There are so many different website builders out there, and everyone has a different opinion on which one is "best"! Some say Squarespace is best, others will tell you WordPress is the only way to go. My favorite? Definitely Showit. Considering a switch to a new website builder? Let's compare Showit vs Squarespace.
Which website builder is right for YOUR specific business needs? That’s exactly what this blog post is for, friend! In this article, I’m comparing in the most basic terms:
- Showit vs Squarespace
- How they're similar
- How they're different
- Steps to switch from Squarespace to Showit
- so much more!
When I have clients and customers who are switching to Showit from another software, about 80% of the time, they're coming from Squarespace.
It's a common switch! With that said, if you’re expecting me to bash Squarespace, I WON’T BE! I have nothing against Squarespace, and I think it’s a great alternative to Showit. Do I think Showit is better in many cases? Yes. Do I think Squarespace is the worst website platform ever? Definitely not!
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Background On My Experience with Squarespace and Showit
I did the math, and back in 2018, 60% of my 1:1 clients were switching from Squarespace to Showit.
Yep, switching TO Showit. Why? A lot of reasons… some of them were fed up with the limitations of Squarespace and wanted to be able to REALLY customize their websites, and others really loved the creativity Showit allowed.
I’ve designed on Squarespace before (I’ve actually built 2 old websites on the platform), so I’m definitely familiar with it.
As soon as I started using Showit, though, I loved it. At the end of 2017, I started designing websites exclusively on Showit, because I believe in it THAT MUCH. And, all my website templates are exclusive to the Showit platform too.
So, let's dive into a comparison of Squarespace and Showit!
Showit vs Squarespace: How are Showit and Squarespace similar?
1. They both are website builders that also host your website.
They are very similar in this way. Each platform hosts your website and provides you with an interface where you can build the site out. This means you pay them to be your host, whereas, with something like a WordPress-hosted website, you actually have to pay an outside host of your choice to “host” it.
2. Both have plenty of templates to choose from.
Both platforms have MANY companies selling templates, both inside their website and externally. All you have to do is a quick Google search for your niche and that website builder and you’ll find all sorts of templates!
3. Both have dedicated support staff.
These both have in-house support staff to help you with your support needs. This might sound obvious, but there are other platforms that do not have any support assistance.
As you can see, they definitely have their similarities, but you’ll quickly find that Showit allows more creative control and is easier to use. Showit also integrates with WordPress for blogging, which puts it over the top in the blogging game. If you want to know WHY I love WordPress but don’t love it for your hosting and website builder, read this post! Because with Showit, you DO use WordPress still for the blogging side of things!
Showit vs Squarespace: How are Showit and Squarespace different?
1. Showit is easier to use (and more intuitive) than Squarespace.
In Showit, you can “drag and drop.” And honestly, I don’t even know if “drag and drop” is the best term here! Because you aren’t dragging stuff into a super stringent template where stuff has to go. You can literally do whatever you want. There is so much creative freedom. I have worked with so many people who switch to Showit after being uber frustrated by how little they can control their Squarespace website.
Squarespace works with modules that are fairly easy to edit, but you cannot customize everything. In Squarespace, you are more tied to the template design. In Showit, you could literally buy one of my templates and make it look like something COMPLETELY different in the end! The template doesn’t hold you back.
As an example, my client Well-Watered Women switched to Showit from Squarespace to work with me for a custom design. Here’s what Gretchen, the founder, had to say about the switch:
“We have been working with Squarespace for several years now and came to a point where the site design was too limited for what we needed. When Elizabeth suggested moving to Showit we trusted that it would be the best move for our company and have loved working with the new platform! Showit has been able to expand our hosting and designing options and offer us what we need! We are excited to use them!"
It is EASIER and more intuitive to use. And, with my templates, I take it a step further and give you an online course to teach you how to use Showit. You get an actual online course on this FOR FREE! The course videos are short, sweet, and to the point. You’ll watch the introduction/overview videos to get rolling, and then after that, you watch what you need as you need it. This helps prevent the overwhelm that comes with a new platform and any difficulties that come with learning something new. I’ll be there to teach you and support you!
2. You can customize the mobile experience separately in Showit... making for a better user experience.
On Showit, you can customize your mobile website separately from your desktop website. All the items are still the same, but you can make both totally unique for that specific need.
This is incredible because sometimes you want less content (or slightly different content) on your mobile website. With Squarespace, things can look wonky on mobile, because you can only customize your desktop site. So images may crop to a weird spot or things may show up out of order. With over 63% of people regularly using phones to access your website, mobile is more important than ever! This is honestly one of my favorite features of Showit.
3. With Showit, you can edit everything without coding.
Squarespace is COMPLETELY template-based, which is different than BUYING a template. For example, if you buy a template from me and customize it, you can literally change anything. You can completely change the layout, the colors, the fonts, the entire structure of the website very easily. But, with Squarespace, the changes you make HAVE TO fit into the template. This makes editing more challenging and everything less “custom”. When you think about using Showit, don’t think about being tied to a template, because you aren’t!
