News

• Nintendo has warned against using Switch and Switch 2 systems outside in hot weather
• You should avoid using the system in temperatures above 95°F / 35°C
• The announcement comes during a Tokyo heatwave

Nintendo has issued a warning to those using their consoles outside.

"When using a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 in a high-temperature environment, the device's temperature may rise," said a recent social media post that we have machine translated.

"This could potentially cause malfunctions, so please use it in a location between 5–35°C [41-95°F]," it continued. "Recently, temperatures have been exceeding 35°C [95°F]. Please be cautious when using it outdoors."

The warning comes as summer gets into full swing and temperatures begin to rise. In Japan, Tokyo and the Izu Islands are currently subject to a heat warning, with temperatures expected to reach dangerously high levels on August 6.

Parts of the US are also experiencing heat well into the region of 95°F / 35°C, while the UK is on the tail end of its latest heatwave.

Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 owners should think twice about using their systems outside in such weather conditions in order to avoid potential damage.

If you're looking for some games to try while sat right next to your air conditioning unit, check out our recently updated guide to the 15 best Nintendo Switch 2 games to play in 2025.

• I’ve spent 150 hours with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and the Switch 2 Edition is an incredible upgrade
• Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on Nintendo Switch 2 proves that I don’t need a Steam Deck anymore
• The Joy-Con 2 are definitely an improvement, but I’d still prefer almost any other Nintendo Switch 2 controller

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, August 5 (game #786).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• BAIT
• PIN
• CROSS
• SQUAD
• HOOK
• SPEC
• NEEDLE
• BADGE
• STRAP
• BUTTON
• RAG
• SHAMMY
• RIB
• UPPERCUT
• BROOCH
• JAB

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Decorative adornment
• GREEN: To poke fun
• BLUE: In the ring 
• PURPLE: Flexing

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: ACCESSORY WITH A POINTY FASTENER 
• GREEN: TEASE 
• BLUE: BOXING PUNCHES 
• PURPLE: MUSCLE NICKNAMES PLUS "S" 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

The answers to today's Connections, game #787, are…

• YELLOW: ACCESSORY WITH A POINTY FASTENER BADGE, BROOCH, BUTTON, PIN
• GREEN: TEASE BAIT, NEEDLE, RAG, RIB
• BLUE: BOXING PUNCHES CROSS, HOOK, JAB, UPPERCUT
• PURPLE: MUSCLE NICKNAMES PLUS "S" SHAMMY, SPEC, SQUAD, STRAP

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 mistakes

I was quite the badge wearer when I was a kid, back in the day where it was essential to own a jacket covered with button badges of all your favorite bands. So, ACCESSORY WITH A POINTY FASTENER was a group I got very quickly.

I was less successful with TEASE, which claimed two mistakes. In my haste to complete another group I didn’t see the other possibilities and included JAB then CROSS before finally getting it right with RAG.

This is the second day in a row where I have completed Connections in difficulty order; the possibility of making it three in a row is already making me tingle.

• YELLOW: SUBTERRANEAN TRANSIT METRO, SUBWAY, TUBE, UNDERGROUND
• GREEN: MAKE INTO SMALLER PIECES WHILE COOKING CUBE, GRATE, MINCE, SLICE
• BLUE: USED TO DECORATE A SNOWMAN CARROT, COAL, PIPE, SCARF
• PURPLE: CODE DRESS, HEALTH, SECRET, ZIP

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

The emergence of destructive cyberattacks has given rise to the increasing use of the term “cyber resilience”. But what exactly does it mean? And how does an organization become cyber resilient?

Many organizations will readily invest in preventative and detective technologies, in the hopes it will provide a virtual castle-and-moat against the increasing volume and sophistication of cyberattacks. Yet, the pervasiveness of adversaries continues, with the recent M&S, Harrods, and Co-op attacks of late just another example that tech investments don’t necessarily result in a winning hand.

True cyber resilience lies beyond simply deploying a tech solution off-the-shelf; it’s about how these solutions are used, your company culture, and whether you have the necessary skills and processes to maintain it.

Yet, many IT and security teams continue to operate in silos that leave their business vulnerable. In fact, our research found that 31% of IT and security professionals consider collaboration between their IT and security teams “weak,” while two in five (40%) report that collaboration between the teams continues to stagnate – or even decline.

