While I love the look of my new website, I have to say that I’m sorely missing the any-idiot-can-use-it functionality of Google Blogger for blogging. Also, sort of kicking myself for lack of forethought about what kind of functionality I need from a website, as a person who really only needs a blogging platform. But anyway, onward and upward, I guess….but so you might learn from my lack of foresight here are a few pros and cons of Squarespace 6 as a blogging platform:
- You better be a developer, or at least know a decent amount about coding. I say this as someone who is NOT a developer and knows a bit about coding but not a ton. I am totally in over my head with Squarespace 6 as a blogging platform. Elegant? Yes. But user-friendly for the casual blogger or everyday person? Hell no. There is no toggle between html and visual mode, so if something’s not working right and you need to look at the code to fix it? Sorry–no dice–if you want code view you need to have started with a code block. You want to insert an image? Good luck with that–you can insert it easily enough with the embed or image blocks, but good luck getting it to the space you want it and/or resizing it/adding captions, etc. Maybe I’m being too fussy and shouldn’t be stressing about this stuff; according to other reviewers, blogging on Squarespace 6 is “heartbreakingly easy.” Suffice it to say I’m not finding it hearbreakingly easy; maybe I’m just over-thinking it.
- No Preview Mode for Blog Posts. Maybe there is one, but if there is, I can’t find it or Google my way to it. Call me crazy but I like to preview stuff before I publish it.
- Not Free. I will say that I usually would balk at spending money on a blogging platform since it’s not like my blogging generates much (read: any) revenue, but I have to say that $8 a month, including a custom domain, is something even I’m willing to pay for. I will also say that the customer support is incredible–they offer 24/7 customer support with a guarantee of a response within an hour.
- It’s Not All Bad. There are some really easy/good features about Squarespace 6 as a blogging platform: very easy to import an existing blog, easy to integrate Disqus, easy to add share features (although Pinterest sharing is only activated if the post contains an image). Maybe if I were more of a Tumblr user than a Blogger and WordPress user the move would have been more intuitive; in the meantime, I guess I just won’t be adding a lot of images to posts until I get more used to moving content blocks around using my crappy laptop keyboard.
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