The Best Website Builder for Nonprofits
Summary
The website builder you choose can accelerate your nonprofit's growth and attract new donors, volunteers and clients. Or it can drain your cash and leave you struggling.
In this video, I'll show you:
The top 2 website builders I recommend for nonprofits after 20 years in marketing and design
How to evaluate website builders using 5 critical factors that most nonprofits overlook
Why one "free" option could actually cost you more time and money in the long run
The exact maintenance requirements and hidden costs of each platform
Which platform wins for ease of use, even for non-tech-savvy nonprofit leaders
"Your website is like an expensive Italian car that you've got to drive carefully and will always need a little bit of oil, a little bit of tune up, new tires, you name it."
If you want to build a beautiful, effective nonprofit website without the technical headaches, you need to choose the right platform from the start.
"I've had 50- and 60-year-old clients who are like, wow, I was really scared about managing the website, and after you gave me some tutorials and I looked at the help articles and the support center, I feel super confident managing our Squarespace website."
In this episode, learn how to select the best website builder for your nonprofit's unique needs. Plus, you'll discover the 5-factor evaluation framework that ensures you won't waste money on the wrong platform.
Free Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do you only recommend Squarespace and WordPress for nonprofits?
After 20 years of marketing and design experience, these two platforms consistently deliver the best combination of features, reliability, and value for nonprofit organizations. While there are many website builders on the market ranging from completely open source models like Drupal to high-end options like Show It, Squarespace and WordPress provide the optimal balance of functionality and ease of use that nonprofits need.
Is WordPress really free, or are there hidden costs?
While WordPress itself is free, there are definitely costs involved. You'll need hosting (which can range from $32/year for basic hosting to $204/year for managed WordPress), and you'll likely need plugins for additional functionality, website builders for design flexibility, and potentially developer help for maintenance and troubleshooting. The "free" aspect can be misleading when you factor in the time investment required.
What makes Squarespace worth the higher price compared to WordPress?
Squarespace's $276/year cost includes everything you need: hosting, security, updates, 24/7 customer support, and built-in features like donation processing, email list building, appointment scheduling, and podcast hosting. You don't need to manage plugins, worry about compatibility issues, or handle technical maintenance. For most nonprofits, this all-inclusive approach saves both time and money in the long run.
I'm not tech-savvy. Which platform should I choose?
Squarespace is definitely the better choice for non-technical users. The drag-and-drop Fluid Engine makes it incredibly easy to build beautiful websites, and many of my 50 and 60-year-old clients who were initially scared about managing a website now feel super confident after some basic training. WordPress requires more technical knowledge and ongoing maintenance.
When would you recommend WordPress over Squarespace?
WordPress is the better choice if you have a very unique use case that requires specific functionality Squarespace can't provide, if you need extensive customization options, or if you have the technical expertise (or budget to hire someone) to handle the maintenance requirements. It's also good for larger nonprofits with annual budgets over $1-2 million that need more complex features.
What kind of maintenance does WordPress require?
WordPress maintenance includes updating plugins at least monthly (often weekly), ensuring plugin compatibility, patching security vulnerabilities, updating the core WordPress installation, researching compatibility issues, and fixing bugs. This typically requires technical knowledge and can be time-consuming, which is why many nonprofits benefit from managed WordPress hosting.
What's the difference between regular WordPress hosting and managed WordPress hosting?
Managed WordPress hosting (like DreamHost's DreamPress) means the hosting company optimizes their servers for WordPress and handles some technical aspects like ensuring your MySQL and PHP are updated and compatible. However, they typically don't provide deep technical support if something goes wrong with your website itself – that's still your responsibility.
Can I accept donations on both platforms?
Yes, both platforms can handle donations, but Squarespace has this functionality built-in, making it much easier to set up. With WordPress, you'll need to find and install donation plugins, ensure they're compatible with your other plugins, and manage any updates or security issues that arise.
What if I need to switch platforms later?
While switching platforms is possible, it can be complex and time-consuming. That's why it's crucial to choose the right platform from the start using the 5-factor evaluation framework: maintenance requirements, price, ease of use, customization needs, and support options.
Do you have affiliate relationships with these platforms?
Yes, I do have affiliate links for both platforms, which means I may earn a commission if you sign up through my links. However, my recommendations are based on 20 years of experience working with nonprofits and seeing what actually works best for organizations trying to focus on their mission rather than website technical issues.
The Complete Guide to Choosing the Best Website Builder for Nonprofits
Why Your Website Builder Choice Can Make or Break Your Nonprofit
The website builder you choose can accelerate your nonprofit's growth and attract new donors, volunteers and clients. Or it can drain your cash and leave you struggling. Hey everyone, Ricardo Ibarra here with Market Your Mission and I'm sharing with you my 20 years of marketing and design experience to help you amplify your impact. And today, we're talking about the best website builder for nonprofits.
The Two Nonprofit Website Builder Contenders Worth Considering
Now, there are so many different website builders out on the market. There are tons and tons you can choose from, from all varying price points, from completely open source models like Drupal and WordPress to high end fancy website builders like Show It. And another one that I can't remember. But let me tell you, the two nonprofit website builders that I think you should consider.
Number one is Squarespace. And number two is WordPress. So let me get into why I think these are the top two contenders, and why I think Squarespace edges out WordPress just a little bit.
Website Maintenance: The Hidden Time and Cost Factor
Okay, first thing I want to talk about is maintenance. Running a website requires maintenance. Your website is like an expensive Italian car that you've got to drive carefully and will always need a little bit of oil, a little bit of tune up, new tires, you name it.
If you own a car, you know what I'm talking about. Maintenance on your website is so much easier on Squarespace because Squarespace is an all in one website builder. There are no plugins to update. You don't have to worry about anything on the back end. You can just dive right in and start building a beautiful, effective website.
Why WordPress Maintenance Can Become a Full-Time Job
Now, WordPress, on the other hand, requires some technical skill. Now you can get a managed WordPress installation, which I'll talk about in just a second. But for most folks, they dive right into WordPress because it's super cheap. And I'll talk about that in a second. But what they don't realize is with all the different plugins and builders and all the things you need to install and manage alongside your WordPress installation, that adds up to a lot of time and a lot of headaches.
If your nonprofit does not have the funds or the knowledge to manage that website back end. So in the maintenance category, Squarespace gets a clear win and a A+ because it's all included. They have incredible developers behind the scenes making sure that the platform is stable and you don't have anything to update. All you need to focus on is marketing your mission.
WordPress in the maintenance category gets up. I'll give it a B just because it is doable and there's lots of tutorials online, but it still requires more hands on effort than Squarespace does. For my WordPress clients, I'm in in other sites and at the bare minimum once a month, making sure everything's updated, making sure plugins are patched. Making sure that the core WordPress installation is going up.
I'm researching compatibility. I'm fixing bugs. I'm. I'm just making sure that everything is okay under the hood. For most clients, that's actually going to be something you need to do weekly. Whereas with Squarespace, you don't have to worry about it.
The Real Cost Comparison: Free Isn't Always Cheaper
Okay. Second thing I want to talk about is price. Now, most so many nonprofits choose WordPress because it's free, but you also get what you pay for.
And with WordPress, you can totally go the free route. And it can be very, very cost effective. For example, my favorite web host, DreamHost, which is where I get all my domain names and I host a number of WordPress sites, can be as little as $32 a year for hosting one paid in advance, or $204 a year for Dream Press, which is a managed WordPress option.
Understanding Managed WordPress vs. DIY Hosting
What that means is their folks make sure that your WordPress installation is going to remain stable on their servers. They're going to make sure that you have uptime. But they will not provide like deep level customer support or technical support. If something were to go horribly wrong. What managed WordPress means is it's managed hosting. So they're making sure that the hosting is optimized for your WordPress website.
And they will make sure that, for example, your MySQL and your PHP are all updated compatible. I know I'm totally speaking jargon right now that a lot of folks won't get, but that's some of the things you need to learn about when you're hosting on WordPress.
Squarespace Pricing: What You Get for Your Investment
Now Squarespace, their pro plant, or sorry, their core plan is $23 a month or $276 a year.
Now that is a bit more expensive. But like I talked about earlier, you have nothing to maintain and all the features and functionality you need are inside Squarespace. Which leads us to the next topic. Ease of use what I love. Oh, I got to give them a grade. So for WordPress I'll give it an A for price, but not quite an A+ because there's a lot of hidden stuff and time is going to be your cost factor.
And with Squarespace, I'll give it a B-plus because although it is more expensive, you don't have to worry about a lot of things and has tons of features built in.
Ease of Use: Why Squarespace Wins for Non-Technical Users
Which brings me back to ease of use. Most modern website builders are simple enough that if you can type up a document in Microsoft Word, you can handle using a website builder.
Squarespace gets an A+ for me on this, because it has all the features and functionality built in that a nonprofit needs. You can accept donations, you can build your email list, you can schedule appointments. You can build a beautiful website. You can host a podcast. You can host a video podcast all on one platform. And that platform is Squarespace.
Why WordPress Requires Additional Plugins for Basic Nonprofit Functions
In order to do those same things and I just need you on WordPress, you're going to need to find multiple plugins. Plugins add additional functionality to WordPress because WordPress at its core is a simple blogging platform. That's all it's designed for, is presenting a blog. So if you want the drag and drop designing functionality that Squarespace has built in, well, you're going to have to install a website builder.
I happen to love the Divi website builder, but there's tons of others that are on the market that'll make it easier to build a beautiful website with Squarespace. It's all baked in, so now you're starting to see that. Yeah, running a WordPress website could be cheaper to start with, but in the long run you get a lot more features and functionality for what you pay for.
Squarespace. So ease of use. I give Squarespace an A plus. It is incredibly easy to use even my least tech savvy of clients I have 50 and 60 year old clients who are like, wow, I was really scared about managing the website, and after you gave me some tutorials and I looked at the help articles and the support center, I feel super confident managing our Squarespace website.
And on the flip side, I'll give WordPress a I'll be generous. I'll give it a B for ease of use. Just because I've had really tech savvy folks. Heck, I think I'm I consider myself fairly tech savvy, and I have troubles with WordPress from time to time, so ease of use. Squarespace is the clear winner here. But again, if you need to use WordPress, it's still the number two website builder in my opinion.
Customization: When WordPress Takes the Lead
Next up is customization. I barely fit in onto this, little index card, but customization is so powerful when you're talking about a website builder. Now, while I talked about all the features and functionality that Squarespace has, and there are tons making it easy for you to build a beautiful website that you don't have to worry about plugins or ensuring that they're compatible, or that they have continued support from the original developer to make your site run.
WordPress is going to win out in the customization category, because if you have a very unique use case and you need your website to do something that Squarespace doesn't, there aren't as many options for getting that functionality on your website as there are in WordPress. That's one of WordPress strengths, is that it's extremely extensible. You can find a plugin to do just about anything you can imagine.
Who Should Choose Squarespace vs. WordPress Based on Organization Size
Whereas Squarespace has a more curated feature set. Now, for most small nonprofits, and by small nonprofit, I mean you have, one or a $2 million annual budget or less. I'm still going to recommend Squarespace, unless you have a really unique use case and you need functionality that Squarespace just cannot provide you. Then I say, go to WordPress.
So for customization, I give WordPress an A plus and I give Squarespace a B plus.
