Reason #1 : NO Flexibility, Ownership or Ability to Negotiate Price
With PIGO Multimedia you get priority customer support. And the website you paid for is owned by you.
The core platforms for services like Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu are not very flexible – you’re stuck with their proprietary hosting and iron-handed pricing, which is strictly on their servers.
You will ultimately invest a lot of time and money for a website that you are leasing. You do NOT own your website, they do.
As sample proof here is Squarespace’s fine print on their pricing page makes it clear.
And if you do not like their service or pricing, you will have to leave your website behind and start all over again. Wasting time and money.
Reason #2 : You Cannot Easily Edit Content on Your Site
With PIGO Multimedia, our websites have a CMS ( Content Management System ) for adding and rearranging content on your site and is VERY easy with our page builders.
You can easily and intuitively drag and drop page parts and content to create an unlimited number of completely different layouts and designs. Whether you want to code or drag and drop your way to a new look, it’s very easy on our websites.
On the other hand, Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu have their own platform and interface for creating sites. You may click through sections of the menu or page to add page parts and you can arrange them where you want. But while you can drag and drop some elements of the page, not everything is that flexible. There’s a labyrinth of options in their menu that can be difficult and time-consuming to find or learn.
Reason #3 : You Have No Way to Improve or Extend the Software
Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu have no such license and even go so far as forbidding you from trying to reverse engineer their code or platform in general.
As sample proof, here is a link to Squarespace’s “Terms of Service” and “Acceptable Use Policy”
5.1 of the Terms of Service and 1.5 of the Acceptable Use Policy.
Reason #4 : Cannot Enhance Your Brand as Much as You Want
With our websites you ( or we ) can edit and enhance your site with tons of features and themes that will extend the branding and capabilities of your website. You aren’t limited to how many changes you can make.
With our websites you ( or we ) can add custom create all sorts of branding to your site on the fly. You can re-create or add to your design and brand as much as you want.
In short, you can edit whatever you want when it comes to our custom-made websites
Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu are not as flexible ( not even close ) . You can add a little custom HTML, CSS or JavaScript to make small customizations, and add your own text or media content as well as some basic animations, you can’t change any major components.
As a sample of proof, here is a link to Squarespace’s “Terms of Service” sections 5.1 .
Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu forbids you from editing the their code or any other major element including any part of the offered services. If you want to dig into some code to significantly change one of their themes or create one of your own, you can’t.
Reason #5 : NO Extensive Features & Customization
With PIGO Multimedia you can extend the capabilities of your website. We can implement practically any feature you could possibly need or want for your site ( see our services or see our portfolio )
With Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu, what you see is what you get. So if a certain feature or design you need isn’t available, you’re out of luck.
Reason #6 : Top Companies & Celebrities Trust Our Platform
There are many popular, high-profile companies that trust the exact same platform that PIGO Multimedia uses for our clients to power their own sites. This would include: The New York Times, CNN, The Herald Sun, Chicago Sun Times, BBC America, WNBA, The Clorox Company, Dole, PlayStation, LinkedIn, Flickr, The Obama Foundation, Mercedes-Benz, Walt Disney, NGINX, Time Inc, cPanel and hundreds more.
As proof, you can check out the THIS LINK for details and more examples.
On the other hand, if you visit the main page for Squarespace, and scroll down, the logos are displayed of the companies that use Squarespace. Most of them aren’t nearly as high-profile or functionally demanding as the ones built on the platform we use.
There’s a reason why more companies choose the same platform we use over the other platforms offered by Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu.
Reason #7 : Features Can Be Pulled without Notice
At PIGO Multimedia we regularly update your website with new features and security updates and we have internal systems in place to ensure we get alerted with what goes installed, gets fixed and what gets omitted, if there is a functional issue, or a change in technology.
Changes or enhancements are suggested, reviewed and approved before they are worked on, and then later released.
Any amendments or omissions are well researched, stress-tested and then implemented. In the event that a feature you need is discontinued, you ( or we ) have time to search for a comparable or an enhanced alternative to cover the functionalities and security you want.
On the other hand, Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu can discontinue and remove features at any time and without notice.
As sample proof, it’s written in Squarespace’s statements 4.1 and 6.1 of the Terms of Service.
