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Table of Contents
For Australian small business owners who do not want to pay thousands of dollars to website designers, platforms, such as Square and Squarespace, make creating websites easy even for the most coding illiterate among us.
Despite similar names, Square and Squarespace are two separate website-building companies with different strengths, weaknesses and price points.
We have compared the two platforms to help you decide which one meets your business needs best.
Featured Partners
1
Wix
Starting price
From $15 per month
Drag-and-Drop Editor
Yes
Standout Features
Free plan available, 900+ designer-made templates
2
Squarespace
Starting price
$16 AUD
Drag-and-Drop Interface
Yes
Standout Features
Free domain and SSL certificate, no transaction fees, award-winning templates
3
IONOS
Starting price
$US1 or $1.50 AUD per month for the first six months, then $US18 per month or $27 AUD
Drag-and-drop editor
Yes
E-commerce in entry-level plan
Yes, as an add-on
4
GoDaddy
Starting Price
$US7.95 ($12 AUD) per month
Drag-and-Drop Interface
Yes
Standout Features
Email included, multiple payment options
Square vs. Squarespace: At a Glance
Square emerged in 2009 as a point-of-sale (POS) provider. Immediately, the company built its brand with the small white square card reader that allowed business owners to take payments anywhere without being tethered to a physical register.
While best known for its point-of-sale system, Square also offers various other small business tools including the website builder, Square Online.
Square Online provides free website templates to help businesses build a brand, connect with customers and sell products and services online.
Squarespace, meanwhile, launched in 2003 in a dorm room at the University of Maryland in the US. Since its inception, Squarespace has become popular among Australian small businesses, known for its sleek and stylish templates. Today, it is one of the leaders in the website building space, allowing users to create a customisable website or online store within minutes using its all-in-one solution. It is particularly popular among creatives due to the aesthetic appeal of its templates.
Both platforms offer drag-and-drop templates, intuitive website building features aimed at business owners with no previous coding experience, security features and simple search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing features.
Square Online
Starting price
Free
$36 AUD per month for a Square Online ‘Plus’ Plan
E-commerce plans
Yes
Processing fees
2.2% per online transaction. Discounted processing on the paid Premium plan.
Starting price
Free
$36 AUD per month for a Square Online ‘Plus’ Plan
E-commerce plans
Yes
Processing fees
2.2% per online transaction. Discounted processing on the paid Premium plan.
Square Online includes free unlimited hosting, a free URL, responsive website design tools, inventory management services, marketing tools and advanced reporting to track marketing efforts.
One big advantage of using Square Online is that it seamlessly integrates with other Square tools. This integration makes business matters such as inventory management, sending email promotions, creating coupons and offering a rewards program to both online and in-person customers a piece of cake.
- Free plan available
- Very beginner-friendly
- Easy integration with other Square products
- In-store and online selling tools
- Limited customisation features
- Mediocre templates
- Top-tier plan expensive at $99 per month
Squarespace
Starting price
$16 AUD
per month
E-commerce plans
Yes
Processing fees
Varies by plan and payment processor
Starting price
$16 AUD
per month
E-commerce plans
Yes
Processing fees
Varies by plan and payment processor
Squarespace is one of the leading all-in-one website builders on the market today for good reason. The platform allows users to create and maintain beautiful websites without any web design experience. Squarespace is best known for its high-quality, sleek templates, which tend to be photography heavy, enhancing artists, bloggers and product-driven online stores.
Squarespace offers four plans to meet the needs of any type of business. More advanced plans include discount codes, the ability to sell subscriptions, advanced analytics, real-time shipping quotes and merchandising tools. The simplicity of the software allows anyone to create a fully functioning website. Squarespace is also a fully hosted website builder, meaning you don’t have to purchase hosting services separately.
