In the latest blog in our CMS/website builder market share series, we’re taking a look at WordPress vs Squarespace, to see which platform is performing best.
WordPress vs Squarespace: Getting to Know the Platforms
Before we dive right in, here’s a brief introduction to both of the platforms.
WordPress
First to step into the ring is CMS heavyweight, WordPress.
WordPress is one of the oldest content management systems on the web. It’s popularity has endured over the last seventeen years, which is no mean feat in a market that has seen rapidly growing competition.
Being a CMS, WordPress helps – you guessed it – manage content. You can build and maintain a website without touching a single line of code.
However, because WordPress is an open source software, you are free to edit the code to fit your needs. It’s a great tool for building a website and managing online content.
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Squarespace
In the other corner of the ring, we have Squarespace.
Squarespace is what’s known as a “website builder”. It’s designed specifically for people who want to build a website, but don’t have the time, money, or know-how to build from scratch.
Instead, Squarespace provides you with the tools you need without requiting a jot of development knowledge. You don’t have to download any software, and you certainly don’t have to code.
Pick a template, tweak it, and you’re good to know.
WordPress vs Squarespace: Market Share Statistics
So, now we’ve covered what the platforms are, it’s time to drill down into their market share statistics.
Squarespace
Let’s start by looking at Squarespace.
Arguably one of the best known website builders, alongside Wix, Squarespace currently sits at #4 of W3Tech’s most popular content management systems.
It powers 2.9% of all websites using a known content management system, equating to around 2.0% of all sites live on the internet.
We can see from these stats that Squarespace occupies a very similar position to Wix, which only has a slightly lower market share of all websites.
WordPress
However, this is not enough to come out on top in the battle of WordPress vs Squarespace.
The stats show that Squarespace falls far below WordPress. WordPress is used on 64.3% of websites with a known content management system, which equates to 43.0% of all websites.
A Side by Side View
The difference between the two platforms is best illustrated by looking at the stats side by side.
In this graph from W3Techs, you can clearly see the disparity. WordPress is miles ahead of Squarespace in terms of both absolute usage and market share.
The difference is also demonstrated when we look at usage statistics within the top websites worldwide.
Of the top 1 million websites, WordPress powers 63.8% – more than half! In fact, it powers almost half of the top 1,000 sites too.
Squarespace, meanwhile, has a meagre share of the top sites in comparisons. It’s used on just 0.8% of the top million sites. It does fare slightly better in the top 1,000, powering 0.6% – but this is still a tiny percentage compared to WordPress’ 47.5%!
WordPress vs Squarespace: Historical Trends
W3Techs also provides historical data so we can look at how the two platforms have grown over the last decade.
Squarespace
Back in 2011, Squarespace was used on less than 1% of all websites, and has seen steady growth over the years.
Now we can see a slight period of growth, when it’s usage jumped from 1.4% to 1.8% between January 2021 and January 2022. And next jump from 1.8% to 2.0% between January 2022 and September 2022.
We’ll just have to wait for January 2023’s stats to see if it’s been able to grow further.
WordPress
While Squarespace has seen peaks and troughs over the last ten years, WordPress has only experience continual growth.
Used on just 13.1% of all websites in January 2011, WordPress has increased its market share quite considerably over the decade. Growth has been steady, increasing by between 2-3% every year, even as more competition has sprung up around it.
A Decade of Growth
Both platforms have seen growth overall since 2011, but it’s safe to say that WordPress comes out on top.
As the info from W3Techs shows, it’s increased it’s market share substantially over the last decade. It has raced ahead of all the competition, including Squarespace.
Why is WordPress so Popular?
If you’ve been following our series, or have taken even a cursory glance at the stats from W3Techs, you’ll see that WordPress leaves all of it’s competition in the dust. So, you might be wondering, what has kept the platform so high fo so long?
It’s a question that we’ve asked (and answered) in other Cminds blogs, but it’s worth a re-cap.
So, what makes WordPress stand out?
- Cost – WordPress is free to use. While you’ll need to pay for a domain name and hosting, the software is free to use.
- Customization – The platform offer its users unlimited customization options. Whether it’s through WordPress templates and third-party themes, or bespoke changes to the code, customization options are endless.
- Ease of Use – WordPress is easy to use and maintain. Even for those without coding or web design knowledge, it’s easy to set up a site and keep it running.
- Versatility – Websites hosted by WordPress run the spectrum from small, independent blogs to the websites of multi-national corporation. It’s versatility is yet another reason why it remains so popular.
With all this in mind, what’s not to love?
WordPress enables anyone to build their own website. It’s highly customizable, versatile, cost effective, and straightforward to use.
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If you want to make the most of WordPress’ highly customizable nature, at CreativeMinds we offer custom hourly support for WordPress development projects.
We can help to bring your vision to life, building the website of your dreams.