While it’s right to establish distinction between IT and security teams, they must have the muscle memory and lines of communication required to minimize disruption and accelerate recovery in a time of crisis.

So, how can IT and security teams work together to ensure the right governance, processes, and technologies are in place to respond to crises and build long-term resiliency?

An effective incident response strategy will be the foundational thread that brings together your people, processes and technology. A critical first step is to define key responsibilities – your security team, for example should focus on detecting the breach, containing its spread, and identifying the entry point.

Meanwhile, your IT team should focus on remediation and ensuring business continuity. Responsibilities should include managing the response to system outages, restoring critical infrastructure, re-setting authentication tokens and passwords, deleting malicious accounts, and installing software patches.

IT and security teams must agree on policies for governance and incident escalation, ensuring this is put into practice from the outset. Communication is one of the first things to break in a crisis, so it’s vital to establish communication protocols and capabilities. How will you talk? How often? What happens when a major decision needs to be made? Do you have a joint workflow for an attack?

A shared document outlining specific responsibilities, key contacts, escalation paths, and recovery strategies will provide the foundations for both teams to move quickly and act methodically, even when emotions are running high.

An effective incident response strategy should also include the creation of a ‘shared responsibility model’, which establish clear, step-by-step procedures for responding to cyberattacks.

As part of this, businesses should consider setting up a Clean Room, which is an isolated, secure environment where IT and security teams can align on investigation and remediation without the risk of reinfection. This controlled space would allow teams to analyze the attack, build a timeline, and develop a recovery plan that removes the threat and prevents reinfection.

Once systems are confirmed as clean and data recovered, it can be moved to a staging area for testing before being reintroduced into live systems. This may take longer than stakeholders would like, but the cost of improper recovery could ultimately result in systems being hit again and taken down for longer.

A healthy competitiveness often exists between IT and security teams. IT wants to innovate, while security wants to lock things down. These teams are made up of brilliant minds. However, faced with the pressure of a crisis, simmering issues may come to a head, or they may become so fixated on solving the issue that they fail to update others.

To build an effective incident response strategy, identifying a shared vision is essential. Leadership should host joint workshops in which teams learn more about each other and share ideas about embedding security into system architecture. Furthermore, these sessions should simulate real-world crises, ensuring that each team is familiar with how their roles intersect during a high-pressure situation and feel comfortable when an actual crisis arises.

Most importantly, IT and security teams should continuously benchmark against a cyber resiliency maturity model to optimize their people, process, and technology. While there are the classic measures like Mean Time to Detect, Mean Time to Respond, and Mean Time to Remediate to ensure teams are working towards something, for me, it’s about assessing readiness through structured activities.

By simulating realistic scenarios – from ransomware incidents to malware attacks – those in leadership positions can directly test and measure the incident response plan so it becomes an ingrained process. Throw in curveballs when needed, and use these exercises to identify gaps in processes, tools, or communication.

Remember that cyber resilience is like a chain – the capability of the weakest link will drag down your overall level of cyber resilience. Therefore, my key takeaway is this: create shared purpose, simplify escalation paths by giving frontline responders clear roles, automate what you can, and ensure communications channels are streamlined and always available. If you can overcome occupational silos and get security and IT working together, most other issues will cease to exist.

We've featured the best encryption software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Nextron Systems found a malicious Pluggable Authentication Module
• They named it Plague after finding pop culture references
• The malware is capable of wreaking havoc across high-value targets

Security researchers have found a piece of highly capable Linux malware which somehow flew the radar for a year.

Nextron Systems reported finding Plague, a malicious Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) that grants attackers persistent, covert access to compromised systems.

“The Plague backdoor represents a sophisticated and evolving threat to Linux infrastructure, exploiting core authentication mechanisms to maintain stealth and persistence,” the researchers explained. “Its use of advanced obfuscation, static credentials, and environment tampering makes it particularly difficult to detect using conventional methods.”

The malware was named Plague after finding a reference to Mr. Plague, a character from the 1995 movie Hackers, in its code.

The researchers said that multiple samples were uploaded to VirusTotal over the past year, yet none were flagged as malicious, which could indicate the backdoor managed to evade public scrutiny and antivirus detection.

Plague integrates deeply into the authentication stack, survives system updates, and leaves minimal forensic traces, the experts explained.

