Squarespace or a Custom Website: Which Fits Your Business?

Squarespace is polished, quick to start and easy to edit. A custom site trades the editor for a one-off build you can take anywhere. Here are the real Australian plan prices, what happens to your sales and your content on each, and when we'd point you to Squarespace.

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Two different ways of owning a website

Squarespace is a hosted website builder. You pick one of its designed templates, drag your text and pictures into place in its editor, and the platform looks after the hosting, the security certificate and the software underneath. business.gov.au describes this kind of cloud-based system as a paid subscription that usually bundles hosting, templates and optional extras such as online selling, with the provider responsible for keeping the site safe from attack.

A custom website is built for one business by a designer or developer. Ours are hand-coded: plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript written for your pages, with no builder, theme or plugin underneath. You pay once for the build, then a hosting fee to keep it online.

So the real choice isn't about which looks better. Squarespace's templates are well designed and a skilled builder can make them look like anything. It's about who does the work, how the money falls over the years, and where your site can go if you change your mind.

What Squarespace charges in Australia

Squarespace publishes its plans in Australian dollars. These were the figures on its pricing page in November 2026. Each plan has two prices; the lower is the monthly equivalent when you pay a year up front.

Squarespace website plans in Australia, November 2026
Plan	Paid yearly	Paid monthly	Fee on online store sales	Card processing from
Basic	A$17 a month	A$24 a month	2%	1.8% + A$0.30
Core	A$28 a month	A$39 a month	0%	1.8% + A$0.30
Plus	A$49 a month	A$69 a month	0%	1.6% + A$0.30
Advanced	A$109 a month	A$149 a month	0%	1.4% + A$0.30

The plan names hide a few details worth knowing before you choose one. Basic allows up to two contributors, and leaves out custom CSS and JavaScript, code injection, Google Workspace email, shipping labels and discount codes; those start at Core. Selling digital content or memberships carries its own fee: 7% on Basic, 5% on Core, 1% on Plus and none on Advanced. Paying yearly also brings a free custom domain for the first year; after that it renews at Squarespace's standard rate, and the monthly-billed plans don't include it.

For a services business with no shop, Basic paid yearly is a genuinely low cost. A business that wants a business email through Google Workspace, or plans to sell, will usually find itself on Core or higher.

Three years of cost, side by side

A subscription and a one-off build only compare fairly over a set period. Here is three years of each, using Squarespace's published prices and our fixed ones. The Squarespace figures are the plan alone; anything you pay for on top, such as a Google Workspace account or apps, isn't counted.

Three-year cost: Squarespace plans compared with our hand-coded sites
Option	How it's paid	Total over 36 months
Squarespace Basic	A$17 a month, paid yearly	$612
Squarespace Basic	A$24 a month, paid monthly	$864
Squarespace Core	A$28 a month, paid yearly	$1,008
Squarespace Core	A$39 a month, paid monthly	$1,404
Squarespace Plus	A$49 a month, paid yearly	$1,764
Our one-page site	$399 once, then $30 a month hosting	$1,479
Our site of up to 3 pages	$899 once, then $30 a month hosting	$1,979
Our site of up to 8 pages	$1,499 once, then $30 a month hosting	$2,579

On cash alone, Squarespace's two lower plans cost less than any of our options over three years, and we'd rather say that plainly than bury it. Beyond three years the picture depends on the plan: our $30 hosting is less than Core paid monthly (A$39) or any Plus plan, about level with Core paid yearly (A$28), and more than Basic, so a Basic plan paid yearly stays cheaper for as long as you keep it.

What the table can't show is whose hours go into the site. On Squarespace, building every page, resizing every photo, setting up the forms and checking it all on a phone is your job, and so is every change afterwards. With us the build is done for you, and the $30 hosting includes hosting, security monitoring, backups, email support and unlimited text and image changes on your existing pages. New pages or features are quoted before we start. Our prices have no GST added, and the domain is about $20 a year, registered in your name.

Selling online on each

If you sell products, the percentage fees matter more than the monthly price. On Squarespace Basic, a 2% platform fee applies to online store sales on top of card processing. On a shop turning over $2,000 a month, that 2% alone is $40 a month, which is more than the difference between Basic and Core. That's why a shop with steady sales usually works out cheaper on Core, where the store fee drops to 0%.

Our online stores are a one-off price: $799 for up to 25 products with one payment gateway and basic order management, or $1,999 for unlimited products, multiple payment options, customer accounts and advanced shipping. We add no commission on your sales; the payment gateway you choose charges its own processing fees, as it would anywhere. For businesses that sell memberships, courses or downloads, Squarespace's built-in tools for digital content keep everything in one place, and its Advanced plan removes the fee on those sales entirely.

What happens if you leave

This is the difference most owners only discover when they try to move. Squarespace's help centre explains that its export produces a WordPress-format file, and that much of a site doesn't come with it. Layout pages, one blog with its posts, text and image blocks, and gallery pages export. Store pages, portfolio pages, product, video and audio blocks, additional blogs, headers and footers, style settings and custom CSS don't. Squarespace gives the reason itself: many features rely on its own code to work.

