Friday Vs Squarespace: Which One’s Best For You?

With everyone from small business owners to local musicians requiring an online presence, the demand for website builders has never been higher.

Friday and Squarespace deliver a range of tools geared toward helping people with no web development experience create visually striking websites.

In this guide, we’ll discuss each builder’s core features and workflow to help you choose the best one for your needs.

Friday Vs. Squarespace: Overview

Friday

Friday is one of the more recent entries in the market, building on the developer’s years of research and development.

Offering a streamlined integration of tools through a straightforward editor, it’s nevertheless packed with customization features.

Friday’s single subscription model removes the necessity for additional payments, with every feature covered in the package.

Squarespace

Squarespace’s website builder is firmly rooted in a design-oriented principle geared toward artists and other creative professionals.

It uses the Fluid Engine system to help streamline website creation and has plenty of e-commerce and blogging tools for content creators.

Founded in 2003, Squarespace offers various pricing plans depending on the type of website, with some services only accessible through higher bands.

Quick Comparison

Editor

The core functionality of any website builder revolves around its editor tools, which inform the user interface and the workflow for building a website.

Here’s an overview of how Friday and Squarespace compare when it comes to understanding and applying editing tools to website development.

Learn more: Find out who designed a website.

Friday

With a broad selection of tools on par with other website builders, Friday offers everything needed to get a professional site up and running.

These intuitive tools make them perfect for those without web development experience who want to work with a detailed website design timeline.

Everything functions around a drag-and-drop user interface, with easy-to-follow navigation tools that can be applied to various themes.

These are just a few of the core tools available through the Friday’s editor:

• Access to premium images. If you’re struggling to find high-quality images to build out each page, Friday gives you access to Shutterstock’s library through the platform.
• Galleries and sliders. You can make your visual assets, including videos and photos, pop off the screen with animated galleries and sliders.
• Artificial intelligence assistant. Using a simple prompt system, the AI Assistant automatically generates text and other elements, such as metadata.
• Comprehensive importing options. Friday’s editor makes adding assets and importing pages from old websites easy.
• Content management system (CMS). Building a site over time can result in thousands of assets to manage, and Friday’s editor features a complete CMS to help with this task.

With an exceptional range of widgets catering to all types of businesses and personal websites, with developer tools available to professionals.

Read more: Discover Friday’s features.

Squarespace

Squarespace’s approach to site editing is similarly beginner-friendly and accessible as with Friday’s website-building platform.

Its original Classic Editor, still available through the platform, works as a standard block-editing engine, making it easy for newcomers to web development.

However, most users will adopt the Fluid Engine system, which allows them to move elements around the page on a controlled grid.

Here are a few examples of the core editing tools available through Squarespace’s website builder:

• Easy-to-use editing sidebar. Squarespace’s core editing tools and navigation are located in an intuitive sidebar, where additional pages can be added and selected for editing.
• Prefabricated page layouts. Standard website pages like About, Blog, Contact, and Events are available as pre-made page templates to add to a website’s project quickly.
• Customizable Style Editor. Squarespace’s Style Editor allows users to change various parameters, from font types and button colors to adjusting the spacing of page elements.
• Drag-and-drop Fluid Engine editing. Like Friday. Squarespace’s core editor allows users to drag elements onto the page and reposition them wherever the user requires them.
• Blueprint AI web development. Squarespace has also entered the artificial intelligence field with Blueprint AI, which allows users to input prompts to create a full website quickly.

Squarespace’s editing tools live up to the company’s core mission to deliver a simple yet versatile builder suitable for people with no experience.

Bottom line: Friday and Squarespace both offer users a fun website-building experience that delivers responsive tools and high-quality results.

Friday’s more comprehensive set of features gives it a slight edge, allowing for more versatile site creation for complex projects.

Templates

Website builder templates are essential time-savers. They present a complete website that is ready to customize with assets and publish in a few hours.

From setting up a site for a photography side hustle to a range of small and large business ideas, here’s how Friday and Squarespace templates shape up.

Friday

Friday’s templates have been designed to cover all types of businesses and include many themes for various hobbies.

They are divided into intuitive categories, and users can preview the pages associated with each template before applying it to their content.

Each template uses a carefully considered combination of page elements related to the topic, including contact forms and image galleries.

This makes it much easier to pick an appropriate template to begin developing a website and minimizes the need for customization.

