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9 Reasons Why you should use a professional copywriter

Posted on by Phil Robinson

Whether you’re building a new website, want to extend your reach on social media or are eager to create emails people will actually need, there’s a lot of writing to be done. But are you or someone in your business the “write” person for the job? Or should you hire a professional copywriter?

It might seem like there’s not much point in working with a copywriter. After all, most of us can write, and spell-checkers take a lot of the worry away. However, spelling and grammar are only one benefit of using a professional copywriter. So why should you consider using one fo your marketing efforts?

1. Top-level researchers

Copywriters write a lot. One of the most essential parts of the writing process is doing research and providing accurate information. Many copywriters write for a variety of clients, in all kinds of industries. Yet, they have to sound like an expert in each one. How do they possibly do that? Through research. Lots and lots of research. Facts are verified, claims are double or triple checked, and obscure information tracked down. Research is an essential skill of any skilled copywriter so that they can find the information they need, verify that it’s legitimate, then reword it in a new way for a specific audience.

2. Large word counts aren’t a problem.

When you were in school, did you have trouble meeting minimum word counts? Did you prefer multiple choice exams over essay questions? For most professional copywriters, the opposite is true. If anything, they were more worried about writing too much! Yoast, a leader in helping people get found on Google, suggests blog posts of at least 1000 words. HubSpot takes that a step further and recommends 2100-2400 words (like this article!) To put that in perspective, that’s about 4-5 pages in Microsoft Word. Single-spaced. 8-10 pages for double spaced.

3. Masterful communicators

Some people have trouble putting their thoughts on paper. The ideas inside might be brilliant, but conveying that brilliance to other people might be a challenge. Copywriters tend to have an ever-growing, expansive vocabulary and choose the right words for the specific audience who will be reading the work. Those words might include slang, idioms, or even technical jargon–words and phrases that the copywriter will learn through the research process. Different audiences react differently to word choice, and it’s the copywriter’s job to identify which words will appeal to the majority.

4. Help you avoid duplicate content

Google isn’t a fan of copying and pasting from other sites. If you copy something from one site and post on your own, Google will likely give the credit to the original site. That site will be the original author, while yours will be considered duplicate content. Copying and pasting means that Google will only show one version in the search results, so both sites can be hurt by it. But what if what you want to put online already exists somewhere online? A copywriter can help you rework that content and make it your own. The new version will be made in your style and also have an increased chance of ranking well in Google.

Duplicate content penalties apply for your own site too. You might think that if you want to talk about the same product or service in two or more different places you can just copy it. Unfortunately, some bad players used to do that to stuff their target keywords all over their site to trick Google years back, so now Google punishes instead of rewarding that behaviour.

Instead of copying the exact same thing, you should alter the wording so that it has the same message but isn’t a straight copy-paste. Professional copywriters can do this easily through writing, and ones who are also tech-savvy can add signals like canonical links to tell Google that the content on two pages is identical and to only count one page. This can be useful in many situations, like when you have something like a search bar and want the search results to pull text previews directly from the target page and don’t want a duplicate content penalty for doing so.

5. Choose the right voice and tone

It’s essential that your website uses an appropriate style, one that reflects you and your values. A common misconception is that the only correct tone is to be overly formal, almost academic. Instead, what matters most is consistency. If formal suits you, that’s fine. But if you’d rather be funny, straightforward, conversational, or sarcastic, those can all work too. And a copywriter can handle any one of those styles.

Take the message “A copywriter is a good investment” and see how that same message can be portrayed in several different styles:

Formal

Professional copywriters tend to have advanced degrees in English Literature and Composition. They are skilled in researching, creating, and revising blogs, essays, and more. Because of their talent, abilities, and aptitude for conveying insightful, accurate messaging, a copywriter can be a considerable asset to any organisation.

Straightforward

One of the best ways to see an increase in conversions for your marketing efforts is by using a qualified copywriter. Using a professional writer can save you time by working quickly, generate revenue by attracting new leads, and help you put your message into words through a strong command of the English language.

Conversational

In order to be found in Google and to make sure you get the meaning across to your potential customers, you’ll need to do a good amount of writing across your website and social media. Working with a copywriter makes that easy. They’re expert wordsmiths and don’t just tolerate long pieces of writing–they actually enjoy it! They’re quick studies and great storytellers and can take a lot of the workload off your shoulders.