4. How you blog on Showit versus Squarespace is super different!
Both platforms have blogging capabilities. But, Showit integrates with WordPress for blogging, so you can have the power and flexibility of WordPress with the design freedom of Showit. By blogging with WordPress, you open the doors to unlimited optimization potential, SEO capabilities, and more. Like I mentioned, with a template from EM Shop, you get an online course to teach you Showit. In this course, there’s an entire module just on WordPress. I cover all my favorite WordPress plugins to let you do really cool things on your website (again, not a feature of Squarespace), there’s a 30-minute training on doing SEO on your blog posts, a video on how to set up your blogs, and so much more!
So, if WordPress scares you, don’t let it. You’ll love it. Seriously, everyone I know who gets to blog on WordPress while being hosted by Showit LOVES IT. It’s the bomb, and the online course is going to help you take your blogging game to the next level.
5. Squarespace has more e-commerce options than Showit.
Squarespace has more e-commerce capabilities built right in the platform than Showit. However, Showit can integrate e-commerce with ease. If you have a lot of products to sell, Showit might not be the right platform for you (or at least not for the e-commerce side of your business).
But, even though Squarespace does e-commerce, if you have an actual e-commerce website (where that’s what you’re doing, you’re selling e-commerce) then I’d pick Shopify. Or, you can do an integration with companies like Kajabi, ThriveCart, Thinkific, or Shopify Lite!
For example, I have a client right now who did her main website on Showit, but her online courses and membership site are purchased through a ClickFunnels sales page that’s clicked to from the Showit website. It’s awesome, it’s the best of both worlds! So, don’t stick with Squarespace just because they offer e-commerce built-in, there are other ways to do it that work even better.
6. Showit has amazing SEO capabilities!
Squarespace’s SEO capabilities are VERY limited. It’s actually quite frustrating. You’re likely going to have a harder time getting found on Google with Squarespace because of this. That’s not to say it’s not possible, please don’t hear me say that! But, it is harder. And why make something harder when it doesn’t have to be? The way SEO is done on Squarespace is hard to figure out and not very intuitive, so people often skip it.
With Showit, you can do on-page SEO for every page of your website. And, I have a video in the training course teaching you how to do this REALLY WELL! I’m teaching you what we do for my business and what I do for my clients. I also teach you how to do SEO on your images. It’s awesome and can make a HUGE shift in your business. Being found regularly on Google is awesome!
With Showit, you can also use Yoast SEO for blogging. It’s the best SEO plugin around (and again there are 2 trainings on that in my Showit course.) With a template from my shop, the training library and the capabilities of Showit, your SEO is going to ROCK! I’ve had clients go from not ranking at all for any valuable searches to ranking within a week or two after we do their SEO.
7. Showit's customer support is truly top-notch when it comes to website builders.
Like I said in the beginning, Showit and Squarespace both have support teams, so if you love Squarespace’s support, you’ll still have great support! With Showit, if something goes wrong or you have a question, you can literally chat with a real person immediately right there in your account. Showit also has “emergency” support for if something happens to your site to get you an even faster response time. Plus, you have ME as support. I offer one-on-one lifetime customer support with your template plus the training course, that I’m always keeping up to date with the best resources to help you with your website.
And a cool thing about Showit, not only do they host your website, but they also help you launch it. So, the tech stuff of connecting your domain name to your website and moving over blog posts to your new website, they do it all for you! In the training course, I give you with your template, you’ll have a video to watch that teaches exactly what you need to do for your part, then Showit takes care of the rest.
All in all, Squarespace is NOT a bad platform — obviously, that’s why we are talking about it! But, I believe Showit is more user-friendly and allows for more creativity. If you are interested in switching to Showit, listen to the podcast episode of this blog post for a 10% discount code!
Steps to switch from Squarespace to Showit
with a website template:
- Leave your current website up and running as is! You don’t need to take it down to start working on your template.
- Purchase a Showit website template from my shop!
- Once you purchase, join the online course! And watch module 00, which will show you how to set up a trial account with Showit and add the template to your account.
- Customize your Showit website inside your free trial account of Showit using the awesome online course and resources I provide!
- Once you’re done editing your site, you’ll watch the video on launching and take the next step. (Again, everything you need is in the course! Someone on the Showit team will take care of moving over your Squarespace blog posts to your new Showit designed WordPress blog.)
- Put up your complimentary EM Shop “Coming Soon Page” while you check your links and website one more time.
- Launch your Showit site to the world! And, there’s even a text lesson with launching tips to help you market your launch well!
- Cancel your Squarespace hosting after 1-2 weeks. THAT’S IT!
If this feels like a switch you want to make, if you want the SEO capabilities and the ease of use of Showit, I want to encourage you now to make the SWITCH!
Especially if you don't love your Squarespace website, there’s no reason not to move over.
What are you waiting for?
Want to try out Showit for free + save 10% on your subscription? Click here to get a discount code!
Want more info on how Showit compares to other website platforms? Check out this blog post about Showit versus WordPress and this blog about Showit versus Wix! Both have a podcast version too!
If you're ready to get started with Showit (and an amazing website template to go with your subscription), check out EM Shop templates here!
August 1, 2021
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