My Opinion: Why I think Squarespace is better than Wordpress for Authors. Why Squarespace Is the Best Platform for Authors
As an author, your website a space to showcase your work, connect with readers, and establish your personal brand. While there are many website platforms out there today and to choose from, Squarespace stands out as the perfect platform for authors, in particular compared to Wordpress.
In my past, building websites for authors or bloggers, Wordpress was the buzz word and platform. After creating and designing a lot on Wordpress I kept wondering how this platform benefitted my clients. It seemed to be a platform of frustration. Not being able to manage your website fully. A lot of what I heard was, “I can get to my blog and post but that’s about it.” That doesnt sound very secure. Leaving most of it in the hands of always needing a website designer, coder or css guru.
That leaves me to believe that Squarespace is the best platform for authors. One of the main reasons is once a website is designed, created and given over, you want to set up your client for success and have them be able to keep doing what you set up with ease. Here's why Squarespace is my #1 choice for authors:
1. Ease of Use
You don't need to be a tech wizard to create a stunning website with Squarespace (thank goodness). Its easy drag-and-drop design makes designing your site straightforward and stress-free. The platform offers built-in tutorials and guides, so even if you’re not tech-savvy, you’ll be able to create a professional-looking website in no time. Squarespace technical support is also THE BEST! They know EVERYTHING about their platform they have built. Majority of Squarespace is by Squarespace. There is an odd plugin you can use if you so desire to on your website but other than that Squarespace creates EVERYTHING, handles everything and listens and implements everything. No more contacting third parties to fix your website design and hopefully not needing a security key to do so. If you know, you know!
2. Beautiful Templates Designed for Storytelling
Squarespace provides a wide array of elegant, pre-designed templates that cater to creatives, including writers and authors. Not one of the template designs look the same. These templates are visually stunning and designed to highlight your books, blog posts, and other content. With a strong focus on storytelling, Squarespace allows your work to do just that, tell your story in a creative way.
3. All-in-One Platform
From hosting to domain registration and website design, Squarespace offers a fully integrated platform. You won’t have to worry about managing separate services or dealing with compatibility issues—everything you need is in one place. This simplicity is a major time-saver, allowing you to focus on what you do best: writing. That does not discount you if you have a domain sitting somewhere else, like GoDaddy, Bluehost or one of the many others out there. Squarespace has the capability to allow you to transfer your domain over or connect your domain from your chosen domain service provider with a few clicks of a button.
4. Built-in Blogging Tools
Blogging is a powerful way to engage with your readers and build your audience. Squarespace’s blogging platform is robust and easy to use, with features like scheduled posts, tagging, integration with email campaigns and SEO.
Whether you’re sharing behind-the-scenes looks at your creative process, announcing your next book, or blogging every day, week or month Squarespace makes it seamless.
5. E-commerce Made Simple
Want to sell signed copies of your books, merchandise, or writing services? Squarespace’s e-commerce tools allow you to set up an online store with ease. You can manage inventory, accept payments, and even offer discounts—all without needing a third-party plugin.
6. SEO and Marketing Tools
A great website is useless if no one can find it. Squarespace has built-in SEO tools to help your site rank higher in search results. Wordpress was one of the major platforms for blogging because of their SEO Yoast process and plugin. Not today. Squarespace has upped their game and has built in SEO fundamentals to boost your blogging. You can read more about this here and check your SEO against this checklist. A Squarespace maven, Paige Brunton did a little experiment and tested the difference in search performance and website visitors between Squarespace, Wordpress and Showit to see what was true. Here’s the verdict.
Plus, it integrates with social media and email marketing, making it easier to promote your books and grow your audience.
7. Mobile-Responsive Design
In today’s mobile-first world, it’s essential that your website looks great on all devices. Squarespace templates are fully responsive, ensuring your site is just as beautiful and functional on a smartphone as it is on a desktop.
8. Community and Support
If you ever run into issues, Squarespace’s award-winning customer support team is available 24/7. Additionally, their extensive knowledge base and active community forums are invaluable resources for troubleshooting and learning new tips.
9. Affordable Pricing
For authors on a budget, Squarespace offers competitive pricing plans. With its all-in-one approach, you’re getting excellent value for your money compared to piecing together various services. You can see their pricing plans here.
Let me put it into perspective for you. You can either have an all in one platform with all the integrations and connections or you can have 5-10 logins with other platforms and being charged more. Now let me preface. There are some things you want to take in consideration when choosing
Final Thoughts
As an author, you already have a lot on your plate. Squarespace simplifies the process of creating and maintaining a professional website, giving you more time to focus on your craft. With its user-friendly interface, stunning templates, and comprehensive features, Squarespace is the ideal choice for showcasing your work and connecting with your audience. Squarespace is the tortoise in the tortoise and the hare story. slow and steady wins the race. They have come a long way and continue to add on and grow. They not only listen to what their designers and audience is asking of them but they integrate things for the good of us too where we can design and lead as designers and developers but also so that anybody who has not built a website before can come onto this platform and design and build something they love.
If you’re ready to take your author website to the next level, give Squarespace a try. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to create a site that’s as compelling as your writing!