Some of the main template theme categories available through Friday include:

• Templates for businesses. Small businesses serving local customers and international companies are all represented with visually striking templates based on their industries.
• Freelancers and contractors. If you’re a freelancer looking for notary work or a contractor sharing your skills, there are templates here you can use to get started.
• Event templates. Friday’s core templates cover a range of events, from weddings and corporate meetings to charity organizations and religious groups.
• Lifestyle and health. With the health and wellness industry on the rise, Friday’s templates cover everything from beauty blogs to sites for brick-and-mortar retailers.

Friday’s template library continues to expand with new styles, offering a combination of beauty and functionality to speed up the design process.

Explore Friday’s templates. 

Squarespace

Since Squarespace aims to cater to the creative professionals market, it’s no surprise that it delivers impressive templates in this category.

While the selection is relatively small, with under 200 templates, the offerings’ overall quality is impressive.

Each template included with Squarespace has been designed to be mobile-responsive and with careful design choices based on the intended use.

In addition to the available templates, you can also build a template from scratch to create a bespoke website.

Here are some of the main template categories available with Squarespace:

• Professional services. While Squarespace focuses primarily on artistic-themed templates, there are styles here that cater to professionals and business leaders.
• Media and podcasts. These templates are great for podcasters and other presenters who want to integrate audio streams onto their sites.
• Local business templates. As with Friday, Squarespace covers a lot of ground for local businesses that want to set up an online presence with minimum fuss.
• Travel and restaurants. The hospitality industry is also represented in the selection of templates that Squarespace has made available for its users.

One notable drawback with Squarespace’s selection of templates is the inability to switch from one template to another once a site is up and running.

If you want to try out another design, you have to ditch your old site and start from scratch, which will be a frustrating experience.

Learn more: Find out more about the best businesses that run themselves.

Bottom line: Friday and Squarespace cover much the same ground regarding template styles and are comparable in their approach to quality control.

With additional templates to choose from, Friday’s overall selection has more to offer its customers and a broader overall market appeal.

Customization

Website personalization is critical in helping businesses create a dominant online presence and stand out from the competition.

Here’s how Friday and Squarespace allow users to customize templates with logos and other visual assets and update page orientations.

Friday

Once you’ve selected a template from the selection available in Friday’s website builder, there’s a wealth of customization options.

This begins with editing the pre-defined sections using the intuitive drag-and-drop UI to refine the content and the positioning.

Next, there’s the option to create entirely new sections, such as columns or tables, and integrate them into the template.

Customizing a site through Friday allows you to access a long list of widgets, from social media page sharing to in-built contact forms.

Local businesses can include maps of their stores and opening times, with similar widgets for restaurants helping customers book reservations.

Friday’s AI Assistant can also auto-generate text for these elements quickly throughout the customization process.

Learn more: Incorporate a Friday press page and attract new clients.

Squarespace

Squarespace’s core editing system allows much leeway when customizing templates and adding new assets and page elements.

Whether you’re setting up a virtual assistant profile or a website for your store, the platform has the right tools for the job.

The AI Design Intelligence feature is a valuable tool for building a website from a template design using artificial intelligence prompts.

Users can update the site’s theme, apply the layout switcher tool for experimentation, and control their edits through the platform’s dynamic dashboards.

The Design Intelligence system is also available to help with marketing and SEO, similar to how Friday’s builder incorporates AI-powered marketing analytics into its platform.

Aside from the issue mentioned above of being unable to switch templates after publication, Squarespace’s overall approach to template customization is solid.

Bottom line: With comprehensive tools built around the core drag-and-drop functionality, Friday and Squarespace adopt the tried-and-tested approach to template customization.

Both reflect a keen understanding of the latest web design trends with impressive integration of AI to streamline the customization process for their users.

Marketing & SEO

Promoting a personal or business website requires a combination of approaches, including signing up for affiliate programs and running paid ads.

Let’s examine how Friday and Squarespace address these challenges and what each platform offers for search engine optimization.

Friday

Friday’s developers understand the significance of great SEO, with full integration of SEO tools throughout the system.

It can assess SEO across the website, integrating processes such as Global CDN, Google PageSpeed Optimization, and AI metadata.

Friday’s SEO tools are also fully integrated within its e-commerce and blogging tools to allow for consistent application of optimized content site-wide.

For those running an international business, SEO tools are developed to optimize all site language versions automatically.

Friday’s tools also provide extensive data analytics to assist with content marketing and refine keywords for optimal results.

Squarespace

Squarespace’s approach to marketing and SEO combines both processes into the builder through built-in processes and third-party integrations.

