Should You Use Squarespace for Your Offers or Launches?

If you’ve been hanging around lately, you’ve likely noticed we kicked off a mini-series where we take a closer look at some of the most common launch and offer-hosting platforms. And if you’re new here, welcome! We’re glad you’re joining us. 

The goal of our mini-series? To give you the information you need to make the right choice for your business. Because, to be quite honest, it can be really overwhelming to know what you want and – more importantly – what you need from a launch platform. With sooo many choices out there, it’s freaking hard to even know where to start.

With that in mind, we’ve already done a deep dive on Kajabi and ClickFunnels. As for our next feature? We’re talking all things Squarespace, including what it is, the pros and cons for launches and offers, and the bottom line of where we stand with it.

Let’s do this thing!

What is Squarespace?

If you’re not familiar with Squarespace, that’s okay! This platform is an all-inclusive content management system that can help you build and grow a website and create sales funnels that are simple to make and easy for customers to navigate. 

Beyond that, though, Squarespace also offers streamlined payment and scheduling solutions for those who sell goods and services. There’s likely a good chance you’ve used Squarespace before to book an appointment, pay a vendor, or put down a deposit for services.

As for who Squarespace is best for? Anyone, really! But it’s the best fit for small business owners and solopreneurs who need a clean, simple-to-use platform that can help sell offers, process payments, and manage bookings all in one place. 

Pros of Squarespace for new or existing offers

First off, let’s talk about all the good things that are happening with Squarespace. One of the features that stick out the most to us is how easy it is to use – for you and your audiences. All of the tools and products are simple, straightforward, and super easy to implement. 

Another stand-out feature? Squarespace runs on its own servers, so you don’t have to pay for a website hosting service or installation software. We can definitely get behind any platform that lets users save a few bucks.

Here’s a look at some of the other pros of using Squarespace for new or existing offers:

• Templates and customization: Squarespace offers tons of website and page templates from award-winning designers, so you don’t have to stress about the look and feel of your website or landing pages. But you don’t have to stick with the templated designs; Squarespace has lots of customization options available for members – including colors.
• Drag-and-drop function: If you’ve been wondering, ‘How the heck do I even build a website?’ there’s no need to panic. Your website and landing pages come to life through a simple drag-and-drop function, which means you don’t have to have any tech or coding skills to build a website. Pretty great, right?
• Integrations and extensions: Squarespace easily integrates with Zapier and has dozens of extensions, so you can easily automate your work and house your existing tools in one place.
• Gentle learning curve: If you’re brand-new to the space, you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Squarespace has an easy learning curve, along with tons of resources to help you along the way.

Cons of Squarespace

Of course, to do a fair review of each launch platform, we have to highlight some of the features we don’t particularly care for. First, we want to point out that this may not be the best tool for bloggers. That’s because it doesn’t have an autosave feature or revision history. Which, for blogs, is pretty damn important. 

Beyond that, though, if you want to edit a blog – you know, something that’s totally common – you can’t work on a draft version and then publish. You have to update the live version of your blog. To us, that’s a lot of hurdles to jump through just to update and maintain a blog.

Next, if you have plans to create multiple sites with the same design, Squarespace likely isn’t the choice for you. It’s not designed to have an ecosystem of sites, nor is it helpful in creating websites with multi-level navigation systems. 

Finally, if you want your website to be GDPR compliant (and, ahem, you should), we should note that overall, Squarespace has pretty poor GDPR compliance. For those who aren’t as familiar, GDPR compliance – which stands for General Data Protection Regulation – means your terms and conditions are easy to understand, and your site is explicitly clear about data privacy policies and how you use or share that information. To us, that’s a red flag that’s hard to ignore.

Bottom line

Squarespace can be a great tool for someone who needs a simple and straightforward site that looks great but doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles. It can also be great for solopreneurs who need a mobile-friendly, on-the-go app that manages and streamlines payments for goods and services.

Beyond that, we’re not totally convinced that it has the power or capabilities to help you plan, launch, and execute new or existing offers. We also feel it’s fairly risky from a privacy policy standpoint, as your customers’ information and safety should always be top-of-mind.

Of course, the best way to decide whether a platform is right for you is to try it out yourself! Luckily, Squarespace offers a free 14-day trial, so you can test it out and make sure it checks all your boxes for a platform.