ShowIt vs. Squarespace: Making a Website to Start or Revamp Your Business
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the options for creating your website. With a search online, you will find Squarespace and ShowIt as two choices for entrepreneurs and creatives. Here are some things you should know when making the decision of where to launch!
ShowIt
1. Drag and Drop Editing Style Platform:
Website creation can feel intimidating! ShowIt prides themselves on being known for their “Drag and Drop” style, where customization is easy with overlapping, sticky features, transitions, personalized fonts and more. Within the editor, you can edit the mobile and the desktop versions, unlike many other platforms.
***Thing to Keep in Mind:
- Editing can only be done in Google Chrome browser
- The overall build to launch process takes a bit longer than Squarespace. For example, when you launch your website with Squarespace, it is published into the world immediately. With Show it, they will need 1-3 business days to launch your website.
- ShowIt does not respond as well to device screen size change as Squarespace..
2. Templates, Blank Slate, or Hire a Designer
There are many templates in ShowIt to choose from. If there is a feature that is not in your chosen template, you can add them in. If you would like to create your own template, you can start with a blank slate simple design. They offer a database of ShowIt web designers and logo designers for you to hire, if needed.
***Things to Keep in Mind:
- ShowIt has other costs for some features. For example, when choosing a template, you will notice free and paid versions. In other words, you pay your fees, and then possibly have to buy a template to edit.
- You are able to add in other pages (like a Shop page) from other templates, but many of them you have to pay for as well. Squarespace had all templates and other items like an online store, purchased domain, and more all included with your subscription.
3. SEO Ease
The editing platform helps keep SEO in mind. An SEO menu pops out for each page and image you are working on. This is important as a business to have as many places as possible for great SEO
4. Integrations
There are many integrations available like Dubsado and WordPress. Blog through your simple wordpress interface and your posts will fit the website design. Embed your Dubsado Lead forms so that your client does not have to click out of your website.
***Things to Keep in Mind:
- There aren’t options to blog right in ShowIt. You will need a WordPress blog to update and then your ShowIt account to edit, adding another account to keep track of. Squarespace has a blog interface within your account.
- If you need an online shop, ShowIt only has Shopify Lite to embed into the site and WooCommerce is not available.
- There are many integrations and accounts you will have to add on to make your website what you need. Squarespace is more of a one stop shop.
5. Great Customer Service
There is a great support team to help you with anything you may need. They have a large video tutorial database and a facebook community page to be able to ask others for help.
***Things to Keep in Mind:
- After purchasing your domain outside of ShowIt on a site like GoDaddy or Google Domains, you will need to do the backend work in order to point your website to the domain so you may need customer service to help. Squarespace has you select the domain that comes with your subscription and it will automatically connect.
Squarespace
1. Templates Included
Unlike ShowIt, with your membership, all templates are included. There are a variety of templates for different types of businesses, so it is simple to choose one that meets your needs. If you would like to develop your own template or hire a designer to design one for you, this is supported.
***Things to Keep In Mind:
- There is not a blank template feature, but you do have flexibility to overhaul the template into something unique for your brand. You can also hire a designer to create this for you.
2. Easy Editing Platform
Squarespace has a sleek editing platform. They are known for their “click and add” interface that allows you to make your template unique, adding features wherever you see fit. Simply add your shop page, blog, contact forms, video, podcasts and whatever you may need for your brand, no matter which template you chose. When you are finished editing, you click publish and launch immediately.
3. Easy SEO
SEO is included in the interface for all pages, as well as images.
***Things to Keep in Mind:
- SEO does not automatically pop up on each page, but can easily be found within the page menu and image manager to make sure that you fill in everything possible to boost SEO.
4. One Stop Shop
Squarespace takes care of a lot. You can get your domain, have your Gmail business suite setup with your custom email address, check analytics, create email newsletters, manage your blog and more! This reduces the amount of different interfaces you need to login to in order to manage all of these items.
5. Customer Support
Squarespace has 24/7 chat and email support that are ready to help you with anything you may need. They are well known for their customer service!
These are some things to keep in mind when making your website platform decisions. We suggest using the 14 day trial for both platforms to figure out what fits your needs best. If you’re interested in creating a website that converts your visitors into paying clients, check out or work or fill out an interest form!
