Wix vs Squarespace vs a custom website for a small business

It’s one of the most common questions I get from small business owners: should I use Wix, Squarespace, or pay someone to build me something custom? Every option has a loud fan club online, and most comparisons are written by people selling one of them.

So here’s an honest one. Short version first: the platform matters a lot less than what you put on it, and who looks after it. But the differences are real, so let’s go through them.

Wix and Squarespace: the do-it-yourself builders

Wix and Squarespace are site builders. You pay a monthly subscription, pick a template, drag things around, and they host it for you.

What’s good about them:

• Quick to start. You can have something online in a weekend.
• Hosting, security and updates are handled. You never patch a server.
• Low upfront cost. A monthly fee instead of a build bill.

Where they catch people out:

• Your time is the real cost. The builder is easy. Writing pages that bring in enquiries, getting found on Google and keeping it all current is the hard part, and that’s on you.
• You’re renting, not owning. You can’t pick your site up and move it somewhere else. If you ever leave, you’re largely starting again.
• Speed is mostly out of your hands. You can keep things lean, but you can’t tune what the platform loads underneath. On a phone, that can matter. (More on that in why your website is slow on a phone.)
• Templates look like templates. Fine for some businesses, a bit generic for others.

Squarespace leans towards polished, design-led templates. Wix gives you more freedom to move things around, which is great until the page gets messy. For most small businesses, either is a reasonable DIY choice if you’ve got the time and the patience.

WordPress: the flexible middle ground

WordPress powers a huge share of the web. Unlike Wix and Squarespace, you (or your developer) choose the hosting, and the site is genuinely yours to move.

• Very flexible. Almost anything can be added, including a full online shop with WooCommerce.
• You own it. Your files, your hosting, your choice of who looks after it.
• But it needs looking after. Plugins and updates need regular care, or it gets slow, broken or hacked. A neglected WordPress site is one of the most common things I see.

Shopify and BigCommerce: if you mainly sell online

If your business is mostly an online shop, Shopify and BigCommerce are built for exactly that: products, payments, stock and postage. Like Wix and Squarespace, you’re on their platform, but their selling tools are hard to beat.

A custom-built website

A custom site is built from scratch for your business, without a template or a site builder.

• Fast and lean. Nothing loads that you don’t need, which helps on phones and with Google.
• Exactly fits how your customers buy. No working around a template’s limits.
• You own every file.
• But someone has to build and look after it, so it costs more up front than a DIY builder, and you need someone you can actually call.

What actually matters (more than the logo on the platform)

Google doesn’t rank sites higher because they’re on Wix or WordPress. Customers don’t care what’s underneath either. What matters is the same whatever you’re on:

1. Is it fast on a phone?
2. Can people find it on Google for what you do? (Here’s why sites stay invisible on Google, and how to fix it.)
3. Is it obvious what you do and how to get in touch?
4. Is someone keeping it current, so it doesn’t quietly fall apart?

A well-looked-after Squarespace site beats a neglected custom one every time. And the other way round.

Already on one? You probably don’t need to switch

If you’re already on Wix, Squarespace, WordPress or a shop platform and it’s not working, the answer usually isn’t to switch platforms. It’s to fix what’s on it.

That’s how I work. Frogmouth Ponds kept its WooCommerce store and got a completely rebuilt experience on top. Lifestyle Gardens stayed on BigCommerce, and I look after it month to month so more of the right people find the shop. Neither had to move house to get a better site.

So, which should you pick?

• Starting from nothing, small budget, and you enjoy tinkering? Wix or Squarespace is a sensible start.
• Mainly selling products online? Shopify, BigCommerce or WooCommerce.
• Want it fast, found and looked after, without doing it yourself? Get it built properly on whatever suits you, and have someone keep it that way.

On costs, I’ve broken down what each route really costs in how much a small business website should cost in Australia.

If you’d like a straight answer for your business, grab a free rebuild preview and I’ll show you what your current site could look like on the platform you already have, or book a 15-minute chat.