Statistical

The average person only reads the headline of an article, with just 2 out of 10 reading the whole text. This chance increases depending on the quality of the headline, with 6-word headlines being the most compelling. Once engaged, the reader will spend an average of 7 minutes reading an article. Keep in mind however that over 50% of people avoid doing business with a company who has obvious grammar errors. With so much on the line, using a professional copywriter is the smart choice to increase the chances that people will read what you have to say and become leads or even customers at your business.

Sarcastic

Did you enjoy five-page essays in school? Yep. It’d be pretty choice to do that for a living, eh? Well that’s exactly what you’re doing when you try to do the writing for your digital marketing all on your own. Sure, it’s nice that you got 3rd place in the classwide essay competition in Grade 5 about why your great grandpappy was your hero. But now, every paragraph can be the difference between landing a whale worth $30k a month and sending yet another customer over to Big Al’s down the street–who’s proven he might actually be deserving of that Most Likely to Succeed trophy after all. Don’t let Al win; hire a professional copywriter and watch those fat stacks of red dollar notes appear in the black column of your revenue tracking sheet.

Regional Slang

Have you sussed out just how much writing it takes to do successful marketing? If all that work makes you think “yeah, nah” a sweet-as copywriter can create some choice work for your brand. If you’re keen to work with someone who practically shouts your company profit, a copywriter is the ideal choice to be your new old mate who can help your business write copy that’s all good.

Punny

What do you call someone who never mixes up copy/pasting? A copy righter! Don’t get left behind trying to come up with the words all on your own; make the write choice and let a professional copywriter handle the job for you!

So which style is right?

Each of those styles is conveying the same basic message, but they emphasise different points and say the message in different ways. The ideal tone and voice depends on your target market and the feelings and vibe you want your brand to give off. Don’t be afraid to try something different either–it’s important that you be you!

6. Accurate spelling and grammar

Your credibility is instantly reduced if someone finds a spelling or grammar mistake. The level of tolerance for mistakes also depends on the platform you’re on. On a personal Facebook page, most people won’t mind the occasional mistake or misspelling. Less leeway is given from a Business profile page. And for your website, you should look to have impeccable grammar, particularly on your main pages like the Home and About pages. Copywriters are also great proofreaders and can catch these mistakes whether the page was written by them or somebody else.

7. Create multiple types of content

Quick, what’s kind of content do copywriters create? Articles and blog posts are common answers, but it’s only a small fraction of the kinds of content that a professional copywriter can create. Some others include:

Navigation pages

These are the pages in your navigation bar like the Home, About, and Contact pages. Since the navigation bar is on most, if not all pages, the wording on those pages should be precise, helpful, relevant, and grammatically correct.

Landing pages

Landing pages are about one specific topic and are often what you’ll be directed from a Google search. These tend to have a single goal like generating awareness, getting leads, or trying to get a sale or a sign-up to a service.

eBooks

Writing an eBook can be a long, time-consuming task. Unlike a typical article that can be one and done, eBooks are expected to carry a related thread from start to finish. Keeping everything connected can be a challenge, but one that’s much easier for a copywriter than your average person who writes.

Technical documents

These are documents like how-to instructions, course descriptions for workshops or seminars your business is holding, documents for policies and procedures, and many more–as long as they aren’t required to be written by a lawyer, a copywriter can probably handle it!

Social media posts

Social media is steadily becoming a staple of our lives and an enormous influence. Whether you need posts for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or anywhere else, a copywriter can help you get the message across.

Video scripts

Video is the most popular and influential form of content these days. While the film quality is definitely important, videos with a well-written script are more engaging. Great videos often require teamwork; a star in front of the camera, a videographer behind to film and edit, and a copywriter to make sure it sounds good and makes sense!

Emails and Newsletters

Email marketing is still one of the most common forms of digital marketing. But with hundreds of emails going to a typical person’s inbox a day, how do you get read? Copywriters can help make your message enticing and interesting so you can get past the spam pile.

Blogs, News, and Articles

Writing new content helps your site get found in Google, and increases the odds that someone will find what they need from the information on your site. But these posts need to be helpful, relevant, and fresh. A professional copywriter can make sure it checks all the boxes.

