Squarespace is one application that we, as a community around WordPress, need to stay abreast of because they are building something both impressive and innovative.
Recently they released an ecommerce portion to their offering that really brings their blogging solution into a much more impressive sphere:
Giving our customers the ability to manage and sell products on their websites has been the most requested Squarespace feature of all time. Thanks to the powerful architecture of Squarespace 6, we’ve built a truly integrated commerce solution that gives our customers amazing power and flexibility within a single platform.
With seamless integration with Stripe and all the trimmings that you’d expect from a full-fledged ecommerce solution it’s something to drool over. Their dead-simple site setup makes a lot of other services look complex and confusing.
And that’s the thing – although they are offering a much more robust and comprehensive solution their blogging experience isn’t something to laugh at – in fact, I’m seeing more and more Squarespace blogs pop up as I browse the web.
Actually, let me be honest – I’ve even recommended to a few friends and family members that they should use Squarespace instead of WordPress because of their needs and the simplicity of getting started with a very small budget.
The new commerce feature
I’m not ashamed of that – I think it works very well for their specific needs and it got them up and running in a matter of minutes with the things that they needed quickly.
Now with commerce built right-in it’s an even more attractive alternative to WordPress where you’d have to install and configure a plugin, and some of them are very cumbersome to boot.
I think we need to consider what Squarespace is doing and take a look at not just their total package features but also how they are implementing their blogging experience – because there’s a lot that’s admirable about their implementation. With a full importer to move to Squarespace from WordPress the migration is simple and effective for those that are tired of managing their own system.
Have you seen and/or experienced Squarespace’s blogging system? Have you ever recommended it over WordPress?
Full disclosure: Squarespace employee.
“…it got them up and running in a matter of minutes with the things that they needed quickly…” This quote summarizes what I think the public perception is about Squarespace. It is a platform for people to start a website in a matter of minutes.
But that’s only the very beginning of what it can do. Squarespace has a developer feature for coders who want total control over the markup and design. I think it’s a great option for front-end developers. developers.squarespace.com
This is even smarter than it first appears because Square are using Stripe Connect, completely relieving them of any financial or legal liability for the transactions.
I was surprised, when it was a announced a few months back, that more people didn’t immediately recognize Stripe Connect as one of the most important things to happen online in years. It means that you are going to see a lot of ecommerce innovation over the coming years, particularly around marketplaces and communities.
In one way, professionals working with WordPress and those creating WordPress-related products are in a perfect position to be at the forefront of this wave. Stripe Connect eliminates 99% of the expense, hassle and risk of running a marketplace while still getting a protected slice of the transaction, it should be the Holy Grail for online communities of all types.
Then again, there is a massive blindspot that seems to prevent WordPress developers from noticing obvious commercial demand. For instance, it is astonishing that it is already 2013 and there is still no credible WordPress booking plugin, despite the huge demand.
So, yes, sadly, I am aware of the very real possibility that WordPress, despite its massive lead, could lose out badly to clear-headed competitors who have less baggage and who are willing to understand the direction that things are moving in.
“Squarespace is one application that we, as a community around WordPress, need to stay abreast of because they are building something both impressive and innovative.”
Truer words have never been spoken John.
I experimented with Squarespace about a year ago, and I was very impressed. I nearly converted, but I was already too invested in WP both financially, and with my time. I’ve had serious thoughts of converting though.
I know WordPress has a huge community of very talented developers/designers/etc., but Squarespace isn’t nearly as “seasoned” as WP, and has already surpassed WordPress in several important facets, like UI, ease of use, and it is just much easier to use out of the box. Plus, it’s sexy as hell
It’s already many of the things that WordPress is trying to become (with regard to ease of use)
Call me crazy, and I might eat these words one day, but I could totally see Squarespace overtaking WordPress’ marketshare within the next 5-7 years. As we sit here today, WP is more flexible which is important no doubt, but a very large demographic of WP users are simply trying to fire up a presentable blog and get online (and maybe monetize). That’s it.
WP.com does that pretty well, but Squarespace (and maybe even Tumblr) is winning that battle IMO, and they don’t appear to be slowing down.
I almost feel that WP is stuck in the middle between a really easy to use platform, and an overly complicated cluster- ____, and I’m not sure that’s a good position to be in.
WP loyalists will stay, but if I’m brand new to the online game (limited budget or not), I’m probably going Squarespace.
Completely useless new feature for many of Squarespace clients that are not based in the US.
They should have fixed all the bug sites before releasing a new feature that work for only some of the clients.
What a shame.