Wix vs Squarespace vs WordPress (vs a custom site) for small business

Wix

Wix is a drag-and-drop builder with lots of templates. It's easy to start and you can get something online in a weekend. The trade-offs: it's easy to end up with a cluttered site, you're locked into the platform, and a lot of the polish depends on how much time you put in.

Squarespace

Squarespace has clean, design-led templates and is great for looking good quickly — especially for visual businesses like photographers, cafés and salons. It's less flexible than Wix or WordPress, and like Wix you're tied to the platform.

WordPress

WordPress powers a huge share of the web and can do almost anything with plugins. That power comes with work: hosting, updates, security, plugin conflicts and a steeper learning curve. Most small businesses on WordPress end up paying someone to look after it anyway.

A custom-built site

A custom site is designed around your business rather than a template, and can be built to load fast and rank well from day one. Traditionally that's meant agency prices. It doesn't have to.

Which should you choose?

A simple rule of thumb:

• You enjoy tinkering and have spare evenings → a builder like Wix or Squarespace is fine.
• You need lots of custom functionality and have someone technical → WordPress can work.
• You'd rather be running your business and want a site that looks professional and brings in enquiries → have it built for you.

The option that doesn't cost you your weekends

We build custom websites for $990 plus $39/month — hosting, domain, email and small edits included — and you see the finished site before you pay anything. If you're currently on Wix, Squarespace or an old WordPress site, we'll rebuild it and show you the difference.