At first glance, it seems that there isn’t much that separates Squarespace from Weebly. Indeed, the two platforms have more similarities than differences.
Both are web-based and subscription-based services that can be used to build a website, start a blog, and run an eCommerce business. They provide built-in tools for marketing your site, as well as mobile apps to give you the flexibility to create and run your website on the go.
However, it’s the differences that make each platform suited to different types of users.
To help you decide between Squarespace and Weebly, I’ve spent over 11 hours reviewing and comparing the two website builders. I’ve broken down their differences across key factors, including ease of use, design and customization, eCommerce capabilities, blogging functionality, pricing, support, and more.
Without further ado, let’s dive right in.
1. Weebly vs Squarespace: Ease of Use
Most people who set out to build a website end up frustrated because they just can’t figure out how different tools work. You can avoid such setbacks by choosing a website builder that offers simple, no-code, drag-and-drop tools.
Let’s see how Squarespace and Weebly compare in this regard.
Squarespace:
The Squarespace site builder is designed for users without a coding background. It has a simple editor that is really easy to use. It isn’t drag-and-drop per se, it’s more like a mix of WordPress and drag-and-drop.
This can be a little overwhelming at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll see how this type of editor gives you even more freedom to create unique designs. You’ll be able to create really elegant and professional website designs even with zero technical knowledge.
Compared to Weebly, the editor is slightly more complex, but it’s still very easy to understand and it offers more design options. You can choose from dozens of pre-built Squarespace templates, all of which are designed to be aesthetically pleasing, mobile responsive, and fully customizable.
Simply click on any page element, and you’ll be able to customize colors, fonts, styles, etc. to create a unique design that matches your brand.
If you want to build a website that revolves around stunning visuals and elegant designs, such as an eCommerce store, restaurant website, or professional portfolio website, then Squarespace is a good choice for you.
Hosting is included with your Squarespace subscription so you don’t have to worry about setting up a separate hosting account for your new website.
You can also link a custom domain and add a professional email address using Google Workspace or any other solution.
Summary of Squarespace’s Ease of Use Features:
- Simple, no-code website builder ideal for beginners
- Dozens of elegant, professional website templates are available
- Build mobile-responsive websites, blogs, and eCommerce stores
- Free hosting with each Squarespace subscription
- Link a custom domain and professional email address
Weebly:
Like Squarespace, Weebly is also very easy to use and comes with a range of pre-designed templates for your website.
Use a template to jumpstart your website creation or start from scratch and add different elements such as images, text, etc. onto a page to create the exact type of layout you want.
The platform’s intuitive interface makes it ideal for complete novices. There’s no need for coding knowledge. The drag-and-drop nature of the editor makes it so that if you can point and click a mouse, you can easily create a website on Weebly.
There’s a slightly shorter learning curve compared to Squarespace, but the downside is that this convenience comes at the cost of in-depth customization capabilities. Of course, if you intend to build a simple website or blog, then this won’t matter much.
Weebly’s site builder specializes in creating personal and small business websites. It doesn’t come with a lot of support for creating complex websites or eCommerce stores. However, the platform does strive to improve its service by offering additional features like multi-language capabilities, ad monetization, and an ever-increasing list of eCommerce tools (more on that below).
Summary of Weebly’s Ease of Use Features:
- PreConfigured templates to build a branded website
- Free Weebly account with no credit card required
- Drag-and-drop editor for simplicity and ease
- Multi-language support for international websites
- Built-in eCommerce features even on free plan
Winner: Weebly
Weebly’s emphasis on simplicity makes it the right choice for absolute beginners. Its editor is slightly easier to use than Squarespace, and for someone less tech-savvy, this can be the difference between building a successful website or giving up in frustration.
For this reason, Weebly is the perfect platform for users and small businesses with very little to no technical background.
Of course, the cost of having such a simple site builder is that you’re limited in website design capabilities. With that said, Squarespace is also easy to use, and once you get the hang of the editor, you’ll be able to build stunning websites with more integrated features for marketing, SEO, and eCommerce.
2. Design and Customization
When building a website, you need a site builder with the right design tools and customization options that allow you to add the appearance and functionality you want in your new site.
It also helps if the platform offers pre-made templates to make your work easier. Let’s see how these two web development solutions compare.
Squarespace:
Squarespace is well known for its visually attractive websites. Where aesthetics are concerned, it definitely has an edge over Weebly. It has greater customization options and the use of the code editor is possible for those with the tech skills.
