Webflow vs. Squarespace
Website builders and templates run the small business web. Most owners pick a platform, sift through professional pre-built templates, and launch from there. Two platforms get most of the attention: Webflow and Squarespace.
Both give regular business owners and non-developers the tools to put a business online. This page compares the two so you can decide which one fits your needs.
What is Squarespace?
Squarespace is a website builder aimed at individuals, creatives, and small businesses. It pairs pre-designed templates with an integrated ecosystem for hosting, domains, and e-commerce, and its whole focus is simplicity, elegance, and ease of use.
The numbers back up its popularity: roughly 3.79 million subscribers, and about 1.7% of all websites on the internet are built with Squarespace. One oddly specific stat for online sellers: 99.3% of items sold through Squarespace e-commerce sites ship via UPS.
Squarespace features
For small business owners, these are the features that matter most:
- Simple and easy: no-code editing and ready-made templates mean anyone can build a site without prior design experience.
- No coding involved: like most modern web design platforms, everything happens visually. In-house development teams are usually reserved for larger application-based firms.
- Strong templates: Squarespace templates hold up well against other template platforms like GoDaddy and Wix.
What is Webflow?
Webflow is a website development platform that lets you build with zero prior coding knowledge. In the hands of a skilled designer it gets powerful fast, though learning the whole platform takes time most business owners don't have.
The original version of this page was built in Webflow from scratch. If that route sounds like too much, Webflow also offers templates and recommends professional freelance designers for commission work.
How to use Webflow
The fastest path is hiring an expert who already knows the platform. Going solo still works: Webflow hands you a canvas for pixel-perfect layouts, which come to life through custom animations and interactive elements.
Its standout capability is generating clean, production-ready HTML, CSS, and JavaScript from a modular visual designer. Plenty of platforms generate code, but Webflow adds custom code and embed capabilities most competitors lack.
How it works
Under the hood, the designer is a real-time visualization of HTML structure and CSS properties. You still need zero programming knowledge to launch a Webflow website.
Webflow features
Building a website from scratch that works on every device has never been this easy.
- Visual design interface: a drag-and-drop builder where you create big sections and style boxes within boxes. The combinations of styles, fonts, and animations make every build feel different.
- Designs that work on all devices: Webflow emphasizes responsive design, so a page can be styled differently as the device and screen size change.
- Built-in CMS: dynamic content management for sites that update regularly, like blogs and news sites.
Webflow use cases
- Easy-to-use template websites for business owners
- Designer portfolios that need unique visual elements
- Startup landing pages with interactive animations
- Custom business websites with intricate designs
The verdict
Webflow's strength is turning a design vision into a tangible web experience. Squarespace streamlines the process with templates you can shape quickly. Both serve businesses well; the right pick comes down to how much design control you want and who's doing the building.
Bonus trivia from the original post: the New York Knicks wear the Squarespace logo as their jersey patch sponsor.