Squarespace

• Design Options
• Features
• Free Trial

Design Options

Squarespace offers more than 25 of these types of templates for their customers to use if they want. Pre-designed templates are great for those customers who do not know how to build a website themselves. They simply have to choose which one they like, make a few simple changes, add their content and the website is published. They are designed with a specific type of business in mind to keep them looking professional.

But if a customer would like more control of the look of their website and has some knowledge of coding and online building, Squarespace has their Developer Platform. This program is said to be used by some of the top designers today and really helps these types of customers (or their agencies) to take advantage of all the options and features they might want in one easy location. This is a unique opportunity for creative customers to have complete control of their website from beginning to end while still working with a hosting company for the support.

Squarespace has unique design opportunities for those customers who are less-technically inclined. They promote a design feature that is called the cover page, essentially it is everything that the visitor would need to know about the customer on one website page. These pages are supposed to make a big impact on their visitors and really make an impression. But these pages are quick to create and require no extra effort on the customer's part. This type of setup encourages the customer to showcase their most important features and leave out the filler pieces. Since these pages are very visually appealing and different than the norm, they will help draw visitors in to learn more about the businesses being promoted. 

Features

Squarespace has an uptime of 99.99% and has wonderful customer service. It has a lot of great features for websites. Squarespace's prices are reasonable, and their templates modern and up to date.

Free Trial

They offer a free 14-day trial so that you can get to know the software before buying. Squarespace has an uptime of 99.99% and had wonderful customer service if you aren't looking for an immediate answer. They have a lot of great features for their websites, and overall are a great company.

• No Free Package
• Pricing

No Free Package

Though Squarespace gives their customers the opportunity to take advantage of these unique features, they do not offer a free package with basic features to their customers.

If a customer wants to, they can try out a Squarespace website for free in their 14-day trial. But once those two weeks are up, the website will either have to be upgraded to a paid package or the site will be discontinued. The lack of a free plan can be a breaking point for some customers, as many like to start with a free plan and then upgrade as their business grows and the needs of their websites change.

Pricing

After the customer decides to keep his website and upgrade to a paid package, they will have three options to choose from: Personal, Business, and Commerce.

If you choose to make month-to-month payments the prices for these packages range from $12 per month to $36 per month. These prices are a little higher than many of their competitors, especially their basic Personal package. However, if you pay annually than the overall monthly price is dropped to $8 - $26, depending on the package.

Many of the companies who offer similar services offer their customers a free package that includes the basic features a website could need. These often include access to pre-designed templates, hosting, easy editing, some customization, and blogging. Occasionally these companies will offer the ability to sell a few (under 5) products in their free packages as well.