Choosing the right platform for your website is one of the most important decisions you’ll make when building an online presence. With so many options available, it’s easy to get overwhelmed — especially when comparing popular platforms like WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace.
All three allow you to create professional websites without being a coding expert. However, they differ significantly in flexibility, scalability, pricing, design control, and SEO performance. In this article, we’ll compare the three — and explain why, for most users, WordPress comes out on top.
1. Ease of Use
- Wix is known for its drag-and-drop editor. It’s beginner-friendly and allows you to see changes in real-time. However, once you choose a template, switching later can be difficult.
- Squarespace also offers a visually appealing interface, with modern templates and a structured editor. It’s simple to use but a bit more restrictive in layout customization.
- WordPress (self-hosted via WordPress.org) has a slight learning curve at first, but it becomes very manageable with themes, plugins, and page builders like Elementor or Divi. It offers far more control once you’re familiar with the dashboard.
Winner: Tie (Wix or Squarespace for beginners, WordPress for those willing to learn and grow)
2. Design and Customization
- Wix offers 800+ templates, but they’re less flexible once selected. Customization options are decent but somewhat limited in structure and code access.
- Squarespace is known for sleek, minimalist designs. It’s a great platform for photographers, creatives, and small businesses — but customization beyond templates is limited unless you’re comfortable with CSS.
- WordPress wins in design flexibility. You have access to thousands of themes, both free and premium. You can customize everything — from headers and layouts to color schemes and animations — and developers can edit the core code.
Winner: WordPress
3. Plugins and Features
- Wix has a marketplace with over 300 apps, but functionality is relatively limited compared to WordPress.
- Squarespace offers built-in features and integrations, but it lacks a plugin ecosystem.
- WordPress dominates here, with over 60,000 plugins in the official directory. Want to add SEO tools, eCommerce functionality, memberships, booking systems, or custom galleries? There’s a plugin for nearly everything.
Winner: WordPress
4. SEO Capabilities
- Wix has improved its SEO tools in recent years, offering features like meta tags, alt text, and 301 redirects. However, its code-heavy structure and slower speeds can limit SEO performance.
- Squarespace includes basic SEO settings but lacks advanced tools. It also doesn’t give full control over some on-page SEO elements.
- WordPress, especially when paired with plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math, gives you total control over every aspect of SEO — from schema markup to XML sitemaps and speed optimization.
Winner: WordPress
5. eCommerce Capabilities
- Wix supports eCommerce but is more suitable for small stores with limited inventory. Customization and third-party integrations are limited.
- Squarespace has solid eCommerce tools, great for creatives selling physical or digital goods. However, it charges transaction fees unless you’re on a higher-tier plan.
- WordPress + WooCommerce offers a robust and scalable eCommerce solution. It’s ideal for everything from small shops to large-scale stores. With endless plugins and integrations, you can customize your checkout experience, manage inventory, set up subscriptions, and more.
Winner: WordPress
6. Pricing
- Wix plans range from free (with Wix branding and ads) to $16–$45/month for premium features. Some add-ons and apps cost extra.
- Squarespace plans range from $16–$49/month, with built-in hosting and templates included.
- org is free software, but you’ll need to purchase hosting ($5–$15/month on average) and a domain ($10–$15/year). Many themes and plugins are free, though premium ones may carry a one-time or annual fee.
While WordPress may involve more setup steps, it typically offers more value and flexibility for your money in the long run.
Winner: WordPress (for flexibility and cost-efficiency)
7. Scalability and Ownership
- Wix and Squarespace are closed platforms. You’re renting space on their system. You’re limited by their rules, pricing, and infrastructure.
- WordPress is open-source and self-hosted, meaning you own your site, your files, and your data. You can scale as big as you want, move between hosts, and make custom changes.
For growing businesses, developers, and marketers, this level of freedom and control is critical.
Winner: WordPress
Final Verdict: Why WordPress Is the Best Long-Term Choice
If you’re looking for a fast way to get a simple website online with minimal effort, Wix or Squarespace might work fine in the short term. They’re great for hobbyists, freelancers, or creatives who don’t plan to scale.
But if you want:
- Full control over your website
- Thousands of design and feature options
- Powerful SEO tools
- Better performance and scalability
- Lower long-term costs
- Ownership of your content and data
Then WordPress is the clear winner.
It powers over 40% of the entire internet for a reason — it’s flexible, powerful, and built to grow with your business.