It employs evolving string obfuscation techniques, including XOR, KSA/PRGA-like routines, and DRBG layer. It also features anti-debugging checks and session stealth mechanisms that erase all traces of activity. Compiler metadata also showed that it is in active development.

For cybercriminals, there are multiple benefits to malware hiding inside PAM systems.

According to a CyberInsider report, Plague can steal login credentials, making it particularly dangerous on high-value Linux systems such as bastion hosts, jump servers, and cloud infrastructure.

“A compromised bastion host or jump server can provide attackers with a foothold to move laterally across internal systems, escalate privileges, or exfiltrate sensitive data,” the publication argues.

Furthermore, a compromised cloud environment could grant the attackers access to multiple virtual machines or services all at once.

Since Plague is still not being flagged by the best antivirus tools, Nextron advises admins to manually inspect their devices, including auditing the /lib/security directory for shady PAM modules, monitoring PAM configuration files in /etc/pam.d/ for changes, and looking for suspicious logins in authentication logs.

Via The Register

• A new Linux backdoor is hitting US universities and governments
• Take a look at our guide to the best authenticator app
• We've rounded up the best password managers

- Set to be released in July 2026
- Official title revealed in April
- Filming began in August
- No trailer revealed yet
- Tom Holland returning as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
- Some supporting cast members already revealed
- No plot brief yet, but some story rumors have appeared online
- Unclear how it'll impact the next two Avengers movies

Work on Spider-Man: Brand New Day is officially underway. The next Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie, whose official title has ties to a very controversial time in the superhero's comic book history, is set to arrive in theaters next July. So, it's high time that principal photography on the highly anticipated film began.

There's been plenty of speculation about Spider-Man 4 in the lead-up to the cameras rolling – so much so, in fact, that you might have struggled to stay on top of it all. Luckily for you, I've rounded up every piece of official news, plus the biggest and latest rumors, about the Marvel Phase 6 film in this guide. If you want the lowdown on Spider-Man's next big-screen adventure, then, you've come to the right place.

Full spoilers follow for Spider-Man: No Way Home. Possible spoilers are also discussed for Brand New Day, so proceed at your own risk.

A post shared by Tom Holland (@tomholland2013)

A photo posted by on

Originally, Spider-Man: Brand New Day was set to swing into theaters on July 24, 2026. However, four months after its initial launch date was announced, Sony and Marvel confirmed Spider-Man 4's release would be delayed one week. Now, it'll come out on July 31, 2026.

Last October, Tom Holland also shared an exciting Spider-Man 4 filming update on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon – the British actor revealing that principal photography would start in mid-2025. That proved to be the case, too, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day due to start filming in August. As filming got underway, Holland took to his Instagram account to confirm he'd started shooting the movie on August 2.

It's unclear how long its shooting schedule will last but, with the MCU film due out in less than a year, there's plenty of hard work ahead for everyone.

No, a trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day isn't available yet. In my view, one won't arrive until early 2026, either, with it most likely premiering during Sony's panel at next year's CinemaCon panel. I'll update this section once one is released.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day's full cast hasn't been officially revealed yet. Holland is the only cast member confirmed to appear by Sony and Marvel, but there are other actors who've said they're part of proceedings and/or been reported as being involved:

• Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
• Zendaya as MJ
• Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk
• Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher
• Sadie Sink as TBC

Holland aside, Zendaya's MJ is the only other character who's expected to pop up in Spider-Man 4. Speaking on the Rich Roll podcast last October, Holland namedropped his real-life girlfriend as someone who should show up. Jacob Batalon's Ned Leeds is another character from Spidey's first three MCU outings who might also show up, but I've seen little evidence that he'll return.

Other established MCU characters are expected to be part of proceedings. In May, reports emerged that Spider-Man: Brand New Day would feature one of the original Avengers in Ruffalo's Banner/The Hulk. One month later, numerous outlets claimed Bernthal's Castle/The Punisher would also appear in Spider-Man 4. Bernthal has since seemingly confirmed he'll feature (see the TikTok video below).

Considering Spider-Man: No Way Home was something of a hard reset for the wallcrawler in the MCU, there'll be plenty of new faces we'll be introduced to.

