CommonSpot vs. Squarespace

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
CommonSpot
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
CommonSpot is a Web platform that includes a content management system, an application development framework, marketing solutions, and social media features from PaperThin, Inc, a privately held, MA-based company. PaperThin's customers span multiple industries, including: government, healthcare, higher education, and association/non-profit sectors.N/A
Squarespace
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Squarespace is a CMS platform that allows users to create a DIY blog, eCommerce store, and/or portfolio (visual art or music). Some Squarespace website and shop templates are industry or use case-specific, such as menu builders for restaurant sites.
$25
per month
Pricing
CommonSpotSquarespace
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Basic
$25
per month
Core
$36
per month
Plus
$56
per month
Advanced
$139
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
CommonSpotSquarespace
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details28% to 36% discount available for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
CommonSpotSquarespace
Features
CommonSpotSquarespace
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
CommonSpot
7.0
1 Ratings
16% below category average
Squarespace
8.2
67 Ratings
0% below category average
Role-based user permissions7.01 Ratings8.267 Ratings
Web Content Creation
Comparison of Web Content Creation features of Product A and Product B
CommonSpot
6.3
2 Ratings
21% below category average
Squarespace
7.7
99 Ratings
1% below category average
Code quality / cleanliness6.01 Ratings7.178 Ratings
Admin section6.52 Ratings7.498 Ratings
Page templates7.02 Ratings7.399 Ratings
Library of website themes7.01 Ratings7.596 Ratings
Publishing workflow7.02 Ratings8.286 Ratings
Form generator4.01 Ratings6.780 Ratings
WYSIWYG editor00 Ratings9.284 Ratings
Mobile optimization / responsive design00 Ratings8.195 Ratings
Web Content Management
Comparison of Web Content Management features of Product A and Product B
CommonSpot
7.7
2 Ratings
3% above category average
Squarespace
6.2
89 Ratings
18% below category average
Content taxonomy7.52 Ratings7.376 Ratings
SEO support7.02 Ratings6.580 Ratings
Bulk management8.01 Ratings5.851 Ratings
Availability / breadth of extensions7.01 Ratings5.565 Ratings
Community / comment management9.01 Ratings5.967 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
CommonSpot
-
Ratings
Squarespace
6.6
58 Ratings
16% below category average
API00 Ratings7.151 Ratings
Internationalization / multi-language00 Ratings6.037 Ratings
Best Alternatives
CommonSpotSquarespace
Small Businesses
ManageWP
ManageWP
Score 10.0 out of 10
ManageWP
ManageWP
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
RWS Tridion Sites
RWS Tridion Sites
Score 9.0 out of 10
RWS Tridion Sites
RWS Tridion Sites
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
RWS Tridion Sites
RWS Tridion Sites
Score 9.0 out of 10
RWS Tridion Sites
RWS Tridion Sites
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
CommonSpotSquarespace
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(2 ratings)
8.5
(99 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(1 ratings)
8.5
(14 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
CommonSpotSquarespace
Likelihood to Recommend
PaperThin, Inc
Commonspot is well suited for web content management to be conducted by individuals with low-level web skills.
Read full review
Squarespace
Squarespace is one of the best solutions out there for building a website or web experience that looks good, has great functionality and is cost-effective, even for smaller businesses. Although most people in marketing will find most of the elements intuitive, if the creator is struggling with any of the functionality, there are many, many support options and other users who can offer assistance.
Read full review
Pros
PaperThin, Inc
  • I think CommonSpot's greatest strength is its ease of use. It's relatively intuitive in it's usage, so it therefore makes it easy to train new people to use it.
  • Within my usage of it, our options were limited, which again added to it's ease of use.
Read full review
Squarespace
  • Stupid simple to use. I know very creative people who cannot code and this is probably the easiest ever platform for them!
  • Pretty website templates and great functionality with showing off portfolios.
  • They've already figured out what are the problems that non-coding people have when creating websites and they've figured out a simple solution for all of it.
Read full review
Cons
PaperThin, Inc
  • Commonspot needs to improve on its authoring feature. It is impossible to author on more than one page at a time . (One must always click on "View work on all changes") before switching between pages otherwise, the changes will not be saved.
  • CommonSpot does not support sharing the definition of any custom element or any template layouts. Therefore, one must recreate these in each site.
  • In Commonspot, a user who has to manage content in multiple sites will have to log in to each site to see and act on any actions.
Read full review
Squarespace
  • Customizing the sites can be highly UN intuitive
  • Navigation for editing the sites can be difficult and frustrating
  • Squarespace has different versions and it's hard to know which version you're on. You can't switch after you start making a site with one version.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
PaperThin, Inc
No answers on this topic
Squarespace
Unless our website requires significantly more functionality in the future, I can't see us terminating our contract
Read full review
Usability
PaperThin, Inc
I had no previous background in content management, and found it very easy to use. If I could figure it out, I am pretty certain that just about anyone else could as well.
Read full review
Squarespace
It's simple to use for someone who is really good with computers as well as those who are not. I've been using my personal squarespace for years and have also helped clients build a starting page which they are later able to manage theirselves.
Read full review
Support Rating
PaperThin, Inc
No answers on this topic
Squarespace
Help is available directly from the back end and uses full sentence searching to find answers to questions others may have asked before. With a ton of articles and support questions documents, it is very likely that your question has been answered. If not each page has the ability to open a direct email to support. Each case has a number and can be followed. Responses are often quick and have links and directions clearly stated
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
PaperThin, Inc
Commonspot works in tandem with Zendesk very well to accomplish tasks an an efficient manner.
Read full review
Squarespace
Squarespace was quicker to set up and more accessible to manipulate the theme, pictures, and content. The page layouts are more versatile and fluid. With WordPress, more time-consuming efforts go into making a template work the way you want it to (because of the lack of the drag-and-drop grids that Squarespace has).
Read full review
Return on Investment
PaperThin, Inc
  • I was working in a religious institution and based upon our usage and audience, there was no ROI to speak of. Our usage was more for providing information than having any type of interaction. In that instance, it worked very well.
Read full review
Squarespace
  • The cost is reasonably decent. My client says they spent about $20 a month or $240 a year. I asked her if she could add Google AdSense to her blog one day, and they believe they can. They said a custom site would cost them $3000-10,000 depending on who does it. And I agreed, but I found the website they created was on the lower end of that range.
Read full review
ScreenShots