- All-in-one plans
- Monthly and annual contracts
- Impressive template designs
- User-friendly
- No transaction fees for top-tier plans
- Plans are more expensive
- Phone support not offered
- No free plan
How Square Online vs. Squarespace Stack Up
There is no beating Squarespace’s template designs. The drag-and-drop features help inexperienced business owners create stunning websites with a little help from the free webinars and tutorials. On average, its plans are on the expensive side, but its top two e-commerce plans eliminate the normal 3% transaction fee on purchases, helping users save money.
Overall, Square is not as robust as Squarespace, however, with the exception of its top-tier plan, it is a cheaper option. In addition to a free plan, Square’s basic plans contain many features that Squarespace’s basic plans do not.
For example, all of Square’s plans (including its free plan) allow users to sell their products on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. Squarespace users will not unlock those features until the third most expensive plan.
Featured Partners
1
Wix
Starting price
From $15 per month
Drag-and-Drop Editor
Yes
Standout Features
Free plan available, 900+ designer-made templates
2
Squarespace
Starting price
$16 AUD
Drag-and-Drop Interface
Yes
Standout Features
Free domain and SSL certificate, no transaction fees, award-winning templates
3
IONOS
Starting price
$US1 or $1.50 AUD per month for the first six months, then $US18 per month or $27 AUD
Drag-and-drop editor
Yes
E-commerce in entry-level plan
Yes, as an add-on
4
GoDaddy
Starting Price
$US7.95 ($12 AUD) per month
Drag-and-Drop Interface
Yes
Standout Features
Email included, multiple payment options
Additional Features
Brick-and-mortar store owners already using Square for their point-of-sale system can link products sold on their Square Online store into Square’s inventory management system. Whenever a product is sold online or in person, the inventory management system will automatically update the inventory records. Square will notify owners when product stock is low. Square’s other key inventory management features include inventory level tracking, bulk upload options and notifications for inventory levels. These help business owners make better purchasing decisions, keep inventory organised and increase productivity.
Squarespace’s inventory management system is not as extensive, but it does allow users to check the inventory status on its mobile app.
Bottom Line
Squarespace is hands down one of the best website builders on the market because of its incredible supply of sleek customisable templates.
If your business relies solely on e-commerce or if you are an artist who relies heavily on photography, this is the platform for you.
On the other hand, Square is perfect for new business owners who do not need a complex e-commerce website or for owners of a brick-and-mortar store who would like an e-commerce website to complement their in-person sales.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the best website builder for Australian businesses?
There are a number of highly rated web builders available today, but among our favourites are Wix, Weebly, IONOS and Squarespace. These platforms feature prebuilt themes and drag-and-drop interfaces, making it easy and affordable to create a functional, well-designed website.
How much is Squarespace?
Squarespace offers four plans for Australian users, ranging from basic to advanced.
These are:
- Personal Plan: $16 AUD per month, billed annually
- Business Plan: $25 AUD per month, billed annually
- Commerce Basic: $34 AUD per month, billed annually
- Commerce advanced: $52 AUD per month, billed annually
Is Squarespace a good website builder?
Squarespace is a great website builder for those who are looking for an easy-to-use platform with beautiful templates. It’s also a good choice for businesses that need e-commerce features. However, if you’re looking for an open-source platform, consider WordPress.
Are there any free website builders?
Square is one of a handful of website building platforms that offer a free plan. While the plan is forever free, it is limited. Users of the free plan cannot connect a custom domain or create password-protected pages, and their header and footer will contain Square ads. Get the complete breakdown of the best free website builders.
Does Square offer a website builder?
Yes. In addition to being a popular point of sale system in Australia, Square offers its own free website builder called Square Online, to help businesses sell products and display services. It offers e-commerce features on paid plans as well.
How much is Square?
Square doesn’t charge any set-up or monthly fees on its basic plan, but rather takes 1.6% of the sale when a customer taps or inserts their card. The hardware starts at $65 for POS, and can be paid in instalments. Visit Square online for more details.
