Your website is like your brand’s virtual storefront—it’s your little corner on the internet. Let’s be real; it’s a lot of work. When it’s time to build or revamp your website, you’ve got a ton of decisions to make, starting with the big one: How to choose a website platform for your brand. For my clients, this comes with deciding between Square Space vs. Showit.

These are Two of the most popular choices for solo entrepreneurs building their brands online, with 50,000+ users on Showit & almost 3 million users of Square Space.

In this blog, I’ll break down why I prefer working with these platforms, highlight the pros and cons of each, and help you figure out which one might be the better fit for your business. Let’s dive in.

Brief Overview of Showit

Showit is a dynamic website builder that prides itself on offering a canvas for creativity. Its drag-and-drop interface allows users to design without the constraints of code, fostering a seamless and visually captivating experience. Known for its design flexibility, Showit appeals to those with a keen eye for aesthetics and a desire for a user-friendly design process.

Brief Overview of Square Space

On the other side of the spectrum, Square Space positions itself as an all-in-one solution. It integrates website building, hosting, and domain management into a cohesive platform. Renowned for its sleek templates and straightforward functionality, Square Space caters to those seeking a comprehensive yet streamlined approach to website creation.

---

Showit vs. Square Space: Evening The Playing Field

Ease of Management and Editing

Both platforms empower users to take control of their websites, offering user-friendly interfaces. The ease of managing and editing content is relatively equal, providing a level playing field for those navigating the DIY route.

SEO Performance

Both platforms excel in SEO, offering robust tools to optimize your website for search engines. The playing field remains level in this crucial aspect of online visibility.

Price & Feature / Value Difference

Square Space and Showit align closely in terms of pricing and features, creating a balanced comparison. Understanding the specific needs of your website will guide you in discerning the value each platform brings to the table.

---

So how do you gauge the best website builder for your brand – Square Space vs. Showit?

It all depends on what features and capabilities are more important to you. Also, keep in mind who will be building and managing your site and what their tech & design skills are like. Let’s weigh the pros and cons, shall we?

---

Showit Pros

• Mobile optimization: One of my favorite things about designing on Showit is that you have complete and total control of the mobile website design. Over 58% of all website traffic comes from mobile devices, so it’s just as important that your site looks great on a phone screen. That being said, the freedom on mobile comes with the cost of it being a little more work to make your mobile canvases look good. However, the drag-and-drop working canvas on Showit will feel familiar to anyone who has worked with Adobe programs.
• Blogging with WordPress: If blogging, Pinterest, and driving traffic to your website via SEO on your blog are (or will be) important parts of your content strategy, then Showit is probably a better choice for you. Showit integrates with WordPress, which has remained the unrivaled champion in the world of blogging platforms, consistently earning its reputation as the best choice for bloggers.
• Complete Design Freedom: Without Code Showit’s claim to fame (and why designers like me love it) is that it gives you drag-and-drop total creative freedom. If you can design on Adobe or Canva, you can design on Showit. Showit gives you the capability to design a jaw-dropping site without a line of code. I also love their online educational resources, YouTube videos, and social presence – so many resources are available to you when it comes to designing on Showit. Although it may take a little more creativity & skill, the design interface is user-friendly.
• Customer Service: How amazing is it to talk to a real person easily, get answers to your questions, and receive real-time help with troubleshooting? The customer service on Showit is a huge pro in my book. They have an AI chatbot, but it’s super easy to get to a real person and get answers to your questions.

Showit Cons

• Too Much Freedom?: Yes, I’ve listed Showit’s design freedom as a Pro – but it may not be the best fit if you aren’t tech-savvy or confident in your design skills. Whether you are working with a designer to build your site or doing it yourself, this is true. You can find & purchase Showit Templates (both free & paid) and customize individual sections with your branding – but there aren’t predetermined layouts for you to use as building blocks. It is important that you feel confident editing & updating your site on your own – and if you need building blocks to do that, Showit may not be the best option for you.
• Why can’t I have a damn button?: Again, the creative freedom on Showit is great, but sometimes it feels like too much work. You have to build everything from scratch, even the buttons. This can be especially tedious when you’ve got an entire site to bring to life.

Things to Keep in mind about Showit:

• E-commerce Capabilities: Showit does not have any built-in e-commerce capabilities. Therefore, if you want to sell digital products, you will need to use a third party like ConvertKit, or you can integrate a second Shopify website with your Showit site (this is how I have The Cedar June Shop set up). If most of your revenue comes from digital products, Showit might not be your best fit.
• Third-party integrations aren’t Showit’s Style: In fact, Showit excels at one thing – designing your site. It doesn’t attempt to do much else. Aside from e-commerce, your email marketing, scheduling, detailed forms, courses, and more will all have to be managed elsewhere, integrated, and embedded into your Showit website. This means more subscriptions, logins, and third-party apps to manage – but it also means more choices in the platforms you use in your operations.

