I Ditched Squarespace for Claude Code: The Pros and Cons

My best friend built her website (lsxpartners.com) in Claude Code in 4 days. I, too, thought it would take me 4 days.

That was a big reality check, solely because our project scope was completely different.

She was improving what she already had, whereas I was completely scrapping my old website and starting from scratch.

Let's just say I was jaded with the time aspect as you'll learn more about below.

Before we get into my pros and cons of switching to Claude Code, it's important to know my background. I am not a developer, but I am a marketer and SEO expert that has been building and working on websites since 2010. I've worked on websites throughout platforms, like Wordpress, Magento, Squarespace, Webflow and Wix, so I know my way around different platforms.

For the last few years, I have been a Squarespace stan. They had a great product that was DIY and user friendly for the businesses that wanted the capability to own their websites and make changes on their own.

However, AI has completely changed the game in the web development world. While Squarespace is great, the platform continued to piss me off regularly.

So as a 15 year marketer that's been working on websites since college, here's the pros and cons from ditching Squarespace to build a website with Claude Code, as an AI newbie with a traditional website background.

The Project Overview

As mentioned above, scope is important here. You will have a much different experience depending on your project and goals.

I was niching down my business and basically starting over. I wanted to keep the same look and vibe, however, the copy, messaging, pages and everything on my current website would be changing. I also didn't want it to look like an AI website.

Getting Started

The biggest lesson when starting an AI and coding project is: document and spend time having the platform understand your project.

You will want to feed Claude the most information you can about your website or brand. I used my other conversations about my new business direction to create markdown files to keep within the project for Claude to reference as we build.

It's also important to note that I am a service based provider, so I am not physically selling anything on the website yet, but I plan to integrate Stripe processing to add a digital product.

Using Claude Code

After talking to some AI pros, I started in Claude Code Planning Mode. This created everything in a local file that could be viewed. You can ask it to interview you or ask specific questions. It holds your proverbial hand and walks you through everything.

Pros of Claude Code vs. Squarespace

Complete Customization & Design Freedom

In my opinion, the biggest pro is the complete customization that Claude Code can give you. This is a gift and a curse, as the customizations will take the most time. This is extremely valuable if you have a unique idea for a website interface, have business needs that aren't so out-of-the-box, want to create a lead magnet with AI or other software integration, animations and graphics, like interactive charts and movements on the page.

If you need help with UX design ideas, you can feed it sites you like or use a platform like refero.design that provides UX code that Claude can use.

Mobile design is also adjusted automatically, unlike Squarespace that generally requires you to move the design around. It can get pretty frustrating.

Customizable code is also a win when it comes to SEO and the technical needs that some platforms, like Squarespace, limit. My technical SEO and page speed has never been better.

If you have a vision, you can most likely create it. Claude will tell you what's possible and the different ways to go about things without needing brain power to figure it out on your own.

Cool things Claude Code did that Squarespace Can't (without major coding / headaches):

• Password protected proposals (WOW)
• Animations ON graphics
• Listing formats that are advanced
• Created a full lead gen analysis using an API: walked me through the entire process (try it here)
• Added quizzes to blog articles to make them more interactive
• Created graphics for me

Having complete control over the code also gives you more control over technical SEO, page speed, UX and accessibility, but it also means you're more responsible for getting those things right.

Claude Skills

If you're not well versed in web design, content creation or SEO, Claude Code has skills already built in that will audit what you're developing and give you strategic advice. I felt these did a pretty good job at flagging things and fixing them, which is a good segue to the next pro.

Automatic Changes and Fixes Across the Website

This is huge. Claude Code will automatically search and change the site whenever needed. The caveat: review what it's changing before letting it make sitewide updates. Fast automation also means you can make the wrong change everywhere very quickly.

Here are some examples:

• If the SEO audit flagged an issue, it will automatically fix it throughout the site.
• If the name of a product or service changes, it will flag and fix all instances across the site.
• If you want to eliminate a certain word or brand reference, it will go and clean it all up.
• If you have changes in links or page URLs, again, it can auto update this across the site anytime it is changed.
• Want to change colors or fonts? Easy. Just tell it.
• New lead magnet you want linked on every page? Done.

