutions that add value to your business. Jack has designed for a wide range of industries including restaurants, retail stores, health care, community organizations and charities. As well as helping companies develop their brand, he creates beautiful marketing materials and signage.
About OmniWorx Design.
OmniWorx Design is a boutique design firm providing graphic design, branding, marketing services to individuals, small & mid-sized businesses. More...