And more!

There’s plenty more that a copywriter can do. You can find out about these and some other kinds of content in detail in our eBook What is content? 

8. Save you time

Even if you’re confident in your writing ability, there’s a lot of writing that goes into successful marketing. Copywriters can cut down on that time by creating content for you. Along with figuring out what to write about, copywriters also tend to be lightning-fast on the keyboard. It’s not uncommon for them to type 60, 75, or even 100 words per minute at full speed. When your goal is to write 2000 words, there’s a lot of time saved between  20 words per minute and 100!

9. Make you more money!

The right word choice can be the difference between success and catastrophe. But it can also be the difference between picking up a sale or sending a customer to the competition. HubSpot has a blog article about how small wording changes drastically increased conversions; sometimes over 100%!

If you’re keen to work with a marketing company that uses a professional copywriter who can create memorable content for your business, give us a look at Back9 Creative Studio. Feel free to give us a call, email us, message us on social media, or just stop by for a chat in downtown Invercargill!

Do I really need a website?

Posted on by Phil Robinson

Sometimes we get asked by people if they actually need a website. In 2020, about two-thirds of businesses have a website. Over half of people will look online for reviews, recommendations, and information on a business before becoming a customer. So what happens if you aren’t there?

Word of mouth is still a powerful tool for getting new customers and likely always will be. However, nearly 90 percent of people trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends and family. This means that people are researching online before buying and trusting what they see. If you aren’t there to find, they might not know that you exist. And if they see your storefront and want to find out more about what you do but you have no website, for many people, that’s the end of the buyer’s journey. They’ll go to someone else who they can find online.

So yes, you should have a website. Even if it’s just a brief overview of your products/services and your location. If you’re a smaller, new business, you might be fine starting with something simple. Keep in mind though that a bad website can be worse than having none at all. The perception some people have is that if you don’t put effort into your brand to make your business look good, how good can your offerings be? Even if it’s small, the website is the digital face of your business. At a minimum, it needs to look good and work properly.

Why is a website so important?

At Back9, we did our own poll asking “What do you think you use a website for?”

  • A.  An online reference point.
  • B.  An online portfolio
  • C.  A website should generate new leads
  • D.  A website is a sales tool and should generate at least 3 times what it costs to maintain.

50% of people thought it was for an online reference point. That’s a great start, but a website can be so much more. It can be an online portfolio showing off your work. It can generate leads and bring in new customers. And it can even work as your greatest salesperson, selling your products and services all hours of the day and night.If you’re learning or new to digital technology, you might not know that a website can do all that. And that’s okay. One of the benefits of working with a good website development team is that they can anticipate your needs. In the early meetings, they’ll find out what you would like your website to accomplish, then suggest options to make it happen–along with other features that could benefit your audience and what other successful companies in your industry are doing.

Do I need a website if I have a Facebook Page?

It depends, but most likely yes.

If you have a very small business a Facebook page might be good enough. But if you want to grow and expand, you’ll need to be updating that page frequently and keep your followers interested. If growing the business isn’t one of your goals, a Facebook page might be all you need.

Take a look at the list of reasons to have a website above. A Facebook page can do some of those things, but not nearly as well as a website. It’s true that you can show off your products in your images and do a post about them. But what happens when that post goes down on your newsfeed? What if people don’t look at your gallery?

A website gives you a much higher level of control. Your gallery goes where you want, and shows what you want. It’s also more likely to be found on Google, especially when searching for what your business does instead of the business name itself. Facebook is popular, but not everyone has an account. If they don’t have one (and don’t want one) they won’t be able to see your page.

Websites also make your company look more professional. Anyone can make a Facebook page. And even with the best optimisation, they all look similar–like a page on Facebook. Because of this, people see products and services on a website as more valuable. A great looking, easy-to-use site also builds credibility, especially if you have up-to-date information and answer questions the visitor has.

Can I build my own website?

Building a website has definitely become more accessible over the last decade, but there are still a lot of things to learn. If you haven’t worked in HTML–or know what it is–then you’ll want to stick with a Drag and Drop or WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) editor. With these kinds of website builders, you design the page by pulling in images, video, written text, and other site elements straight on the page and that’s what it will look like for the visitor too.

