I see this question constantly in Facebook groups, Google searches, and on discovery calls: “Is Showit good for SEO?” or “Should I use WordPress for better Google rankings?”

Here’s the honest answer nobody wants to hear: it doesn’t matter.

None of these platforms are “good for SEO” if you’re not doing SEO right. And all of them can rank beautifully if you are.

The platform is just a tool. Asking if Showit is good for SEO is like asking if a KitchenAid mixer makes good cookies. Sure, it helps—but if you don’t know the recipe, measure the ingredients, or set the right temperature, you’re getting burnt cookies no matter how expensive your mixer is.

What you should be asking instead: “What actually affects my website’s SEO, and how do I make sure those things are done right?”

That’s what we’re covering today.

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Why Your Website Platform Doesn’t Matter (Like You Think It Does)

Google doesn’t care if your website is built on Showit, Squarespace, WordPress, or carved into stone tablets. Google cares about one thing: does this website provide a good experience and valuable content for searchers?

The platform you choose DOES affect some things that matter:

• How easy it is for you to update content yourself
• Design flexibility and visual appeal
• Technical features you have access to
• Your comfort level managing the site

But here’s what it DOESN’T affect: whether Google will rank you.

I’ve seen gorgeous Showit sites that don’t rank for anything because the owner never did the SEO work. I’ve seen clunky WordPress sites that dominate Google searches because someone knew what they were doing.

The platform is your vehicle. SEO is knowing how to drive.

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The 8 Things That Actually Affect Your SEO

These are the factors that determine whether your website shows up when your ideal clients are searching. Some are technical, some are content-related, and all of them matter more than which platform you chose.

1. Site Speed / Load Time

If your website takes 6 seconds to load, potential clients are already gone. Google knows this, which is why site speed is a ranking factor. But more importantly, humans have zero patience for slow websites.

What slows sites down: Massive image files (like uploading photos straight from your camera at 5MB each), too many plugins, unoptimized code, or cheap hosting.

Quick test: Go to PageSpeed Insights, type in your URL, and see your score. Under 50? You’ve got problems.

The fix: Compress images before uploading them, keep plugins minimal, and use quality hosting. Every website I build includes optimized images and clean code—because a beautiful site that takes forever to load isn’t actually beautiful.

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2. Mobile Optimization

More than 60% of web traffic is mobile. If your website looks broken on phones, you’re losing most of your potential clients before they even read a word.

“Mobile responsive” means your site adapts to different screen sizes. But here’s the thing: some platforms (like Showit) let you design separate desktop and mobile versions, which gives you way more control. Others just shrink everything down and hope for the best.

The test: Pull up your website on your phone right now. Is the text readable without zooming? Are buttons easy to tap? Does everything actually work?

If you’re squinting or getting frustrated, so are your potential clients.

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3. Clean, Logical URLs

Google looks at your page URLs, and so do humans deciding whether to click. A URL like www.example.com/about-2 tells everyone (including search engines) that you don’t know what you’re doing. It screams “I duplicated a page and never fixed it.”

Good URLs are descriptive and logical: www.example.com/about or www.example.com/wedding-planning-services. They tell both Google and visitors exactly what’s on that page.

Bonus: They’re way easier to remember and share.

When I’m building a site, I’m thinking about URL structure from day one—because fixing messy URLs after launch is a pain, and leaving them messy makes you look unprofessional.

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4. Site Structure & Navigation

Your website needs a clear hierarchy that makes sense. Home page → Service pages → Individual offerings. Not a random collection of pages that confuse everyone.

Good navigation helps visitors find what they need in two clicks or less. It also helps Google understand what your site is about and how pages relate to each other.

What this looks like:

• Logical menu structure (not 15 items competing for attention)
• Internal links connecting related pages
• Clear parent-child relationships between pages

If a visitor can’t figure out where to go next, Google can’t either.

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5. Quality Content & Strategic Keywords

This is where most DIY websites fall apart. You need to actually write content that answers the questions your ideal clients are searching for.

Not keyword stuffing (“Seattle wedding planner Seattle weddings Seattle venue Seattle…”). That hasn’t worked since 2010.

Real SEO content sounds natural and helpful: “I’m a wedding planner in Seattle specializing in intimate venues for couples who want…”

The questions to answer:

• What do you actually do?
• Who do you help?
• What problems do you solve?
• What makes you different?

