Squarespace and Weebly are both leading website builders with very similar drag-and-drop editing interfaces for code-free site-building. While they are both similarly priced and offer similar features, Squarespace is the best option for building and maintaining an online store affordably. In contrast, Weebly is best for building a low-cost website very quickly and easily.
When to Use Squarespace
Squarespace is a leading site builder platform where users create professional business websites using pre-built templates that are customized using its drag-and-drop site editor. Plans start at $12 and include everything a small business needs to build a site in one place. It’s best for ecommerce businesses and those seeking affordable month-to-month plans.
When to Use Weebly
Weebly is a top site builder platform that gives the user a super-easy and out-of-the-box website solution with its simple and straightforward drag-and-drop editing interface. It’s best for those that value ease of use and want a fast and easy way of building a website. It’s also good for budget-conscious businesses given its low-cost, long-term plans.
Squarespace vs Weebly at a Glance
Squarespace | Weebly | |
---|---|---|
Starting Price | $12/month | $5/month |
Web Hosting Included | Yes | Yes |
Prebuilt Templates | 23 | 35 |
Drag-and-Drop Site Builder | ✔ | ✔ |
SEO-friendly | ✔ | ✔ |
Mobile-optimized | ✔ | ✔ |
Option to Add Custom Code | ✔ | ✔ |
Free SSL Certificate | ✔ | ✔ |
Connect a Custom Domain | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Domain Name | ✔ | ✔ |
Ecommerce Capabilities | ✔ | ✔ |
Ad-free | ✔ | ✔ |
Support | Live chat & email | Live chat & email |
More Information |
Squarespace and Weebly are very similar drag-and-drop site builders that offer seemingly identical features at first glance. To help small businesses decide which is right for them, we compared Squarespace vs Weebly based on affordability and value for the price, ease of use, features, and inclusions such as a free domain name and storage limits, customer service, and customer reviews.
We considered the following criteria to evaluate Squarespace vs Weebly:
- Price: The best website builder offers the most affordable plans that offer high value at a low price. We also considered contract lengths available for each provider to find which offers users the most flexibility from month-to-month plans to long-term plans over 12 months.
- Ease of use: The purpose of a website builder such as Squarespace or Weebly is to provide users with an easy way of building a professional business website. We reviewed each platform’s drag-and-drop site editor to determine which is easier to use.
- Features & inclusions: All-in-one website builders are designed to be feature-rich and include everything a user needs to build a website. We reviewed each platform and compared them to find which offers more features and inclusions, such as storage and bandwidth limits, a free domain name, a free secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate, and the ability to sell online.
- Customer service: Quality customer support can make all the difference, so we compared providers to find which offers better support in terms of the ways support can be reached, hours and availability of support, and responsiveness of support.
- User reviews: For further insight on what each provider does and doesn’t do well with, we looked at user reviews to see how each provider measures up.
Based on the criteria above, we determined Squarespace to be the best overall option for small businesses looking for a comprehensive yet affordable site builder with modern templates and a wide range of customization and ecommerce capabilities. Weebly is the best option for small businesses looking to build a basic, informational website very quickly and easily.
Squarespace vs Weebly: Pricing & Features
At first glance, Weebly offers cheaper plans than Squarespace, though they are priced equally at $12 per month for business websites. This is because Weebly’s free and low-cost plans use subdomains and display ads. Where they differ is that Squarespace offers cheaper plans for month-to-month contracts, and Weebly offers cheaper long-term plans.
Squarespace Pricing
Squarespace plans range from $12 to $25-plus per month. All plans come with full access to its easy-to-use drag-and-drop site builder, dozens of professionally designed templates, unlimited storage and bandwidth, and extras such as a free domain name and SSL certificate, and 100-plus integrations from FedEx shipping calculators to ChowNow online food ordering.
Squarespace Tiered Pricing & Features
Personal | Business | Commerce | |
---|---|---|---|
Price With Annual Contract | $12/month | $18/month | $26/month |
Ecommerce-Enabled | Not Available | Requires 3% transaction fee | Included, 0% transaction fee |
Storage | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Number of Contributors | 2 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Third-party Integrations | 100+ | 100+ | 100+ |
Drag-and-Drop Site Builder | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Ad-free | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free SSL Certificate | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Domain Name | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Built-in Website Analytics | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Sell Unlimited Products | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Sell on Instagram | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Customer Accounts | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Customer Service | 24/7 - Live chat & email | 24/7 - Live chat & email | 24/7 - Live chat & email |
Personal Plan
The Squarespace Personal plan starts at $12 per month with annual billing or $16 per month with month-to-month-billing. Although this is Squarespace’s entry-level plan, it is very comprehensive and includes everything a small business needs to build a professional site easily. The plan includes the use of its drag-and-drop site builder, dozens of templates, unlimited storage and bandwidth, a free domain name and SSL certificate, and 24/7 support.
