To Squarespace? Or not to Squarespace?

If you’re looking to create a new website, you may be wondering if it is better to use a templated website-building platform such as Squarespace, which could save you a lot of time and money, or if you should invest more to build a website from scratch. Never fear! As a visual designer who specializes in digital media, I have tons of experience working on templated sites, as well as building websites from scratch.

Here are several points you need to consider when pondering over the age-old question: to Squarespace, or not to Squarespace?

What is your vision?

Do you have an extremely specific vision for how you would like your site to be customized and function? Are you envisioning animations and interactivity that is engaging beyond a typical website? If this is true for you, then a templated site is not for you.

Even a layout that seems relatively simple in your head could prove to be a problem on Squarespace if there isn’t a preexisting template that supports it. When it comes to these types of sites, what you see is essentially what you get.

When looking at the templates, it is important to ask yourself if you would be happy with the layout pretty much as is, expecting to change only tiny details such as color, logo, and images. If you have ideas that would require dramatic changes from what is provided, Squarespace is ultimately most-likely to frustrate you, and you would be wise to bring a developer on board to help you execute your specific vision.

What are you trying to sell?

Layouts aside, navigational and ecommerce needs should also be considered. Squarespace is meant for relatively small websites that will have no more than a handful of pages. Most templates do not offer the option of a sticky nav (a huge con on pages with lengthier scrolls). Squarespace does allow you to create drop-down nav menus, however, mega menus are a no-go. This means that Squarespace would be a poor choice for a large retail site.

However, Squarespace does provide pretty impressive ecommerce support that would be appropriate for small businesses. It will even enable you to manage digital marketing for your company by allowing you to promote products on social media and create email campaigns. All of this comes with one of the ecommerce subscriptions, which cost between $18 and $46 monthly (costs vary slightly based on if you choose to make annual or monthly payments).

With these things considered, Squarespace would be an absolutely phenomenal choice for, say, a locally-owned bike shop or yoga studio.

Where do quick, easy, and cheap land on your list of priorities?

Templated websites can be very beautiful and be highly functional in a way that is easy for users to engage with. They are also incredibly easy to customize for non-designers, making upkeep simple and painless. In the world of websites, a backend where non-developers can edit features on the website is known as a Content Management System, or CMS. Squarespace comes with a lovely built-in CMS that will allow you to easily update the website at any time for a reasonable cost (the price of a subscription) without needing to run back to a developer or designer again and again. Building a CMS for a custom website is certainly always possible but could add considerable cost to the project. Furthermore, it is not guaranteed that the CMS will be sophisticated enough for you to be able to easily implement changes without guidance (when you partner with a company like Rung-UP however, it always will be).

If you decide to go to a website like Thumbtack to find a developer who will help you build a custom website, you can expect to spend between $1,000 and $5,000 depending on the complexity and scope of the project. If you are looking to partner with a professional agency, it is much more complicated: prices could vary from $10,000 to a quarter of a million dollars or more for a custom website.

At Rung-UP we have actually found that a middle solution sometimes works. When clients have asked us to build very thin sites, we have found it effective to begin building in Squarespace and then apply HTML to customize the site further where needed. This proves to save a huge amount of time and allows us to keep the cost of these sites on the lower end for our clients.

In conclusion…

There are clear pros and cons to going either route when it comes to building your own website. Hopefully, this article has been helpful in illuminating which option is right for your website – but if you still find yourself uncertain, here’s some good news:

At Rung-UP, we are experts in digital media design, and we can help you determine exactly what type of site you need. We have the UX and UI understanding to make sure you successfully achieve your KPI goals. We have built templated and custom websites for clients that have helped elevate their businesses to the next level. If you are interested in working with us to elevate your business, please contact us at Hi@Rung-Up.com.

Makenzie Guyer is a Creative Partner at Rung-UP, where she helps conceive and execute creative and digital media projects.