While this sounds great in theory, building a website has more complications than designing something like a printed flyer. With the printed flyer, you know the paper size and can print a trial run, and the final version will look just like that. The same isn’t true for websites. One of the reasons is because of all the different screen sizes. Mobile phones are the most popular, and screen sizes can range from a couple of inches to nearly a tablet size.

Why does my website look different on mobile?

When you’re building your own website, even if you get it perfect, keep in mind that it will only be for the one view, typically for desktops/laptops. Phones behave a lot differently. Many of the website builders let you preview what the site will look like on three different screen sizes, and look and experience can be vastly different on a small screen than on a large screen. Then there are laptops and desktops too, with larger screens getting to around 24-32 inches. Some people even use full-size TVs as computer monitors! The phone size might look nothing like the page you spent all of that time working on.

Optimising for mobile has its own set of challenges too. Do you want to use the 3 line hamburger icon to open up site navigation? Do you need to have a different image for smaller screens because the one you chose won’t look good small or will be cut off? Is it easy to fill out forms to contact you on a phone like on a computer? There’s a lot of considerations that go into building a high-quality website. Make sure that you preview what it looks like on different screens before publishing!

Which is the best free website builder?

If you’re keen to take a look at building your own website, there are a few different options to look into. WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace each have their own pros and cons that we go over in more detail in our article, What is the best platform to build my website on? Just keep in mind that while the software to create the website is free, the website will come with a cost to publish and run, ranging from a few dollars a month to a few hundred dollars.

If you’re interested in true no-cost options, we have some helpful information and links to free websites in our article, How much does a website cost?

Who can help me build a website?

If you don’t have the time, knowledge, or skills to build a website, a professional web developer can help. Website development is a qualification that takes several years to complete, as there’s a lot of things to learn when it comes to coding. An experienced developer also keeps up to date on the newest technology and best practices. If a new, better method to do something is created, they’ll be right on top of it!

If you want a better chance to get found on Google, you’ll need to have a lot of text on your site through web pages, articles, and blog posts. A professional copywriter can create long, informative, grammatically-correct articles quickly, and the more of those you have, the more likely someone will find the right information that pushes them to do business to you. And more words is better for Google too! For custom-designed sites, a website designer is a must too. They’ll create a unique design that draws in visitors and drives them down the path to become leads.

Since these are all distinct career paths on their own, it’s hard to find one person that can do all three; or at least do them all to a professional standard. This is why a lot of businesses are working with agencies, as they have specialists devoted to one part of the job. The designer will create the design including how it looks and works for the end-user, the web developer will build and optimise it, and the copywriter will fill it up with text that Google will love! Some agencies also have photographers, videographers, and a marketing team to help too, like we do here at Back9 Creative. Professional visuals make a massive difference. They make your brand seem higher quality and increase the chances of someone choosing you over the competition.

Thinking about getting a professional website created by a team of specialists? Book a free meeting below to set up a time to chat!


Selling Online: Wix vs WooCommerce, which is better?

Posted on by Phil Robinson

Wix is quickly building a name for itself around the world wide web. Wix offers a way for anyone to build a website with its drag-and-drop website creation system. But is this website builder a long-lasting solution, or just a quick Wix?

WooCommerce is a plug-in for WordPress, a downloadable piece of software that integrates with WordPress. It’s currently the most popular website content management system (CMS) platform in the world. It has plenty of built-in features and adding more is simple. And often free too.

When Wix and WooCommerce are put to the test, which one will come with the solid A. And which will need a little more remedial education to compete?

Note that for this comparison, we’ll be focusing primarily on the e-commerce features of Wix and WooCommerce. For a CMS comparison (Website builders), take a look at our blog What is the best platform to build my website on?

Wix

Visit the Wix website and you’ll be met with a Get Started button front and centre. That guides you through a series of questions to build you a personalised website. If you’re new to making websites, it might seem like magic that you can get a website up and ready in minutes. Further customisation takes some effort though. And it’s a bit of a learning curve working on the Wix proprietary platform. But having something workable in a few minutes is certainly impressive.

