“Best for newsletter-first writers”
“Simple writing and publishing experience.”
“Built-in email subscriptions.”
“Reader discovery through its network.”
“Limited website customization and platform dependence.”
“Takes 10% of paid subscription revenue, plus payment processing fees.”
“Best for independent writers”
“Designed specifically for publishing.”
“Built-in newsletters and memberships.”
“Supports paid subscriptions without a Ghost platform transaction fee.”
“Less extensible than WordPress, but more focused on writing.”
“Less extensible than WordPress, but more focused on writing.”
“Best for visual presentation”
“Beautiful templates and polished layouts.”
“Integrated commerce and business features.”
“Less flexibility and portability than WordPress.”
“Squarespace's own export documentation, for example, identifies several elements that cannot be exported.”
“Visual drag-and-drop website builder.”
“Visual drag-and-drop website builder.”
“Custom domains on paid plans.”
“Less suitable for writers who prioritize portability.”
“Wix currently documents limitations on exporting blog posts.”
“Best for long-term ownership”
“Best for long-term ownership”
“Extensive themes, plugins, SEO and design control.”
“You control your content and database.”
“WordPress.org is particularly attractive if you want the ability to move your entire website to another hosting provider.”
“Easier to manage than self-hosted WordPress.”
“A useful middle ground between convenience and flexibility.”
“Requires maintenance, backups and security management.”
“Less infrastructure control than WordPress.org.”