This plan is the best for the average small business looking to build out a professional and informational website with a sleek and modern design. While more comprehensive with design capabilities and site functionalities through its laundry list of integrations, Squarespace’s editing interface is slightly less straightforward than Weebly’s. That said, those who are looking to build an out-of-the-box-style site as quickly as possible should consider the Weebly Pro Plan.
Business Plan
The Squarespace Business plan starts at $18 per month with annual billing or $26 per month with monthly billing. It comes with everything from the Personal plan, such as full use of its drag-and-drop editing interface, unlimited storage and bandwidth, and a free domain and SSL certificate, but with the ability to sell online. It includes unlimited products and has a transaction fee of 3% of sales.
This plan is the best option for businesses selling products online passively. For example, a hair salon that primarily sells services and products in-person may be looking to build an informational website that also gives site visitors the ability to purchase products online. Budget-conscious businesses looking to sell only a handful of products may want to consider the Weebly Pro plan, which includes up to 25 product listings for $12 per month.
Commerce Plan
The Commerce plan costs $26 per month with annual billing or $30 per month with month-to-month billing. It’s designed to be the best solution for businesses that use their site as the main sales channel. It includes everything from the business plan, but with additional ecommerce features such as a 0% transaction fee and the ability to set up customer accounts and sell on social channels such as Instagram.
This plan is the best option for ecommerce businesses that have a high volume of products or those that use their site as a primary channel for direct sales. This is because it includes unlimited product listings and a 0% transaction fee.
Weebly Pricing
Weebly plans for business range from $5 per month to $25-plus per month. The plan that starts at $5 per month displays Weebly ads, so businesses should choose the Pro plan for $12 per month. It includes access to its drag-and-drop editor, unlimited storage and bandwidth, and a free domain name and SSL certificate.
Weebly Tiered Pricing & Features
Connect | Pro | Business | |
---|---|---|---|
Price With Annual Contract | $5/month | $12/month | $25/month |
Ecommerce-enabled | Not included | Requires 3% transaction fee | Included, 0% transaction fee |
Product Limit | Not Available | 25 | Unlimited |
Storage | 500 MB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Templates Available | 35 | 35 | 35 |
Drag-and-Drop Site Builder | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free SSL Certificate | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
SEO-friendly | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Ad-free | ✔ | ✔ | |
Connect a Domain | ✔ | ✔ | |
Free Domain Name | ✔ | ✔ | |
Built-in Website Analytics | ✔ | ✔ | |
Customer Accounts | ✔ | ||
Customer Service | Live chat & email | Phone, live chat & email | Phone, live chat & email |
Connect Plan
Weebly’s Connect plan costs as low as $4 per month with a 24-month plan, $5 per month with an annual plan, or $8 per month with a month-to-month plan. It’s Weebly’s entry-level premium plan, which enables users to connect a custom domain, as opposed to using a Weebly subdomain. It includes 500MB of storage and unlimited bandwidth, use of its drag-and-drop site editor, and a free SSL certificate. However, it does display Weebly ads.
Given that the Connect plan displays Weebly ads, it is the best plan for bloggers and individuals who aren’t worried about ads affecting their branding. This is because a professional business website should not display ads. Businesses, however, should update to the Pro plan or choose the Squarespace Personal plan as both are ad-free and include unlimited storage and bandwidth for $12 per month with annual billing.
Pro Plan
The Pro plan costs as little as $9 per month with a 24-month contract, $12 per month with an annual contract, or $18 per month with a month-to-month contract. It includes access to the Weebly site builder with 35 templates, unlimited storage, and bandwidth, free domain name, free SSL certificate, ability to sell up to 25 products online, and it does not display ads.
This plan is the best option for nontech-savvy businesses looking for an ultra-easy way to build a professional website quickly. This is because its drag-and-drop editing interface is very straightforward and doesn’t involve much of a learning curve and, unlike the Connect plan, it doesn’t display ads. It’s nearly identical to the Squarespace Personal plan, which also costs $12 per month with an annual bill, but it’s cheaper for those that are open to a long-term contract.
Business Plan
The Business plan costs as little as $21 per month with a 24-month contract, $25 per month with an annual contract, or $35 per month with a month-to-month plan. It includes everything from the Pro plan, but with more ecommerce-specific features, such as unlimited product listings, a 0% transaction fee, and the option to enable customer accounts.
This plan is geared toward those looking for a simple way to build a functional and low-cost ecommerce site. It’s best for those building online stores that need a fast solution and do not need a large amount of style and design customizations. Those that want to build an ecommerce site that provides more customization capabilities should consider Squarespace instead. Squarespace is also better for those who prefer month-to-month contracts.