Use the words your clients use. If they Google “event planner for corporate retreats,” that phrase should appear naturally on your services page.

I help clients with copy strategy because no amount of beautiful design will save vague, fluffy content that doesn’t tell Google (or humans) what you actually offer.

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6. Image Optimization

Every image on your site should have three things:

1. A descriptive file name (not DSC_1234.jpg, but something like wedding-bouquet-roses.jpg)
2. Alt text that describes the image for accessibility and SEO
3. Compressed file size so it loads quickly

Google can’t “see” images, so it reads file names and alt text to understand what’s in the photo. This is how image search works.

Pro tip: There are tools like Alt Text.ai that can help with this if you have dozens of portfolio images to optimize. Every website I build includes this setup.

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7. Technical Setup

These are the behind-the-scenes things that most business owners don’t even know exist:

Google Search Console: This is how you submit your sitemap and tell Google your site exists. Not optional.

SSL Certificate: That little lock icon in your browser. Google prioritizes secure sites. If your URL starts with “http” instead of “https,” that’s a problem.

Sitemap: An organized list of all your pages that helps Google crawl your site efficiently. Most platforms generate this automatically, but you still need to submit it.

Meta descriptions: The short preview text that shows up in search results under your page title. This doesn’t directly affect rankings, but it DOES affect whether people click.

I handle all of this technical setup in every project because it’s non-negotiable for SEO, but it’s also not intuitive if you’ve never done it before.

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8. Headers & Text Hierarchy

Your website content needs proper structure: H1 for your main page title, H2 for major sections, H3 for subsections.

Google uses this hierarchy to understand what your page is about and which parts are most important. It’s also how people scan your content—they read the headers first to see if the page has what they need.

One H1 per page. Multiple H2s to break up sections. H3s for details within those sections.

When I’m setting up a website, I’m strategic about header structure because it affects both readability and SEO. A page that’s just walls of same-sized text is impossible to scan and tells Google nothing about your content hierarchy.

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So… Which Platform IS Best for SEO?

Now that you know what actually matters, here’s the honest platform comparison:

Showit, Squarespace, and WordPress can all rank well in Google if you do the work above.

What each platform makes easier or harder:

• Showit: True design flexibility, separate mobile design, drag-and-drop simplicity. Requires WordPress for blogging (which actually works beautifully together).
• Squarespace: Built-in everything, decent templates, easier learning curve. Less design flexibility, mobile is auto-responsive (not custom).
• WordPress: Infinite customization, massive plugin library, ultimate control. Steeper learning curve, requires more maintenance, can get overwhelming.

I chose Showit for my client work because it gives me total design control while still being manageable for my clients to update themselves. But that’s a business decision, not an SEO decision.

The “best” platform is the one you’ll actually maintain and update. A static website that never changes is worse for SEO than an “inferior” platform with fresh content.

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What This Means for Your Website Project

When you’re hiring a web designer or evaluating your current site, here are the questions that actually matter:

“How will you optimize my site for speed?” (Not “What platform do you use?”)

“What’s your process for SEO setup—sitemaps, meta descriptions, image optimization?” (Not “Is this platform good for Google?”)

“Will I be able to update my own content easily?” (Because fresh content matters more than perfect platform choice)

“Do you build separate mobile and desktop designs, or is it responsive?” (Because mobile experience is critical)

Every website I build includes all the SEO fundamentals: proper text hierarchy, optimized images, clean URLs, sitemap submission, meta descriptions, and mobile optimization. The platform is Showit because it gives me design freedom while keeping things manageable for my clients. But the SEO work is the same regardless of platform.

Pretty design gets people to stay. SEO gets them to find you in the first place.

Both matter. Neither one is enough alone.

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The Bottom Line

Stop Googling “is [platform] good for SEO” and start asking “am I doing SEO right?”

The platform is just your vehicle. SEO is knowing how to drive, where you’re going, and how to get there. A Ferrari won’t help if you don’t know how to navigate.

If you’re reading this and realizing you have no idea if your current website is doing any of these things right, that’s exactly why working with a designer who understands both aesthetics AND strategy matters.

Want to know how your site measures up? Reach out and I’ll give you the honest assessment—what’s working, what’s not, and what actually needs to change.