Move from Squarespace to WordPress – in 7 steps

Squarespace is particularly popular in the United States. Have you also opted for the trend tool from the USA and are now considering whether it wouldn’t be better to move your Squarespace website to WordPress? Then you’ll find an overview of everything you should consider when moving in this article. And the answer to the question of when it’s worth switching from Squarespace to WordPress.

What is Squarespace?

Squarespace is an all-in-one website builder that allows you to create websites using drag-and-drop. You don’t need any programming skills and can choose the right solution for your personal or professional websites, portfolios, blogs and online shops from the range of different templates.

The templates come with many integrated functions, such as SEO and marketing tools. You can also enhance your websites with third-party extensions, for example for e-commerce. At the same time, your website is hosted directly via Squarespace.

Who is Squarespace suitable for?

Thanks to the simple modular principle, even beginners can use Squarespace to create fully functional websites with a beautiful design. This makes the system particularly interesting for freelancers and solopreneurs as well as private individuals. But companies also benefit from user-friendly business functions.

What does Squarespace cost?

To use the website solution including hosting from Squarespace, you must take out a monthly or annual subscription. The costs start at 11 euros per month for the basic plan. For the business package, you pay from 17 euros per month. If you want to run an online shop, you have to invest at least 24 euros per month.

If you opt for the annual plan, you not only benefit from lower prices, but also get your own domain for free for one year.

What is WordPress?

As the most popular content management system (CMS), you are no doubt familiar with WordPress. As with Squarespace, you can use WordPress to build websites of all kinds using a modular principle.

However, as open source software, WordPress can do even more. You can use countless templates (themes), plugins and page builders to design your website. This allows you to customise your website at any time.

Who is WordPress suitable for?

Even without programming knowledge, you can realise great web projects with WordPress. At the same time, developers also get their money’s worth and can let off steam creatively. Whether you’re a freelancer, blogger, agency or small to large company – WordPress is basically aimed at anyone who wants to realise individual web projects of different sizes.

What does WordPress cost?

WordPress is basically free of charge. Additional costs may be incurred for the domain, hosting and the choice of paid themes and plugins.

Why switch from Squarespace to WordPress?

You were probably initially impressed by Squarespace’s user-friendliness and appealing designs. Sooner or later, however, you will reach the limits of the website builder. Especially when your business picks up speed and you want to customise your website to your individual needs , Squarespace will no longer get you anywhere. That’s when it’s time for a move.

Below, we take a closer look at the points at which Squarespace reaches its limit – and how WordPress gives you a boost again. You can also find a direct comparison of the two website systems in our blog post Squarespace vs WordPress.

Individuality

The big advantage of Squarespace is that you basically only need to be guided by the modular system to create a fully functional website. However, this also means that you are very limited in terms of your creativity and individuality. You also need to consider in advance which functions you need in order to choose the right subscription package.

As an open system, WordPress allows you to customise and expand your website – at any time, even retrospectively. For example, if you want to add an online shop later, you often only need to install a suitable plugin, such as WooCommerce. You can even change the theme at any time and give your website a completely new look.

With WordPress, you can also customise the code yourself or hire an agency to do so. This means there are virtually no limits to the design and functionality of your website.

Extensions

Squarespace also offers you interesting extensions for your websites. A selection of third-party applications is available for you in the app. However, this is limited and does not compare to the huge pool of WordPress plugins, which is constantly being expanded by the large WordPress community.

No matter what problem you encounter or what vision you have of your perfect website, it is highly likely that there is already a solution or a suitable plugin. So it’s worth browsing!

Note: Despite all the freedom, you shouldn’t overdo it with WordPress plugins. Too many plugins will weigh down your website and make it slow. Conversely, you can find out how to ensure that your WordPress website performs optimally in our article Making WordPress faster: The best tips for better performance.

Hosting

Squarespace takes over the hosting of your websites and also takes care of regular updates and data security, for example. At first glance, this is of course extremely convenient, but it also makes you rather inflexible.

With WordPress, you generally have to take care of issues such as security and technical updates yourself. However, you are completely free to choose your web host – and therefore also how much support you would like for these topics.

Costs

No matter how you design your website, Squarespace is always subject to a fee. The exact costs depend on the subscription model you choose. If you want to run an online shop, you will definitely have to opt for one of the expensive e-commerce packages. If you get extensions from third-party providers, there may be additional costs. However, hosting and the domain are included in the price, the latter at least for one year.

With WordPress, you don’t pay anything at first. Ultimately, you can build a complete website without additional costs for the CMS by using free themes and plugins. An online shop can also be realised free of charge with WooCommerce. However, the theme must be compatible. For full functionality, you should also use paid extensions. Of course, you should always factor in the costs for hosting and domain.