In Squarespace, this is manual.

Talk about a huge time saver.

You Don't Need to Know Code

After using Claude Code, I have no idea how people knew how to do this before AI. It's very cool to watch Claude code in real time.

Claude Code will give you detailed instructions to set things up when needed. If you're still confused, ask it to dumb it down and it will.

If you're starting over or changing pages, Claude Code will walk you through the domain and DNS needs, as well as 301 redirects and URL mapping. Squarespace requires you to manually do this.

One thing I will mention is: you don't need to know how to code, but you should understand what Claude is doing or be willing to learn. Claude can go off and do what it thinks is right sometimes. This is where some knowledge of websites and the fundamental structure comes into play.

You Can Create Whole Ecosystem Within Claude

One of the reasons I decided to start over with Claude Code is the possibility of creating an ecosystem. Claude can work with the brand files, documentation and other resources you give it access to within your workflow.

Need a presentation to match the brand and wording on your website? It has access to all of that information.

It becomes one central brain for all things needed for your brand and that can be powerful.

Cons of Creating a Website in Claude Code

Claude is not God

This process was A LOT, and I mean A LOT, of challenging the output, asking it to revise things, and calling it dumb for doing things I didn't tell it to.

Your first draft will be nowhere close to perfect.

It is Time Consuming

This was the most surprising part for me, but you must remember my scope:

• I was starting from scratch, including new offers, pages, copy…everything
• I didn't want my site to look like AI produced it
• I wanted some technical things I previously wasn't able to do

I could have had this project done a lot quicker if I used an AI template or another website design I liked. I would argue that creating a Squarespace website from scratch would have taken me a similar time frame, but it would be more hands on. Claude Code allows you to multi-task while it codes and works.

I spent a few hours a day for 4 weeks to create my site. In retrospect, I wish I tracked my time better, but I am ADHD and Type B, so there's absolutely no way that would be accurate.

Tokens and Cost

I am currently having a billing issue with Claude Code, so I am on the Pro plan. If I had Max, I would have not needed to buy extra usage.

I ended up buying $190.80 worth of extra usage on top of the pro plan to finish the website without time restrictions.

With Squarespace, you get anywhere from 7 days to 6 months to complete the website before you have to pay for the hosting.

As far as hosting goes, you can find free hosting options for Claude Code, however, I am using GitHub and Vercel, that's ~$20/month and includes your SSL certificate.

With Squarespace, their base fee is $17 and business plan at $29. I was on the $29/month plan, so I am saving around $9/month.

There's also the cost of the tools your website can potentially replace. With Squarespace, I often needed another paid platform or integration when I wanted to do something outside its core functionality, which was starting to really annoy me.

With Claude Code, I can potentially build that functionality directly into my website. My Content Visibility Scorecard, password-protected proposals, quizzes and future digital products can all live within the same ecosystem. So while Claude Code wasn't necessarily cheaper to build, I think my website has the potential to become cheaper to operate as I replace some of those monthly software subscriptions.

Website Ownership: You Own It, But Can You Maintain It?

Most website platforms are essentially rented ecosystems. You may own your domain, content and images, but your website is built within a proprietary platform you don't control. If that company goes out of business, significantly changes its platform, removes features or dramatically raises its prices, you have limited options. And since these platforms are proprietary and set-up to be easy to use, moving to another platform typically means starting from scratch.

With a coded website, the code lives in my own repository and I choose where it's hosted. If I decide tomorrow that I don't want to use Claude anymore, my website won't disappear with it. I could take that code to a developer, move it to another hosting provider or use a completely different AI coding tool.

The big difference is: owning the code and knowing how to maintain the code are two different things.

I'm not a developer, so right now I'm relying heavily on Claude Code to make changes, troubleshoot issues and build new functionality. If I knew how to code, I could go into the repository and make those changes myself.

I am now reliant on Claude Code and no one knows where AI is going to go. AI coding is relatively accessible and affordable right now, but there's no guarantee that pricing stays where it is. Claude could get more expensive, usage limits could change, or the tools we're using today could look completely different a few years from now.

The good news is that I'm not necessarily locked into Claude. I own the code. The bigger dependency is on having a platform or a developer do the coding.