The first – and arguably most intriguing – is the character who Stranger Things star Sadie Sink is playing. Marvel reportedly cast Sink in Spider-Man 4 in mid-March, and she's been linked with playing everyone from fan-favorite X-Men superhero Jean Grey to Mayday Parker, aka the daughter of Peter Parker and Mary-Jane Watson in the comics. For what it's worth, a recent Marvel report about the comic titan's forthcoming X-Men movie has, in my opinion, ended speculation that Sink may portray Grey in Brand New Day. We'll see if I'm right if any on-set images of Sink leak online in the weeks and months ahead.

It sounds like Spider-Man: Brand New Day will aim to replicate No Way Home's success by telling a story containing multiple villains, too.

In May, a Marvel leak indicated Spidey could face off against three primary villains. Two months later, a behind-the-scenes look at Brand New Day appeared to confirm who two such foes in B-list villains Tarantula and Boomerang. Surprisingly, neither of them were Mack Gargan/Scorpion, who was very briefly portrayed by Michael Mando in Spider-Man: Homecoming's mid-credits scene. Taking to Instagram in early August, Mando heavily implied he was returning as one of the webslinger's most iconic supervillains.

#SpiderMan4 pic.twitter.com/r9l1nEmmtJAugust 1, 2025

But wait, there's more. Images captured by fans from Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Glasgow-based set also suggest Mister Negative, a fairly recent addition to the hero's rogues gallery, is also involved. The evidence? An Inner Demons logo on the side of a tank (see the X/Twitter post above), which is the emblem used by Mister Negative's forces.

Other cast rumors abound about Spider-Man 4. Deadline has claimed The Bear's Liza Colon-Zayas has signed on in an undisclosed role, while J.K. Simmons is thought to be returning as The Daily Bugle's Spidey-hating editor J. Jonah Jameson (per industry insider DanielRPK).

Elsewhere, Andrew Garfield has again denied his version of the titular hero will appear (per Deadline) and Daredevil star Vincent D'Onofrio has said not to expect Wilson Fisk/Kingpin to show up (per the Happy Sad Confused podcast) because his version of the character can only be used on the small screen. Lastly, as much as fans want it to happen there's no word on whether Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock/Daredevil will team up with Spidey after Murdock made a brief cameo in No Way Home.

Full spoilers follow for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day doesn't have a story synopsis yet. Nevertheless, there's still a fair amount we can deduce about its plot.

For starters, No Way Home ended with Spidey go back to being a friendly neighborhood hero. That movie's finale saw Doctor Strange cast a spell that made the world forget Peter Parker was Spider-Man, thereby allowing him to return to his roots before he was thrust into the superhuman limelight in Captain America: Civil War.

With no Tony Stark-created tech available to him, he's also returned to his superhero origins and created his own suit. Tom Holland gave us our first full look at the updated suit he'll wear in Brand New Day in early August – the full reveal coming 24 hours after a Spider-Man 4 video teased his new superhero attire.

A post shared by Anthony | Tom Holland Updates (@tomhollandupdates)

A photo posted by on

We've also learned when the film may be set, with fan-snapped set images indicating Spider-Man: Brand New Day will take place sometime in 2027. That place places it three years after No Way Home on the MCU timeline and, if true, means Holland's Parker has been operating as his crime-fighting alter-ego for some time without anyone knowing who he is. That would be enough time for him to rack up a sizeable number of street-level villains, including the ones I mentioned in this article's cast section.

Speaking of street level events, Marvel President Kevin Feige told Collider that Brand New Day will be a more grounded take than its forebear, saying: "We are seeing, for the first time in the Tom Holland Spider-Man stories, him being a proper Spider-Man. Him being by himself, dedicated to saving the city, and dealing with – for lack of better terms – street-level crime, as opposed to world-ending events."

We don't know what kind of street-level story we'll get outside of that, but fan videos from Brand New Day's set have shown the webslinger riding atop a tank. Meanwhile, images uploaded to the Pinterest account of the movie's cinematographer Brett Pawlak imply that Spidey will do battle with The Hulk at some point (see the X/Twitter post below). Could we see the return of Savage Hulk? And what would cause Banner/Smart Hulk to de-evolve back into his original form?

So this was on Brett pawlak Pinterest account, interesting https://t.co/4wdQsHpXW4 pic.twitter.com/gvQcNB6GI6June 27, 2025

Finally, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is no longer sandwiched between the next two Avengers movies.

