How Small Businesses Should Get Started on Squarespace
Introduction
When you're just starting a business, your website doesn’t need to be perfect, but it does need to be professional, functional, and easy to manage. That’s where Squarespace shines. It’s one of the most accessible and reliable platforms for small business owners who need to get online quickly without getting lost in tech overwhelm.
But here’s the catch: while Squarespace makes it easy to start, how you start matters just as much. Many business owners jump in and DIY their site, only to end up with something that looks unfinished or doesn’t perform well. The smarter move? Start with a professionally designed template or work with a Squarespace designer who understands the platform inside and out. That’s where you gain the advantage. This will help you leverage beautiful design, thoughtful structure, and built-in features that actually support your growth.
In this post, I’ll break down why Squarespace is such a great starting point, what to watch out for, and how to know when it’s time to upgrade to something more custom.
Quick Comparison for Getting Started on Squarespace
| Use Case / Business Need | Use Squarespace If... | Use WordPress If... |
|---|---|---|
| You need to launch quickly | You want a beautiful, functional site live in days, not weeks | You have time and/or developer help to configure and test your setup |
| You're not tech-savvy | You want a platform that's easy to manage without coding | You're comfortable with, or can hire someone for, technical setup and ongoing maintenance |
| You’re on a tight budget | You want predictable monthly pricing with no surprise dev costs | You're OK managing and/or paying someone to manage your hosting, plugins, and themes (and their costs) |
| You want a clean, modern website fast | You’re happy starting from a polished template or building a custom site with access to about 80% of the editor | You want full design control and access to all aspects of the code |
| You need light blogging and content pages | You blog for your business and need a simple CMS | You publish frequently, manage multiple authors, or need custom blog structures |
| You’re selling < 50 products | You’re launching a small shop with basic checkout and product pages | You need advanced ecommerce features like filters, advanced inventory management, or loyalty programs |
| You want basic memberships or gated content | You want to gate videos or PDFs behind a login wall | You need complex member roles, drip content, or member directories |
| You’re focused on visuals, not functionality | You care more about aesthetic and branding than custom backend tools | You require interactive features, dynamic content, or fully custom tools |
| You don’t want to worry about security or updates | Squarespace handles all maintenance and security for you | You’re comfortable taking responsibility for updates, backups, and site security |
| You need deep custom functionality (CRMs, portals, directories) | You don’t—your needs are simple and clean | You do—and require advanced backend logic or dev-level control |
| You want full SEO control and performance tuning | You’re fine with built-in SEO tools and a plugin like SEOSpace | You want full server access, advanced plugins, or performance tuning |
| You plan to scale to a large, complex site | You plan to grow slowly and prefer stability | You know from the start that you’ll need highly unique features |
Table of Contents
Why Squarespace Works So Well for New Businesses
Squarespace is one of the few website platforms that strikes the right balance between simplicity, power, and polish. For small business owners just getting started, it offers everything you need to launch a beautiful, functional website without needing to know a single line of code.
Here’s why that matters: most business owners don’t have the time (or interest) to learn web development. They need a tool that works with them, not against them. Squarespace makes it easy to build and manage your site with a visual editor, intuitive drag-and-drop sections, and a clean backend interface that doesn’t feel overwhelming.
It also takes care of the basics that many beginners overlook: mobile responsiveness, SSL security, reliable hosting, and built-in tools for blogging, email marketing, and SEO. You don’t have to go hunting for a dozen different plugins just to make your site work! The essentials are already there, built into the platform.
For new business owners trying to move quickly, that all-in-one simplicity is a huge win. It keeps the focus where it should be: on your message, your offer, and getting your first clients, not on wrestling with tech.
The Right Way to Start: Use a Professional Template
While Squarespace makes it easy to build a site yourself, how you start can make or break your first impression online. One of the biggest mistakes I see new business owners make is jumping into a free template and customizing it without any design strategy or structural foundation. The result? A site that looks DIY and doesn’t perform well.
Instead, start with a professionally designed template created by an experienced web designer. These templates are built with purpose: smart layout hierarchies, thoughtful design choices, and proven UX patterns that guide your visitors toward taking action. You're not just getting something “prettier”, you’re getting the benefit of design strategy baked into the framework of your site.
From there, you can customize it with your own content, colors, and images, knowing the bones of the site are already solid. This gives you a massive advantage, especially if you’re not ready to hire a designer for a fully custom build just yet.
Even better? Many professional designers (myself included) offer branded template setups or semi-custom packages, so you can get a polished, strategic site up and running quickly, without the full cost of a custom project.