Squarespace vs Weebly: Ease of Use
While Squarespace and Weebly are both designed to be very easy-to-use site builders, Weebly is more streamlined and straightforward, making it the easier of the two choices. Both providers work off prebuilt templates that users customize with its drag-and-drop site editors. Where they differ is that Squarespace has slightly more design capabilities and functionality opportunities, the editing interface is more complex. Weebly has fewer options but is easier to use.
Squarespace Ease of Use
Squarespace is an easy-to-use website building platform that uses a modern drag-and-drop editing interface. It’s an intuitive platform once you know how to use it, but it does involve a slight learning curve to become familiar with what it is capable of. The “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) editor enables users to visually edit web pages and all change editing options in one place—from updating pages to altering analytics metrics.
Squarespace editing interface
Weebly Ease of Use
Weebly is one of the easiest to use website builders. Its drag-and-drop site editor is very simple and straightforward, making it easy to learn quickly and navigate. The editing interface has two main menus, the left-hand menu for editing pages and the top horizontal menu for changing actions, such as switching pages, adding pages, or updating settings. It has everything a user needs to build and manage a site easily in one place.
Weebly site builder interface
Squarespace vs Weebly: Customer Service
When comparing Squarespace vs Weebly for customer service, Weebly wins given that it offers live support by phone and includes live chat support on weekends, unlike Squarespace, which does not offer support via phone and offers live chat only Monday through Friday. However, Squarespace does offer 24/7 support via email.
Squarespace Customer Service
Squarespace offers quality customer service via live chat, email, and Twitter. Its live chat support is available between 4 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern time Monday to Friday. Email support is available 24/7, although there is no set response time. It also offers users a comprehensive help center and user forum, which serve to answer frequently asked questions (FAQs) and provide troubleshooting assistance.
Weebly Customer Service
Weebly has top-rated customer service that is available via phone, live chat, and email for its premium plans. Its customer service team is available from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific time Monday through Friday as well as from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekends. It also offers a large knowledge center that provides dozens of articles to help users troubleshoot on their own.
Squarespace vs Weebly: Customer Reviews
Squarespace and Weebly are both highly rated site builders, though Squarespace comes out ahead of Weebly in terms of average reviews. Squarespace has a high 4.4 out of 5-star rating, whereas Weebly has a 4.1 out of 5-star average rating from our review pages. Users of both frequently commented that they are easy-to-use platforms while users also would like additional customization capabilities.
Squarespace Customer Reviews
Squarespace has a high 4.4 out of 5-star average rating from users on our reviews page. People who left positive reviews frequently comment that they find its interface very sleek and modern. People who left negative reviews commented that despite its vast customization capabilities, they wish it had more and that they would prefer it if Squarespace offered customer service via phone.
Weebly Customer Reviews
Weebly has a 4.1 out of 5-star average rating on our user reviews page. Positive reviewers commonly note that they find it’s the simplest way to build a business website and like that it offers very affordable plans. Users commented that its customization capabilities are fairly limited and, while it’s possible to add custom code, it’s not something the average Weebly user could do.
Squarespace vs Weebly FAQs
What’s the best way to build a small business website?
The two leading ways to build a small business website are with an all-in-one site builder such as Squarespace, Wix, or Weebly for nontech-savvy users looking to build a professional website quickly and easily, and WordPress for those that have some technical abilities and need a web platform with extensive customization capabilities. Learn more and get the step-by-step details on how to build a small business website.
How do you build a website with Squarespace?
Building a website with Squarespace is easy and can be done in just eight steps. To start, navigate to the Squarespace homepage, then browse and select a template. Next, create an account, then use the built-in drag-and-drop site editor to customize your template and pages. Then, add and configure plugins, prepare your site to launch, and publish your site finally. Get the step-by-step details on how to build a website with Squarespace.
What are the best website builders?
The best website builders give users an easy, affordable, and flexible way to build a professional business website without web development knowledge or experience. The top website builders include Squarespace, WordPress, Weebly, Shopify, and Wix. Find the best website builder for you by reading the best website builder reviews.
Which site builder is better for ecommerce: Squarespace or Shopify?
Squarespace and Shopify are both high-quality site builders for ecommerce. While Shopify is the best for large ecommerce businesses that need to list a large volume of products, Squarespace is the best option for small businesses looking for an easy way to sell just a few items online. Learn more about Shopify vs Squarespace to determine which is right for your business website.
Bottom Line: Squarespace vs Weebly
Businesses comparing Squarespace vs Weebly will find that though they are very similar site-building platforms, the one that is best for you will depend on what you’re looking for. Squarespace is the best option for those looking to build an online store and those that want a low-cost contract-free plan. Weebly is the best for those who want to build a site very quickly with a minimal learning curve and low-cost, long-term plans.
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