We are in a new year and there are changes happening in every sphere. If you are considering creating a website for your business in 2026, you are likely to hear two names the most: Wix and Squarespace when you seek suggestions. On both these platforms, you can easily design, publish, and manage a very professional-looking website and add a store locator widget without necessitating any technical team or developer.
Of course, as a business owner, it is important to know the two platforms well so that you can distinguish between them and choose the best option. Today, we will explore the differences between the two, compare features, ease of use, SEO, e-commerce and other features, so that you can decide the answer to Is Wix or Squarespace.
Store locator apps primarily help customers find your nearest location, but they help businesses in many other ways and are an integral part of business websites today. Hence, we will also see how store locator tools work on both platforms, and which Squarespace Store Locator or Wix Store Locator will be ideal for your purpose.
Let us take a deep dive now.
Why Businesses Still Choose Wix and Squarespace in 2026
Both these platforms, Wix and Squarespace, are not limited to being simplistic website builders. Rather, they have evolved significantly, and today, they support e-commerce, SEO, marketing efforts, scheduling, membership systems, blogs, and a whole lot more.
Local retail stores, service businesses, restaurants and cafés, franchises, multi-location brands, consultants, trainers, professionals, coaches, and so on, widely use these platforms for their websites.
So the question here really is, which platform is ideal for your goals, budgets, marketing strategy, and digital requirements?
A Quick Comparison: Wix vs Squarespace Who Should Choose What?
To answer this question quickly and simply:
- Choose Wix for maximum flexibility and creative control
- Choose Squarespace for a sleek, minimal design and less customization
However, this is just a guideline and not the final word. The actual decision must be made based on what you value the most. A more in-depth analysis is required for this.
Here is a Wix vs Squarespace: Head-to-Head Comparison Table
Take a look at this simplified comparison table and it will help you understand the difference between Wix and Squarespace just by scanning it.
Ease of Use: Which Platform Feels More Comfortable?
Wix
Wix has a reputation for being extremely user-friendly, so that even complete tech newbies can easily build websites by just dragging and dropping elements wherever you want them on the page. It is the best platform if you don’t want any restrictions regarding the layout and want to exercise complete control.
To make it even easier for you, Wix ADI can build a first draft website for you. All you need to do is answer a few questions that it asks.
Squarespace
While Squarespace also uses a visual editor, it is much more structured. You cannot just drag and drop elements and place them anywhere, or move them around. You need to place your content in blocks and sections, so there is some amount of freedom, but not as much as in Wix.
This gives greater visual consistency and a more polished look, but less flexibility and customization with regard to design. Businesses that prefer order and clean layouts will definitely prefer the Squarespace method.
So if you want to know the answer to which is better Squarespace or Wix for design, it simply depends on your requirements.
Design & Templates: Which One Looks Better?
Most definitely, the winner for design quality is Squarespace. Design quality is definitely superior, with minimal, premium, and modern aesthetics. You will find that boutique brands, creative agencies, photographers, consultants, coaches, and so on, prefer this platform.
Squarespace offers clean, balanced, responsive, consistent, and elegant templates that radiate a premium look and feel.
Wix, on the other hand, wins where freedom of design is concerned. With literally thousands of templates to choose from, you have unlimited options for customization, and can actually build anything you want, whether it is a simple focused landing page, or a rich and attractive website.
A word of caution, though: with great freedom, comes great responsibility. You need to be careful when designing, or you could break layouts, and the final result could become something that’s not so great.
This is powerful but it also means you can break layouts if you’re not careful.
E-commerce: Which Is Better for Online Stores?
Almost all website builders do support e-commerce, and Wix and Squarespace are no different.
Wix is the best for small businesses that are on the growth trajectory and businesses that offer services and products or those that require in-depth customization. Wix supports e-commerce efforts like bookings, subscriptions, digital products, and so on.
Squarespace is ideal for more premium brands, especially in the fashion, beauty, and creative segments. Product pages designed in Squarespace can be simply stunning. If design is a big part of your brand identity, you would definitely want to go with Squarespace.
SEO: Which Platform Helps You Rank Better?
