Bluehost vs Squarespace [2022]: Which Hosting is Better?

With so many hosting companies available on the market, it is hard to find the right one for your needs. They all offer different hosting services and hosting plans that come at various prices. Today, we will present to you two of the most reliable hosting companies ideal for your blog or website- Bluehost vs. Squarespace.

The Squarespace vs. Bluehost comparison will undoubtedly be challenging since both platforms are great. They have good customer support and overall affordable suggestions. Still, every “battle” needs to have its winner, so if you’re curious about which hosting provider, Squarespace or Bluehost, is the better website builder and hosting provider, don’t stop reading!

Bottom Line Up Front: Squarespace is the ideal website builder for those who need a good-looking site that runs quickly.

However, if you are not a brick-and-mortar business owner and want a great website on WordPress that is also affordable, BlueHost is the best choice you can make! After comparing Bluehost vs. Squarespace, the bottom line is that Bluehost is the better, more scalable choice. Here’s why!

Main Differences Between Bluehost vs. Squarespace

There is one main difference between Bluehost and Squarespace that is visible to the naked eye. Bluehost is a hosting provider with various services and offers website building, whereas Squarespace is a website builder that also includes hosting services.

Aside from this fundamental difference, there are a couple of other things that differentiate Bluehost and Squarespace:

Unlike Bluehost, Squarespace offers annual and monthly plans. Squarespace tries to make it simple for customers to start and stop their services at any time;
Squarespace plans are more expensive;
Since BlueHost offers WordPress web hosting, it is completely customizable. Squarespace, on the other hand, can have limitations when it comes to the design of your site;
Squarespace Business and Commerce plans include a professional email from Google, whereas Bluehost helps you boost your recognition with Microsoft email accounts branded with your unique domain name.
BlueHost is the better option for beginners since it has a smaller learning curve due to its WordPress service.

Some of the main things you need to consider before you sign up for any service are pricing, uptime, page loading speeds, and flexibility. In the following paragraphs, we will give you information about all of those factors, and we hope that you will be able to decide which provider best fits your needs.

If you’re starting on a budget, you need to be careful and choose the right plan for you. Most hosting companies, including BlueHost, offer different discounts to their clients. However, after the initial period expires, you will have to switch to a renewal price that may be 2-3x higher than the initial one.

On the other hand, things like page loading speeds and uptime may not seem as significant as the pricing, but trust us, they are just as much, if not even more important! If your site takes too much to load, visitors will leave the page irritated that they are losing their time. In fact, if your loading website speed increases to 3 seconds (from 1), the chances of your visitors exiting your website increase to 32%.

We knew that Bluehost vs. Squarespace would be a difficult comparison, but we are not afraid of challenges, and we decided to take an in-depth look at both companies, side by side. We will discuss how each host performs in those areas we mentioned, so let’s not lose more time and get started!

Bluehost vs. Squarespace Overview

Since we now have mentioned the main differences between Bluehost and Squarespace, it’s time we take a closer look at each company.

Bluehost: Detailed Overview

When we talk about WordPress web hosting, Bluehost is undoubtedly one of the best choices you can make. One of the three, if we have to be precise! WordPress themselves have made a list of the top WordPress hosts, and Bluehost is number 3, a position worthy of our applause!

The best part is that if you don’t feel like using WordPress, you can always opt for Magento, Drupal, or Joomla. Compared to Squarespace, Bluehost offers hosting plans that are a bit more affordable and actually better for the long term.

Bluehost was founded in 2003 and is now one of the well-known names on the market. Bluehost uses open-source technology, which means you can add and upgrade resources as your own company and business grows. That way, the host gives its clients full flexibility together with comprehensive tools and excellent 24/7 support.

The Main Features of Bluehost Web

Instant WordPress installation
WordPress updates (automatic)
A free domain for one year
Excellent customer support
Free SSL certificate
Free CDN Included
Various custom themes
Microsoft email accounts for WordPress plans
SSD Storage (50GB for the basic plan and unmetered for the plus plans)

Related: Comprehensive Bluehost Review: In-Depth Look & Speed Test (2022)

Bluehost: Ease of Use

Since the main subject of this review is which website builder to choose to build the best website, Bluehost or Squarespace, we will focus our attention mainly on Bluehost’s WordPress plans. There are many CMS platforms you can choose from, but WordPress is pretty much the most popular one. This CMS is easy to use even if you are a beginner.