Although Squarespace has fewer templates than Weebly, they are more conveniently organized into different industries, and they look better overall. You’ll have no trouble finding a template to make your business stand out online. In comparison to Squarespace’s modern designs, Weebly’s designs are a lot more dated.
You can use the section-based editor on Squarespace to make changes to your templates. You have to stay within the clearly defined structure for each page, which can be a bit limiting for those with advanced web design knowledge.
However, anyone who lacks the design skills necessary will appreciate the guidance of such a web builder. Each element’s position is determined by the pre-defined containers in each section, which means you can’t go wrong with your website design. Everything will automatically look neat and ordered on the page.
Another benefit to having a structure such as this is that it automatically optimizes your website for mobile devices. You won’t have to manually adjust the different elements to make them look good on smartphones and tablets as you would have to on other site builders.
Summary of Squarespace’s Design and Customization Features:
- Visually appealing website templates organized into different industries
- Simple, section-based editor ideal for beginners
- Code editing option for advanced users
- Mobile-optimized websites by default
- Wide range of integrations to enhance design and functionality
Weebly:
Weebly has a set of basic design tools to simplify the process of website design for those without experience.
You can create almost any type of site you want in the Weebly builder, including business or personal websites, blogs, membership areas, portfolios, and eCommerce stores.
Compared to Squarespace, Weebly has limited customization options. You get plenty of pre-made templates to build your site, but you won’t get the same deep customization levels available on Squarespace.
Many of the templates on the platform will look pretty much the same from one website to another. This can be a dealbreaker for someone looking to create a website that stands out from all the rest.
All Weebly sites are 100% mobile responsive and look great on small devices. The platform also has a mobile app that is convenient and fast, allowing you to build and maintain your site on the go. If you intend to do a lot of your work on your mobile phone, then you’ll appreciate this feature.
The mobile app also has an analytics dashboard which allows you to view visitors statistics and interact with your website visitors from wherever you are.
Summary of Weebly’s Design and Customization Features:
- Simplified web design process perfect for beginners
- Powerful and fast mobile app for on-the-go website management
- Dozens of expertly designed templates to choose from
- Access visitor analytics and reports on the mobile app
- Fully mobile-responsive websites
Winner: Squarespace
Looks matter. Your website’s design could mean the difference between a visitor interacting with your site or bouncing right off it to one of your competitors. Squarespace has more design flexibility, which is why it won the design and customization contest.
You’ll find a broader range of sleek, modern templates, and you can easily change colors and layouts to better align with your brand.
The platform also has an intuitive image editor that you can use to create striking visuals for your site without having to integrate a third-party tool like Canva.
3. eCommerce Capabilities
If you plan to sell stuff on your website, you need a website builder that offers seamless integration with all the sales and marketing tools you’ll need.
The good news is that Squarespace and Weebly offer built-in tools to build an online store and accept payments for both physical and digital products.
Here’s a quick look at the eCommerce capabilities of each platform.
Squarespace:
Squarespace has a built-in store builder and integrated tools to take payments online. You can use it to sell digital and physical products, as well as services and subscriptions. The store builder gives you the ability to create stunning product pages, and you get features like product subcategories, product image zoom, and more.
There’s a native payment system, as well as integrations with PayPal, Stripe, and Square that you can use to start accepting global payments instantly. You can also use the Square integration to sell offline.
As a Squarespace user, you also get a ton of other functionality related to eCommerce and marketing, including inventory management tools, discounts, gift cards, print-on-demand, shipping, sales analytics, and the ability to sell directly on Instagram.
You can also leverage the user login feature which can be a huge saver for both you and your customers if your business gets regular orders from returning customers.
However, you should note that these features are only available on the higher-priced eCommerce plan, and they’re ideal for small to medium-sized businesses. If you’re planning to run a large eCommerce store with complex inventory, then you’ll be better served by using a dedicated eCommerce platform.
It’s also important to note that the number of eCommerce features you get depends on the plan you pick. The more you pay for a monthly subscription, the more eCommerce functionality you’ll get.
Summary of Squarespace’s eCommerce Capabilities:
- Extended eCommerce and marketing functionality
- Native payment system included in all eCommerce plans
- Sell online and offline with Square integration
- Robust sales analytics feature
- Sell directly on Instagram
Weebly:
In 2018, Weebly was acquired by Square and now the platform boasts powerful eCommerce functionality.
