Squarespace vs Showit: Which Website Platform is Right for You?
A Designer's Honest Comparison After Years of Building on BOTH Platforms
Choosing between Squarespace and Showit for your website can feel overwhelming. Alot of web designers will steer a customer towards their favorite platform of choice or the one they know best. However, we’ve come a long way in the web design world since I started 20 years ago. Most platforms are all perfectly good platforms to build your website on and be able to grow your business.
So don’t feel like there is a “right” or “wrong” answer. There’s only what works best for your situation and your preferences.
So here are some benefits and things to think about when choosing between Squarespace or Showit. Both platforms are powerful, beautiful, and popular—but they can serve different purposes and types of users. As a designer who's built websites on both platforms, I'm breaking down everything you need to know to make the right choice for your business.
The Uber Condensed Answer
Choose Squarespace if: 1. You want an all-in-one platform, you don’t want to hassle with several 3rd party integrations (i.e. e-commerce, blogging, email, analytics, booking system) 2. You plan to manage the site yourself or hire someone once in a while to make updates.
Choose Showit if: 1. You're a creative professional in a highly aesthetic industry (i.e. weddings) 2. You already have a WordPress blog you love and don’t want to move it. 3. You know programs like PhotoShop and can easily learn how to manage it on your own. 4. You are fine hiring a web designer to keep your website up to date. 4. You don’t need a lot of third party integrations or don’t mind using separate programs (i.e. Shopify lite, WordPress, Flodesk).
What is Squarespace?
Squarespace is an all-in-one website builder known for its beautiful templates, intuitive drag-and-drop editor, and built-in features. It’s been around for over 20 years and is constantly improving year after year. It's designed for business owners who want a professional website without needing super technical skills or managing multiple tools.
Best for: Service providers, coaches, consultants, small businesses, bloggers, online stores, anyone who wants simplicity and ease of use.
What is Showit?
Showit is a drag-and-drop website builder that was originally built for photographers, similar in editing style to Photoshop. It gives you complete creative control and pixel-perfect design freedom. It uses WordPress for blogging, allowing you to have a custom-designed front end with the power of WordPress for your blog.
Best for: Photographers, creative professionals, designers who want total design freedom, brands that prioritize visual wow-factor, those with existing WordPress blogs and professional bloggers.
Squarespace vs Showit: The Complete Comparison
Design Flexibility & Customization
Showit: Creative Freedom
The Benefits of Showit, You can:
Position elements anywhere on the page similar to PhotoShop
Customize all the little details including the testimonial sliders, bullet points, rotating text, overlapping sections, buttons and borders
Have up to 8 colors in your color palette
10 Basic tools for building, i.e. text, image, line, button, shape
Use any fonts from Google fonts or upload your own
A collection of fun animations like “bounce”, “slide in”, etc.
Copy and paste sections to other pages
Add custom CSS for more advanced customization
If you're comfortable with design programs like Photoshop, Canva, or Illustrator, Showit will feel intuitive. You're essentially designing from scratch on a blank canvas with minimal tools to build with such as shape, icons, lines and text.
Squarespace: Beautiful Templates with Customization
The benefits of Squarespace, You can:
Drag-and-drop sections within a structured grid framework
Change colors, fonts, spacing, and layouts across the entire site
Structured font sizes allow for consistency
Select from over 35 elements to place anywhere, i.e. gallery, buttons, form, scrolling etc.
Save sections to use across your site or your account
Add custom CSS for more advanced customization
Mobile-responsive design is pretty automatic but needs small adjustments
Pre-designed sections available for super quick build
While you can't position elements pixel-by-pixel like Showit, most business owners find Squarespace's customization more than sufficient. You get beauty without needing design expertise.
Ease of Use & Learning Curve
Squarespace: Beginner-Friendly
Squarespace is incredibly intuitive:
Anyone can learn it in a few hours
Point-and-click editing
What you see is what you get (WYSIWYG editor)
Minimal training needed
Built-in tutorials and support
Most of my Squarespace clients can update their own sites after a 20-minute training video. It's that simple.
Showit: Steeper Learning Curve
Showit takes longer to master:
Design freedom means more decisions to make
Requires understanding of design principles
Desktop and mobile versions need separate design work
WordPress integration adds complexity
Best suited for design-savvy users
If you're not comfortable with design software, Showit can feel overwhelming at first. But if you ARE design-savvy, you'll love the control.
Blogging Capabilities
Squarespace: Built-In Blogging
Squarespace includes a robust blogging platform:
Native blog functionality
Categories, tags, and scheduling
SEO-friendly blog structure
Comment management
RSS feeds
Easy to use for regular posting
Everything you need for blogging is included, no third-party tools required.
Showit: WordPress Integration
Showit itself doesn't have blogging—it integrates with WordPress:
Your Showit site connects to a WordPress blog
Get the power and flexibility of WordPress
Access to WordPress plugins
Better for advanced bloggers who need advanced features
Yoast plugin for WordPress acts as an SEO checklist
This is actually a HUGE benefit if you already have a WordPress blog and don't want to migrate. You can keep your existing blog and just redesign your site's front end with Showit.
E-Commerce & Online Stores
Squarespace: Full E-Commerce Platform
Squarespace has built-in e-commerce features:
Sell physical and digital products up to 200 products
Inventory management
Payment processing (Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay)
Abandoned cart recovery
Product variants and options
Automatic sales tax calculation
Customer accounts
Subscription products
Membership portal
It's a complete online store solution without third-party integrations.
Showit: Third-Party Integrations Required
Showit doesn't have native e-commerce. You'll need:
Shopify Lite integration (monthly fee)
WooCommerce through WordPress
Third-party checkout systems
More complexity to manage
If you have a lot of inventory and do a lot of selling, Shopify lite is perfect with more advanced selling features.