Both Wix and Squarespace perform well for SEO, provided you have optimized them appropriately. You need:
- Custom URLs
- Meta titles and descriptions that can be edited
- Structured content
- Image alt tags
- Responsive layouts
For those with no tech skills, Wix is ideal as it provides guided SEO tools to help you. On the other hand, Squarespace offers clean, structured code that performs excellently in Google.
So for SEO purposes, if you ask which is better Wix vs Squarespace, it is pretty much a draw. Your strategy counts far more than the platform you use.
Pricing: Which Is More Cost-Effective in 2026?
Both Wix and Squarespace have varied pricing plans that include tiers. The price difference in 2026 is likely to be all about storage, bandwidth, app integrations, the e-commerce features you need, and transaction fees.
The pricing structure in Squarespace is simpler and more straightforward, but there is more variation in Wix due to the several plan options.
In that sense, Squarespace may just be the more cost-efficient one for small businesses, but you don’t have much flexibility. Wix gives you a lot more flexibility but can cost more.
Wix has a massive app market with hundreds of integrations. Squarespace doesn’t have as many integrations, but the ones that are available are seamlessly built in, stable, and of superior quality. So if it’s simplicity you’re looking for, then Squarespace might be the one for you.
Multi-Location Businesses & Store Locators
Any business that operates as a chain or has multiple locations, distributors, or franchises needs a store locator widget so that customers can find outlets or service points that are close by.
Why LocateStore is perfect for this requirement
- It works seamlessly across both Squarespace and Wix
- It is fully integrated with Google Sheets
- No coding knowledge required - easy setup and maintenance
- Anyone in your team with access to the Google Sheet can update store and location information from anywhere, at any time.
- Multiple team members with sheet access can update the data simultaneously.
- Data is synced in real time, and updated information is instantly reflected on the website
- Super fast loading and performance with Mapbox navigation
- User-friendly and improved experience
- Scales smoothly with your business
- Responsive design works flawlessly for mobile users
- Users can use multiple filters to get the best results
- Displays directions and detailed store information, including contact, working hours, etc.
Retail brands, clinics, restaurants, dealerships, fitness chains, salon or boutique chains, and franchise businesses find this especially useful.
Customer Support
Both Wix and Squarespace offer community forums, tutorials, and help centers, though Wix has more options for live support. Squarespace is, however,more professional and clean.
Performance & Reliability
Both offer secure hosting, excellent uptime, SSL certificates, and swift global delivery. Your page speed depends to a great extent on the choice of design, scripts, and size of images, and not merely on the platform.
Also read: How to add a Store Locator in Squarespace
Conclusion
So, is Wix or Squarespace better in 2026? The answer to that is a quick recap of what we’ve seen so far.
Wix offers:
- Complete freedom to design your layout
- In-depth customizations
- A versatile business website
- A platform that lets you grow and experiment
Squarespace offers:
- Modern designs with premium aesthetics
- Clean, simplified structure
- A sophisticated website with the least tweaking
- A stunning online presence for your business
We can safely conclude that there is no one-size-fits-all or in this case, ‘one-platform-suits-all’ answer. You simply have to weigh the options and decide which is the best fit for your business.
Regardless of the platform you choose, we can confidently recommend LocateStore as the store locator app for your website. You can offer convenience and clarity to your customers, increase organic traffic, and drive conversions, especially when you operate a multi-location business.
FAQs
What is better, Squarespace or Wix?
Both platforms are good with their own pros and cons. While Wix is ideal for flexibility and customization, Squarespace is the choice if you want simple, clean, modern designs.
What’s the difference between Wix and Squarespace?
The key difference between the two platforms is design control. Wix lets you drag and drop elements wherever you want, giving you total flexibility. Squarespace ensures that layouts are structured, simplifying the maintenance of clean and consistent pages.
Which platform is more cost-effective in 2026: Wix or Squarespace?
If you want simple and clean business websites, Squarespace is may be slightly more cost-effective. But if you want in-depth customization, Wix offers greater flexibility while costing a bit more. The total cost also depends on the features you need, e-commerce requirements, and app integrations.
What store locator tools integrate best with Squarespace in 2026?
LocateStore is one store locator tool that integrates seamlessly with Squarespace. It’s built on Google Sheets and uses Mapbox for navigation. This makes store location management and real-time data updates easy, while providing a smooth search experience for customers.