Wix and Squarespace vs a website built for you

Wix and Squarespace are fine tools. The question is whether you want a tool or a finished website.

If you enjoy design, have time to write every page and will actually finish it, a builder can be good value. If you have been paying for one for a year and the site is still a template with placeholder text, a built-for-you option is probably cheaper in the end.

A login and a blank page

You choose a template, drag sections around, write the headline, find photos, wire up the contact form and publish. The editor has improved, but nobody has removed the blank page. You are still the designer and the copywriter.

A monthly subscription

Business plans on the main builders typically run £15–£35 a month. The ad price is real — the hours you spend are not on the invoice.

Platform lock-in

Your site runs on their system. If you outgrow it or want to leave, you export what you can and rebuild elsewhere. That is not a scandal — it is how platforms work — but it is worth knowing upfront.

Someone else does the design, the writing and the fiddly setup — you show up for feedback and photos.

Built for you. Yours to change.. If you can post on Facebook, you can do this. On a website builder you get a login and a blank page - you're the designer, the copywriter and the person who never finishes it. Here I do the building and the writing, and you still get the login for the easy stuff. Change a price at 9pm from your phone without emailing anyone or paying extra. A professional website designed for your kind of business. Homepage, services, about and contact - plus a service page for every service you offer. Copy written for you.

Time

DIY: your evenings for weeks, or indefinitely. Built for you: about a week once you have supplied photos and answered a few questions.

Skill

DIY: you learn the editor and basic design judgment. Built for you: you need to know your business well enough to answer questions — not how to align a text box.

After launch

Put your prices up; Add photos of a job you've just finished; Change your opening hours before a bank holiday — those are yours to change without emailing anyone. Need a custom feature, or something big? We can discuss and agree a price for any additional work.

Cost over three years

DIY at £25 a month for three years is £900 — plus your time, if you ever finish. Wonderful Web at £50 a month for three years is £1,800 — with the build, hosting and copy included, and nothing paid until the site is live. An agency at £3,000 upfront plus £30 a month hosting is £4,080 over the same period. The cheapest option on paper is not always the cheapest option in practice.

Pick DIY if you will enjoy it, have time, and want the lowest monthly cost. Pick an agency if you need something bespoke and have budget for a proper build fee. Pick a monthly built-for-you plan if you want a finished site without a four-figure invoice and without becoming your own web designer — which is most local trades and small service businesses.