Squarespace and Wix are both all-in-one platforms that offer built-in SEO tools, however, because their SEO features are similar, it can be hard to know what is better for SEO, Squarespace, or Wix? In this article, we compare the two platforms and their SEO features. We will be making our final verdict based on how user-friendly and advanced the features are. By making this comparison, you should be able to make an informed decision as to what platform is better for SEO.
Wix SEO
Wix offers users a host of SEO tools to help your website get found on Google and other search engines. Wix also includes Wix SEO Wiz which provides users with a tailored action plan to improve your website’s SEO. Below are some of the SEO features included in Wix:
Custom URLS
Custom URLs are important for SEO as it ensures the URL incorporates the primary keyword you are targeting on a web page. You can easily edit a web page’s URL in the Wix website builder through the page’s SEO settings.
Mobile Optimisation
As of September 2021, 5.28 Billion People own a mobile device. It’s no surprise then that approximately half of the web's traffic worldwide comes from mobile. Because of this, it’s crucial to optimise your site for mobile. In the Wix website builder, you can switch from desktop to mobile design so you can ensure that each page looks good on mobile.
Structured Data Markup
Structured Data Markup is an advanced SEO topic and it can be harder for SEO beginners to correctly implement as it generally requires coding knowledge. However, if you’re willing to learn how to write Structured Data Markup or use this great Structured Data Generator tool, Wix allows users to easily implement it through a web page's settings. In some cases, Wix will even have premade Structured Data Markup for you, but you can change it to follow your SEO patterns in the Wix Website Builder.
Image Optimisation
High quality and properly optimised images are crucial if you want to build a professional website. The first thing to consider when optimising images on your website is size. The image size can have a detrimental impact on your loading speed, get it wrong, and you could lose impatient visitors quickly. Additionally, you need to ensure that the quality of the image remains consistent across different devices. Wix automatically adjusts sizes according to the image type (i.e. background/strip image). You can also adjust images to make them bigger or smaller depending on your design in the Wix Website Builder. You must ensure that the image meets specifications Wix requires but this is easier to achieve in Wix than Squarespace, where image specifications are more strict. For instance, Squarespace only allows for jpg., gif., or JPEG., image files. On the other hand, Wix accommodates SVG graphics which are lighter file types. Additionally, Squarespace's file size limit is 20MB, Wix's is 25MB. Finally, Wix allows you to edit alt text directly in the website builder by clicking on the image and navigating to image settings where you will be prompted to enter alt-text.
Site Map
If you were to build your website from scratch, you would have to manually generate a Sitemap. While this isn’t incredibly time-consuming and can be done quickly with site map generators, it is still a manual process that can be executed incorrectly without the right knowledge. When you set up a new website on Wix, it automatically creates a Sitemap for you, and it’s kept up to date as you continue to grow your website. This removes the need to manually edit the Sitemap and reduces the chances of web pages not being indexed into search engines.
Squarespace SEO
Squarespace includes a dedicated SEO panel that gives users control over their website’s search engine optimisation. Here are some features included with Squarespace’s SEO tools:
Structured Data Markup
Like Wix, you can edit Structured Data Markup in Squarespace directly in the platform. Again, you will need to write the code yourself but you can easily implement the structured data markup through the web page settings. Once you’re on the page settings, you will need to navigate to the advanced tab and write or copy and paste code you’ve already written before clicking apply.
Custom URLs
Just like Wix, users can freely edit URLs, allowing for cleaner and more optimised URLs. In Squarespace, you use the slug editor tool to edit URLs. There are, however, some limitations with the Slug tool. For instance, you can't use URLs on live pages that match deleted pages. You must instead revert deleted pages to live pages.
Image Optimisation
When you upload an image onto Squarespace, the database automatically creates seven versions of it. The height then changes to the width to preserve the shape. While Squarespace’s responsive design ensures images are displayed correctly on different devices or when a web page is condensed, you are limited to strict image requirements. Wix, however, is more flexible in terms of image specifications. This is great for those who are building a highly visual website that's still optimised but doesn’t want to be limited to JPEG’s (which load overtime to increase site speed) PNG's, and GIFs.
Site Map
Like Wix, Squarespace automatically generates and updates your Sitemap whenever you make changes to your website, but you are unable to manually edit it. Additionally, it can take up to 24 hours before any changes made to your website, such as URLs and disabled pages, appear on your Sitemap. This is unlike Wix where changes are instant.
So what’s better for SEO, Squarespace, or Wix?
While Squarespace and Wix both feature similar built-in SEO tools, Wix is more user-friendly and thus is easier for beginners to implement advanced SEO techniques. Additionally, Wix is more automated which takes a lot of guesswork out of the equation, great for those new to SEO.
Still need help deciding between Squarespace and Wix?
Squarespace and Wix are both perfectly functioning all-in-one platforms that have integrated SEO features. But Wix is more user-friendly and automotive, making it easy to manage your website’s search engine optimisation.
Fundamentally, you should choose Wix over Squarespace for SEO because of its modern features, seamless automation, and user-friendly interface.
If you would like help getting started with Wix SEO, get in touch with the search engine optimisation specialists at WiX SEO Guy.
We use cutting-edge on-page and off-page SEO techniques to improve search engine rankings for your website. Want to know how we do it, and what we can do for your website? Complete our contact form to arrange a free Zoom call today. Alternatively, if you want to take your own SEO knowledge to a whole new level, take a look at our Wix SEO Course. It just takes seven steps.