Squarespace vs. Wordpress: Which Platform is Best for Your Wellness Business? Part I
If you are new to online business, one of the first choices you will need to make is choosing a platform for your new website. You have a few choices - the two most popular options being Squarespace and WordPress. We’re going to walk you through how to choose between these two platforms in this post.
When first speaking with a potential client, I will always ask the person what their business goals are - both short term and long term (long term meaning within the next 5 years). Why do I ask? Because this provides me with insight into which platform will work better for her and her business. Are you looking to grow and take your business to the next level or are you looking to scale back a bit for more work/life balance? Do you plan on adding courses? Which systems are you currently using (Mindbody, Tula, Hey Marvelous)? How do you feel about website maintenance? Are you okay updating your site periodically with updates to the platform and plugins or do you prefer to let the platform do the heavy lifting for you so that you can focus on building your brand and business?
It’s not just your goals that matter though, it also matters whether you consider yourself to be a techie or not. Do you find tech confusing? Do you hit a mental brick wall when multiple components are involved? Or do you love the ability to keep adding to the site, integrating a slew of systems and plugins? Or do you prefer that it is more of a stress-free system? Do you love having a plethora of options or do you prefer that the options are more streamlined to avoid overwhelm?
Your answers to all of these questions will determine what the best platform is for you and your business. Like all things in life, no one size fits all and I believe this to be especially true with website platforms. So, for this week, here are the basics to consider between Squarespace and WordPress.
Squarespace is a good option for you if:
You do not consider yourself a techie but would still like to be able to update your site without help.
You want little to no learning curve.
You prefer the platform maintenance, including security issues, aka “the heavy lifting” to be done for you. You have a business to build and prefer not to be on your site that often (other than occasional updates and blog posts).
You prefer the choices of templates and functionality to be more streamlined. No thank you for too many choices and the overwhelm that comes with that package.
You want a platform that is intuitive, similar to a Mac.
WordPress is a good option for you if:
You like tech and want to learn more about the backend of your site.
You don’t mind a (small) learning curve.
You love diving into new systems and exploring the many options that you have for systems and plugins and integrations and more.
You don’t mind doing periodic maintenance to your site. Actually, you love being hands-on knowing and seeing how it all works and functions.
You want the PC of platforms, you like seeing and learning the multiple and hidden layers of a system.
Although these are the very beginnings of questions to consider, it will give you a good start in deciding which platform is best for your wellness business. Next week, we will dive a bit deeper into both Squarespace and WordPress and address the backend of both platforms, SEO, security, plugins, and more.
