Is Squarespace Good for a Contractor Website?

What does Squarespace cost for a contractor?

There is no free plan. Every site starts with a 14-day free trial with no credit card, and paying yearly saves up to 36%^[1].

• Domain: one custom domain is free for the first year, but only on annual billing. After that a .com or .org costs $20 a year^[11].
• Email: Google Workspace resold by Squarespace, at $84, $168 or $264 a year per user depending on the tier^[12]. Core and higher include one Starter user free for the first year if you sign up within the site’s first year on that plan; it then renews at the standard rate^[13]. Basic gets no offer^[1].
• Online booking is a separate subscription (Acuity Scheduling), not part of any website plan: $16, $27 or $49 a month billed yearly, or $20, $34 or $61 month to month^[14][15].
• Transaction fees: the online store fee is 2% on Basic and 0% on Core and up; there are no invoice transaction fees on any plan^[1].

Renewals can cost more than you signed up at. Squarespace announces increases by email, and the new price applies at your next scheduled renewal, not on the "effective date" in the email^[15]. On a legacy plan scheduled for an increase, you cannot cancel the change^[16].

In July 2026, annual Core went from $23 to $29 a month and Plus from $39 to $49, both about 26%, while Basic went from $16 to $19. PetaPixel reported that Squarespace appears not to have published an announcement and told customers by email instead^[10]. Budget for the renewal price, not the sign-up price.

Do you own your Squarespace site if you leave?

You own your content, not a portable website. The terms of service say you keep ownership of what you upload but grant Squarespace permission to use it to provide, improve, promote and protect its services^[17].

The export is the real limit. Squarespace offers no full-site export; the only file it produces is in WordPress format, and "not everything will export, as many features rely on our platform’s JavaScript and CSS"^[9].

• What comes out: standard layout pages, one blog page with its posts and comments, text and image blocks, and gallery pages^[9].
• What does not: portfolio, store, index and calendar pages, any second blog, product and video blocks, drafts, style settings and custom CSS^[9].
• Images: imported into self-hosted WordPress with the WordPress Importer, images may arrive only as links back to Squarespace, which break when the Squarespace site is deactivated. Squarespace recommends importing into WordPress.com instead, which copies the images to WordPress’ servers^[9].
• Trial sites cannot export, and you cannot export from one Squarespace site into another^[9].

Your domain is easier to move. Squarespace charges no fee to transfer a domain away^[18]. You switch off Domain Lock, request the authorization code, and it should arrive within 24 hours^[19].

If you might leave, plan on rebuilding the design and any pages beyond the standard layout and blog pages the export covers. Save a copy of every page’s text and your original photos now, while the site is live.

Can AI search engines read a Squarespace site?

Yes, by default. Squarespace has one setting, "Block known artificial intelligence crawlers", and it ships unchecked, so AI crawlers are allowed. Squarespace says it leaves the box unchecked so it does not cut sites out of chat answers and sources^[3]. Its own AI-search guide now tells users to keep it unchecked^[20].

• robots.txt is locked. "All Squarespace sites use the same robots.txt file and Squarespace users can’t access or edit the file"^[5]. You cannot write your own rules for any bot.
• The AI setting is all or nothing. Ticking it blocks a set list of 26 bots that Squarespace maintains and says it may add to, including GPTBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended, CCBot and Amazonbot, across the whole site. You cannot block only some pages^[3].
• The list on the help article (last updated January 8, 2026) does not name OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User or PerplexityBot^[3]. Because robots.txt cannot be edited, we found no documented way to allow the search and answer bots while blocking the training bots; verify the live file at yourdomain.com/robots.txt before relying on it.
• Blocking is not retroactive. Ticking the box does not remove content already collected for AI training^[3].
• llms.txt is native. Version 7.1 sites have an LLMS.txt tab in SEO settings; it is off until you paste in text, and Squarespace gives no formatting guidance^[4].
• Clarkson AI chat lets you edit your site with chat prompts: change text, add or replace images, update site styles and more. Squarespace says it is rolling Clarkson out to sites in waves, so it may not be available on yours yet^[8].
• An AI Visibility tool runs prompts against ChatGPT or Gemini to check how often your site is mentioned, using AI credits: 10 runs one-time on Basic, then 20, 40 or 120 a month on Core, Plus and Advanced^[20][1].