Bluehost offers three hosting plans for WordPress: basic, plus, and choice plus plan. While the last two include additional features like one Microsoft 365 mailbox (free for 30 days) and unlimited subdomains, all three plans offer free SSL certificate, automatic WordPress installation and updates, and free domain name.

With Bluehost, your site will be up and running in no time, and the greatest thing is that you get to choose between different designs and themes. There are plenty of free WordPress themes and plugins within the user panel, and one needs nothing more than just the click of a button to install them.

When you’re done, you can add your own logo and images and customize the colors to your liking. Of course, you get a lot of extra options to customize your online store site, and you can also check the Bluehost marketplace, where you will find premium plugins and themes.

Users use plugins to add additional elements to their sites, and Bluehost offers plugins for pretty much anything you might need, from e-commerce to shipping management. This is ideal for all e-commerce online store owners!

The fact that Bluehost provides its users with a free domain for the first year is also amazing since not all hosts do that. If you want to purchase more domains and connect them to your primary domain name, you can do that as well.

Aside from WordPress hosting, Bluehost also offers shared hosting, VPS, and dedicated hosting. Unfortunately, Bluehost does no longer offers cloud hosting plans. Basically, users use Bluehost mainly for WordPress hosting since it is really one of the best options available.

Bluehost Security

Bluehost knows how to offer a secure hosting service! The company has taken various measurements to ensure that its users’ websites and all of the content there are secure. Your account will be kept to date with automatic WordPress updates.

Some of the security measurements Bluehost users will take advantage of are “Spam Hammer,” “Spam Experts,” and “Apache Spam Assassin.” Bluehost users also get the option to add extra security features (paid) to increase their websites’ safety even more.

What we like about Bluehost is that it keeps all of your login credentials safe. Once your account is ready, you can change your password and username. Moreover, all of Bluehost’s WordPress plans include a free SSL certificate, which adds ‘HTTPS’ to your site. This is essential for SEO.

Web Hosting Customer Support and Reviews

Bluehost vs. Squarespace is a tough comparison, especially in terms of customer service. When it comes to customer support, Bluehost offers a range of options that you can use 24/7. We love web hosting companies that provide the “live chat” option since this is the easiest way to resolve your issue.

Bluehost provides its users with good live chat support, and every time we contacted their staff, we got a detailed answer. However, they can still work on their response time.

For bigger issues, you can always phone Bluehost on the number given on their site. Due to the challenges we face related to Covid-19, Bluehost is currently working with reduced phone support hours: 8 am-9 pm EST. Bluehost chat agents, however, are available 24/7.

We might not be impressed with the response time of Bluehost, but we are indeed impressed with their knowledge base. You get a helpful search box where you can write down your question or some keywords. There are plenty of articles related to common problems and various FAQs that are well answered.

Even though our personal experience with the customer service of Bluehost was a positive one, there are many scathing reviews online, from users who have tried the company’s service and claim they had issues with the customer support. We can’t skip this fact, even though, as we already said, our experience with Bluehost support was overall positive.

The Benefits of Using Bluehost Web Host

Here are the main pros of choosing Bluehost:

If you look for shared hosting, Bluehost offers relatively cheap shared hosting plans;
Bluehost is suitable for users who want to start a blog or website but are on a budget;
All of Bluehost’s hosting plans offer a free SSL certificate;
All Bluehost WordPress plans include a free domain for 1 year;
Automatic installation of WordPress;
The Bluehost Plus and Choice Plus plans include unlimited bandwidth and storage;
Bluehost has great uptime-99.9%.

The Downsides to Using Bluehost

Just like any other hosting provider, including Squarespace, Bluehost has a couple of cons as well. The first one is related to its customer service. We wish Bluehost’s response time were a bit faster than it actually is. Moreover, we cannot ignore the hundreds of reviews that complain about poor support.