Weebly’s integration with Square provides users with powerful point-of-sale capabilities and the ability to accept global credit card payments on mobile devices. Some of these features are available on the premium plans, but the free plan still gives you enough to set up your store and start accepting global payments.
The free plan comes with some impressive eCommerce capabilities, such as a free shopping cart, item badges, Quick Shop, and inventory management features. You can sell an unlimited number of products and there’s an in-store pickup feature for your convenience.
In order to sell products or services online with Squarespace, you’ll have to upgrade to the Basic eCommerce plan. This gives Weebly an edge over Squarespace in terms of eCommerce functionality.
Weebly also allows you to use coupons, discounts, and gift cards to entice more sales. Collect and use customer reviews as social proof on your website, and leverage the abandoned cart feature to recover lost sales from visitors who leave your website without completing their purchase.
There are also advanced tools for tracking visitors, managing orders, shipping, and sending email and text messages.
You can build a beautiful online store using Weebly’s drag-and-drop editor. Many features come built into the templates and you can import product lists automatically. In addition to physical products, you can also sell MP3s, videos, digital downloads, or any other types of digital products.
Weebly has SEO fields for all products, which helps to optimize your inventory for search. Each site has SSL encryption by default and if you subscribe to the Business or Performance plans, you’ll also get an automatic sales tax calculator (available in the US only) and a shipping cost calculator.
Summary of Weebly’s eCommerce Capabilities:
- Simple, guided online store setup
- Modern, optimized online store templates
- Powerful built-in eCommerce functionality even on the free plan
- Sell physical and digital products and subscriptions
- Built-in tracking tools available
Winner: Tie
Neither Weebly nor Squarespace are one-stop sales and marketing platforms, which is why they may not be the best solution for anyone who wants to build a complex eCommerce store. They just can’t compete with specialized eCommerce platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce.
But, in a simple comparison of the two eCommerce builders, Weebly offers a much more complete eCommerce solution compared to Squarespace. Setting up your online store is quick and easy, and you have a vastly larger number of eCommerce features available to you, even on the free plan.
Squarespace has better design options for your webshop and enables you to sell your products via Instagram (something that Weebly doesn’t allow you to do).
4. Blogging Tools
When building a website or eCommerce store, it’s always a good idea to integrate a blog to help you drive more targeted traffic to your products.
Let’s see how these two platforms compare with regard to their respective blogging features.
Squarespace:
Squarespace is well-designed for blogging. It comes with a wide range of blogging-specific templates to choose from. These are stylish, modern, and well-optimized to ensure your blog has a good chance of ranking online. This gives Squarespace the upper hand over its competitor.
Additionally, you get a range of high-quality blogging features, such as the ability to add podcasts. The platform also facilitates collaboration by allowing you to add multiple authors to your website.
You get advanced features like code injection which you can use to add HTML and scripts to further enhance specific parts of your website.
You can create and save posts as drafts, publish them immediately, or schedule them for a later date. Add tags and category data to blog articles, enable or disable comments on individual pages, and leverage advanced integrations to search and optimize your blog posts.
Squarespace also enables you to automatically share your blog posts with your social media audience or send new posts to your readers as email marketing campaigns. This is possible with the platform’s built-in tools designed to save you time and effort when marketing your blog.
Summary of Squarespace’s Blogging Tools:
- 30+ blog-specific templates available
- Add podcast episodes to your blog
- Add multiple authors to help with content management
- Code injection feature for advanced customization
- Easily share blog posts via social media and email
Weebly:
Like its counterpart, Weebly has a native blogging tool with all the essential features to create and publish your content. However, it’s nowhere near as advanced as the one on Squarespace.
Weebly’s tool is good enough to build a simple blog, but if you want something more advanced, you’ll have to integrate a specialized blogging app like DropInBlog.
But, considering the fact that you get Weebly’s blogging solution for free, it’s a solid option for beginners and users on a tight budget.
Like Squarespace, Weebly allows you to create posts, save them as drafts, publish them immediately, or schedule them for a later date. You can also add videos and images to your posts, include categories and descriptions, and enable comments from your readers.
The drag-and-drop editor lets you create different layouts for your blog posts and you can add different elements like forms, video backgrounds, and image galleries to each page with just a few clicks.
However, unlike Squarespace which allows you to have multiple authors on your blog, Weebly only allows a single author. Due to limitations like these, Weebly is not suitable for anyone who wants to build a robust blogging website, unless you intend to use the third-party blogging system.
