Why Squarespace is Unsuitable for Photographers

As a photographer who has been a long-time Squarespace user, I've reached a point where it's time to move on. While the platform initially seemed like the perfect solution, offering simplicity and style, the drawbacks have started to outweigh the benefits. What began as a promising tool for creatives has become more of a hindrance than a help.

The Initial Appeal

Squarespace undeniably has its advantages. The platform is easy to use, allowing even those with little technical knowledge to build a website quickly. It’s fast to set up, and the resulting websites often look beautiful. The built-in design templates are a major draw, offering a professional appearance right out of the box.

But the Downsides Are Too Significant

However, beneath this polished surface lie numerous issues that have ultimately led me to the decision to leave Squarespace behind.

The most glaring problem is the painfully slow loading speed of the sites. This not only hurts user experience but also leads to very poor pageranking on search engines. For someone like me, who relies on visibility, this is a dealbreaker.

Another major frustration is that scripts cannot be disabled. They load by default, even when they aren’t needed, further dragging down site speed. Adding to the frustration, the option to “add custom code” exists, but it often doesn’t work properly. On top of that, there are frequent backend errors that disrupt workflow.

Despite Squarespace’s claims of customization, the websites aren’t truly adaptable. Every change, especially when it comes to mobile display, must be manually checked and adjusted due to significant issues.

Then there’s the lack of support for modern, fast image formats. For photographers, this is a huge drawback, as it affects both the quality and loading speed of our portfolios.

What ultimately pushed me over the edge is the tracking issue. Google Tags don’t trigger, and ad campaign tracking is simply not possible. In an era where data-driven decisions are crucial, this is unacceptable. Worse yet, bugs that cause such critical problems are not addressed, and the customer service provides nothing but misleading excuses.

Moving to a Better Solution

After years of sticking with Squarespace, I’ve decided to switch to a high-quality WordPress template. WordPress offers greater flexibility, better performance, and supports modern image formats and effective tracking capabilities. For a photographer like me, who values quality and efficiency, this is the right move.

What are your experiences with Squarespace? Am I missing something? I’m eager to hear your thoughts and tips—feel free to reach out!