Squarespace vs WordPress for a Small Business Site

You'll hear that WordPress sites get hacked because nobody ever updates them. Most of them are updated, though. The WordPress upgrade guide says minor core updates install on their own by default, and they have since version 3.7.¹ In our test, 88 percent of the business sites we could read were current on security fixes.

So the choice isn't really about the core software. It's about who handles everything around it. That means plugins, the server's PHP version, backups, and the day you want to leave.

Pick by Who Will Do the Upkeep

We build and fix small business sites, and plenty of them started on one of these two. Looks are rarely the problem. Upkeep is.

• Pick Squarespace if you'll edit the site yourself, you want one bill, and you don't want an updates screen in your life. It's the better fit for a crew of one to five with no web person.
• Pick WordPress if you want the files to be yours, you need a feature Squarespace doesn't do, or you already have a person or company who checks the site every month.
• Don't pick WordPress to save money unless that monthly check has a name next to it. The software is free. The hours are not.

What Each One Costs in Cash

These are US prices before tax, from Squarespace's pricing page and Hostinger's pricing page, accessed October 2026.

Squarespace includes hosting and a free custom domain for the first year on a yearly plan. After that year, the domain renews at the regular rate.⁵ With WordPress you buy the domain on your own. Our domain cost guide covers what that runs.

By our math from those list prices, Squarespace Core comes to $348 a year. Hostinger Premium at its renewal price comes to $131.88 a year. That gap looks like a clear win for WordPress. It isn't, once you price the time. Our website maintenance cost guide puts the hours next to the bills, line by line.

What We Found on 1,244 Small Business Sites

I wanted to see how real owners actually run these two platforms. So on October 25, 2026 we picked 1,500 independent auto repair shop websites at random from the shops we list. We loaded each homepage once and read which platform built it. 1,244 of them loaded.

WordPress ran about 1 in 4 of these sites. Squarespace ran about 1 in 26. Then we read the WordPress version on every WordPress site that showed one. 258 of the 322 did. We checked each version against WordPress's own stable check list, which labels every release as latest, outdated or insecure.²

• 174 ran the newest release. WordPress shipped 7.1.3 on October 6, 2026, along with 7.0.7 for the older branch.¹⁰
• 54 sat on an older branch but had its last security release. WordPress calls those outdated, not insecure.²
• 30 were missing security fixes. Only 3 were truly ancient, on the 4.8, 4.9 and 5.3 lines. The other 27 were on recent branches, from 6.8.2 up to 7.1.2. Those sites got close and then stopped. That usually means automatic updates were turned off or broke.

The other 64 WordPress sites hid their version, so we can't grade them. Hiding it doesn't patch anything, though.

The Real Risk Is Plugins

Core updates were the good news. Plugins are where the trouble lives. Patchstack's State of WordPress Security in 2026 counted 11,334 new flaws in the WordPress world in 2025. About 91 percent were in plugins and 9 percent in themes. Core had just 6 reports.³

Speed matters too. Patchstack found that the most targeted flaws were first attacked a median of 5 hours after they went public.³ A site checked once a month is wide open for weeks.

And plugin updates don't run on their own. The WordPress auto update guide says owners opt in plugin by plugin, a choice added in version 5.5.⁴ WordPress may push an update by itself only in special cases, like a critical security fix.¹

Our homepage check named a median of 4 plugin folders per WordPress site. That's a floor. Plenty of plugins never show up in the page code at all.

Squarespace has no plugin folder for you to manage. You give up that freedom, and you also give up that job.

PHP Is the Part Nobody Checks

WordPress runs on PHP, the language on your host's server. WordPress recommends PHP 8.3 or newer. It still works on 7.4, but WordPress warns that old versions have reached end of life and may expose your site to security flaws.⁸

87 of the WordPress sites in our check told us their PHP version in a response header. 20 of those 87 ran a PHP line that PHP no longer supports. 12 were on 7.4, 3 were on 8.1, and 5 sat on even older lines. PHP's own supported versions page lists only 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5.⁹

There's a date coming, too. PHP 8.2 gets security fixes only until December 31, 2026.⁹ 13 more sites in our check were on 8.2. Unless their hosts move them, they join the unsupported list on New Year's Day.