On the eCommerce site, Wix doesn’t have as many features as some of the heavy hitters like Shopify. But if you’re already using Wix, it’s easy to upgrade to add functionality for selling online. Pricing starts at $17USD per month (for annual payment plan). They also have a connected app store you can browse to add additional features, though some come with a cost.

However, Wix uses a limited number of templates. And that means your store and website will probably look like a lot of other ones out there. They also don’t currently have stock management alerts. So if you sell a product but don’t have it in stock, you could be stuck in a bind. Wix also has limited options for functionality–meaning that if you need an unusual feature for your store, you may not be able to get it. Wix also wants to keep you around, so migrating your site somewhere else isn’t easy or straightforward.

Some features of Wix eCommerce include:

  • No transaction fees–besides the monthly/annual subscription, you don’t have to pay Wix anything.
  • Easy to add eCommerce if you already have a Wix website.
  • Ability to sell physical or digital-only products.
  • 20GB of online cloud storage included
  • Easily connect your store to your Facebook and Instagram account.
  • You can sell with multiple currencies across different countries.

When should I use Wix?

If you already have a Wix website and want to start selling online or you want to build a site on your own without much technical skill and have a small-to-medium store, Wix might be a good fit for you.

WooCommerce

Unlike Wix, WordPress throws you right in the mix without much in the way of a tutorial. This means it’s easy to get lost if you don’t know what you’re doing. But if you do, you also have the freedom to do whatever you’d like. With unlimited creative freedom for your build, you have no restrictions; meaning a competent web developer can do just about anything! As a free plug-in for WordPress, there really aren’t any costs associated with using WooCommerce, which is a nice bonus.

However, if you’re just getting a website built and don’t already have one on WordPress, it will take you some time to get a store up and running. And while the default WooCommerce template is workable, it doesn’t have the same pizazz that some of the other eCommerce sites have without putting in the effort to make it your own.

Customisation is the name of the game for WooCommerce. You (or your developer) can customise:

  • What your checkout page looks like
  • The confirmation emails your customers get
  • The way your product pages look
  • And anything else you’d like.

That’s great if you know what you want or have a design team to help you out, but it can be a little overwhelming if you’re doing it all on your own.

Some features of WooCommerce and WordPress include:

  • Search Engine Optimisation tools built in so people can find your site easier on Google.
  • Whole website backups in case of a crash, so that you can restore your website back to normal like nothing happened.
  • You can use any payment option for checkout, including NZ-centric options like POLiPay.
  • Adding additional features is easy with thousands of pre-made plug-ins available, many for free.
  • Connecting to other software is simple, like connecting your inventory to Facebook so you can sell products through Facebook shops or the website and keep an accurate inventory.

When should I use WooCommere?

If selling online is going to be a major driver to your business and you expect to do it for the long haul, taking the time to customise your store through WooCommerce is worth it, especially if you intend to have a large number of products or volume of sales.

Who’s the winner?

If you already have a Wix website or you want to do everything on your own, then Wix may be right for you. But for most other instances, WooCommerce wins.

With WooCommerce, you have many, many more options and your store can look and function just how you like. It’s easy to connect to other software, and you own your website. Whereas with Wix, if you ever do decide to make a change, moving your content to another platform is notoriously difficult.

The extra features of WooCommerce become extremely useful when you want to do something advanced like online bookings with a real-time calendar or have a larger store and need to have accurate tracking of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of products both online and in a physical store. With WooCommerce, you not only get a store that’s uniquely yours, your website can also be built custom to your needs too, which is ideal for stores that want to thrive and grow. Of course there are plenty of other options too. What about Squarespace vs WooCommerce, which is better?

To find out about other eCommerce platforms, take a look at our article Which eCommerce platform is the best for me?

Selling Online: Magento vs WooCommerce, which is better?

Posted on by Phil Robinson

A way to get started selling online for free, Magento was purchased by Adobe in 2018, the makers of popular software like Photoshop. Magento claims to “empower thousands of retailers and brands with the best eCommerce platforms and flexible cloud solutions to rapidly innovate and grow.” Though it sounds like the popular X-Men character, will Magento attract sales or repel your customers to the competition?

WooCommerce is a plug-in (a downloadable bit of software that adds extra features to a website) that works with WordPress, the most popular website builder in the world. More websites run on WordPress than any other platform, and WooCommerce can quickly allow those sites to sell products online.

