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By Alex Morgan | Last Updated: May 2026
Alex has been building and managing WordPress sites for UK businesses since 2018, testing hosting providers across 40+ client projects.
Key Takeaway: Squarespace wins on design simplicity. Namecheap + WordPress wins on cost, control, and the fact that you actually own what you build. The single biggest argument against Squarespace is lock-in — you cannot move your site. With Namecheap and WordPress, you can switch hosts any time without rebuilding from scratch.
Price Comparison in GBP
| Plan | Provider | Monthly cost (annual billing) | Ecommerce | Transaction fee |
| Stellar | Namecheap | £1.99 intro (renews £5.98) | Via WooCommerce (free) | None (payment processor fees only) |
| Stellar Plus | Namecheap | £2.99 intro (renews £6.88) | Via WooCommerce (free) | None |
| Basic | Squarespace | £12/mo | No | N/A |
| Core | Squarespace | £17/mo | Yes | 3% transaction fee |
| Plus | Squarespace | £29/mo | Yes | None |
| Advanced | Squarespace | £79/mo | Yes (advanced) | None |
At renewal, Namecheap Stellar costs £5.98/mo. Squarespace Basic costs £12/mo. Squarespace Core (the minimum for selling anything) costs £17/mo. Namecheap Stellar Plus with WooCommerce handles ecommerce at £6.88/mo at renewal — less than half the cost of Squarespace Core, with no transaction fees.
The Lock-In Argument: Why This Matters More Than Price
When you build a website on Squarespace, Squarespace owns the infrastructure, the templates, and the design system. You can export your blog content as XML and your products as CSV — but your design, page structure, and custom styling exist only inside Squarespace’s proprietary system. If you leave, you start over.
This is not a flaw in Squarespace. It is a deliberate architectural decision that allows them to offer a seamless, managed experience. But it means that in five years, if Squarespace raises prices to £25/mo for Basic, you face a choice: pay or rebuild your entire site.
With Namecheap hosting and WordPress, your site files are yours. You can move from Namecheap to SiteGround to Kinsta to WP Engine in an afternoon by copying your WordPress files and database. No rebuilding. No starting over. Full portability is a form of insurance that is worth thinking about before committing to any closed platform.
Design Quality: Where Squarespace Genuinely Wins
Squarespace templates are among the best-looking in the website builder market. The editor is polished, animations are smooth, and the overall aesthetic quality of a default Squarespace site is higher than a default WordPress site.
WordPress has thousands of free themes, but many look dated without significant customisation effort. Premium WordPress themes (Divi, GeneratePress, Kadence) can match Squarespace quality — but they require either money or time to set up properly. Squarespace’s advantage is that beautiful results come faster for non-technical users.
Ecommerce: The Transaction Fee Problem
Squarespace Core charges a 3% transaction fee on every sale. On £10,000 of monthly sales, that is £300/mo in platform fees on top of your £17/mo plan cost. You need to upgrade to Squarespace Plus at £29/mo to eliminate the transaction fee.
WooCommerce on Namecheap Stellar Plus charges zero platform transaction fees. You pay your payment processor (Stripe or PayPal charge around 1.5–2.9% + a fixed fee, which is standard across all platforms). For UK online stores generating any meaningful volume, the cost difference is significant.
SEO: Namecheap + WordPress Leads Clearly
Squarespace has improved its SEO tools substantially. You can set title tags, meta descriptions, alt text, and basic schema. For most small business sites, this is adequate.
WordPress with Yoast SEO or RankMath provides significantly more control: advanced schema markup, XML sitemaps, breadcrumb schema, redirect management, and granular keyword optimisation. For content-heavy sites or businesses where organic search drives revenue, WordPress has a genuine SEO advantage. Our Namecheap review covers WordPress hosting performance in detail.
Honest Negatives
Namecheap + WordPress weaknesses: Higher learning curve than Squarespace. Plugin management, updates, and security require ongoing attention. Default WordPress themes are less polished than Squarespace templates without customisation effort.
Squarespace weaknesses: Platform lock-in — you cannot export your design. Transaction fees on Core plan. More expensive at every comparable tier. Limited plugin ecosystem vs WordPress. URL structure and some technical SEO options are less flexible than WordPress.
Who Should Choose Each?
| Choose Squarespace if… | Choose Namecheap + WordPress if… |
| You need a beautiful site with minimal technical effort | Long-term flexibility matters to you |
| You run a portfolio or creative studio | You want the cheapest ecommerce option |
| You are comfortable never leaving the platform | You need advanced SEO control |
| Your monthly sales volume is low | Your monthly sales exceed £3,000 |
| You want everything managed in one place | You need access to 60,000+ plugins |
Our Verdict
Namecheap + WordPress wins overall on cost, flexibility, SEO capability, and ecommerce economics. Squarespace wins on design polish and initial simplicity. If you are a photographer, designer, or creative who wants a stunning portfolio without touching code, Squarespace is a legitimate choice. For everyone else — particularly UK businesses with growth ambitions — Namecheap + WordPress is the better long-term investment.
Also see: Namecheap vs Wix, full competitor comparison hub, and all Namecheap hosting plans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I move from Squarespace to WordPress?
You can export blog posts and products from Squarespace, but your page designs, custom layouts, and visual styling cannot be exported. Migrating from Squarespace to WordPress requires rebuilding your design in WordPress. Many users find the rebuild worthwhile for the long-term flexibility gained.
Is Squarespace cheaper than WordPress hosting?
No. Squarespace Basic costs £12/mo in the UK. Namecheap Stellar Plus hosting (which includes unlimited websites for WordPress) renews at £6.88/mo — roughly half the cost. WordPress itself is free and open source.
Does Squarespace charge transaction fees in the UK?
Yes, on the Core plan (£17/mo). Squarespace charges a 3% platform transaction fee on every sale. You need to upgrade to Plus at £29/mo to remove this fee. WooCommerce on WordPress charges no platform transaction fees at any level.
Which is better for SEO, Squarespace or WordPress?
WordPress is generally considered superior for technical SEO, particularly with Yoast SEO or RankMath installed. Squarespace has improved its SEO tools but offers less granular control over schema markup, breadcrumbs, and redirect management.
Can I host a Namecheap domain on Squarespace?
Yes. Register your domain at Namecheap and point it to Squarespace by updating the DNS settings. This way you keep free WhoisGuard privacy from Namecheap while using the Squarespace website builder.
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