A Squarespace owner never has to think about this. On WordPress, it's a ticket you open with your host. If your host won't move you, our guide to hosting renewal prices covers how to switch without losing the site.

What Leaving Costs on Each One

This is the part to decide before you build, not after.

Squarespace's export tool makes an .xml file meant for WordPress.⁷ It carries your regular pages, one blog with its posts, and text, image and gallery content. It leaves out a lot.

• Store, portfolio, album, index and calendar pages don't export.⁷
• Only your first blog comes along. A second blog stays behind.⁷
• Product, video and audio blocks stay behind, and so do drafts, style settings and custom CSS.⁷
• You can't import it into another Squarespace site. Squarespace warns that trying can break image links.⁷

A WordPress site is files plus a database. You can copy the whole thing to any host that runs WordPress. Our guide to moving a site off GoDaddy walks through that kind of move, and the steps work for any host.

The domain is separate on both. Keep it at a registrar you control, and leaving either platform gets much easier.

Which One I'd Pick for a Local Service Business

For most one to five person service businesses, I'd pick Squarespace. The upkeep is the thing that sinks small sites, and Squarespace takes it off your plate.

I'd pick WordPress for a shop that needs online booking tied to its software, lots of service and city pages, or a store bigger than a few dozen items. But only with a named person on monthly updates.

Either way, the platform doesn't do your setup for you. In our check, 23 of 48 Squarespace homepages had no tap to call phone link, and 24 had no meta description. WordPress sites did better, at 66 of 322 with no phone link. A phone number customers can tap matters more than the logo in the corner.

If you're weighing Wix too, our Squarespace vs Wix guide has both price tables and the year two math.

Get Help Picking or Moving

T3CHS builds websites for local businesses with hosting, domain, email and SSL ready on launch day. Call or text (949) 65-T3CHS, or send us your current site and we'll tell you what it runs on and what it needs.

Before You Call

Is Squarespace easier than WordPress?

Yes, for most owners. Squarespace runs the hosting and the software for you, so there are no plugins or server updates to manage. WordPress gives you more control, and more upkeep.

Is WordPress really free?

The software is free. You still pay for hosting and a domain, and sometimes for themes or plugins. Hostinger's Premium plan, for example, listed $2.49 a month for 48 months and then $10.99 a month in October 2026.

Can I move my Squarespace site to WordPress?

Partly. Squarespace exports an .xml file for WordPress with your regular pages, one blog and basic content. Store pages, portfolio pages, extra blogs, video blocks and custom CSS do not come along, so plan to rebuild those.

Do WordPress sites get hacked more than Squarespace sites?

WordPress sites carry more risk because you run the parts. Patchstack counted 11,334 new WordPress flaws in 2025, about 91 percent in plugins. Keeping plugins and PHP current closes most of that gap.

Which is better for SEO, Squarespace or WordPress?

Both can rank well. Setup matters more than the platform. In our October 2026 check, half of Squarespace business homepages had no meta description, and many sites on both had no tap to call link.

Which website builder is best for blogging?

WordPress, if blogging is the main job. Posts, categories and tags are built in, and every post moves with you if you change hosts. Squarespace works for one blog, and its export carries only the first one.

Is there a better option than Squarespace?

It depends on the job. Wix gives you more control over layout, WordPress gives you full ownership, and a site built and kept for you takes the upkeep off your plate entirely.

Cited Pages

1. WordPress Developer Resources: Upgrading WordPressdeveloper.wordpress.orgOpened October 2026
2. WordPress.org API: Core Stable Checkapi.wordpress.orgOpened October 2026
3. Patchstack: State of WordPress Security in 2026patchstack.comOpened October 2026
4. WordPress.org Documentation: Plugin and Themes Auto Updateswordpress.orgOpened October 2026
5. Squarespace: Pricingsquarespace.comOpened October 2026
6. Hostinger: Pricinghostinger.comOpened October 2026
7. Squarespace Help Center: Export Your Site Contentsupport.squarespace.comOpened October 2026
8. WordPress.org: Hosting Requirementswordpress.orgOpened October 2026
9. PHP: Supported Versionsphp.netOpened October 2026
10. WordPress.org: Releaseswordpress.orgOpened October 2026

Last reviewed November 1, 2026.