In a head-to-head showdown between Magento and WooCommerce, which will be left behind and which will pull ahead?

Magento

Magento is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms around right now, with about 20% of all sites that sell online doing so through Magento. It comes stocked with an impressive array of features, including shipping and inventory management, customer logins with saved orders for quick reordering, and content management for writing blogs, articles, and updates. However, there’s some good and bad news when it comes to using Magento.

The good news? The Community version is free to use. All it takes to get started is a download. Setup on the other hand, can be complicated. It’s still free… If you know what you’re doing. Otherwise, you’ll need the help of a web developer.

The not-so-good news is that if you want the experts at Magento set it up for you, it’s far from free. The Enterprise version is where everything is set up and managed for you. In order to even get a price quote, you have to fill out their contact form and have them get back to you, with reported prices ranging anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000 USD… per year.

Some features of Magento include:

  • The community version is OpenSource, meaning it’s free to use and is updated by the community frequently.
  • Content staging and preview so you can see what the customers will see before making a product available.
  • Customer segmentation so you can break customers down into groups for targeting purposes.
  • Ability to add additional features as needed with a large collection of plug-ins.

When should I use Magento?

Because the initial setup can be challenging on a technical level, Magento is best-suited for larger stores; especially stores that have a lot of capital behind them. A large local retailer making the move to sell online with thousands of products will likely benefit from the features much more than a small boutique shop with a couple of handmade products.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is extremely versatile because it integrates perfectly with what many websites are already using; WordPress. WordPress has the largest library of plug-ins and options. There are thousands of choices so that you can have your site look and act exactly as you like. If you have a website and don’t know what it was built with, it’s probably WordPress!

However, if your website is built with something else–or you don’t have one yet–getting your store setup isn’t instantaneous. One of the main benefits of WordPress is that you can design and build whatever you want. If you can think it, you can built it… Or at least a talented web developer can!

That also means it will take longer to get the site up and running though. WordPress does have plenty of templates to help you get started, but if you want a unique, personalised design, it’s better to get it customised, which will take time to create and build the design. But when you want your website to be a long-term investment, that short upfront wait is worth it!

Some features of WooCommerce include:

  • Search Engine Optimisation tools built in–Get your site found on Google searches!
  • Whole website backups in case of a crash.  You can easily restore your website back to normal like nothing happened if something goes wrong.
  • You can use any payment option for checkout, including NZ-centric options like POLiPay.
  • Adding additional features is easy with thousands of pre-made plug-ins available, many for free.
  • Connecting to other software is simple, like connecting your inventory to Facebook so you can sell products through Facebook shops or the website and keep an accurate inventory.

When should I use WooCommerce?

If you want a website with a custom design, already have a WordPress design, or think you might need some extra features for your online store down the line, WooCommerce is a good option for you for any store size.

Who’s the winner?

If you already have a solid business and a lot of resources to get your store online, Magento’s Enterprise Edition will handle everything for you and your site will look and behave great. For most others, including smaller, local businesses, we say that WooCommerce is the overall winner.

WooCommerce is quick to set up and easy to add features, plus you get the best content management system available so you can add pages, write articles, update news stories, and anything else you can think of. Even if you want your website to simply be a place to sell online, WooCommerce makes that straightforward, and being free to use, you won’t find anything cheaper!

For information on other popular eCommerce platforms, give our article a read, Which eCommerce Platform is right for me? 

Selling online: Squarespace vs WooCommerce, which is better?

Posted on by Phil Robinson

Squarespace vs Woocommerce

Squarespace vs Woocommerce – what is each platform good at? What are the pros and cons of each and in a contest, who wins?

Well, if you’ve ever wanted your own space–and also wanted that space to be square–you can get your own little piece of the internet through Squarespace, a site that helps you build your own personal or business website. Claiming to be the “all-in-one solution for anyone looking to create a beautiful website”, Squarespace has been around since the early 2000s and has over 2 million active sites. But will Squarespace bring your site up to square, or leave you spaced out from the competition?

How does Squarespace square off against the current king of commerce, WooCommerce? A plug-in for WordPress, WooCommerce is simple to add to any WordPress site and has nearly unlimited customisation options. This means it has all the benefits–and drawbacks–of being a part of WordPress.

