I’ve been designing websites since 2018, working across various platforms, including Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, and WordPress. Many of my WordPress clients had been using the platform for years, but as their businesses grew, so did their website frustrations.

Over time, their once-reliable websites became harder to manage—bogged down by numerous hands making edits, overloaded with plugins, and increasingly complex to update. Eventually, WordPress became more of a burden than a benefit.

Why WordPress Can Be Frustrating for Small Businesses

While WordPress is a powerful platform, it often comes with challenges that small businesses struggle to keep up with:

Requires ongoing maintenance and updates – Because WordPress is open-source, you need to regularly update plugins, themes, and security patches. If updates aren’t managed properly, they can create security vulnerabilities or break parts of your site.
More complex to operate – Many business owners rely on developers for maintenance, updates, and troubleshooting, which can be costly and frustrating when you need to make simple changes.
Plugins create instability over time – While plugins add functionality, they can also overload your site, slow it down, and cause conflicts, especially when different developers have modified the site over the years.
Higher risk of site errors – The more third-party integrations, custom code, and plugins a site has, the more likely it is to break unexpectedly.
Complicated infrastructure – Unlike all-in-one platforms, WordPress requires separate domain hosting, website hosting, and third-party services, making management more confusing.
Not always user-friendly – Even small updates often require coding or technical knowledge, making it harder for business owners to manage their site independently.

If you're a small business owner—perhaps family-run or managing things on your own—you may find WordPress too overwhelming to maintain efficiently.

Why I Recommend Squarespace Instead

iMac screen with Squarespace website example on it.

After working with multiple website platforms, I decided to specialize in Squarespace because it simplifies the process for business owners while still offering all the features they need. Here’s why I think it’s a better choice:

All-in-One Platform – Hosting, domain, email campaigns, commerce, online courses, events, scheduling, and more—no need for separate providers or services.
No Need for Plugins – Squarespace includes built-in features for SEO, analytics, forms, social media integration, and more.
Automatic Updates & Security – Unlike WordPress, where you need to manually update plugins and themes, Squarespace takes care of everything automatically.
Built-in Mobile Responsiveness – Squarespace automatically optimizes your site for mobile, but if you're using Fluid Engine, you may need to adjust the mobile layout separately to ensure the best user experience. No extra tools or coding are required.
Easier Management – You can easily update text, images, and pages yourself, and adding team members with specific permissions is simple.
Great Customer & Community Support – Squarespace offers direct customer service, detailed help guides, and a strong community of users.
Better SEO Than Ever – With Squarespace 7.1, its built-in SEO tools are comparable to WordPress, and the platform provides helpful guides to optimize your content.
Fluid Engine Makes Design Easy – Squarespace's drag-and-drop Fluid Engine makes website building much more intuitive compared to WordPress or Shopify.

Thinking About Switching? Here’s What to Do First

If you’re considering moving from WordPress to Squarespace, here are some important steps to take before making the switch:

Back up important content – Download essential files, including images, captions, page copy, content from plugins, custom CSS, commerce reports, and analytics data.
Plan for domain transfer – If you're moving your domain to Squarespace, know that once it goes live, you won’t have access to the old setup.
Know what transfers automatically – Squarespace allows you to import blog pages, posts, authors, categories, comments, images, pages, and tags from WordPress.

A Note on SEO

Your search rankings may dip initially after migrating to Squarespace, but don’t worry—this is common when switching platforms. Squarespace offers SEO tools, checklists, and best practices to help you regain and even improve your rankings over time.

Final Thoughts

If you’re tired of maintaining a WordPress site and want a more intuitive, all-in-one platform that’s easier to manage, Squarespace is a fantastic alternative. Whether you need a website for your business, portfolio, or online store, it offers security, built-in tools, and seamless user experience—without the hassle of plugins and constant maintenance.

Have questions about making the switch? Let’s chat!

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