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    4. Do Wordpress sites outrank SquareSpace?

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    Do Wordpress sites outrank SquareSpace?

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    • RyanUK
      RyanUK last edited by

      I was a big fan of Wordpress. I used it for 10 years. However, because I run a very small business, the constant upkeep needed on WP in the end started to frustrate me in the end, so I moved to SquareSpace.

      However, I am beginning to question my decision, as one of my sites is struggling really badly, and I mean badly. The other sites are okay.

      So I started asking around, and most people are saying there shouldn't be a difference. A few people have said their Wordpress sites always outranks their SquareSpace sites. Then I read what Rand Fishkin said in the below Twitter thread, now I am even more confused. I am very reluctant to move to Wordpress, its just so much hassle. But at the same time, if a site doesn't get much traffic then it's useless.

      https://twitter.com/drew_pickard/status/991659074134556673

      https://twitter.com/randfish/status/991974456477278209

      Please let me know your thoughts and experience.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • ClaytonJ
        ClaytonJ last edited by

        The logic for both platforms is sound.

        In our experience WordPress smashes Square space. WordPress is our SEO platform of choice.  We also see Magento, just marginally sitting above Shopify for SEO. Shopify does not have https2 at its root etc.

        Good luck, they are always tough decisions.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • RyanUK
          RyanUK @alexspur last edited by

          Hi Alex, Thanks for your response. I agree with you. I know WP has a larger market share, even then, I don't remember the last time I saw SS site rank. However, I have noticed Shopify doesn't seem to be affected by the same curse 😉

          I have seen many Shopify sites rank really well, or is that just me! Because I am considering Shopify for another project.

          I was weighing up moving to WP, and your response and some other factors from my research and gut instinct have more or sealed the deal for me. I am going to move this site back to WP. However, I will continue to keep some of my sites on SS. A few are not doing too badly.

          But the site in question is definitely moving.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • alexspur
            alexspur last edited by

            From my experience, Google does tend to like Wordpress websites. I haven't seen a lot of SquareSpace websites in the top 10 of Google, to be honest, and maybe there's a reason for that. Either way, I'm not telling you to go back to Wordpress but if these are your only two options and your website is suffering... there's not much else you can do.

            RyanUK 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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