Overall, this results in very individualised costs for your WordPress website. Depending on your budget, you can decide for yourself how much you want to spend on the various functions and services.

Guide: Migrate Squarespace website to WordPress

Have the advantages of WordPress convinced you? Then the migration of your website can begin. But beware: migrating a website always involves a certain amount of effort. In particular, moving from a closed website system like Squarespace to a CMS like WordPress comes with challenges and takes a lot of time. The most important thing is good preparation and follow-up work to ensure that everything is in place and works as you want it to in the end.

Are you ready? Then we’ll show you the seven most important steps to migrate your website from Squarespace to WordPress.

1. choose hosting provider

The first step is to find a web host for your new WordPress website. There is plenty of choice, so you can choose the hosting provider that best suits your requirements and budget. Take your time to compare different offers and hosting models.

At Raidboxes, for example, we specialise in WordPress and help you to professionally manage and optimise your websites with our Managed WordPress Hosting.

2. install WordPress

You then need to install WordPress. There are two ways to do this:

1. You download the CMS manually from WordPress.org and then upload it to the server.
2. With many hosting providers, such as Raidboxes, WordPress is automatically set up with a one-click installation when you create a new website.

3. export content from Squarespace

Then it’s time to export your Squarespace content and prepare it for the move. This is how it works:

1. Go to the advanced settings via your Squarespace dashboard.
2. Click on Import/Export and then on EXPORT.
3. Select the WordPress option.
4. Download the XML file and save it on your computer in a place where you can quickly find it again.

The XML file can be used to export most of the content of your Squarespace website, including pages, posts and text blocks – but unfortunately not everything. Especially if you want to move an online shop to WordPress, you’ll encounter some problems here, as you won’t be able to export product pages, images or custom CSS, for example. You have to copy and paste these elements manually, which can be very tedious. In this case, it may be easier to set up the shop from scratch.

However, if it’s only about images, there is another solution. We will go into this in the next step.

4. import content into WordPress

Your Squarespace website is now safely packed and loaded, so to speak. Now it’s time for the actual move:

1. Open your WordPress dashboard and go to Tools → Import.
2. Your XML import file is already prepared for WordPress, so select the WordPress option in the next step.
3. Click on Install now. This will install the WordPress importer. If it already exists, you can simply run it in this step.
4. Select your XML file with the content from your Squarespace website and upload it.
5. You now need to assign authors to the elements.
6. Then start the import process. You can simply let it run in the background and follow it via the progress bar.
7. Once the import is complete, you will receive a message. Done!

As mentioned, you now need to import your images separately, as the original URLs of the images were imported with the XML file, but not the media itself. To do this, download your image files manually from Squarespace and then upload them to your new WordPress website.

Alternatively, you can use a WordPress plugin such as Auto Upload Images. This recognises the image URLs and automatically uploads the corresponding image files.

5. check content & select theme

After importing, you should thoroughly check all pages, posts and content. Also update the permalink structure and optimise it for search engines.

Also choose a suitable theme for your WordPress website. You can orientate yourself on the old look of Squarespace (with the large selection of WordPress themes, you’re sure to find something similar) or you can take the opportunity to try out something new. Need help choosing? Then take a look at our list of the best WordPress themes!

6. update domain

Your new WordPress website is ready. Now it just needs to be visible. To do this, you need a domain. Of course, you can simply register a new domain. Or you can update your existing one from Squarespace.

How exactly this works depends on where your domain is registered. As a rule, you need to adjust the DNS settings so that the domain points to your new WordPress website. Even if you host your WordPress website via Raidboxes, you can take your old domain with you or secure a new one.

7. further develop the website

Once you have completed all of the above steps, you can now archive your Squarespace websites or cancel your plan and devote yourself entirely to your WordPress websites. Enjoy your newfound freedom, browse through the plugins and develop your website as you wish. Have fun with it!

Frequently asked questions about switching from Squarespace to WordPress

Squarespace vs WordPress – which is better?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of whether Squarespace or WordPress is better. The Squarespace website builder is well suited to beginners who want to create and manage a clear and beautifully designed website. For larger web projects and more individuality and freedom in the choice of hosting and extensions, WordPress is recommended.

Is Squarespace a CMS?

Squarespace is a content management system. This means that you can use it to create, manage and change content on your website without any in-depth technical knowledge. While the Squarespace website builder focuses primarily on user-friendliness and design, other CMSs such as WordPress offer a wider range of functions in comparison.

How much does Squarespace cost?

Squarespace is available in a monthly or annual subscription model. The exact costs depend on the chosen plan: the basic plan is available from 11 euros per month. The most expensive plan with extended services for e-commerce starts at 36 euros per month.

How much does a website with WordPress cost?

WordPress is initially free of charge. How much your WordPress website actually costs in the end depends on various factors, including the hosting, the domain, the selected themes and plugins.