Check Settings > Crawlers on your site today. If someone ticked "Block known artificial intelligence crawlers", all 26 bots on that list are being told to stay out of your whole site^[3].

How many AI-recommended contractors use Squarespace?

Few. In BaaDigi’s study of 511 local contractors named by ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google AI Overviews, 2.7% ran Squarespace (95% confidence interval 1.6–4.5%)^[21]. For comparison, WordPress ran 49.3%, Duda 6.8%, Wix 6.5%, GoDaddy Website Builder 2.9%, Hibu 2.5% and Webflow 2.2%^[21].

Across the whole web, W3Techs counts Squarespace on 2.4% of all websites, a 3.6% share of sites whose content management system it can identify^[22]. The study does not test whether Squarespace is over- or under-represented among AI-recommended contractors, because we have no suitable contractor baseline to compare against. The study counts platforms; it cannot show that any platform helps or hurts your chances of being recommended.

How fast are Squarespace sites?

Faster than the web as a whole, especially on phones. In the HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report for August 2026, 72.1% of Squarespace sites passed all three Core Web Vitals on mobile and 66.4% on desktop^[6]. The web-wide pass rates that month were 53.0% on mobile and 60.2% on desktop^[7].

Mobile improved over the summer, from 70.1% in June to 72.1% in August, while desktop slipped from 71.1% to 66.4%, mostly on layout shift^[6]. These are platform averages from real Chrome users, not a guarantee for your site.

The HTTP Archive’s analysts credit that consistency to platforms like Squarespace controlling hosting and code, unlike self-hosted systems whose speed depends on themes and plugins^[23]. Lab tests are less flattering. The same Web Almanac chapter puts Squarespace among the platforms with the lowest median Lighthouse performance score on mobile, between 30 and 32, and the heaviest pages of the five platforms compared, with a median mobile page weight of 3,974 KB^[23]. Heavy images and effects on a template can drag one site down even when the platform average is good.

What SEO controls does Squarespace give you?

• Titles and descriptions: every page and blog post gets its own SEO title and SEO description on all plans^[24]. The description field allows up to 400 characters^[25].
• 301 redirects: the URL Mappings panel handles 301 and 302 redirects, up to about 2,500 lines. A 301 only fires once the old URL no longer exists^[26].
• Sitemap: generated automatically at /sitemap.xml and cannot be edited^[27].
• Schema: Squarespace adds structured data automatically, including Local business, Organization and Blog post, and you cannot edit or remove it^[28]. Adding your own JSON-LD takes code injection, which is Core and above^[29].
• Canonical tags are handled by the platform, for example pointing example.com/home at example.com^[5]. We found no documented per-page canonical setting.

Does Squarespace have the local business features contractors need?

• Click-to-call: phone links work in text, buttons and navigation on all plans^[30]. The mobile information bar, which shows your contact details at the top of a page and disappears as the visitor scrolls down, needs Core or higher^[2].
• Forms: form blocks send submissions to email, Google Drive, Mailchimp or Zapier^[31]. The Mailchimp and Zapier connections both need Core or higher; Zapier is the usual route into a CRM^[1].
• Booking: Acuity Scheduling, a separate subscription you embed on the site. It keeps working on its own if the website lapses^[32][14].
• Reviews: native reviews are product reviews only; Squarespace says you cannot collect reviews for your business in general^[33]. We found no native Google reviews display, so showing them means an embed or third-party widget.
• Multiple locations: Business Information settings hold one set of contact details, location and hours^[34]. We found no documented multi-location feature, so location pages are ordinary pages, and the automatic Local business schema cannot vary by page without code injection.

What changed at Squarespace in 2025–2026?

