Squarespace
The shortest path to a site that looks professionally designed, and our pick for most brand led projects.
Squarespace wins on taste. Its templates are the most consistently elegant in the category, and the editor nudges you toward layouts that hold together rather than letting you wander into a mess. It handles blogging, scheduling, email campaigns and a capable store, all inside one tidy system. You trade some raw flexibility for that polish, and the cheaper tiers cap selling, but for a portfolio, a studio, a restaurant or a brand site, nothing else looks this good with this little fuss.
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The builder that makes it hard to make something that looks bad.
In its favour
Held against it
The design first builder that most brands should start with
Squarespace tops the category on design and scores highly everywhere else, which earns it our Editor's Choice. The trade is flexibility: power users who want full control may feel boxed in.
Scored against the same five weighted criteria we use across website builders. See the rubric →
building a brand, portfolio, studio or content site where looking polished matters more than maximum flexibility.
you need pixel level design control, a large app ecosystem, or a free forever plan.
What it costs
Per month, billed annuallyPricing as of June 2026, billed annually; monthly billing runs higher. Check the vendor for current pricing. Squarespace offers a free trial rather than a free plan.