Reason #8 : They Have E-Commerce Transaction Fees
PIGO Multimedia builds custom E-Commerce websites. We do NOT have any transaction fees. We do NOT take a cut of your sales.
On the other hand, services like Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu may charge a transaction fee for each sale you make, unless you decide to upgrade your plan.
As sample proof, you can check out Squarespace’s pricing page for details.
Reason #9 : Their Server Resources Can Be Limited
As mentioned earlier, PIGO Multimedia offers many enhanced, custom functions that you want and need. And each of these custom functions may require specific settings that we can enable on the VPS ( Virtual Private Server ) that hosts your website.
On the other hand, Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu requires you to host your site on their servers ONLY.
This means you can’t cost-effectively custom scale or enhance your website, according to your future growing needs, if necessary. What you see is what you get and you’re out of luck.
As sample proof here is Squarespace’s fine print on their pricing page makes it clear.
Reason #10 : You Are Strictly Limited In Your Choice Of Design
PIGO Multimedia has the ability to create tons of different website designs to fit your needs. ( See our portfolio ).
Please feel free to ask us about our “Siamese Twin” designed websites.
Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu have a very limited amount of design themes to choose from.
And with Squarespace, if you need an E-Commerce theme, then your choices are further limited to just eight.
With PIGO Multimedia you have the option to adjust the websites layout to better suit your images, videos, posts and other content.
On the other hand, this is exactly, or likely NOT, the case with services like Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu .
Most of their themes and designs are “cookie-cutter” and very limited in how you can structure the look and functionality of your website so that your site won’t look great or be appealing to your visitors.
Reason #11 : Their Online Stores Can Be Limited to Certain Currencies
The E-Commerce websites built by PIGO Multimedia are NOT limited to the currencies you can accept for your sales. The only limitations you could have are with the payment processors you choose to use.
On the other hand, with Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu , you can be limited to USD, AUD, CAD, CHF, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, MXN, NOK, NZD, SEK, or SGD.
As sample proof, you can see where Squarespace published this limitation on the pricing page of their website.
This can be a significant hinderance, especially for an online store that wants to accept sales from all around the world.
Reason #12 : They Can Use Your Copyrighted Content for Free
Aside from our portfolio, PIGO Multimedia will not use any part of your site for advertisement without your consent. We even have software tha twill prevent your word an image content from being stolen.
On the other hand, Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu can use any part of your site for things such as advertising, even if the content they take is copyrighted.
As sample proof here is a link to Squarespace’s Terms of Service, statements 2.2 and 2.3, can use any part of your site, even copyrighted material, for uses such as advertising.
By creating a site with Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu, you not only may be consenting to this, but you also may be agreeing to let them use what they want for free.
They don’t even have to contact you first.
No royalty cheques. Nothing .
While you can opt out, it’s not an easy, one-click option.
Reason #13 : They Lack Better Control Over SSL and HTTPS
Installing an SSL certificate places the https prefix for your domain in a browser’s address bar. They also help secure your site by encrypting the connection between your site and your visitor’s browser. The encryption prevents hackers from being able to do kinds of hacking like hijacking a visitor’s connection to bypass the login form.
PIGO Multimedia builds websites that allow you to choose an SSL Certificate Authority and the type of SSL certificate you want to use. You can pick one that offers a warranty in case you get hacked and experience data loss as well as choose a certificate that’s trusted by more people.
And if you have “mixed content” we can more easily resolve it by digging into the code and the hosted files.
On the other hand, Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu may automatically issue an SSL certificate for your domain and site, but you don’t get a choice on the type of certificate and the Certificate Authority that issues it. The SSL certificate also can’t be forced automatically. You need to turn on this option in the settings. And if you have ” mixed content “, resolving the issue is not as easy, if at all.
If you want your SSL certificate to come with certain features and a warranty, it is not possible if you create your site with Squarespace. And it may not be possible if you use Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu.
As sample proof, you can check out info on Squarespace’s SSL services page
Reason #14 : They Control Your Domain Registrar and Price
PIGO Multimedia assists its clients on their domain name choices at a low cost.