• Squarespace has been privately owned since October 17, 2024, when investment firm Permira completed a take-private valued at about $7.2 billion and the company left the New York Stock Exchange^[35].
• March 27, 2025: the current terms of service took effect^[17].
• January 8, 2026: the help article listing the 26 bots blocked by the AI-crawler setting was last updated^[3].
• February 2026: the legacy Personal, Business and Commerce plans closed to new sign-ups^[16].
• July 2026: annual prices rose by up to 26%, reportedly communicated by email rather than a published announcement^[10]. TechRadar reported that three of four plans rose 18–26%, and quoted one user whose bill went from $216 to $348 a year between 2021 and 2026^[36].
• July 22, 2026: native llms.txt editor documented for 7.1 sites^[4].
• August 2026: the AI Visibility tool, AI credits and the SEO/AI Visibility panel were documented^[20].

What do Squarespace users complain about?

Trustpilot shows 3.5 out of 5 stars (a TrustScore of 3.6) from about 5,400 reviews^[37]. Customer service and response times are among the most mentioned topics, and reviewers report trouble with custom domains^[37] and waits for domain transfer codes^[38]. In the press, the July 2026 increase drew complaints about paying more for AI features users did not ask for^[36]. Trustpilot reviewers select themselves, so treat this as a list of risks, not a score.

Should a contractor use Squarespace?

• Yes, if you have one location, fewer than a few dozen pages, want a good-looking, fast site with less hosting and software upkeep, and will pay for Core ($29 a month billed yearly) or above to get the call bar and Zapier.
• No, if you plan dozens of city or service pages, custom schema per location, or bot-by-bot AI crawler rules. Squarespace locks robots.txt and handles multiple locations only with manual work and code.
• Think twice if you might switch platforms in a few years. The export will not carry your design or several page types, so leaving means a rebuild.
• Either way: consider skipping Basic if leads matter: phone links work on every plan, but Basic lacks the optional mobile call bar, Zapier and code injection. Price the renewal, domain, email and booking before you commit.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Squarespace cost for a contractor website?

Squarespace website plans cost $19, $29, $49 or $99 a month billed yearly, or $25, $39, $65 or $139 billed monthly. Core at $29 a month billed yearly is the lowest plan with the optional mobile call bar, code injection or Zapier; Basic has none of them, though phone links work on every plan. Business email and online booking cost extra.

Can I move my Squarespace site to another platform?

Only partly. Squarespace exports a WordPress-format file with standard pages, one blog and some images, but not your design, custom CSS, or portfolio, store, index and calendar pages. Your domain can be transferred away with no Squarespace fee.

Does Squarespace block ChatGPT and other AI crawlers?

Not by default. The "Block known artificial intelligence crawlers" setting is unchecked on new sites, so AI crawlers are allowed. If you tick it, it blocks a set list of 26 bots, including GPTBot, ClaudeBot and Google-Extended, across the whole site. OAI-SearchBot and ChatGPT-User are not on that list. You cannot edit robots.txt yourself on any plan.

Does Squarespace support llms.txt?

Yes, on version 7.1 sites; Squarespace documented the feature in July 2026. There is an LLMS.txt tab in the SEO settings. It is off until you paste in the text you want to publish.

Is Squarespace fast enough for SEO?

On real-user data, generally yes. In August 2026, 72.1% of Squarespace sites passed Google’s Core Web Vitals on mobile and 66.4% on desktop, compared with 53.0% and 60.2% across all websites. Lab tests are weaker: the HTTP Archive Web Almanac found Squarespace pages among the heaviest and lowest-scoring on mobile Lighthouse tests.

Can I show Google reviews on a Squarespace site?

Not with a native feature. Squarespace’s built-in reviews are for products only, and it does not collect reviews for a business in general, so Google reviews need an embed or a third-party widget.

Related reading

• Best website platform for contractors
• What platforms AI-recommended contractors use
• Is Wix good for contractors?
• Is WordPress good for contractors?
• Is Webflow good for contractors?
• AI crawlers and your contractor website’s robots.txt
• What is an llms.txt file?
• Free llms.txt generator