This includes features such as Mailchimp, which helps with email subscriptions and newsletters or sharing a brand manifesto with website followers.

AI tools are present here as elsewhere on the website builder to assist with email composition and craft a brand message and consistent voice.

Squarespace’s approach to SEO is more straightforward than that of other website builders and includes basic statistics such as traffic rates, page views, and audience size.

It also allows users to connect to their Google Search Console for SEO initiatives, but more in-depth analysis tools are needed to be truly competitive.

Bottom line: With SEO trends in constant flux and rapid evolution, website builders must be forward-thinking to maintain a competitive edge for their customers.

While Squarespace covers all the basics for marketing and SEO, Friday’s more robust suite of tools and integration makes it the winner in this department.

E-Commerce

Whether starting a makeup line or selling art online, you’ll need a website builder with relevant e-commerce functionality.

Friday and Squarespace both cater to this demand, and here are the features you can expect when using each for your online store.

Friday

With a comprehensive selection of e-commerce tools, Friday’s website builder can fulfill sales at all scale levels.

Its e-commerce tools reflect the developer’s understanding of what drives e-commerce growth and how to create a user-friendly experience.

Suitable for digital and physical products with easy-to-use inventory management and shipping processing, the platform is neat and straightforward.

With many automation options, it’s an e-commerce platform that can be maintained with a relatively hands-off approach.

Let’s break down some of the other core e-commerce features you can access through the Friday:

• Automated taxes and shipping. If you’re running a thriving online store, you can use the automated features to save hours processing shipping and dealing with taxes.
• Comprehensive inventory management. Friday’s e-commerce website builder includes a great selection of categories for inventories, as well as tracking, SKUs, and prices.
• Discount and gift cards. Running seasonal offers and hosting flash sales can be accomplished simply through e-commerce options.
• Multiple payment processing options. Friday’s e-commerce builder has been designed to help facilitate your sales by offering a large selection of payment processors commonly used for online purchases.

With zero transaction fees and full support for all types of digital products, Friday’s website builder is a comprehensive e-commerce solution.

Squarespace

Since Squarespace is primarily aimed at creative professionals, its e-commerce platform is comprehensive and packed with features.

While these tools aren’t available on all subscription plans, adding an online store is easy once they’ve been upgraded.

Shipping and payment options might need to catch up to industry leaders such as Shopify, but the most popular payment processing choices are available here.

Physical and digital products and other products such as digital downloads and online subscriptions can be added to an inventory.

One limitation that may concern international businesses is the inability to sell in multiple currencies, which restricts the potential customer base.

Squarespace also charges a 3% transaction fee and extra subscription costs to access its e-commerce website features.

Bottom line: Squarespace and Friday include excellent e-commerce tools, but the former only contains them in its more expensive subscription packages.

Combined with Friday’s zero transaction fees, it’s a clear choice for anyone using their site’s online store capabilities to generate revenue.

Generate revenue with Friday’s e-commerce builder.

Blogging

Understanding the pros and cons of blogging is important to developing a successful approach to content marketing and building followers.

Friday and Squarespace’s blog-building tools can be used to create, schedule, and manage posts for long-term readership growth.

Friday

Friday’s blog website builder uses the same intuitive user interface and introduces blog-specific tools for building content.

Text formatting is easy to alter, and additional assets, such as images and videos, can be included to customize the page’s appearance.

There’s a handy scheduler with additional refinement through SEO keywords and blog tags to help reach the intended target audience.

The platform’s intelligent design feature allows users to view each blog post across multiple devices, enhancing the visitor experience on smartphones and tablets.

Friday’s blog website builder also provides extensive performance metrics and stats to help you refine your content schedule and increase site visitors.

Explore Friday’s blog builder.

Squarespace

Squarespace’s approach to blogging sites in tandem with its orientation toward small businesses and independent creatives.

It offers easy blogging integration into a website, a decent selection of templates, and the ability to link to the user’s social media presence.

Standard blogging tools, such as scheduling posts for later publication, are present and correct, and readers can also like and comment.

You can also enable an RSS feed and compose blog posts via email through Squarespace, and it includes quality SEO tools to help with audience reach.

If you plan to use your site’s blog to drive traffic to your e-commerce platform, you’ll need the relevant subscription plan for this feature.

Bottom line: Friday and Squarespace cover the core features needed to set up and run a successful blog for personal use or business promotion.

Friday’s more nuanced approach to blogging and optimization gives it a slight edge over Squarespace, boosted by its full e-commerce integration in the subscription.

