Wix, Squarespace or WordPress for a small business website?

Wix, Squarespace or WordPress: which one?

If you want a simple site and you’ll build and update it yourself, Wix or Squarespace is a fair choice. If you want someone else to build it and look after it, or you need more than a handful of pages, WordPress is usually the better fit.

We build on WordPress, so you should know we’re biased. Here’s how we think about it, including when we’d tell you to use a builder.

What each one actually is

Wix and Squarespace are website builders. You pay one company a monthly or yearly plan, and it supplies the editor, the hosting and the platform updates. You pick a template and change it to suit. Your site lives on their platform.

WordPress is free, open-source software. You put it on web hosting, choose a design, and add features with plugins. The software costs nothing, but the hosting, the build and the upkeep do.

One thing that trips people up: WordPress.com is a different, hosted service that works more like a builder. When we say WordPress here, we mean the software from WordPress.org that you host yourself, or have someone host for you.

How they compare

• Getting started. On a builder you pick a template, add your words and photos, and publish. WordPress needs hosting and set-up first, so most small businesses pay someone to build it.
• Looking after it. A builder updates and secures its own platform for you. WordPress needs regular updates to the software, plugins and theme, plus backups and security checks. Skip those and the site slowly gets riskier. Here’s what website maintenance involves. That’s what our website care plans cover.
• Flexibility. A builder gives you what its editor and app store offer. WordPress has thousands of plugins and can connect to almost anything, like a quote form that feeds your job software. More options also means more that can break.
• Cost. Builders charge plan fees that go up with features such as selling online. WordPress costs hosting, a build and care. Neither is free. Prices change, so check each company’s current price page, and see our website cost guide for what else to budget.
• Taking it with you. If you leave a builder, you usually rebuild the design somewhere else, though you can often copy your text and photos out. A WordPress site can be moved to another host. Check what a builder lets you export before you commit.
• Google. All three let you set page titles, descriptions, headings, image descriptions and redirects. The tool isn’t what gets you found. Good pages, real local details, a fast site on a phone and other sites linking to you are.

When Wix or Squarespace is the better call

Say you’re a sole-trader sparky who wants a home page, a services page, a few photos and your phone number. A builder can do that, and it’s a good start. A live site beats one that’s still in your head.

A builder is a sensible choice when:

• you’re just starting out and need only a few pages
• you’ll make the updates yourself and don’t mind the time it takes
• the budget is tight right now
• the site doesn’t need to connect to other software

You can always move to something bigger later. Just keep a copy of your photos and words, and hold your own domain name (our guide to domain names and web hosting explains why).

When WordPress makes more sense

Picture a builder tendering for council work. He needs a project gallery, a capability statement to download, a page for each service and a quote form that goes to the right person. That’s a lot to squeeze into a template.

WordPress tends to suit you when:

• you want it built and looked after by someone else, with one person to call
• you have lots of pages, like a page for each service or area
• you want forms or bookings to feed into other tools
• you want to own the site and be able to move it
• you plan to add a blog or grow the site over time

That’s the kind of site we build. Our website design and websites for tradies pages show how.

What if you mainly sell products online?

Wix and Squarespace both have online stores, and WordPress has one called WooCommerce. If the shop is the whole business, it’s also worth looking at Shopify, which is built for selling. Check which plan lets you sell, and what fee you pay on each sale, before you pick.

Four things to check before you decide

1. Who owns the domain? It should be registered in your business’s name, with you holding the login.
2. What happens if you stop paying or leave? Ask what you can take with you.
3. What does the plan include? Email, online selling and extra pages can all cost more.
4. Who fixes it when it breaks? With a builder that’s you and their support team. With WordPress it should be someone you can ring.

Questions people ask

Is WordPress better than Wix for SEO?

Not by itself. Google can read all of them. Rankings come from good pages, local details that are true, a fast site on a phone and links from other sites. WordPress gives you more control over the technical side, which matters more as a site grows.

Is Squarespace or WordPress better for a small business?

Squarespace suits a simple, good-looking site that you run yourself. WordPress suits a site that someone else builds and looks after, or one that needs to do more.

Can I move my Wix or Squarespace site to WordPress?

Usually you rebuild the design in WordPress and copy your text and photos across, because neither builder moves the design for you. If the old pages get new addresses, set up redirects so you don’t lose what Google already knows about you.

Is WordPress free?

The software is free. You still pay for hosting, a domain name and, usually, the build and the care. Builders bundle some of that into a plan.

Not sure which one suits you? Tell us what the site has to do, or send us the one you have now, and ask for a free website check. We’ll say plainly if a builder is the better fit.