Is Squarespace SEO Still Bad Compared to WordPress?

If you’ve been building websites or researching platforms, you’ve probably heard the classic line: Squarespace is no good for SEO, WordPress wins every time. But is that still true? Or is it just old news that’s stuck around longer than it should?

It’s fair to say Squarespace had a rough reputation when it came to SEO. Much of that was due to limited control. You couldn’t tweak things under the hood the way you can with an open-source platform like WordPress. That annoyed developers, SEO specialists, and nearly anyone trying to squeeze the maximum ranking power out of their site.

But over the years, Squarespace has been making quiet improvements. It’s not perfect, but it’s not the SEO disaster some people make it out to be either.

Firstly, most of the basics are in order. You can edit page titles, descriptions, URLs, image alt text, and there’s automatic sitemap generation. Squarespace sites are mobile-friendly by default, and they use clean, readable URL structures. For the average business owner, that ticks a lot of the SEO boxes straight away.

However, when you peel back the layers, there are still some gaps, especially when compared to WordPress with the proper setup. WordPress gives you nearly endless flexibility. You’ve got plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math that handle everything from keyword suggestions to advanced schema markup and structured data. You can fiddle with the code, adjust technical settings, and fine-tune performance however you like.

Squarespace, on the other hand, keeps you inside the box. For some people, that’s a good thing. Less to break, less to overthink. But for others, especially those chasing competitive rankings, it can feel restrictive.

One major topic that frequently arises is structured data, which helps Google better understand your pages. Squarespace does include some basic schema markup, but there have been ongoing complaints about outdated code, missing fields, and limitations around customising it properly. For example, some blogs still use hentry microformats, which aren’t ideal, and event pages can throw duplicate structured data warnings if you don’t keep an eye on them.

Now, here’s where things have started to shift a bit. There’s a newer tool on the scene called SEOSpace. It’s an extension that plugs into your Squarespace dashboard and gives you more insight and guidance around SEO: site audits, keyword checks, backlink suggestions, that sort of thing. It doesn’t magically turn Squarespace into a full-blown SEO powerhouse, but it definitely helps plug some of the knowledge gaps, especially for users who don’t live and breathe SEO.

So, back to the question: is Squarespace still that bad for SEO?

The answer’s not black and white. If you’re running a basic website, focusing on content quality, mobile experience, and core SEO settings, Squarespace will do the job. It’s designed for ease of use, and most templates are fast and modern enough for Google’s requirements.

But if you need advanced technical SEO, deeper schema integration, or you want full control over site speed, plugins, and custom tweaks, WordPress still leads the way.

It’s less about which platform is ‘better’ and more about knowing what you need. For simple, stylish sites where you don’t want to mess around with plugins and updates, Squarespace can absolutely rank well. For complex SEO campaigns or sites with aggressive growth targets, WordPress still gives you more tools to work with.

At the end of the day, the old idea that Squarespace is hopeless for SEO is a bit outdated, but it’s also true that WordPress keeps the upper hand for anyone chasing every technical advantage.

Personally, I still think Squarespace is the better platform for most people, especially small businesses. The constant updates, plugin conflicts, and general maintenance that come with WordPress can be a headache, and unless you’ve got the time or budget to stay on top of it all, it’s not always worth the hassle.

But like anything, it’s all about your needs. A good-looking, well-performing website won’t tell anyone whether it’s built on Squarespace or WordPress; it reflects the effort and thought put into it.