Originally, Avengers: Doomsday was due out in theaters on May 2026, i.e. two months before Spider-Man 4. However, Marvel announced it was delaying the release of Avengers: Doomsday and its sequel, with the films now expected to arrive in December 2026 and December 2027. DanielRPK has since suggested that meant parts of Brand New Day needed to be rewritten to reflect its story taking place before those movies, so it'll be interesting to see if Spider-Man 4 will directly lead into Doomsday or, like Thunderbolts*, contain an end credits stinger that teases what's to come in Avengers 5.

We don't know. If, as it's believed, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars lead to a soft reboot of the MCU – Feige has teased this will happen – it's possible that this reset could be the opportune time for Holland to walk away from his most iconic acting role.

That said, it could also be the perfect time for Holland's Spider-Man to become a mentor to a live-action Miles Morales. The star of animated offerings Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, aka two of the best Spider-Man movies, could wind up in the MCU as part of this soft reboot. If he does, Holland's Parker could teach this iteration of Morales how to use his powers, which he does in the Spider-Verse movies and Insomniac's Spider-Man videogame series, before officially passing the torch onto Morales to become the MCU's new wallcrawler.

For what it's worth, Feige told Brazilian outlet Omelete that he wants to bring Morales to the MCU, but later told Variety that he can't until Sony's Spider-Verse film series has ended. The franchise's final entry – Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse – isn't due out until June 4, 2027. But, with Secret Wars lined up to arrive six months later, the dominoes may fall into place that enable Morales to finally make his live-action debut in the MCU.

Even if that happens, I can't see Spider-Man: Brand New Day being Holland's last solo adventure in the MCU. He's too big of a name and Spider-Man's too popular of a character for the A-lister to end his association with the superhero post-Secret Wars. I fully expect Holland to co-star alongside whoever's hired to play Morales in the MCU in Spider-Man 5, then, before potentially passing on the mantle in Spider-Man 6. As always, though, we'll see what shakes out in the films to come first.

For more Marvel coverage find out how to watch the Marvel movies in order and/or how to watch the Spider-Man movies in order. Alternatively, see if you agree with our ranking of the best Marvel movies or check out my dedicated guide on Avengers: Doomsday.

Squarespace has become a top choice in the website builder world thanks to its sleek designs and easy-to-use tools. You’ve probably seen it advertised across different platforms, and for good reason—it’s hard to miss.

• Fully customizable templates
• Intuitive drag-and-drop editor
• Comprehensive ecommerce tools

• Higher pricing than competitors
• AI image generation limits
• Slightly restrictive for developers

Hostinger is known for its easy drag-and-drop editor, built-in SEO tools, and fast hosting. With customizable templates and AI-powered design options, Hostinger makes it simple to create a professional website without breaking the bank.

• Intuitive drag-and-drop editor
• Extremely affordable pricing
• Built-in AI tools
• Free domain and SSL
• + Unlimited websites

• No free plan
• Limited third-party integrations
• - Content lost during template switches

Hostinger and Squarespace are two of the best website builders in 2025. They both offer user-friendly drag-and-drop editors, making it simple for anyone to create a professional website. Squarespace is known for its stylish templates and strong blogging features. In contrast, Hostinger shines with its AI tools, low prices, and fast hosting options.

Hostinger website builder prices start at $2.99/mo (or less with our Hostinger promo codes), but rises to $11.99/mo after the initial term. This is still a fair bit cheaper than Sqaurespace, that starts its pricing at $16/mo (or less with our Squarespace promo codes).

This comparison will look at how these platforms measure up in key areas. We'll cover things like pricing, template quality, editor features, ecommerce options, and customer support. By exploring the strengths and weaknesses of each builder, we’ll help you find the right fit for your needs, whether you want to build a portfolio, blog, small business site, or online store.