On the other hand, if you create a site with Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu and sign up for annual billing for any one of their plans to get a discount, you might get a “free” domain for the first year, but you’re forced to get that domain through Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu.
While the first year might be free, every year thereafter is priced higher than most other Registrars and starts at $20 ( or more ) for a .com domain based on the name’s popularity.
Reason #15 : You Will NOT Own Your Domain Name -OR- Will Pay $$$ For It
As a courtesy, PIGO Multimedia assists its clients with reminders and recurring payments for their domain names. We always ask our clients if they have personal access to their domain name. If not, we try to assist them in getting it into their possession. THIS IS VITAL to their online existence.
IMPORTANT FYI : Your domain name is vital to the existence of your website. Without your domain name your website will NOT be seen on the internet. If your domain name is being held hostage or is owned by someone other than yourself, they will have rights and control over the existence of your website.
Some Domain Registrars state in their Terms of Service that the main contact listed in the WHOIS database for a domain is the owner, which means if you opt-in for domain privacy, your Registrar ( IE – Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu ) may be listed as the main contact and, therefore, THEY will own the domain you purchased.
In short what this means is that the “free” domain you get from host providers like Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu , as mentioned above, may automatically include WHOIS privacy.
As sample proof, please see Squarespace’s Terms of Service, started in section 11.1 that their domains are registered using Tucows Inc. and their Terms of Service applies for all domains registered there.
And in Tucows Inc.’s Terms of Service, section 21 states that the main contact for a registered domain is the owner of it. Since Squarespace, automatically applies WHOIS privacy to all domains registered there and they become the main contact, they legally own your domain.
While you’re technically able to change ownership of a registered domain, it’s not a typical or easy undertaking. Tucows Inc. must be notified by the owner in writing, which is defined in section 26 as a direct email or regular mail sent to Tucows Inc.
This means you would need to contact Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu and somehow convince them to email Tucows Inc. to transfer ownership of the domain you purchased.
Otherwise, it remains the legal property of Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu.
IMPORTANT FYI : In many cases we have seen how these kinds of companies will literally ransom the domain name for a large amount of money, or will hold it hostage so that you cannot leave them without serious consequence.
The lesson here is that once a host company or entity has ownership of your domain name, you are either a slave to their whim, or you will have to purchase a similar domain name ( IF even available ) and start all over again with your branding, website design, word content and SEO.
Reason #16 : They Are Limited On Web Pages
PIGO Multimedia builds websites where you can set up as many pages as you want. We don’t limit how many you can have. Your only limitation is what you can manage to fit into your current hosting plan.
On the other hand, services like Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu may offer something up to 20 pages on their ” Basic monthly plan ” and then you would need to upgrade ( pay more ) to add more.
Again, you sign up thinking you will pay a certain amount monthly, only to find your costs unscrupulously increasing out of necessity for your growing business. Otherwise, lose potential business or lose your site if you leave.
Reason #17 : They Lack User Role Flexibility for Membership Sites
PIGO Multimedia creates Membership websites where you can customize the default user roles, and role access types, to create what you need for your users.
For example, you could create free or paid memberships to your site and assign user roles to memberships manually or automatically when a user signs up. You could also customize and enhance your memberships by mixing and matching user role functions, assigning access to specific web pages and choosing whatever specific capabilities a membership can have assigned to it.
Our Membership sites give you ultimate flexibility because you can create and adjust the user role’s permissions as you see fit.
On the other hand, services like Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu have limited set types of user roles you can use and you can’t customize them. You’re stuck with the user roles THEY have available.
The Bottom Line…
When it comes to comparing our fully customized websites to that of Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu, there is NO contest.
Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu websites are not very extensible ( future-proof ) concerning their designs and functionality or your growing needs.
The purpose of this post is simply to point out the obvious (and maybe not-so-obvious) reasons why PIGO MUltimedia is a clear winner if you want greater control of your website and branding.
Yes, you can create a decent looking site using Squarespace, Wix, Yelp, Weebly or Hibu, but their platform and services are severely limited
Whereas PIGO Multimedia with you can practically do anything you want in a cost-effective manner.
INSPIRATIONAL SOURCE: WPMU DEV
//premium.wpmudev.org/blog/wordpress-versus-squarespace/