Another thing to consider is pricing. Yes, one of Bluehost’s pros is that it offers great plans that come at affordable prices, but when the discounted period (usually 1 year) comes to an end, your plan will renew at the full price, which is often 2-3x higher. Bluehost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, which is not bad, but still, considering the fact that some companies offer 90-day ones, it may be better.

Bluehost Pricing

Well-known website builders like Bluehost and Squarespace try everything they can to impress their clients with worth it, affordable plans. The WordPress hosting packages offered by Bluehost are three: Basic, Plus, and Choice Plus.

The Bluehost basic plan starts at $2.95 per month and renews at $8.99. This discount is great since you will save a significant amount of money.

In the long term, the price is also not that high compared to other hosting companies. This plan includes 1 website, 50 GB SSD storage space, 5 parked domains, 1 free domain (for one year), 25 subdomains, and a $200 marketing credit.

The Bluehost Plus plan is a bit more expensive- $5.45 per month. After the renewal, you will pay $11.99 for unlimited websites, parked domains and subdomains, unmetered SSD storage, $200 marketing credit, free domain for one year, and 1 Microsoft 365 Mailbox that is free for 30 days.

The third plan offered by Bluehost is also attractive, mainly due to its current discount price- $5.45. Yes, that’s right, the plan costs exactly what the Plus plan costs, the only difference being the amount of money you will be paying after the renewal.

This plan’s regular price is $16.99 and includes everything the Plus one does + CodeGuard Basic Backup.

All Bluehost’s WordPress hosting offers include automatic WordPress updates and installation, Microsoft email accounts that have your domain name (a domain registration that is free for the first year), a safe configuration of your login credentials, and the chance to get verified on GoogleMaps.

Another interesting thing to mention is the option to join Buehost’s Affiliate team. By doing that and creating affiliate links, you can refer visitors to Bluehost and gain $65 for all qualified sign-ups. Just make sure you add an affiliate disclosure; it’s that simple!

Squarespace: Detailed Overview

Squarespace is definitely one of the leaders in website design. Squarespace is a platform that has a team of more than 1,143 talented professionals ready to help you build your website from the ground and turn it into a successful virtual place to sell your ideas and products.

If you want to create a blog, online store, or website easily and quickly, Squarespace has so many possibilities for you. Squarespace is suitable for beginners and experienced users, and the company’s content management system is user-friendly.

Squarespace was founded in 2003, just like Bluehost, and since then, it has created millions of websites. The head office of Squarespace is located in New York City. However, there are offices in Dublin and Portland as well. Unlike Bluehost, Squarespace is a pure website builder that offers hosting services.

The Main Features of Squarespace

Squarespace offers industry-leading modern website templates
Various tools you can add
Custom CSS
Free domain registration (for 1 year)
Contributors
Email campaigns
Squarespace offers mobile-optimized websites
Professional email from Google
SEO friendly
Excellent customer support
Unlimited bandwidth and storage
Squarespace offers a Logo builder
Ecommerce

Squarespace: Ease of Use

The best thing about Squarespace is that you do not need any prior experience to build your site. All of the tools required to create the perfect website are gathered in one place, and you also get an extensive template library that gives all industries plenty of options to choose from.

With one of the best drag and drop page builders, you can effortlessly customize your template- fonts, colors, images and logo. Each template is fully responsive, so it will look good on all screen sizes.

Another great advantage of Squarespace is that all of its websites include reliable blogging tools that help you share news, make announcements, and pretty much publish everything you want.

This is especially important for all those who want to create blogs. Moreover, all of your blog posts can be divided into different categories, and you even get the option to schedule them to get published at a specified date and time in the future.

For users interested in building an online store, Squarespace is the ideal option. Squarespace allows you to sell services and subscriptions because it has built-in scheduling and booking features and flexible payment options.

Another great thing about Squarespace is its email marketing software. Squarespace allows you to create interesting email campaigns and send them to your subscribers. The email templates you can choose from are a lot, and they are fully responsive as well.

This fact helps you keep your branding and message consistent since you can customize the templates to blend seamlessly with the design of your site.