Showit is a great platform for…

I think Showit is best for coaches and 1:1 service providers who want a really cool website and are okay with managing their operations elsewhere. Their websites and content strategies drive the majority of traffic from blogs – so having WordPress capabilities is a win. Using Showit doesn’t mean that you can’t have digital products and courses – but it isn’t the main breadwinner, and Showit’s pros outweigh the need for on-platform e-commerce capabilities. It’s suitable for someone who feels confident integrating third-party platforms and would rather have their pick of the litter versus a website platform that does it all in one place.

Top Tips for Showit:

• Name your canvases as you go!
• Pay attention to your text tags (H1, H2, etc.)
• Double-check all your buttons – click actions can be a little finicky.

---

Square Space Pros

• E-commerce Capabilities: One of the reasons so many people turn to Square Space is its e-commerce capabilities. The commerce end of Square Space allows you to sell physical & digital products, classes, & courses all in one place. The commerce interface is fairly straightforward and easy to use (compared to Shopify). The website builder also creates pre-built templates that link to the commerce side of your site, making it super straightforward to sell on your landing pages and directing people to your online shop.
• Scalability: Square Space is a great option for brands and businesses that are just starting out because it offers many scaling options in the future. From commerce to courses, memberships, and email—not to mention scheduling and 1:1 project management—Square Space gives you many options for growing your brand and monetizing your content online.
• Ease of use: Squarespace’s user interface does more of the work than Showit’s. It’s designed to be straightforward and easy to use, offering many templates and building blocks to help you get started.
• Organize Assets in Albums: One of my favorite features on Showit is that you can organize your photos and assets into albums! This makes such a big difference long term, especially when you have a lot of pages going.

Square Space Cons

• Mobile optimization: One of my biggest beefs with Square Space is that you don’t have many options when it comes to customizing your mobile site. In fact, it can get downright frustrating when you are trying to edit the mobile view, and it messes things up on the desktop side. This can become especially problematic when it comes to backgrounds that are landscape formatted on desktop and cropped awkwardly on mobile.
• Customer support: My biggest beef by far with Square Space is the lack of customer support. Showit far outserves them in this place. Square Space is great at doing many things, but they aren’t so great at doing them well and or having customer support and help docs back it up. So often, when searching for an answer, I will be digging through help doc after help doc without a clear solution to the problem. And that is coming from a web design pro.
• Coding for the next level: Yes, square space is easy to use, and you can create a great but still basic site with It. However, coding comes into play when it comes to engaging animations in the user interface and customizing design.

Things to Keep in mind about Square Space:

• Blogging If blogging is a focus or future goal – you can totally write a blog on Square Space – but there are way fewer options, customizations & plugins available in the Square Space Blog interface in comparison to Showit.
• Square Kicker Square Kicker is a Square Space Design Plugin that does all the coding work for you with a few simple clicks. It is truly a game changer for designing on Square Space, and I will never design on Square Space without it again.
• Scaling comes with a price. Even though Square Space has many capabilities for monetizing your content and doing it all in one place, it is going to cost you. Square Space will process multiple subscriptions and payments if you utilize its different tools.

Top Tips for Square Space:

• Download Square Kicker and watch tutorials on their YouTube channel.
• Set your site styles & colors up before you start designing.
• Save your canvases to replicate and use as your own mini-templates

Square Space is a great platform for…

Creators who are going to make the majority of their revenue from digital products and monetized content. Especially if you don’t want (or know how) to connect the dots and manage operations and automation on multiple platforms at the same time.

---

Square Space vs. Showit – which is a better fit for you?

In conclusion, the decision between Showit and Square Space ultimately comes down to your unique business needs and preferences.

Deciding which platform is the best fit for your brand comes down to your personal preferences and what pros and cons weigh the heaviest. Your current & future content goals and how you drive traffic to your site can also be deciding factors in what platform is the best for your brand.

If you value design freedom, mobile optimization, powerful blogging capabilities, and exceptional customer service, Showit may be your better choice.

On the other hand, if you’re seeking robust e-commerce capabilities, scalability, and a platform that handles many aspects of your online brand in one place, Square Space could be a better fit.

By understanding the pros and cons of each platform, you can make an informed decision that best supports your business and brand.

---