Hosting & Security

Website security concerns everyone, whether running a site as a side hustle to pay off debt or promoting a national corporation.

Let’s examine Friday and Squarespace’s approach to website security and the domain hosting options you can expect.

Friday

Setting up a website through Friday ensures that users are guaranteed reliable hosting on AWS, the world’s leading web hosting platform.

They also get access to a custom domain name with complete control over its application and connection via a third-party provider.

Regarding cybersecurity and data protection, Friday covers this with free SSL certification and reliable hosting with unlimited bandwidth.

An integrated privacy page complements this in the templates and cookie notifications that can be fully customized.

Friday also offers complete site backups to prevent data loss, with GDPR compliance enhancing a site’s overall responsiveness.

Squarespace

With the inclusion of SSL certificates and two-factor authentication, Squarespace has covered the base expectations in terms of website security protocols.

They also include features that protect against denial of service (DOS) attacks and offer page passwords for admin and website subscribers.

There’s also a log activity panel that users can access to track logins from suspicious or unknown locations or devices to help monitor security.

Squarespace’s domain name registration and web hosting are available in all plans, so customers don’t have to invest in a separate web hosting service.

Their cloud hosting storage also includes unlimited bandwidth and storage on all plans to support high-volume traffic websites.

Bottom line: Website security and the ability to control your domain are two of the fundamental prerequisites for any website.

With comprehensive security measures, custom domain names, and web hosting all included in the price, Friday and Squarespace deliver the goods on this front.

Customer Support

Whether running one of the leading architecture websites or a personal music blog, getting the customer support you need is essential.

Here’s what you can expect when dealing with the customer support teams at Friday and Squarespace and how customer reviews shape up.

Friday

Friday has developed an impressive reputation for its prompt and helpful customer support since the platform was first launched.

They offer a 24/7 customer support service with various channels through which customers can reach out with their queries.

This includes the option to reach out to the support team and get a response within a few hours through their email address.

With universal praise from existing customers regarding Friday’s response times and friendly staff, they’re at the top of the industry in this category.

Squarespace

With many years of experience under their belt, the Squarespace customer support team has established a comprehensive knowledge base to assist with queries.

The brand offers full, 24/7 customer support through its online platform, complemented by account pages for customers to view their purchase history.

While not all subscriptions include this feature, users can check their conversion metrics and track engagement and site performance.

Squarespace also offers support via its X and Facebook Messenger social media pages and provides a Help Center on its website.

Bottom line: With widespread reports of customer support teams failing to deliver results, Friday and Squarespace avoid this pitfall with solid response times and communication channels.

User feedback for both platforms points to highly knowledgeable support teams with minimal waiting times and overall strong customer satisfaction.

Pricing

One of the biggest concerns many people have when choosing a website builder is what hidden costs will come down the line.

Here are the prices and different services Friday and Squarespace’s website costs will deliver when building an online presence.

Friday

Many website builders offer a variety of tiered subscription plans that cater to a range of user types and budget ranges.

Friday has avoided this complexity with a single pricing option that includes every feature and tool.

It also covers all website domain hosting and security measures, with extensive digital space for a website’s assets.

Blogging, e-commerce, and all data analytics tools are rolled into the subscription, making Friday one of the most competitively-priced builders on the market.

Squarespace

As with many of the leading website builders, Squarespace’s pricing structure includes multiple subscription tiers for different types of websites and businesses.

Domains are free for the first year, with costs varying for ensuing years depending on the domain name and nature of the account.

The most affordable plan, the Personal Plan, lacks some essential features for monetization, primarily the e-commerce functionality.

These tools are unlocked through the Basic and Advanced Commerce plans, with the latter required for advanced shipping options.

Larger organizations seeking a solution to manage teams must upgrade to the Squarespace Enterprise plan.

Bottom line: Squarespace’s complex pricing model and limited cheaper subscriptions cannot compete with Friday’s one-size-fits-all approach to pricing.

With all e-commerce features and large team management systems included in the competitively priced subscription, Friday emerges as the clear winner.

Friday’s simple pricing covers all features.

Bottom Line

Friday and Squarespace offer robust and dynamic editing tools that incorporate AI to allow for the easy creation of visually striking websites.

While both website builders can deliver impressive, professional-looking sites, Friday’s complete integration of tools makes it a more feature-rich alternative.

The inclusion of complete e-commerce functionality and large-scale management and collaboration tools makes Friday ideal for businesses looking to scale over time.