Ironically, that means I've traded one type of dependency for another. With Squarespace, I was dependent on the limitations, pricing and decisions of the website platform. With a custom-coded site, I have much more freedom and ownership, but I'm currently dependent on AI or a developer to help me maintain that freedom.

For me, I will take my chances with AI based on the benefits I see.

Who I Think Should Stick With Squarespace

Everyone is preaching AI, but do I think everyone should move their Squarespace to an AI site? No. At the moment, it isn't necessary.

It will be interesting to see how things change in 5 years. I may change my POV by then.

Here's when I think Squarespace makes sense:

• Need a straightforward service or brochure website without bells and whistles
• Want to manage the website yourself without touching code
• Have employees who need to easily make updates
• Don't need significant custom functionality
• Want your hosting, CMS and website builder under one roof
• Don't want to think about deployments or development environments
• Value simplicity and convenience over unlimited customization
• Don't have time or a budget to figure this out on your own
• You have many integrations already attached to your site. This will always add another layer of complexity

For these businesses, moving to a custom-coded website simply because AI makes it possible may create more problems than it solves.

There's also a lot of other AI website platforms with a more templated approach that can be used that might be less time consuming or in-depth as Claude Code, such as Lovable.

Who I Think Should Consider Claude Code

Claude Code starts to become really interesting when your website needs to do more than a traditional website builder easily allows.

I would consider it if you:

• Need custom functionality
• Want to build interactive tools or AI-powered lead magnets
• Have unusual software or API integrations
• Want significantly more control over the design
• Are constantly hitting limitations with your current platform
• Are someone or has someone who understands SEO, UX and website strategy
• Are comfortable with a more technical workflow
• Have an actual business reason for needing a custom website

That last point is important. Don't rebuild your entire website with Claude Code just because everyone on LinkedIn is talking about vibe coding.

If Squarespace is doing everything your business needs it to do, you might not have a problem that needs solving.

I will say, if you're in a tech forward or marketing type position, learning AI and Claude Code can give you a leg up and I feel it's important to test what's on the market.

Squarespace Is in Competition

Squarespace is one of the leaders in the DIY-friendly website builder race, so I don't think it's going anywhere, but I think the AI boom is only going to make Squarespace a better product.

I would expect Squarespace and its competitors to continue adding more AI-centered functionality that makes it easier to create, customize and manage websites without leaving their ecosystems.

New features and advancements could eventually make the decision much less black and white.

The sweet spot for a lot of business owners may end up somewhere in the middle: the convenience and infrastructure of an established website platform combined with increasingly powerful AI tools that give users more customization without requiring them to manage a fully custom stack.

That's great for business owners.

For now, though, there's still a pretty significant difference between asking AI to help you build within the boundaries of a platform and using AI to help you build something custom from the ground up.

What I Would Do Differently

If I started this project again tomorrow, my biggest change would be spending even more time documenting everything before allowing Claude to start building.

I would have my brand, audience, sitemap, SEO requirements, conversion paths, functionality, integrations and design system documented first. I would also establish rules for what Claude could and couldn't change without asking me.

I'd also resist the urge to customize every little thing immediately. Once you realize you can ask Claude to change almost anything, it's very easy to lose hours tweaking something that probably doesn't matter nearly as much to your customers as it does to you.

My #1 advice for building a website with Claude Code: Document slow. Code fast. Shout out to Chris Thomas from YNDR for that quote.

Would I Ditch Squarespace Again?

For this specific project, yes.

I wasn't looking to simply create a nice-looking marketing website. I wanted the flexibility to build custom tools, experiment with AI, create unique experiences and continue expanding what my website could actually do for my business.

Claude Code gave me that.

But the experience also reinforced something I think gets lost in a lot of conversations about AI. Being able to generate code isn't the same thing as knowing what should be built.

My years of working in SEO, content, marketing and websites didn't become less relevant because Claude could write the code. They became the knowledge I used to direct it, challenge it and recognize when something wasn't right.

That's ultimately what I took away from the experiment. AI can dramatically expand what one person is capable of building, but the quality of what you build still depends heavily on what you know, what you ask for and whether you know enough to question the answer.

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