Summary of Weebly’s Blogging Tools:
- Create a Weebly blog for free
- Add unlimited pages to your Weebly blog
- Choose from dozens of templates made for bloggers
- Set up your blog in minutes with Weebly’s intuitive interface
- Integrated marketing and eCommerce features
Winner: Squarespace
Squarespace makes it a lot easier to design a beautiful blog and collaborate with others. It also provides you with tools to better organize your blog content, which is why it’s the better choice for anyone who intends to publish content on a regular basis.
5. Search Engine Optimization Tools
SEO is vital for your website to rank high in search engines so you can drive targeted, organic traffic to your website. Let’s see how Weebly and Squarespace approach the process of optimizing your website for search.
Squarespace:
Squarespace offers solid SEO capabilities. You don’t need to be an SEO or coding pro to make it work. You’ll find several built-in features designed to help you make your new website SEO-friendly in the simplest way possible.
The platform takes care of things like auto-generated site maps, SSL security, social image-sharing control, and mobile responsiveness to help boost your SEO.
You can also tweak a few additional settings to increase the possibility of ranking high in Google. All you have to do is follow the suggestions from the platform’s AI-powered SEO tool and you’ll be able to set up your basic SEO, including titles, descriptions, alt text, and URLs.
You have access to more advanced SEO features like 301 redirects from your dashboard, and you can also integrate Google Search Console to gain valuable visitor data to help you make improvements to your website.
Summary of Squarespace’s Search Engine Optimization Tools:
- SEO checklist for best practices
- Powerful built-in SEO features for pages and items
- Social image-sharing control
- Mobile-optimized websites to enhance SEO
- Google Search Console integration for in-depth visitor data
Weebly:
Like Squarespace, Weebly provides you with the boilerplate basics for your website SEO.
All Weebly websites have a range of built-in features to help you show up in search. Some of the main features include a site map, responsive design, meta-descriptions, SEO-friendly HTML formatting, and much more.
On your dashboard, you’ll also find advanced SEO settings such as alt tags on images, page-specific descriptions, and more. In addition to the general settings for SEO, you can also customize options for individual pages.
For instance, you’ll be prompted to add page titles, customized pages, links, page descriptions, and meta keywords.
Weebly has a step-by-step guide designed to help beginners set up their website SEO quickly and easily. This tool is accessible from the dashboard which is simple to use and super responsive compared to the one on Squarespace.
Summary of Weebly’s Search Engine Optimization Tools:
- Optimized page titles and updated page descriptions
- Update URLs and auto-submit site map
- Automatic website indexing
- Advanced SEO settings for individual pages
- In page meta-data editor for easy optimization
Winner: Squarespace
Squarespace blows Weebly out of the water with its built-in SEO functionality. The platform gives you better control over your SEO strategy without having to download and use a third-party plugin.
Weebly also has some integrated SEO apps that can help you with things like coding, SEO analytics, and even keyword support. But, Squarespace offers more native features which makes it a great choice for beginners and non-SEO-savvy users.
6. Community and Support
Both Squarespace and Weebly offer robust support for their users. If you need assistance at any stage of your website-building journey, you can get it in a number of ways ranging from live chat to dedicated personal email.
Here’s what each platform has to offer.
Squarespace:
Squarespace offers email support and live chat support to its users. The platform doesn’t offer phone support, but you can get additional help through the Squarespace Help Center which is filled with in-depth articles, how-to guides, webinars, and video tutorials on every conceivable topic pertaining to the website builder.
The Squarespace support team is also available on social media. They are most active on Twitter, and you can also connect with peers and seek answers to your questions on the Squarespace forum.
Weebly:
Weebly provides customer support via forum, chat, and email. There’s a customer care page with links to articles on different topics, but if you still require human assistance, you can get in touch with customer support by clicking the button on the contact page.
Ever since its acquisition by Square, Weebly users who require assistance are now redirected to the Square Support Center.
Users on the Professional plan can get phone support, and the higher-tier plans get priority support. Weebly’s direct contact phone line is available seven days a week, between the hours of 6 AM and 6 PM US Pacific Time.
The website also has a ton of resources located in the help center’s knowledge base. There’s also a community forum filled with active and engaged users with whom you can connect to learn more tips and tricks on how to build a professional website on Weebly.
Winner: Tie
Both platforms offer prompt, knowledgeable support in a number of ways, so we’ll call this one a tie. Both platforms offer email support, live chat, in-depth guides, and active online communities. You get free support on all plans, including the free plan.