In practice that means your words and pictures can travel, but the design and the shop have to be rebuilt somewhere else. That isn't unusual for a hosted builder, and it isn't a reason on its own to avoid one. It is a reason to keep your own copies of your text and original photos from day one.

A hand-coded site is a folder of files. If you leave us, you can take a complete copy to any host that serves web pages, and the domain is already registered in your name, so the address your customers know goes with you.

Editing, speed and the everyday differences

Making changes. On Squarespace you log in and edit the page in front of you, any time. On our sites there's no editor; you email or ring us and we make the change. Owners who like to tinker usually prefer the first. Owners who would rather not think about the website usually prefer the second.
Design freedom. Squarespace templates give you a strong starting layout within the limits of its blocks and settings, and Core and above let you add your own CSS and code. A custom build starts from your content and your customers, so the layout is shaped around what you need people to do, such as tap to call or fill in a quote form.
Page weight. A builder loads the code its whole system needs. A hand-coded page only sends what that page uses, which tends to help on a phone with patchy reception. Either can be slowed down by oversized photos.
Help when something breaks. Squarespace has a help centre and customer support for the platform. With us you deal with the people who built your site, and we reply within 24 hours.

When Squarespace is the better choice

We build custom sites, and we'd still suggest Squarespace if:

you're a photographer, designer, artist or other creative whose portfolio changes often and who enjoys arranging it yourself;
you want to publish a blog, events or news each week without asking anyone;
you sell memberships, online courses or digital downloads and want them handled inside one platform;
your budget for the first year is under a few hundred dollars and you have the time to build it yourself;
you need something live this week, and you're happy to write and lay out every page yourself;
you're testing an idea and don't yet know whether the business will last.

Starting on Squarespace and moving to a custom site later is a sensible path, as long as you keep your own copies of your words and photos and register your domain in your business's name.

When a custom site is the better choice

Your site is mainly there to make the phone ring or bring in quote requests, and it changes a few times a year.
You don't want to spend evenings in an editor, or pay someone by the hour every time a price changes.
You want to see the whole site finished before you pay anything. With us there's no deposit: we build the draft, you ask for as many changes as you like, and you pay once you approve it. If you don't go ahead, you owe nothing.
You'd like the site to be portable: files you can move to any host, on a domain in your name.
You need a particular feature, such as a multi-step quote form, service-area pages, or an online booking and payment system built into the site. Booking and payment systems are quoted per job, or we can link a booking tool you already use, such as Calendly or Fresha.

That describes most of the trades, health and local service businesses we work with. If you don't have a logo yet, we'll help with one at no charge. You supply your words and photos, and we arrange them into the pages; we don't write copy or take photos.

What a custom site costs with us

One page

$399

One hand-coded page with your services, photos, reviews and an enquiry form. Over three years, $1,479 including hosting.

Where most Squarespace movers land

Up to 3 pages

$899

A home page plus two more, such as services and contact. Changes after launch are an email to us, not a login.

Up to 8 pages

$1,499

A page for each service or area. Your existing Squarespace text and photos can be the starting material.

Payment. No deposit. We build your draft first, you ask for as many changes as you like, and you pay once you approve it. If you don't go ahead, you owe nothing.
GST. WebCraft Studio isn't registered for GST, so no GST is added.
Timing. Most sites are live within 5–10 days of us getting your words and photos; bigger sites (up to 8 pages) take 2–3 weeks.
Hosting. After launch, hosting is $30 a month: hosting, security monitoring, backups, email support and unlimited text and image changes on your existing pages. New pages or features are quoted first. No contract, cancel anytime.
Domain and email. We register your domain in your name (about $20 a year), connect it to your site and set up your business email.

See full pricing and what each package includes

Squarespace and custom sites: common questions

Can you move my Squarespace site to a custom site?

Yes. We rebuild it from the words and photos on your current site, priced by page count: $399, $899 or $1,499. Squarespace's export won't carry the design or store pages across, so we build those fresh. If your domain is registered through Squarespace, it can be pointed at the new site, and we'll take you through it.

Is Squarespace bad for SEO?

No. Squarespace lets you set page titles, descriptions and image text, and a well-written Squarespace site can do as well in search as any other. Search results depend far more on your content, your reviews and your Google Business Profile than on the platform. Nobody can promise rankings on either.

Why is a custom site more expensive than Squarespace over three years?

Because you're paying someone to build it instead of doing it yourself, and our hosting includes changes to your existing pages. If your time costs you nothing and you enjoy the editor, Squarespace's lower plans are the cheaper option, and that's a fair reason to choose them.

Can owners edit a custom site themselves?

Not without editing code. Our sites have no editor. You send changes by email or phone, and text and image changes on existing pages are included in the $30 monthly hosting.

What happens to a Squarespace site when the plan stops?

It's a subscription, so the site stops being published when the plan ends. Keep copies of your words and original photos, and make sure your domain is in your business's name, so you can rebuild elsewhere without losing your address.

See a custom draft before you decide

Send us your words and photos, or point us at your current Squarespace site. We'll quote a fixed price, build the draft, and you only pay if you approve it.