New blogging platform Squarespace 6

I've been blogging with Squarespace for several years and it's been a great experience overall — especially so because my focus is on content instead of code. Squarespace is well organized and uses a clean, robust interface (complete with step-by-step guides) for adding widgets, pages and content. It also has a detailed traffic analyzer built-in. Squarespace has great customer service, too — businesses could learn a lot from them.

Oh yeah, Squarespace is also really pretty.

For Says Brad I use Squarespace 5, a platform tweaked and improved over the years that offers customizable templates, fancy modules and flexibility. The templates are gorgeous — much better looking than stock TypePad and WordPress offerings — sites look great from the get-go, and from there, unlimited tweaks and changes can be made to the themes. I like pretty and unique… I don't like to code. I like code itself, I'm just not that great at it. I don't study it, practice it, or keep up with its latest trends. I focus on graphics, design, branding and English. Programming isn't my forte.

Thusly, my website style options are fairly limited and updating the site's visuals is a significant endeavor. Squarespace 6 might be the answer.

Squarespace 6?

Squarespace 6 is a new platform, independent from 5. It uses templates and a beautiful WYSIWYG UI. Adding content is drag-and-drop, colors are chosen from a wheel — the demo I saw made it clear that 6 offers design flexibility that 5 cannot match without custom coding.

So I am thinking about switching. Right now, I enjoy blogging from my iPad using Blogsy; presently, Squarespace 6 is only compatible with the Squarespace app and desktop web browsers. I really like Blogsy — it's a beautiful app made by a dedicated team in South Korea run by Lance Barton — and I don't think I'd switch to SS6 until Blogsy is compatible. The iOS SS app has always had issues: faulty image uploads, lost images, blank posts, crashes, lost content — I don't trust it.

Other factors.

I can't really edit colors, layout and themes from my iPad as is (using Squarespace 5) so I don't expect that 6 will be different in that regard. However, SS6 themes have built-in mobile versions for smartphone and tablet browsing, potentially offering a better experience on the devices I love most. Maybe if/when I get a new MacBook Pro (with Retina display, maybe? *wishes*) I'll reassess.

If I were to switch, it won't be completely seamless and simple. It's not like updating an app on an iPhone; Squarespace 6 is incompatible with SS5 and some things might get lost in migration, as currently, the two lack parity. I read something about an import/export tool, but it sounds… frustrating, like more complications, stress.

I need to really study the themes and perhaps play with them first. Says Brad won't migrate anytime soon, but I want to get a portfolio site up to showcase my artwork and graphic design and Squarespace 6 might be the solution.

I'm looking for opinions and feedback on Squarespace 5 versus 6

I haven't tinkered with version 6 yet so I have no idea about its flaws or bugs, if any. I'm planning on moving away from TypePad because it's ugly and I get a lot of spam comments there, and I'm thinking I could ditch WordPress as well. I'm not actively using WP, but because it's practically an industry standard, I thought I should know how to use it because I occasionally get asked if I can design for it. However, if Squarespace 6 is what I think it is — it could be a fantastic small business solution — I'll eventually work on graphics for those SS6 sites, so…

Perhaps the better face-off is Squarespace 6 v. WordPress?

Brad uses Blogsy