Squarespace does offer more ways to learn the software, but you need less help with Weebly since the editor is so much easier to handle.
7. Pricing
Pricing is yet another important consideration. You want a website builder that provides you with all the features you need at an affordable price.
Let’s take a look at how Weebly and Squarespace compare in the pricing department.
Squarespace:
Squarespace has four growth-focused plans to choose from. They are as follows:
- Free Trial: $0/Month: You can sign up for a free trial to test out the platform’s core features. No credit card is required, and you’ll be able to publish a website on a subdomain. However, this free trial is limited in the number of features you have access to, which is why it’s a good idea to upgrade to one of the premium plans if you want to build a professional website.
- Personal Plan: $16/Month: If you opt for the annual website plan, you get a free custom domain for the year. This plan also comes with SSL security, unlimited bandwidth, and built-in SEO features for website visibility.
- Business Plan: $23/Month: The “Business” plan includes everything in the “Personal” plan + unlimited contributors, professional email from Google, premium integrations, and promotional pop-ups and banners. You also get access to Squarespace Video Studio App to help you create and share engaging videos.
- Basic eCommerce: $27/Month: This plan includes everything in the “Business” plan + 0% transaction fees, although it’s important to note that your payment processor may still apply its own transaction fees. This plan also includes product reviews, customer accounts, products on Instagram, and point-of-sale which allows you to sell in person using the Commerce app.
- Advanced Commerce: $49/Month: The Advanced Commerce plan has everything in the “Basic eCommerce” plan + abandoned cart recovery features, and the ability to sell subscriptions. You also get advanced discounts, advanced shipping, and commerce APIs.
Weebly:
Weebly’s plans are as follows:
- Free Plan: $0/Month: This plan lets you build a website for free. You get SSL security and the ability to add third-party embed code. This plan also comes with eCommerce features to help you start selling products online, including a shopping cart, unlimited items, inventory management, coupons, and more. You can reach support via chat, email, and community forum.
- Personal Plan: $10/Month: This plan has all the site features, eCommerce tools, and marketing features in the free plan. You can also connect a custom domain and sell digital goods. You get access to shipping labels and a shipping calculator, as well as advanced SEO tools and pop-up notifications.
- Professional Plan: $12/Month: The Professional plan has everything in the Personal plan plus a few additional features to add more customization to your website. You can remove Square ads and you also get unlimited storage, advanced website statistics, and a free domain with any annual plan. Other features include password protection, and you get phone support.
- Performance Plan: $25/Month: This plan has everything in the Professional plan. It also includes the ability to accept payments through PayPal, Item Reviews, and advanced eCommerce insights. Users on this plan get priority support.
Winner: Weebly
Weebly’s plans are cheaper than those on Squarespace. Also, Weebly has a free plan, whereas Squarespace only offers a free trial. For eCommerce functionality, Weebly plans start at just $12/month, but on Squarespace, you’ll have to pay $27/month for the Basic eCommerce plan.
With that said, the plan does include more advanced features, which means it’s worth considering depending on the type and size of the eCommerce site you want to build.
Final Thoughts
As this Squarespace vs Weebly comparison has shown, both platforms have a lot to offer in terms of website creation and management.
I recommend Squarespace because it’s an all-in-one platform that offers built-in tools for web hosting, domains, SSL, blogging, SEO, eCommerce, email marketing, and various other tools to help you build a successful website.
But, if you intend to build a basic website or blog, then you don’t have to pay for many of the features on Squarespace. Weebly will provide you with all the tools you need at a much lower price.
So, to summarize, the website builder you choose will depend on your specific needs and preferences.
Choose Squarespace if: You want a powerful website builder that perfectly merges ease-of-use with advanced design and customization to help you build beautiful, full-featured websites. Squarespace is slightly more expensive, but it has a wider range of built-in features across the board which means you’ll get more bang for your buck.
Also, check out my other comparisons to find out how it compares against another site builder:
Choose Weebly if: You want an affordable website-building solution that will help you get your site up in the quickest and most convenient way possible. This means you’ll have to sacrifice some control over the design and functionality of your website, but on the plus side, you won’t be paying for features you don’t need.
See my Weebly vs. Shopify, Weebly vs. WordPress, Weebly vs. Strikingly, and Weebly vs. GoDaddy comparisons to see how it compares against other website builders.