Friday 2 September 2011

SquareSpace vs Blogger

Now I'm not usually one to concentrate so much on a basic decision like this, but....

I have been running this blog for about a year now, and I have been running my site for a couple of years more. I have grown a little tired of the flash site and design now, but with little to no flash or CSS coding knowledge I am looking at alternatives to this for the integration of both my portfolio site and my blogging activities.


I actually need to consider how the site will be viewed by various types of media (mobile, iPad and desktop) and make it so that I can quickly access it, as I do with the blog section for inspiration and or links to UI design, modelling assets, inspiration etc...


So, I have been trialling Squarespace at the moment as a complete replacement to both of my current options, this will allow me to work with my blog as well as more quickly update my portfolio, and use it as a "dropbox" style location for work files and assets.



I remember buying the flash template for my website from warmforest years back for about $40 and roughly editing away the colours and bits and bobs, but I find it a little restrictive when all I can do are the basics without messing the flash file up! Its also pretty basic now-a-days to have a gallery flash site, with a VERY basic HTML mobile listing for viewers using tablets and mobile phones (of which I am probably the only one!). I want to be able to offer more regarding the projects I work on, I want to be able to update people on progress as well as allow multiple access for team and group projects like

I am literally at an impasse though at the moment, on the one hand, Squarespace seems idiot proof with drag and drop CSS attributes throughout their site as well as good blog editing WYSIWYG editors that are iPad compatable, so I can manage and edit from the sofa! Always a plus!



On the other hand, Squarespace is about $200 per year, for the basic package which is the cost of my current hosting package (which I want to keep),

I also have some serious time logged with blogger, and don't like many other blog editors. I have tried tumblr, posterous, and a basic wordpress blog, but each time I have come back to the familiarity and predictability of blogger. I have just received the blogger backend update too, which I have been looking forward to for literally months now! Sad I know! But the interface has just got a LOT better and the management is clearly being integrated into the google + and picasa accounts.



I wonder from an SEO basis whether it pays to have a google associated system too, as I say, I am not a web designer and have little desire to manage these ramblings as a professional activity, but I do like to see the stats roll in and the progress we have made during this year, would squarespace automatically get me placed on search per post as blogger does?Will my "in-blog" search functionality work as well as it currently does, I'm sure it will look ten times better, but will it function the same?

Well, the votes remain open at this stage (PS, if I were using the Squarespace account I could actually do a voting form!).

2 comments:

  1. The Functions look for Start your Squarespace in to the stratosphere - SpaceDevs.
    Source: Squarespace CMS

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