Here is a suggested list of where you can search for professionally designed Squarespace templates:
When to Bring in a Pro (and Why It Pays Off)
Even though Squarespace is known for being user-friendly, there’s a big difference between a site that’s simply “up” and one that’s actually working for your business. That’s where hiring a professional makes all the difference.
A designer who specializes in Squarespace doesn’t just make things look better, they bring clarity to your message, structure your content strategically, and optimize the site for things like SEO, user experience, and conversions. They know how to stretch the platform in smart ways, using custom CSS, branded visuals, third-party integrations, and expert navigation planning to turn a basic website into a powerful marketing tool.
Done-for-you means:
You don’t waste time figuring out how to “fix” things that never worked right in the first place.
You skip the frustrating trial-and-error phase and launch with confidence.
You get a clean, custom-branded site that feels like you—not a cookie-cutter template.
In fact, I’ve seen time and again how clients who tried to DIY end up circling back months later to ask for a professional overhaul. It’s not because they failed, it’s because they realized their time is better spent growing their business, not wrestling with design decisions.
Hiring a pro isn’t about making things fancy. It’s about making things effective.
Built-In Squarespace Benefits That Help You Grow
One of the biggest advantages of starting on Squarespace is that the platform comes with so many built-in features that support your business as it evolves. You don’t need to cobble together a bunch of disconnected tools or worry about constant plugin updates. Squarespace keeps it all under one roof.
Here are some of the standout features that make it easy to grow:
SEO-Friendly Structure: Clean code, automatic sitemaps, SSL security, and customizable page titles and descriptions make Squarespace a solid foundation for organic search, especially when optimized by someone who knows what they’re doing.
Email Marketing: Built-in email campaigns mean you can start collecting leads and sending newsletters directly from your website. There is no need for an external email platform at first, however there is a built-in Mailchimp integration if you use that platform instead.
Blog and Content Management: The blog editor is simple and intuitive, perfect for building your content library and improving SEO over time.
Basic Analytics: See which pages are performing, where your traffic is coming from, and what people are clicking, all without leaving the platform. It is incredibly easy to integrate Google Analytics and Search Console directly into the site as well, for additional insights (I highly recommend everyone do this!).
Membership and Scheduling Tools: Sell digital content, host a simple member-only area, or take bookings for services using integrated tools like Member Areas and Acuity Scheduling.
Design Flexibility Without Code: Add sections, change layouts, and update content visually. There is no coding required, but it can be implemented later by a professional. Squarespace gives you access to style tweaks and custom CSS when you’re ready.
It’s these kinds of built-in capabilities that make Squarespace more than just a “beginner platform.” It’s actually a powerful tool for small businesses, as long as it’s used strategically.
How Squarespace Grows With You
One of the most underrated strengths of Squarespace is how well it adapts as your business evolves. What starts as a simple, starter website can gradually expand into a robust, branded platform, especially with the right guidance from a Squarespace expert.
Many of my clients begin with a semi-custom setup based on a professional template. Then, as their business grows, we refine their branding, add new service pages, optimize for SEO, integrate booking or e-commerce tools, and even build out unique layouts using custom CSS or tools like SquareKicker.
You don’t have to rebuild your site every time you level up. You can iterate on the foundation. Add new sections. Launch a blog. Introduce digital products or a member area. Connect email marketing and automate lead capture. Take the design and structure to the next level. Integrate SEO. It’s all doable within the same platform.
And when the time comes for more advanced design or features, a professional designer can take your site to the next level without needing to migrate platforms. That flexibility saves time, protects your existing SEO, and keeps your site aligned with your brand and goals.
Squarespace makes it easy to start simple and smart to grow intentionally.
Pro Tip: DIY Squarespace SEO
(and Why I Recommend the SEOSpace Plugin)
If you’re building your own site and not quite ready to hire an SEO expert, don’t worry, there’s still a lot you can do to set your site up for success. Squarespace has a solid foundation for SEO, but you’ll need to take a few extra steps to make sure your site is truly optimized.
Here’s what you can and should do yourself:
Set clear page titles and meta descriptions on every page
Use real text instead of images for headings and body copy
Add alt text to all images
Choose one keyword focus per page (and write for your reader first)
Keep URLs short, clean, and descriptive
Link between pages on your site (this helps both users and Google)
Now, if you're doing your own SEO inside Squarespace, I highly recommend the SEOSpace plugin. It’s an incredibly user-friendly SEO tool made specifically for Squarespace websites that takes the guesswork out of optimization.
