Kajabi vs Showit, WordPress and Squarespace: Which Website Platform is Best for Coaches?

Kajabi

3 Jun

Written By Lucy O'Reilly

If you're a coach building or growing an online business, your website platform matters, a lot.

And if you’ve been Googling something like:

“Best website platform for coaches”
“Kajabi vs Squarespace for coaching business”
“Should I move from Showit to Kajabi?”

You’re in the right place.

As a designer who works with coaches moving from platforms like Squarespace, WordPress, or Showit to Kajabi, I’ve seen what works (and what doesn’t) depending on where you are in your business.

Let’s compare the pros and cons of each, so you can confidently choose the platform that fits your coaching goals now and supports your growth long-term.

Why Kajabi is My #1 Pick for Most Coaches Ready to Scale

If you’re offering (or planning to offer):

1:1 coaching
Group programmes or masterminds
Digital courses or trainings
Email marketing or lead magnets
Sales pages or evergreen funnels

Then Kajabi is designed for you.
It’s more than a website builder, it’s an all-in-one business platform built with coaches and educators in mind.

Kajabi Pros:

Combines website, courses, emails, landing pages, payments and more
Looks professional with the right design help
Easily handles growth (freebie funnels, webinars, offers)
Powerful automation and segmentation tools
No need to juggle plugins, integrations or other tech tools (except for Acuity or Calendly for 1:1 bookings)

Kajabi Cons:

Templates can look generic without custom design
Slight learning curve at first
Monthly investment is higher (but you save by cancelling other tools)

Pro tip: If you’re running a real coaching business, Kajabi ends up saving time and money when you factor in tools like ConvertKit, Teachable, a website platform etc.

Squarespace: great for simplicity, but limited for growth

If you’re early in your coaching journey and just need:

A clean, easy-to-use website
A simple blog or services page
Minimal tech setup

Squarespace is a great starting point. I design a lot of sites there, and for coaches focused solely on 1:1 services, it’s still a brilliant option.

But here’s where it falls short:

Squarespace Pros:

Clean, beautiful design
Low-cost
Built-in blogging and scheduling

Squarespace Cons:

Limited course or membership tools
Difficult to scale offers or run automated funnels
Less flexibility with design and user experience
Less professional-looking without expert help

If you're planning to add programmes, courses, or lead magnets, you'll quickly outgrow Squarespace.

Showit: Beautiful for blogging, but not built for coaches

Showit is often chosen for its visual freedom. It’s a great fit for creatives or photographers — but for coaches? Not always.

Showit Pros:

Fully custom layouts
Integrates with WordPress blogging
Beautiful if designed well

Showit Cons:

Not intuitive for sales pages or program flows
Requires WordPress knowledge
No built-in coaching or course tools
Needs extra tools for email and payments

If blogging is your main visibility channel and you want pixel-perfect control, Showit can work — but it’s more style than strategy for most coaching businesses.

WordPress: Ultimate Flexibility, Ultimate Maintenance

WordPress is the most flexible and powerful website platform — but it also demands the most from you.

WordPress Pros:

Unlimited customization
Huge plugin library
Ideal for SEO-heavy or content-heavy sites

WordPress Cons:

Needs regular maintenance and updates
Not intuitive without a developer
Everything (email, bookings, course platform) is separate
Can break easily with plugins or themes

For coaches just trying to sell services, WordPress is usually overkill.

What I Tell My Coaching Clients

If you:

Want to grow your audience with content & lead magnets
Want to sell group programs or digital offers
Want a site that reflects your brand and converts
Don’t want to be the tech department of your business

👉 Go with Kajabi, with the right designer - moi!

You’ll have:

A strategic website built to convert
The tools to grow your business in one place
A brand that looks and feels aligned
Confidence that your site is working even when you're not

Kajabi + Custom Design = Premium Brand Presence

Kajabi templates can feel generic, but when we work together, we create a fully custom, strategic site that reflects your unique coaching style, voice, and value.

No cookie-cutter layouts.
No design overwhelm.
Just a clean, confident online presence that supports your next level.

Need Help Moving to Kajabi the Right Way?

At Designs For Growth, I specialise in helping coaches move from platforms like Squarespace, Showit, or WordPress into a fully branded Kajabi site that looks beautiful, works hard, and grows with your business.

I combine: