Squarespace is a North American hosting and website building company. Founded in 2004 by college student Anthony Casalena as a blog hosting service, it grew to become among the most successful website building companies. The company mostly makes money via its subscription plans. It also makes money via customizations on top of its subscription plans. And in part also as transaction fees for the website where it processes the sales.
Origin Story
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Squarespace is a North American hosting and website building company.
Squarespace was founded in 2004 by college student Anthony Casalena as a blog hosting service. Although Casalena developed the service for his personal use, he began to share it with friends and family while taking business programs at the University of Maryland.
After launching as a DIY website builder, Casalena worked as the company’s only employee for the next two years. When he graduated in 2007, Squarespace had attained $1 million in revenue and began to attract significant sums of venture capital.
The platform now offers a range of tools including eCommerce functionality, domain name services, and user analytics. By 2020, Squarespace surpassed 1,200 employees and $665 millions in bookings.
Squarespace revenue generation

The majority of Squarespace revenue generation comes from subscription plans that allow users to build their own websites using integrated tools.
These plans include:
- Personal ($12/month) – the cheapest plan that will satisfy the majority of users. It offers a free custom domain, SSL security, unlimited bandwidth, site templates, and SEO features to increase site visibility.
- Business ($18/month) – containing features from the Personal plan plus business tools such as a professional Google email, advanced website analytics, promotional banners, and $100 in Google Ads credit. Squarespace also charges customers a 3% transaction fee on every sale made on the Business plan.
- Basic Commerce ($26/month) – a fully integrated commerce solution allowing businesses to sell unlimited products and accept donations with a dedicated point of sale system. The 3% transaction fee is waived for Basic Commerce customers.
- Advanced Commerce ($40/month) – including all Basic Commerce features plus functions such as abandoned cart recovery, advanced shipping and discounts, commerce APIs, and limited availability labels.
For each plan, Squarespace offers a discount if the plan is purchased for a year in advance.
Custom domains
Customers who sign up for an annual plan get their domain name free.
For monthly users, Squarespace charges $20 every year to maintain one domain. While cheaper deals on domain names can be had elsewhere, this price includes the connection of the domain name to Squarespace hosting and management of necessary annual renewals.
Squarespace Select
Squarespace Select allows users to access the most advanced Squarespace features with dedicated support.
This entails personalized account management and SEO advice, as well as guidance on how to match website design with brand vision. Experts also help site owners optimize site performance and maintain site integrity and security.
For this package, Squarespace charges $4,900 annually.
Key takeaways:
- Squarespace is a North American website builder platform founded by Anthony Casalena in 2004. Casalena developed the platform for his own purposes while studying at the University of Maryland.
- Squarespace derives the bulk of its revenue via the subscription model. Four plans with various levels of functionality are designed for individuals and businesses of all sizes.
- Squarespace also makes money from the somewhat boutique Squarespace Select service. This premium feature gives business owners personalized support and advice around best practices and site optimization.
Read Also: WordPress Business Model, Shopify Business Model, Wix Business Model.
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