We put Squarespace vs Woocommerce to the test in a no-holds-barred competition, will WooCommerce woo over the crowd, or will Squarespace be able to square off against the champ?

Squarespace

Although it’s a template site–meaning you have to choose from a set of templates for your website instead of building it custom–Squarespace is known for having some of the best-looking templates around. Designed with artistic professionals in mind, Squarespace believes design is not a luxury reserved only for the elite. This means that all of the templates on Squarespace are free, although you can still buy 3rd party ones to use on your site at a cost if you’d prefer.

On the eCommerce side, Squarespace has a few subscription levels specifically designed for selling products and services online. The templates can really make your products pop–so long as you’ve invested into taking great photos or videos of your products already. And their basic eCommerce package starts at $26 USD per month with no transaction fees.

However, Squarespace is limited when it comes to features like support and SEO. They also don’t have a built-in app store, so it’s much more difficult to add extra features you might want later on. It’s also tough to scale up if you start selling products by the hundreds or thousands per week, so it’s best for smaller stores. And even though many of the templates look good, they’re still templates, so won’t be as good or unique as a custom-designed website.

Some other features of Squarespace include:

  • A free custom domain for one year to help you get started.
  • Optimised templates for mobile, desktop, and tablet.
  • A business email (email@yourbusiness.co.nz) through Gmail free for the first year.
  • Built-in ad options like pop-ups and banners.
  • Marketing options like abandoned cart recovery (Highest tier only).

When should I use Squarespace?

Squarespace claims that design is one of their primary focuses, and for a template site builder, they have some of the best designs in the business. This makes them an ideal choice if you have a small store with bespoke products where the look of your products is a major part of the appeal, like for artists, photographers, and beauty products.

WooCommerce

The main feature of WooCommerce is that you don’t have to settle; you can get the look and feel you want for your store with all the features you’d ever need.

Because it’s part of WordPress, you’re able to fully design your site to your liking. You can also choose from over 50,000 plug-ins, little pieces of code that add extra features to your website. And if there isn’t an existing plug-in that does what you want, you can simply have a web developer build it from the ground up!

However, this also makes WooCommerce an investment for the long game. If you’re looking to sell products online now, WooCommerce might not be ideal. One of the best benefits of WordPress with WooCommerce is that you can build your site from the ground up. This takes time, and done right, can also be more expensive than using a templated site.

Over time, however, the costs balance out. Since it’s free to use both WordPress and WooCommerce, you aren’t stuck paying a subscription fee every month. And own your website outright! It’s also easy to scale and can grow as your business does.

Some other features of WooCommerce include:

  • Options to add any payment gateway including PoliPay, Stripe, PayPal, and more.
  • Easy to integrate with your other software, such as Xero or another accounting program.
  • Free website backups to restore your data easily in case of a site crash.
  • The ability to add more features to your site fast through downloadable plug-ins.
  • Get found on Google with built-in tools.

When should I use WooCommere?

If you want a certain look for your brand and plan on investing in your store for the long run, WooCommerce is a good option for you.

Who’s the winner?

For small stores with custom products where product imagery is a big selling point, Squarespace does a good job. But with all of the options of WordPress–including ways to make your products look just as good–if you want to treat your eCommerce as more than a side hustle, WooCommerce wins.

There’s simply much more you can do with WooCommerce than you can with Squarespace. And if design if one of the most important parts of your website, you can have a website designer build it to your liking. Even though the templates of Squarespace look good, they’re still templates; you’re limited with what you can change. With WooCommerce on the other hand, the options are unlimited, and you can spend as much time as you want to perfect every little detail if you want to. So when it comes to Squarespace vs Woocommerce who do you think wins? What about Wix vs WooCommerce, which is better?

To learn about the pros and cons of other eCommerce platforms, read our article Which eCommerce Platform is right for me? 

What is the best platform to build my website on?

Posted on by Phil Robinson

Once you’ve decided to get a website, you might be wondering how to get it built. There are actually several different platforms. Often referred to as a CMS, which stands for Content Management System–that you can use to build your website. Depending on your goals, resources, and technical skills, one might be much better than the rest. Some of the most popular platforms today are

  • WordPress
  • Wix and;
  • Squarespace,

Each of them are designed with their own set of strengths.

