Squarespace gives you a DIY website builder. BuildLocal gives you a done-for-you website with SEO, hosting, and ongoing management included. Here's how they compare for trades businesses.
| Feature | BuildLocal | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|
| Custom design | Fully custom, built for you | Template-based, you customize |
| Monthly price | $195-$595/mo | $16-$49/mo + your time |
| Setup required | None — we do everything | You build it yourself |
| SEO included | Yes — local SEO built in | Basic tools, you configure |
| Content writing | Written for you | You write it |
| Hosting included | Yes | Yes |
| Ongoing updates | Included monthly | You do it yourself |
| Phone support | Direct phone + email | Email + chat only |
| Trades specialization | Built specifically for trades | Generic for all businesses |
| Time investment | ~1 hour (discovery call) | 20-40+ hours to build |
Squarespace is a solid DIY builder — but for busy trades business owners who don't have time to design, write content, and manage a website, BuildLocal is the better choice. You get a professional site without doing any of the work.
FAQ
Squarespace plans start at $16/month, but that doesn't include your time. Most business owners spend 20-40 hours building their Squarespace site. At even $50/hour for your time, that's $1,000-$2,000 in hidden cost — plus ongoing time for updates and SEO. BuildLocal costs more monthly but includes everything done for you.
Yes. We migrate businesses from Squarespace all the time. We'll transfer your content, preserve your domain, and build you a new custom site. The transition is seamless with no downtime.
Generally yes, for local businesses. BuildLocal sites are built with local SEO fundamentals from day one — location-specific content, proper schema markup, and optimized page structure. Squarespace gives you SEO tools, but you have to know how to use them.
You're paying for done-for-you expertise, not a tool. BuildLocal includes custom design, content writing, SEO setup, hosting, and monthly updates. Squarespace gives you a tool and says 'figure it out.' If you're a busy trades business owner, your time is worth more than the price difference.
If your Squarespace site isn't generating leads, we can help. We'll audit what's not working, build you a conversion-optimized replacement, and handle the migration. Many of our best clients came from Squarespace sites that looked fine but didn't convert.
Ready to get started?
Book a free strategy call and we'll walk you through exactly how we can build a site that drives leads for your business. No commitment, no pressure.
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BuildLocal Team
Founder · 175+ websites built · 60+ managed