How much does a Squarespace website really cost? A quick guide to pricing.
As business owners, we need to spend our money wisely, but having a website is a non negotiable. We need one to market our business, to make sales, to bring in new opportunities and to ultimately grow our business and make more money (it’s why we’re all doing this, right? So, when it comes to getting a new website built for your business, how much does it really cost?
How much does it cost to have your Squarespace website built by a professional website designer?
Although it’s possible to build your own Squarespace website, you may prefer to have it designed and built by a professional website designer. The benefits of choosing a professional are endless and so if budget allows, I would definitely consider it.
So, assuming you go down the professional route, the first step and the biggest upfront cost is getting your Squarespace website designed and built. To outsource this to a professional, you are looking at anywhere between £1500 - £8000. There is obviously a huge variation between these costs and it depends on what you want and who you use as to where you will sit on that scale.
At Studio Emm, on average, I charge £3000+ for a bespoke Squarespace website, depending on what you need. I also offer bespoke one-page websites for £1200 and pre-built Squarespace templates for £130 and £190. So there’s something to suit all budgets.
Once your new Squarespace website is built, there are other ongoing costs to consider. The first is your Squarespace hosting plan.
Squarespace plans: The basics.
Squarespace will host your website (there is no other hosting option for Squarespace websites) and keep the backend updated and running smoothly. It offers four main pricing tiers. Here’s what you get at each level:
Personal Plan (£12/month billed annually or £16 month-to-month)
This is the starter plan. It’s great for blogs or simple portfolios, but there’s no e-commerce (so no selling products). You also miss out on some marketing, analytics tools and custom CSS.
Business Plan (£17/month billed annually or £24 month-to-month)
This is the plan most of my clients use. You get access to marketing features like pop-ups and announcement bars and you can customise the CSS. You can also sell digital and physical products with this place, however Squarespace takes a 3% transaction fee on sales.
Commerce Basic (£23/month billed annually or £28 month-to-month)
Say goodbye to that 3% transaction fee! This plan is perfect for small online stores that anticipate making a lot of sale and includes features like customer accounts and analytics on abandoned shopping carts.
Commerce Advanced (£35/month billed annually or £43 month-to-month)
This is the big leagues. You get everything from the lower plans, plus advanced shipping, subscription selling, and more customisation for your checkout. If you’re looking for this level of commerce however, it might be worth considering Shopify.
Tip: You will get a 14 day free trial when you sign up, so you will get chance to explore Squarespace and see if you like it (you will!) before signing up. You can then start with the cheaper plan and see how you get on. You can always upgrade later.
Squarespace Add-Ons.
Squarespace has some great add-ons that can really help you level-up your website and increase your revenue, but they do come with additional charges. Let’s take a look.
Email Marketing
Want to send professional-looking newsletters? Squarespace’s Email Campaigns feature integrates beautifully and it’s really easy to use. It can send basic and automated emails and is perfect if you don’t need complex email marketing features.
Starter: £5.58/month (500 emails per month)
Core: £11.17/month (5,000 emails per month)
Pro: £26.92/month (50,000 emails per month)
Max: £53.83/month (250,000 emails per month)
You can save up to 37% on these costs by paying annually for your email marketing subscription.
Scheduling
If you’re a coach, consultant or service provider, Squarespace Scheduling can streamline your bookings. It gives your clients (and potential clients) a really easy way to book appointments with you. You can specify your availability and the length of the booking slots. You will, however, need to be on at least the Business Plan to access this add-on.
Emerging: £12/month
Growing: £22/month
Powerhouse: £40/month
You can save up to 9% on these costs by paying annually for your scheduling system.
Domains
Squarespace gives you a free domain for the first year (if you pay annually), but after that, expect to pay approximately £20 a year for most domain renewals. If you already have a domain, this can be connected to your Squarespace account.
Custom Email (via Google Workspace)
If you want to setup a professional email like yourname@yourbusiness.com (which I would recommend if you don’t yet have one), you can do this using Squarespace, via Google Workspace. That’s approx. £5/month per user.
What does all this add up to?
Let’s say your a service based business that needs custom CSS options, pop-up windows and email marketing. Here’s a rough monthly breakdown:
Squarespace Business Plan: £24/month
Email marketing (Starter): £5.58/month
Domain: £20/year (roughly £1.67/month)
That’s roughly £31.25/month for a professional website and email marketing system. Also, don’t forget that this becomes even cheaper if you pay annually.
Ready to get started with Squarespace? There’s a number of ways that I can help, with an option to suit all budgets.
Note: Prices correct at time of writing (27/11/24)