Feature

Hostinger

Squarespace

Pricing

Starts at $2.99/month

Starts at $16/month

Free Domain

Yes (for 1 year with annual plans)

Yes

Templates

150+ customizable templates

180+ aesthetically-pleasing templates

Editor

Drag-and-drop interface with AI

Intuitive drag-and-drop editor (Fluid Engine)

AI Website Builder

Yes

Yes

Mobile Responsiveness

Yes

Yes

SEO Tools

Built-in SEO tools, AI SEO Assistant

Built-in SEO tools

E-commerce Features

Available on higher plans

Essential features on most plans

Marketing Tools

AI Writer, AI Heatmap

Built-in email marketing

Blogging Platform

Yes

Yes

Customer Support

24/7 live chat and email support

24/7 email, live chat during business hours

Knowledge Base

Extensive tutorials and guides

Knowledge base, video tutorials, forum

Mobile App

No

Yes

Free SSL Certificate

Yes

Yes

Design Customization

Moderate level

High level of design customization

Hosting

Fully managed hosting with 99.9% uptime guarantee

Premium hosting included, but not separately manageable

Performance

Known for fast loading times

Good performance, but may vary

Integrations

Limited

Wide range of integrations and extensions

Language Support

Multi-language support

Limited multi-language support

Logo Maker

AI Logo Generator

Free logo maker

Content Generation

AI Writer, AI Blog Generator

Limited AI-powered content tools

Specialized Features

AI-powered tools for various aspects

Acuity Scheduling for bookable services

Target Audience

Beginners, small businesses, AI enthusiasts

Creatives, designers, small businesses

Plan

Monthly cost (paid monthly)

Monthly cost (paid annually)

Personal

$25

$16

Business

$36

$23

Commerce (Basic)

$40

$28

Commerce (Advanced)

$72

$52

With just 4 plans to pick from, Squarespace pricing is simple to understand.

The Personal plan starts at $16/month for features such as custom domains, Squarespace AI, SSL security, and unlimited bandwidth. Moving up to the Business plan at $23/month, you get additional features like website analytics, promotional pop-ups, customization with CSS and Javascript, and a 3% transaction fee on e-commerce sales.

If you're aiming to build an online store, the Basic Commerce plan removes the transaction fees and adds perks like point of sale, product review, and more at $27/month. Meanwhile, larger stores can go with the Advanced Commerce plan. At $52/month, you’ll get additional features like advanced shipping, abandoned cart recovery, discounts, and commerce APIs.

Depending on your situation, you can save up to 50% on your Squarespace subscription by using one of the best Squarespace promo codes.

Plan

Introductory offer (48 months)

With our exclusive promo code*

Renewal rate

Website Builder Basic

$2.99/mo

$2.69/mo

$11.99/mo

Website Builder Plus

$3.99/mo

$3.59/mo

$13.99/mo

*Use our exclusive promo code TECHRADAR at checkout for an extra 10% off the introductory rate.

Hostinger has two budget-friendly website builder plans, starting with the Premium Website Builder plan at just $2.99/month for a 48-month term.

This plan includes a free domain worth $9.99, integration with third-party tools like Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics, WhatsApp, Adsense, and access to a Mobile website editor.

At a slightly higher cost, the Business Website Builder plan comes in at $3.99/month and includes AI tools for generating images, blog writing, heatmaps, and SEO. Plus, you can set up your online store with a 0% transaction fee.

My verdict: Hostinger clearly wins in terms of affordability with its highly competitive pricing, making it ideal for beginners or small businesses on a budget. However, if you want a more polished, design-focused website with powerful built-in tools, Squarespace's higher price might be worth it, as it has specific plans based on your needs.

For its website builder, Hostinger offers over 150 customizable templates and AI features like an AI Website Builder, AI Writer, AI Heatmap, and AI Logo Generator. These tools help users create content, optimize sites, and build brands easily. Plus, Hostinger includes fully managed hosting with a 99.9% uptime guarantee for reliable websites.

Squarespace features about 180 beautiful, designer-made templates that are modern and visually appealing. Its Fluid Engine drag-and-drop editor allows customization but follows a more structured grid. Squarespace also includes Blueprint AI for site creation, Acuity Scheduling for bookings, and strong blogging features. Both platforms support ecommerce on higher-tier plans, but, Squarespace offers more integrations and extensions.

For AI tools and flexible hosting, Hostinger is better. For design-focused sites with more integrations, Squarespace takes the cake. Your choice depends on your business and website preferences, along with your technical proficiency.

Squarespace stands out with its intuitive and polished drag-and-drop editor, Fluid Engine. This editor features grid-based layouts and predefined content blocks. As you build your website, you can customize your template with colors, fonts, images, and content. You can see these changes in real time as you edit, and it’s easy to switch between the desktop and mobile views to make sure your site looks good on all devices. Squarespace comes with built-in tools for adding blogs, photo galleries, and online store features, which makes it easy to create different kinds of websites.