The free logo maker is probably what we love the most about Squarespace. It is entirely free for all Squarespace users and allows them to design their own unique logo. Simply enter the name and tagline and then select an icon that goes with it. Voila! Download and enjoy!

Related: A Detailed Squarespace Review – 2022

Squarespace Security

Aside from the platform’s dedicated hosting security team, Squarespace takes various other security measurements:

SSL certificates
Hashing passwords
Web Application Firewall Technology
Pen testing

Customer Support and Reviews

The Squarespace vs. Bluehost comparison in terms of support is questionable. Both companies have negative and positive reviews, so we can’t really tell which one, Bluehost or Squarespace, performs better.

Squarespace has a great “help” area with lots of in-depth articles and video workshops to get you started. However, compared to Squarespace, Bluehost has a live chat that is available 24/7.

On the other hand, the community forum of Squarespace is beneficial. There, you can ask questions about customization and take interactive webinars to develop your skills. The support team of Squarespace can be contacted 24/7 via email, their response time is quick, and you can ask them any question.

The Benefits of Using Squarespace Website Builder & Hosting

Squarespace is easy to use
There are many templates
Squarespace allows you to add background videos
No coding skills are required
You get all the tools needed to create the perfect site, blog, or online store
Squarespace offers SSL certificates

The Downsides to Using Squarespace

We noticed two main cons after we started to use Squarespace. The first one is, of course, the pricing. You get to choose between monthly and annual payments, but both are a bit more expensive than other website options. Moreover, you will have to pay extra for some additional integrations.

Another downside we didn’t like is that Squarespace does not have any autosave functions. That means that after you make changes, you need to click save to make sure they go live.

Squarespace Pricing

Squarespace offers four plans: Personal plan, Business plan, Basic Commerce plan, and Advanced Commerce plan. The first one is the cheapest. If you choose to pay annually (which most users do), you will have to pay $12 per month.

The Squarespace Business plan, on the other hand, costs $18 per month and is the most popular one. The Squarespace basic commerce plan comes at a reasonable price, $26 per month, whereas the Squarespace Advanced Commerce plan costs $40 per month.

All four Squarespace plans include free custom domain, SLL certificate, unlimited storage and bandwidth, and various free templates. Extensions and basic website metrics are also included. The Squarespace Personal plan offers 2 contributors, whereas the other 3 Squarespace plans offer unlimited contributors.

If you want fully integrated e-commerce, you will have to go with the Squarespace Business plan, Squarespace Basic Commerce plan, or Squarespace Advanced plan. Sell subscriptions, commerce APIs, and advanced shipping are available only with the Squarespace Advanced Commerce plan and not the basic plan.

Bluehost vs. Squarespace Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Is it possible to move to Squarespace if I’m already using another platform?

A. Yes, and it is also really easy!

Q. Is there a way to get Squarespace.com out of my URL?

A. Each website created in Squarespace will have a Squarespace.com added to their domain. See the domain registrar service if you wish to have a custom domain.

Q. If I choose Bluehost, will I need SiteLock?

A. No, you will not. Bluehost pays excellent attention to the security of its clients!

Bluehost or Squarespace: Which platform should you build your website on?

Well, the bottom line is that Bluehost vs. Squarespace is a hard choice since both are very different from each other. Still, when we talk about building a website, Bluehost wins this competition. Bluehost works with WordPress, and we all know this is the most widely used CMS platform nowadays.

Squarespace’s personal plan is great, but it is still way more expensive than Buehost’s cheapest plan. In terms of support, Bluehost also has an advantage- its helpful live chat. The Bluehost vs. Squarespace comparison in terms of customization capabilities ends with a tie. Also, both Squarespace and Bluehost can work more on their money-back guarantee.

Why I Chose Bluehost?

Bluehost is an affordable website builder (cheaper than Squarespace)
Bluehost offers shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, Dedicated Hosting, and Managed WordPress hosting
This host gives you flexibility and control over the design of your site
In terms of ease of use, Bluehost shores really high

FortuneLords

Bluehost vs Squarespace [2022]: Which Hosting is Better?

Main Differences Between Bluehost vs. Squarespace

Bluehost vs. Squarespace Overview