WordPress

WordPress is the big boy, the head cheese of website development. It powers over 1/3 of all websites that are online today. So if you’ve ever been online, you’ve been to a WordPress site. Our very own Back9 website is run on WordPress too. That’s simply because it has the most features and we believe it is the most powerful CMS.

But with great power comes great responsibilities. WordPress is ideal for people with some background in the technology of websites and the internet. That’s is because it has practically limitless things you can do… But first, you have to know how to do them. WordPress provides the tools to get online but leaves it up to you to use them. If you don’t know what hosting is or how to make a site go live on the internet, WordPress might be tough to use. There are plenty of online tutorials from people to help teach how to use WordPress. But it takes an investment to learn everything. Plus you’ll also be responsible for ongoing maintenance like security updates.

While you have to monitor everything and make your own updates, WordPress is completely free to use. You can get plug-ins to make the site easier to build or give it extra features too. Some of those come with a cost, but downloading and building a site can also come with no cost. This is because WordPress is an open-source program. This means that many people built the code together and you can download and modify it for free.

If you want the most control, WordPress should be your go-to CMS.

Wix

If you don’t want to deal with all of the complicated bits of WordPress, Wix makes getting a website up and going quick and easy. Wix is what’s known as a WYSIWYG builder, which stands for “What you see is what you get”. With CMS platforms that use HTML, translating what you’re building to what’s shown on the screen isn’t always straightforward. But with Wix, when you move an image to a precise location on the builder, it will be in the same place on the actual webpage.

However, Wix comes with a lot of restrictions, even on its top-tier plan. Some plans put strict limits on your bandwidth. That’s the amount of data like videos and images you can have on your website. And will possibly have Wix ads throughout the site. The most basic version lets you use the website builder and will make the website live. They will also handle hosting for you so you don’t have to worry about the technical aspects. If you wanted a free option, that’s cool, Wix offers that. But it won’t be with the website address of your choice and has strict limitations.

One major disadvantage of Wix is that it’s hard to move your site to another platform. If you think you might want to move to another CMS later on you won’t be able to do that with Wix. You will have to rebuild the site. So although the website builder is easy to use and getting a site up is simple, it’s best to keep it there for a long haul or deal with a major headache later on.

If you want a website to go up fast and don’t need the extra features, Wix is a great way to make it happen.

Squarespace

Another popular CMS is Squarespace, which is sort of like Wix with a stronger focus on eCommerce: buying and selling through your website. Squarespace doesn’t have any storage or bandwidth restrictions on any of its plans and has some basic SEO features to help your site be found.

Their basic plan starts at $12 USD/month and gives access to their design templates, some customisation options, and basic analytics data like website views and unique visitors.

However, the basic plan doesn’t give any way to sell products, which is one of the main reasons to use Squarespace over another CMS, so you may need to go up a tier or two. Squarespace has a limited number of templates, but the ones they have can help your products look sleek and attractive. But if you’re looking to add a massive online store with a lot of different categories, you might be better off with a dedicated eCommerce CMS.

If you want to strike a balance between design and eCommerce, Squarespace does a decent job at both.

What about eCommerce sites?

If your main goal is to sell products on your website, an eCommerce CMS will focus on making your online store simple and straightforward. These include platforms like OpenCart, Shopify, and WordPress with WooCommerce, each of which has ways of managing inventory, creating secure transactions, and the way they charge fees. Because these eCommerce CMS platforms are all about selling products, we’ve created a separate blog that you can read about it, Which eCommerce Platform is best for me? 

So which CMS is best?

Which CMS is best for you depends on what you’re looking to achieve with your website. If you want a site that’s simple and easy to use, Wix is a good option. And if you’re looking to balance good design with some basic e-commerce features, Squarespace is a good choice. But with an investment of time and money, WordPress by far has the most customisation options. A professionally-designed WordPress site will cost more upfront and take longer to build, but if you’re looking to have a site for the long-term and get the best results, it’s a fantastic investment. And custom websites come with a ton of benefits that make them a worthwhile investment. The team at Back9 has all the skills to build your site, create useful, engaging content, and market it to the people to help it grow, and we can start building yours today!