Bearing the above in mind, we shortlisted Squarespace<\/a> and\u00a0Wix<\/a>\u00a0alongside our own Clippings.me<\/a>, thanks to their high degree of usability and range of helpful functionality.<\/p>\n But before you decide to take the time out of your day to trial a platform, it\u2019s important to ask a few key questions about how your needs map onto a website builder. These include:<\/p>\n Q: Who is my audience?<\/strong>: Are they members of the public, industry professionals, and how do they expect your site to appear? Should it be friendly, professional, and how much time do they have to spend reading it?<\/p>\n Q: How do they navigate the site?<\/strong>: Will your audience be browsing on computers, or using their phones and other smart devices? How will your layouts and design look across multiple platforms?<\/p>\n Q: What is an ideal site structure?<\/strong>: Do you want to have a simple \u2018one-page\u2019 design that gets straight to the point, or are you offering a professional service that needs to be fully detailed to your audience?<\/p>\n Q: How much does it cost?<\/strong>: What is your budget for putting your portfolio online? Many of the sites offer tiers and advantages at different price points. What one works best for your needs?<\/p>\n We think that all of the three website builders are suitable for professionals, but before we get started on our deep-dive, it\u2019s important to get a sense of the broad advantages and disadvantages of each. Starting with:<\/p>\n A real stand-out in the market that\u2019s currently ranked #2 across the industry<\/a> and uses a templated format with an extensive range of functionality.<\/p>\n Pros<\/b><\/p>\n Cons<\/b><\/p>\n A cost-effective competitor to Squarespace that also follows a templated design model. While it doesn\u2019t enjoy the same market share as Squarespace, the open nature of the platform and generous choice of functionality does make it an attractive option for portfolio work.<\/p>\n Pros<\/b><\/p>\n Cons<\/b><\/p>\n Streamlined and efficient, Clippings.me is the world’s most popular option for\u00a0creating dedicated professional written portfolios for writers and journalists. This can make it a perfect choice for portfolio work but leave it lacking when compared to the bells and whistles of other sites.<\/p>\n Pros<\/b><\/p>\n Cons<\/b><\/p>\n With the overview out of the way, it\u2019s important to take a more critical look at each site.<\/p>\n During our review we asked:<\/p>\n Usability:<\/b> Squarespace\u2019s block-based design<\/a> makes site-building intuitive and allowed us to put together a competent first-draft relatively quickly. While the system is initially easy to use, it does take a little time to get used to \u2013 especially when it comes to deploying spacer blocks<\/a> to manage your readability and layouts. Adding these to your pages without forethought can cause formatting issues and can mess up carefully considered designs. Mistakes like these can take time to fix which can quickly add up due to the system lacking a dedicated \u2018undo\u2019 button. The platform also enjoys a range of other helpful block types<\/a> that can help present your content in a punchy way but will require research to get the most from them.<\/p>\n Appearance:<\/b> Each Squarespace page is templated by default<\/a> and is arranged to emphasise readability. However, if you do want to deviate from the standard format this can prove extremely difficult, with almost all site-builders struggling with \u2018edge cases\u2019 that do not conform to the site\u2019s standardised design. If you do want to go \u2018off piste\u2019 premium templates<\/a> can be bought from the online store and are highly customisable. It is also worth remembering that complex designs will require code changes such as CSS manipulation or extensive custom formatting which can be difficult to maintain and have a high risk of breaking if you change your template again.<\/p>\n Capacity:<\/b> Squarespace allows you to easily add a number of pages and content types<\/a> to your site. If you are concerned about the traffic coming to your site (congratulations by the way), Squarespace is more than able to handle your speeds, as they famously host their site on the same servers as their clients<\/a>. Each Squarespace site allows for 1000 distinct pages<\/a> and lets you set up multiple sites<\/a> for personal or professional use that can be managed though the same admin panel. However, the system is currently limited to 20mb per file<\/a> when it comes to internal storage, which may cause problems for high-quality pdf documents for catalogues of extensive work.<\/p>\n Additional features:<\/b> Squarespace comes with a wide range of options when it comes to customising your site. This includes automatically optimising your page for mobile and smart devices and includes an invaluable tool that allows you to see how your portfolio would appear on devices:<\/p>\n The platform also allows you to fully export your data<\/a> and connect with social sharing sites<\/a> including Tumblr, Insta, Twitter and many more. Add in the ability to fold in ecommerce<\/a>, email campaign functionality<\/a>, and SEO content<\/a> and you can quickly find yourself spoiled for choice.<\/p>\n Usability:<\/b> Wix deploys a straightforward ‘drag-and-drop’<\/a> interface from a dashboard menu loaded with options. But, while these are comprehensive, we found that they can prove a little difficult to navigate. If further customisation is needed, Wix code<\/a> can be used to add additional functionality or stylistic elements, though this is something that only the most dedicated or tech-savvy should consider.<\/p>\nPros and Cons: Squarespace vs Wix vs Clippings.me<\/h2>\n
Squarespace<\/h3>\n
![\"Squarespace\"](\"https:\/\/clippings-me-blog.imgix.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Screenshot-2019-05-14-at-11.34.22-700x440.png?auto=format%2Cenhance%2Ccompress\")
<\/p>\n\n
\n
![\"Squarepace](\"https:\/\/clippings-me-blog.imgix.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Screenshot-2019-05-14-at-11.35.50-700x707.png?auto=format%2Cenhance%2Ccompress\")
<\/p>\n\n
Wix<\/h3>\n
![\"Wix\"](\"https:\/\/clippings-me-blog.imgix.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Screenshot-2019-05-14-at-11.34.47-700x440.png?auto=format%2Cenhance%2Ccompress\")
<\/p>\n\n
![\"Wix](\"https:\/\/clippings-me-blog.imgix.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Screenshot-2019-05-14-at-11.36.30-700x469.png?auto=format%2Cenhance%2Ccompress\")
<\/p>\n\n
\n
Clippings.me<\/h3>\n
![\"Clippings.me\"](\"https:\/\/clippings-me-blog.imgix.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Screenshot-2019-05-14-at-11.35.08-700x440.png?auto=format%2Cenhance%2Ccompress\")
<\/p>\n\n
\n
The Deep Dive<\/h2>\n
\n
Squarespace<\/h3>\n
![\"Squarespace](\"https:\/\/clippings-me-blog.imgix.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/device-view.gif?auto=format%2Cenhance%2Ccompress\")
<\/p>\nWix<\/h3>\n