With SEOSpace, you can:
Quickly preview and edit your page titles and meta descriptions
Get real-time optimization suggestions based on your keyword
See how your site will appear in Google results
Check for missing alt text and metadata across your site
Stay on top of on-page SEO without ever leaving the Squarespace editor
This plugin makes DIY SEO not only doable, but genuinely effective. I’ve seen business owners dramatically improve their visibility just by using SEOSpace consistently and following the recommendations.
If you’re managing your site yourself and want the best possible start with SEO, this is the tool I use myself, and point all my clients to. It’s that good!
When You Shouldn’t Use Squarespace
While Squarespace is a fantastic choice for many small businesses, it’s not the perfect fit for every project. There are certain scenarios where a different platform, such as WordPress, may be a better long-term solution.
Here are a few key situations where Squarespace might fall short:
Complex Membership Sites
Squarespace’s Member Areas are great for basic use: think gated video content, digital downloads, or community access. But for nonprofits or organizations with advanced membership structures (tiered access, event registration, member directories), it gets clunky fast. Third-party tools can help, but at a certain point, WordPress with a robust membership plugin is just more scalable.
Custom Blog Structures & Navigation
You can create multiple blogs on Squarespace and rename them to mimic custom post types, but the design options are limited, especially on the older designer. If your content strategy relies heavily on multiple blog categories, filters, or custom layouts, WordPress offers much more flexibility.
Highly Specific Mobile/Desktop Layouts
While Squarespace is mobile responsive, you can’t fully control how every element looks on mobile versus desktop without using custom CSS or a paid tool like SquareKicker. For 99% of my clients, we can execute their vision, but if you have a pixel-perfect vision for each view, it can become frustrating.
Advanced E-Commerce Needs
Squarespace stores work well for small catalogs (under ~50 products). But if you need product filters, loyalty programs, advanced inventory systems, or customer-specific pricing, you’ll hit limits quickly. Shopify or WooCommerce are better fits for serious online stores where physical e-commerce is the primary focus.
Animations and Interactive Visuals
Squarespace doesn’t support complex animations natively. You’re limited to one global animation style, unless you use custom code or a third-party tool like SquareKicker. If animation is a core part of your design vision, Webflow or WordPress offers far more control.
Bulk Blogging/Admin Controls
Squarespace blogging is great for creators who post occasionally, but if you need to update categories, SEO settings, or tags in bulk, it’s a slow manual process. WordPress allows for bulk edits, scheduled posts, advanced taxonomies, and more. As the world of blogging is now changing with AI, this is becoming much less of a need.
Better Site Search
The default Squarespace search isn’t very strong. Extensions like Monocle can improve it, but they’re not native to the platform. For content-heavy sites, especially blogs or product directories, this can be a possible UX limitation.
Custom Backend Functionality
If your business needs a unique backend tool or feature, such as a customer portal, advanced CRM integration, or custom form logic, Squarespace isn’t built for that kind of development. WordPress or a fully custom solution will give you more control. In many cases we can integrate Squarespace with 3rd party applications and tools, so this is dependent on a case-by-case basis.
File Management
Squarespace’s asset library is great for images, but managing other files like PDFs isn’t as seamless. There’s no way to organize files into folders or track downloads natively.
Site Speed & Performance Tuning
Squarespace sites are generally fast enough for SEO, and I’ve had great results with optimized builds. That said, you don’t have full control over server settings or performance tuning, so for those obsessed with page speed scores, there are limitations.
WebP Image Support
As of recently, WebP files will be supported by Squarespace soon, but this lagged behind other platforms. If you rely heavily on modern file formats or next-gen image optimization, that’s something to keep in mind.
Want to learn more about where WordPress shines? Learn more about where WordPress shines from my colleague and WordPress expert Steve Ross!
Final Thoughts: Start Smart, Then Scale
Squarespace is one of the smartest platforms a small business owner can start with. It’s affordable, easy to use, visually polished, and packed with built-in tools that support growth. When paired with a professional template, or better yet, guidance from a Squarespace expert who understands strategy and structure, it becomes a serious asset.
No platform is perfect, and Squarespace does have its limits. But for service-based businesses, startups, creatives, and most small businesses in general, it offers more than enough to launch and grow with confidence. And when the time comes to scale or add custom functionality, you’ll be in a much better position because you started with a solid foundation.
If you’re thinking about building your first site, or upgrading one that isn’t quite working, I’d always recommend starting smart from a template, not from scratch.