On the other hand, Hostinger’s AI brings your customizable site to life in a matter of minutes. Even if you choose a pre-made template, you can easily tweak elements using their drag-and-drop interface. While it might not be as feature-rich or as visually appealing as Squarespace, it gets the job done quickly and to a high standard. Not to mention, you can use Hostinger’s AI tools like AI Heatmap and AI Writer to optimize content and design for conversions.

My verdict: While Hostinger’s AI provides speed and simplicity to launch your site quickly, Squarespace comes out on top, with an intuitive editor that lets you experiment with different layouts. This gives you the flexibility to create beautiful designs and keep your website fresh and up-to-date.

Squarespace supports a wide variety of features for both physical and digital products, such as product variants, customer reviews, discount codes, and inventory management. It also offers point-of-sale integration, subscription-based services, and abandoned cart recovery in its Advanced Commerce plan. Squarespace further enhances your online store with SEO tools, customizable checkout pages, and the ability to connect your store with social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

From a single dashboard, Hostinger lets you set up a payment method, customize each item, add your business info for invoices, and review your shipping policies. It also offers several advanced tools, some of which are AI-powered, that can speed up store creation and product upload.

From the Store Manager section, you can set up an online store, manage inventory, create product categories, and offer discount codes. While you get insights like average order value and revenue, their ecommerce tools are not as advanced as Squarespace. Hostinger is best suited for smaller online stores that don’t need extensive ecommerce functionalities.

My verdict: Squarespace is the clear winner for users looking to build a full-fledged ecommerce website with advanced features. Hostinger is a great budget option for small businesses or individuals needing basic e-commerce capabilities.

Squarespace focuses on giving you a visually-driven user experience. Its platform is smooth, well-organized, and packed with design-forward features that make building a website enjoyable. Whether you're a designer or someone with minimal tech skills, Squarespace’s well-thought-out UI leverages the help of AI for intuitive recommendations. All of their templates are mobile-optimized, so your website will look great across all devices.

Hostinger’s AI builder is designed to be quick and easy. The interface is straightforward and the features are great for those with no or little website building experience. While it doesn’t have the same level of design customization as Squarespace, the simplicity of the platform makes it easier to navigate, particularly for non-designers. Plus, the platform is lightweight, which ensures fast load times and smooth browsing experiences.

My verdict: If you value design and aesthetics, Squarespace’s user experience is unparalleled. Hostinger is more focused on efficiency and speed, making it a great choice for users who prioritize simplicity over complex design options.

Squarespace comes with 24/7 email support and live chat during business hours. Additionally, they have an extensive knowledge base, video tutorials, forum, and webinars to help you get the most out of their platform. If you need professional assistance, you can hire a Squarespace Expert to help set up your site. While Squarespace support is highly regarded, the lack of direct phone support may be a drawback for some users.

Similarly, despite a lack of phone support, Hostinger’s customer support team functions well with 24/7 customer support via live chat and email. Like Squarespace, it features a knowledge base with step-by-step guides, articles, and tutorials. What sets Hostinger apart is its Hostinger Academy YouTube channel, which has over 550 videos, run by industry experts.

My verdict: It’s almost a tie, since both Squarespace and Hostinger offer good resources, though neither has phone support. Squarespace comes with live chat, tutorials, and expert help, while Hostinger is known for quick responses and its highly valuable YouTube channel.

Between the two, Hostinger stands out as a more affordable and flexible choice. Plans start at a small fraction of Squarespace's cost while offering essential website building features. AI tools add great value for content creation and optimization. The platform also boasts reliable hosting with a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Hostinger suits budget-conscious users, small businesses, and those who want a mix of simplicity and customization.

Squarespace, though pricier, offers superior design quality. Its professionally crafted templates and easy drag-and-drop editor make it a favorite among creatives. It's often rated as one of the easiest website builders, perfect for beginners who want to focus on aesthetics. The platform includes better integrations and features, but these come at a higher price.

For users looking for the best value and AI-assisted building, Hostinger is the top pick. If design is your main focus and you’re ready to pay more for a polished site, Squarespace is the gold standard. Your choice should depend on your specific needs, budget, and design preferences.