Squarespace vs. WordPress for Credit Union Websites
by Shah Faridi
As a credit union, your website is usually the first thing potential members will see when they’re looking for financing options. This website experience can win or lose the trust of your community internally and externally.
Time and time again, we’ve heard frustrations coming from all sides of the credit union in regard to the website experience. If your team and your members are having issues with your credit union website, it may be time for a website redesign. We’re going to lay out two different 
options for your redesign and the pros of cons of each.
So let’s settle this: should you use Squarespace or WordPress for your credit union website?
Squarespace
You’ve seen the ads and testimonials for Squarespace, and it looks great. Currently, there are over 1 million websites built and hosted on this platform. So, why should you build your credit union’s website on Squarespace? It’s easy to use! It’s a platform that puts everything in one place for website creators and managers. Adding in integration can be a click away, but sometimes you need more than that. If you’re looking for a truly unique experience for your members that separates you from the competition, this isn’t the best place to look.
Pros
- Easy to use
- More convenient for more conventional websites and features
- Great for starting out
Cons
- Not fully customizable
- Limited Search Engine Optimization options based on template
- Fewer themes
- Squarespace owns your site and the content
WordPress
Who runs the internet? WordPress. There’s a reason this is one of the largest used platforms for website builders, and the answer is simple: You can do anything with WordPress. I know that sounds daunting, and it is, but with the thousands of templates and plugins available, WordPress gives you a lot of options to choose from. The best part is that you can customize any of those options to fit exactly what you want. This will sometimes take some additional coding work that you may not be familiar with, but the WordPress community can help those who want to learn.
Pros
- Full ownership of the website and all of its assets
- Almost 60,000 plug-ins to choose from and install on your site
- Thousands of templates, varying industries
- Can be hosted on any platform
Cons
- A cost for custom themes and plug-ins
- Community support can be scattered and may require some searching
Who Wins?
In our eyes, the clear winner is WordPress. We’ve seen a lot of organizations get stuck with a website that may look pretty, but doesn’t do everything they want it to do. When we say, “WordPress has endless possibilities,” we really mean it.
Are you managing 508/ADA compliance regulations on your website? As a credit union, this should be a top priority. Squarespace offers some options to help manage this but limits your customization and changes. Through WordPress, compliance changes can be easier to review and update so that everyone is able to interact with your website.
Here’s a list of some custom modules we’ve created for credit union websites:
- Rates tables that update on every page
- Custom form integrations
- 508/ADA compliance checks and updates
- Unique homepage hero layout
- Mobile designs that simplify the user experience
- Marketing automation platform integration
- Blog post-filtering and sorting based on categories
- Dynamic Question and Answer module to guide members
- Custom and secure form creation for user sensitive data
- And everything in between
Squarespace is great if you’re starting out and looking for something simple, but if you’re ready for a custom experience that will separate you from other credit unions then WordPress is a fantastic solution. It’s time to take ownership of your website and start thinking outside of the branch.
Colorworks creates complete marketing plan strategies that can take your business to the next level.
To learn more about how Colorworks can help you with your Credit Union Web Design and provide complete marketing solutions, Contact us here!
At Colorworks, we’re more than a marketing solutions firm—we’re your business and leadership growth consultants.