In the digital landscape, where the visibility of your website can make or break your online presence, it’s essential to choose the right platform. But did you know that Squarespace, a widely used website builder, may not be the best choice for SEO?
At Zircon SEO, our extensive experience in the field has uncovered significant limitations with Squarespace’s SEO capabilities. We delve into these issues and explain why, despite its user-friendly reputation, Squarespace may hinder your website’s search engine optimization.
Get ready for an insightful exploration of the SEO challenges within Squarespace.
Squarespace SEO Issues
Website Speed
Website speed is a crucial factor for SEO, as slow-loading pages can lead to higher bounce rates and reduced search engine rankings. Squarespace’s performance is generally reliable, but due to limited technical optimization options, some users may face challenges in achieving optimal speed. This can be particularly frustrating for those needing faster load times for better SEO results.
Poor Schema Markup or Structured Data
Structured data, implemented through schema markup, helps search engines understand your content better and can result in rich snippets in search results. Squarespace’s support for structured data is somewhat limited compared to platforms like WordPress. While it provides basic options for common content types, advanced customization, and fine-tuning is challenging.
A typical example being, Squarespace meta description for the homepage isn’t at the same location as all other pages.
Inconsistent Template Behavior
Squarespace templates offer a visually appealing and user-friendly design, but they can sometimes exhibit inconsistent behavior. This impacts SEO as different templates affect the layout and structure of your content, which search engines evaluate for relevance. Consistency in website design and layout is important for user experience and search engine rankings.
Not for SEO Beginners
Squarespace may not be the best choice for beginners looking for an all-in-one SEO solution. While it provides basic SEO settings, it lacks the depth and variety of SEO options available on platforms like WordPress.
In essence, users without SEO experience may find it challenging to achieve competitive search engine rankings.
Less Variety of SEO Plugins
Unlike WordPress, which offers a vast selection of SEO plugins, Squarespace has a limited range of SEO add-ons. This limitation hinders users seeking specific SEO features or functionality not covered by Squarespace’s built-in tools. WordPress’s plugin ecosystem provides a more comprehensive solution for diverse SEO needs.
Deleted Pages
Squarespace handles deleted pages in a way that can negatively impact SEO. When a page is deleted, it may return a 404 error instead of properly redirecting to a relevant page. This can harm the user experience and lead to lost SEO value for the deleted content.
Trailing Slash
Squarespace has historically struggled with trailing slashes in URLs. Search engines treat URLs with or without trailing slashes as separate pages, potentially causing duplicate content issues. Although this issue has improved over time, it’s a detail that can affect SEO, and users need to be vigilant in managing their URL structure.
Folders Use Temporary Redirects (302's)
Squarespace uses temporary redirects (302 status codes) for folder URLs by default. This can confuse search engines, as they might interpret temporary redirects as a temporary change.
It’s generally recommended to use permanent redirects (301 status codes) for SEO-friendly URL redirection. Squarespace users must manually adjust these settings to optimize their SEO.
Heading Problem
Squarespace may generate multiple H1 headings on a page, considered poor SEO practice. It’s necessary to have a single H1 heading that clearly defines the topic of the page. Multiple H1 headings confuse search engines and make it harder for them to understand the page’s main subject, potentially impacting rankings.
Built-in Domain
Squarespace allows users to use a built-in domain (e.g., yourwebsite.squarespace.com) for free. This is a convenient starting point, but it’s not ideal for SEO. A custom domain (e.g., yourwebsite.com) is better for branding and SEO.
If you monitor your google analytics, using the built-in domain can make it harder for Squarespace sites to rank well in search results and may convey an unprofessional image to users.
Other SEO Tasks You Don't Have To Worry About With Squarespace
Getting an SSL Certificate: You don’t need to go through the hassle of obtaining and installing SSL certificates manually on the Squarespace website.
Generating a Sitemap: Squarespace automatically generates and maintains XML sitemaps for your site. You don’t have to go through the manual method to submit your sitemap to Google Search console.
Creating a Robots.txt File: Squarespace generates a default robots.txt file that allows search engine crawlers to access your site’s content. Users can customize this file if needed, but Squarespace handles the initial setup.
Setting up Appropriate Hosting: Squarespace hosts your website on its servers, eliminating the need to select and configure hosting providers.
Editing the .htaccess File: Squarespace users don’t need to worry about editing .htaccess files, as the platform manages this aspect internally. .htaccess files are critical for server-level configuration but can be complex for many users.
Implementing a CDN: Squarespace uses Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to optimize website loading speeds. You get faster-loading pages, improving your site’s search engine visibility.
Squarespace SEO Vs. WordPress: Which is Better?
Squarespace and WordPress are both popular website platforms, but they cater to different needs. Squarespace SEO features offer simplicity and user-friendliness but have limitations for advanced SEO.
In contrast, WordPress provides more flexibility and a wider range of SEO options, making it better suited for those prioritizing SEO. The choice depends on your requirements: Squarespace for ease of use and basic SEO or WordPress for greater control and advanced SEO capabilities.
Important Aspects to Consider
Easy or Advanced Customizations
Squarespace is designed to be user-friendly, making it relatively easy for beginners to customize their websites. It offers pre-designed templates and a simple drag-and-drop interface. However, this simplicity comes at the cost of more advanced customizations.
WordPress site, on the other hand, provides extensive flexibility for users who are comfortable with coding and want to create highly customized websites.
Adding plugins
WordPress excels in this aspect. It boasts a vast library of plugins that can extend your site’s functionality. You can find plugins for SEO, e-commerce, security, and much more.
Squarespace, while gradually expanding its plugin options, can’t match the variety and depth that WordPress offers. If you require specific features or functionality, WordPress is the superior choice.
Maintenance
Squarespace takes care of hosting and maintenance, which simplifies website upkeep for users. You won’t have to worry about software updates, security patches, or server management.
In contrast, WordPress demands more active maintenance, including regular updates for plugins and themes, security monitoring, and potentially more technical tasks. This can be both a pro and a con, depending on your technical expertise and preference.
Speed and Performance
Squarespace offers reliable hosting, ensuring good loading speeds and performance. It optimizes images and takes care of the technical aspects, allowing users to focus on content creation. WordPress’s performance can vary depending on the hosting provider and the number of plugins and themes used. It offers the potential for exceptional performance but requires more hands-on optimization to achieve it.
Conclusion
So, is Squarespace good for SEO? Well, it falls short when it comes to SEO. As we’ve demonstrated, its limitations in customization, technical SEO, and flexibility can hinder your site’s search engine rankings.
Your online presence is too valuable to compromise, and there are alternative website builders and content management systems that can provide better SEO support.
Don’t let Squarespace’s limitations hold back your website. Reach out to us for professional assistance and unlock the full potential of your online presence. Your digital success awaits.