Email Marketing Integration
Squarespace: Native Email Campaigns
Squarespace includes:
Perfect for beginners
Built-in email marketing (Squarespace Email Campaigns)
Add newsletter forms with a click
Everything in one dashboard
Pop ups built-in
Match emails to website brand
Small additional fee
You can also embed third-party platforms like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, or Flodesk for more robust email systems.
Showit: Third-Party Integration Only
Showit requires external email marketing platforms:
Connect Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Flodesk, etc.
Requires separate subscriptions
Embed forms
Galleries & Photography Showcases
Showit: Photographer's Dream
This is where Showit absolutely shines:
Multiple gallery layouts, i.e. grid, slideshow, carousel
Full-screen image slideshow displays
Create custom hover effects
Animated carousels
Photographers LOVE Showit because they can create gallery experiences that truly wow visitors. If your work is highly visual, Showit lets you show it off like an art piece.
Squarespace: Beautiful but Structured Galleries
Squarespace also has lovely gallery options:
Grid, slideshow, and carousel formats
Responsive image galleries
Lightbox viewing
Mobile Responsiveness
Squarespace: Automatic Mobile Optimization
Squarespace auto adjusts:
Each section is mobile adjustable
Edit mobile seperately
You can now hide elements on mobile
Showit: Manual Mobile Design
With Showit:
You design desktop and mobile versions separately
Complete control over mobile layout
Auto mobile layout is helpful but not perfect
More time-consuming
Can swap images on mobile view if needed
SEO Capabilities
Squarespace: Strong Built-In SEO
Squarespace includes:
Now has AI capabilities to quickly help you with all your meta data and alt tags
Clean, SEO-friendly code
Customizable page titles and descriptions
Automatic SSL certificates
Fast loading speeds
Structured data markup
SEO-friendly URLs
Showit: SEO Through WordPress
Showit's SEO is decent, but:
WordPress blog has powerful SEO plugins (Yoast, Rank Math)
Front-end pages have basic SEO options
Not as robust for non-blog pages
Requires more technical knowledge
No matter which platform you choose, SEO is always a work in progress and with the right strategy can get you on page 1 of search results on either platform.
Pricing Comparison
Squarespace Pricing:
Personal: $16/month (basic website)
Business: $23/month (best for most businesses)
Commerce Basic: $27/month (online store)
Commerce Advanced: $49/month (advanced store features)
Showit Pricing:
$19/month (billed annually) for basic plan
$24/month for advanced features
PLUS WordPress hosting ($3-30+/month separately)
Support & Resources
Squarespace:
24/7 customer support
Extensive help documentation
Active community forum and Facebook groups
Video tutorials
Live chat support
Showit:
Email support
Extensive video tutorials
Active Facebook community
Designer community support
Technical Maintenance
Squarespace: Zero Maintenance
Squarespace handles:
Security updates
Software updates
Server maintenance
Backups
SSL certificates
You literally never think about technical maintenance.
Showit: Some Maintenance Required
With Showit:
Advanced plan for WordPress needs regular updates
Advanced plan Plugin updates required
WordPress security considerations
More technical management
Can be daunting and hard to manage
Who Should Choose Squarespace?
Choose Squarespace if you:
✅ Want an all-in-one platform (website, blog, email, e-commerce)
✅ Value ease of use and quick editing
✅ Don't have a ton of time to manage your website
✅ Want more automatic mobile responsiveness
✅ Prefer simplicity over unlimited customization
✅ Are already using Squarespace and don't want to migrate
✅ Need a professional site without hiring a designer for every change
Who Should Choose Showit?
Choose Showit if you:
✅ Are a photographer or highly aesthetic creative professional
✅ Already have a WordPress blog you want to keep
✅ Are comfortable with design programs (Photoshop, Canva, etc.)
✅ Want complete creative freedom and pixel-perfect design
✅ Prioritize visual wow-factor over ease of editing
✅ Are willing to invest time in learning the platform
✅ Don't need built-in e-commerce (or are okay with Shopify integration)
✅ Are fine with hiring a web designer to manage and make edits
My Honest Take as a Designer
I love BOTH platforms, but for different reasons and different clients.
I recommend Squarespace for 80% of my clients because:
They want beautiful without complexity
They need to update their own sites
They value time over unlimited customization
They want everything in one place
They don't need a showstopping art piece (they need professional looking AND a functional business tool)
I recommend Showit for the 20% who:
Are photographers with stunning visual work
Already have WordPress blogs they don't want to leave
Are designers themselves who will love the creative freedom
Have the time and inclination to learn the platform or happy to hire a designer
Want their website to BE the wow-factor
Both platforms are excellent. The question isn't which is "better"—it's which is better for you.
Can You Switch Platforms Later?
Switching is possible but not simple. Neither platform offers direct migration tools, so switching would require:
Rebuilding your site from scratch
Redirecting all your URLs for SEO
Migrating blog content manually
Reconnecting all integrations
This is why it's worth choosing carefully from the start.
Questions to Ask Yourself When Deciding:
Will you be editing and managing your site yourself or will you hire a designer?
How important is ease of editing to you?
Is your industry highly aesthetic?
Do you already have a WordPress blog?
Do you need e-commerce and how many products?
Do you need email marketing and are you a beginner or advanced?
Do you blog and do you need advanced blog features (i.e. recipe plugins, advertisements)
Need Help Deciding?
As a designer who works with both platforms, I can help you choose the right fit for your business and build you a stunning website on whichever platform suits you best.
Whether you choose Squarespace for its simplicity or Showit for its creative freedom, both can create beautiful, effective websites that serve your business well.
Ready to build your dream website? Contact me to discuss which platform is right for you and how we can bring your vision to life.
