If you’re starting your first website, two platforms probably came up during your research: Squarespace and Wix. Both are powerful, both are beginner-friendly, and both promise professional-looking sites without hiring a developer. But they aren’t the same.

In this guide, we’ll break down the real differences, who each platform is best for, and where you can save money using a Squarespace discount code depending on your choice. Let’s keep this honest and practical — no hype, no tech jargon.

1. Design and Templates

Squarespace:
Widely known for sleek, modern, and visually-balanced templates. Perfect if you want a site that looks expensive even if you built it yourself. Templates are structured, consistent, and easy to maintain.

Wix:
Offers hundreds of templates, but the quality varies. Built-in drag-and-drop gives total freedom — but this also means many beginners create cluttered designs accidentally. Customization is high, but consistency can be hard to maintain.

Winner: Squarespace for clean, polished design
Wix if you want endless customizing freedom (and don’t mind design tweaking)

2. Ease of Use

Squarespace:
Clear, guided editing. The interface is structured, which makes it easier to build fast. Page sections are clean, predictable, and quick to format.

Wix:
The true drag-and-drop editor feels like using Canva. It can be fun — but there’s a learning curve when it comes to spacing, responsiveness, and layout consistency.

Winner: Squarespace for beginners who want simplicity

3. Mobile Responsiveness

Squarespace:
Templates adjust automatically for mobile. No extra work required.

Wix:
You must adjust desktop and mobile separately. This doubles your layout effort and often creates display issues.

Winner: Squarespace

4. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Squarespace:
User-friendly SEO tools built-in. Pages are structured well from the start.

Wix:
SEO is good now (much better than years ago), but because layouts can get messy, beginners may unintentionally hurt ranking.

Winner: Tie — but Squarespace makes SEO easier for beginners

5. E-Commerce

Both platforms support:

  • Payments

  • Inventory

  • Memberships

  • Subscriptions

But:

  • Squarespace = smooth, clean checkout experience

  • Wix = more e-commerce plugins, more customization, more setup

6. Pricing + Where to Save

Both platforms offer monthly and yearly plans. However, Squarespace often ends up cheaper long-term because you spend less on add-ons and support fixes.

You can also save on your first year by using a Squarespace discount code at checkout. It reduces your total cost and helps you launch on a budget.

Who Should Choose Squarespace?

Choose Squarespace if you are:

  • A beginner who wants a simple but professional-looking website

  • A coach, blogger, photographer, freelancer, consultant, or small business owner

  • Someone who wants fast setup with polished design

Who Should Choose Wix?

Choose Wix if you:

  • Want full design freedom

  • Are building a unique creative layout

  • Don’t mind spending time fine-tuning spacing and responsiveness

Final Verdict

If you want a website that:
โœ” Looks clean
โœ” Feels professional
โœ” Is easy to maintain
โœ” Works beautifully on mobile

Squarespace is the better choice for most beginners.

To save money when signing up, apply your Squarespace discount code at checkout — it helps lower your first-year cost while you get your site live.