Since early 2007 I’ve hosted my primary blog, Jobacle, with SquareSpace. As a user of WordPress, Blogger and several other platforms, I’ve always been impressed with the ease-of-use of SS.
Recently, the publishing platform launched system wide upgrade (V5) that is worth giving the company a second look if you’re searching for a blog solution.
You’ll find all of the goodies you’ve come to expect: WYSIWYG editor, pretty spiffy templates, metric counter, etc. However, what really sets SS apart from the pack is its back-end CMS, enabling novices to create a fully functional Web site. And the more advanced users can fully customize.
“Squarespace V5 seamlessly welds together easy-to-use content creation and management tools with a structured back-end that has all the building blocks for creating powerful and elaborate websites,” says Anthony Casalena, founder of Squarespace Inc. “Central to this experience is a new way of thinking about website design and management—semi-structured publishing—that seeks to make advanced web publishing widely accessible.”
Among the recent upgrades:
– Drag and drop editing interface, allowing complete real-time website control directly from the browser.
– Powerful pluggable architecture with modules covering every aspect of Web site construction from blogging to galleries, search, form-building and more. Each module is completely configurable and flexible enough to fit into any sized site.
– 60+ Web site styles that are completely modifiable by users with point and click simplicity and speed. The number of controls available virtually ensures that no two Squarespace sites will look the same while their owners can get the exact look and feel they want in the least time possible.
– A robust back-end grid architecture powered by Oracle Coherence and hosted by Peer1 Networks to ensure reliability for each and every Squarespace website, no matter the size. All features are implemented using the same high-performance back-end to eliminate worries about system downtime.
One thing that turned me on to SS was their 14-day trial. They give you full use of the tool to make sure it’s a fit. You can expect to pay around $12 a month.
