Squarespace is an online website building tool, domain registration and hosting company. It offers good website building and hosting functions that allow all those new to building a website easy access to getting the website they want. However, there is a cost for using their services.
All plans come with a 14 day free trial, where you can build and test out your website. It allows you to become familiar with the website building tools and gives you a chance to market your website to prospective customers.
You can’t expect, however, for your website to be ranking on Google or other search engines within this period. At least not too high. This is more true when you have a website domain that is not established. Google imposes a new domain penalty that takes 3-6 months to wear off. Therefore, you have to do a lot of marketing and make use of good SEO tools to see an improvement within your business’ traffic and conversions before this period ends.
The Plans
There are four basic plans when it comes to Squarespace and there is also the option to have a custom plan. The basic plans are set below with the costs, at time of writing. Costs are done on the annual charge and monthly charge. On a per month basis, the costs over the year are significantly more.
Personal - $144 per year or $16 per month
This is the most basic option when it comes to Squarespace services. But that doesn’t mean that you’re lacking certain functionalities on the website. You still get a free domain, SSL certificate and access to the website builder. You also get access to all the Squarespace extensions and can have two people contribute to your website. So it is good for small business with just a couple of people or for those who don’t need to sell anything on their website.
Business - $216 per year or $26 per month
Business is for those who want to have more functionality on their website. As well as everything previously mentioned, Business users can have an unlimited number of users for the website. Therefore, work on the website can be spread around. In addition, they can benefit from professional email systems from Google and Premium extensions and blocks. And you’ll be able to completely customize your website with HTML and CSS. You’ll also get access to lots of marketing options to help you rank better on Google and drive more traffic to your website.
Ecommerce (Basic) - $312 per year or $30 per month
This is for those who want to sell on their website. In addition to everything that you get on your Business account, you will also be able to benefit from 0% transaction fees (3% on business account), point of sale functions and customer accounts. You’ll also be given a checkout for your domain.
Ecommerce (Advanced) - $480 per year or $46 per month
The most advanced plan on Squarespace allows you to sell subscriptions and repeat orders without problems. You will also get abandoned cart recovery options and advanced shipping and discounts for your store.
Final Word: How Much Does Squarespace Cost?
The cost of Squarespace will greatly depend on what plan you choose after your 14-day free trial. Costs start from £10 per month on the annual plan but can be as high as £37 per month if you pay monthly and want the most advanced plan. Then there is the custom option, this is for enterprise-level businesses and the costs are dependent on what you need and are negotiated between you and Squarespace.