Customer Support: The Critical Difference for Busy Nonprofits
And the final topic I want to talk about when evaluating the best website builder for nonprofits is support. This is pretty simple. With Squarespace, you get 24/7 live human customer support. You could literally get on the phone with a real human to ask your questions to figure things out.
And Squarespace, because it is an all in one website builder. It has an incredible library of video tutorials and articles. Step by step, if you want to do anything you want to do on Squarespace, if it's possible, there is a step by step guide on how to make it happen on WordPress. If you're hosting it yourself, you get zero support.
You will just be looking online and hoping for the best. If you try DreamHost managed WordPress installation called DreamPress, you will get some support from them, but they are fairly limited in what they can do. So just know that you may need to call in a developer or find someone who has a WordPress experience if you run into a snag.
So for support, I give Squarespace an A+ for WordPress standalone. If you're hosting it yourself and you're not doing a managed program like Dream Press with DreamHost, I'm going to give support a C. But if you get a managed WordPress installation like I've been talking about with Dream Press, I'll give it a B-plus. I'll be a little generous here.
The Final Verdict: Reviewing the 5 Critical Factors
I hope this has helped you select the best website builder for nonprofits. Let's review the five areas that I think are most important to consider when reviewing website builders. And the first is maintenance. You've got to make sure that it's easy for you to maintain your website and keep it up to date price. Yes, WordPress is a heck of a lot cheaper if you host it all on your own, but you get what you pay for.
For Squarespace is modest fee of about 276 bucks a year as of this video. In 2025, you get a full featured website builder and all the technical support you need. Ease of use WordPress is a blogging platform, and so if you wanted to do anything else besides show a blog, you're going to need to install a website builder, plug ins, all sorts of things to extend its functionality, and it can be fairly easy to use, but Squarespace is drag and drop.
Fluid engine is insanely easy to use, and like I've said, I've had folks who struggle with technology who've said that they are not techie people. After a few training sessions, they pick it up and they're able to manage their website all on their own. Customization is critical when it comes to managing your website, and Squarespace has a broad range of features and functionality.
However, there are some things that you can do on a WordPress site that you just can't on a Squarespace site. So if you need high customization or you have a really unique use case, WordPress is the way to go. And finally, support. You get 24/7 live human customer support with Squarespace, and they have an incredible library of video tutorials and articles on how to do anything with the platform that you may want to do with WordPress.
If you're hosting it on your own, you're on your own. If you hire DreamHost to manage your WordPress installation with Dream Press, you can get some customer service from them. They have 24-7 customer support, but it tends to be fairly limited to only figuring out what's going on with your hosting environment. They might not be able to help you out with some of the other website builders that you'll need to make your site look gorgeous.
The Winner: Why Squarespace Takes First Place for Most Nonprofits
Okay, there you have it. I hope that was helpful for you. Talking about the five things I think about when evaluating the best website builder for nonprofits. In second place, I'm giving it to WordPress because it is extremely extensible, customizable. You can create amazing websites with WordPress and you can save a lot of money, but you'll also spend a lot more time figuring things out.
Or you'll need to hire someone who is more tech savvy. And of course, my number one winner is Squarespace. Yes, you got it. I love this all in one website builder. I've been building websites on it for 20 years. Can you believe that? And most of my nonprofit clients are on Squarespace because it is so easy to manage and build a beautiful website that attracts donors and volunteers and supporters so they don't have to spend their time with expensive developers or frustrated with broken plugins.
They can just focus on building a beautiful website. Quick little disclaimer: I've included my affiliate links in this post, so if you make a purchase through one of those links I may receive a commission.
So if you want a discount or to learn more about Squarespace and WordPress, including DreamPress Managed WordPress installation. Click the link below to go deeper on this topic with me, and stay tuned at Marketing Mission website for my upcoming website builder course.
As always, go out there and make a difference and shine today. That means serve with heart, integrity, nerve and excellence. I can't wait to see you in the next video. Be well.
