WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or a custom build: which is right for a small business?

Wix and Squarespace are website builders. You pay a monthly or yearly plan, pick a template and edit pages by dragging blocks around. Hosting, security and software updates are handled by the company.

WordPress is free, open source software, released under the GPL licence. There are two versions. WordPress.com is a paid service that hosts the site for you. Self-hosted WordPress, from WordPress.org, means you or your web designer arrange hosting and look after updates.

A custom build is a site designed and built for your business by a web designer or developer. It might run on WordPress or on other software. The point is that the design, page structure and features are made to fit you, rather than chosen from a template.

This table sums up the main trade-offs. None of the options is best for everyone. The right one depends on your budget, your time and what the site needs to do.

All three publish their prices online. These are the figures we saw at the time of writing (November 2026). Prices vary by country and change often, so check before you decide.

Squarespace showed four plans in pounds, including estimated VAT. The lowest was Basic at £14.40 a month paid yearly or £19.20 paid monthly. The highest was Advanced at £94.80 a month paid yearly or £106.80 paid monthly. There is no free plan, but every site starts with a 14-day free trial.

Wix showed a free plan and four paid plans called Light, Core, Business and Business Elite. The prices we were shown were in US dollars for reference, with a note that real prices vary by location, so check the UK price in your own browser. Core is the lowest plan listed with online payments and selling.

WordPress.com listed prices in US dollars, excluding tax. Plans ran from a free plan up to Commerce, with lower monthly rates for yearly or longer billing. Self-hosted WordPress is free to download, but you pay a hosting company, and the cost depends on the host and package.

Look beyond the plan price. On Squarespace's Basic plan, for example, the pricing page listed a 2% fee on online store sales on top of card processing, which drops to 0% on higher plans. If you plan to sell online, compare fees as well as the monthly cost.

A builder is a sensible choice more often than web designers sometimes admit. If you are starting out, have a small budget and need a few clear pages, Wix or Squarespace can get you online quickly.

You don't have to worry about hosting, security patches or broken plugins. Both let you sell online on suitable plans, and Wix lists scheduling on its Core plan and above.

• You want to build and edit the site yourself.
• You need a handful of pages: home, services, about and contact.
• Your budget is tight and you would rather pay monthly.
• You don't need links to other systems such as a CRM (customer relationship management system, where you keep customer details).
• You are happy to stay on one platform for the long term.

The biggest one is lock-in. Wix states that a Wix site must be hosted and run on Wix's servers and can't be exported elsewhere. If you leave, you rebuild.

Squarespace is a little more open. It can export some content as a file that WordPress can import, but not every page type. Store pages, video blocks, style settings and custom code don't come across.

The other limit is time. A builder is only cheap if your own time is free. Many owners find that writing, designing and maintaining their own site takes far longer than expected.

WordPress suits businesses that want more control and room to grow. You can choose your own host and move the site later, and the software can be extended with plugins for booking, shops, forms and more.

WordPress.com says that both its hosted service and self-hosted WordPress let you own your content and move it later. That freedom is a real advantage over closed builders.

The trade-off is upkeep. A self-hosted WordPress site needs regular updates to WordPress itself, its theme and its plugins. WordPress.org recommends hosting with PHP 8.3 or newer and warns that older versions may expose your site to security risks. If nobody keeps on top of this, a WordPress site can become slow or unsafe.

A custom build is worth it when a template would force you to bend your business to fit the software. It costs more up front, but the site is designed around your customers and how you work.

It also matters when the website needs to talk to other systems. Examples include a booking system, a CRM or a supplier's stock feed. These links are often hard or impossible to set up well in a builder.

• Your customers book or buy in a way a template doesn't handle well.
• You need the site connected to your booking system, CRM or other software.
• You want a design that doesn't look like a template.
• You want someone else to handle hosting, updates and fixes.
• You want full ownership of the site and the freedom to move it.

Answer these questions honestly. They usually point clearly to one option.

1. 1 Decide who will build and update the site. If it's you, lean towards a builder. If it's a web designer, WordPress or a custom build makes more sense.
2. 2 List what the site must do, such as take bookings, sell products, collect enquiries or connect to other software.
3. 3 Check whether each platform can do those things on the plan you can afford.
4. 4 Add up the yearly cost, including plan fees, sales fees, add-ons and your own time.
5. 5 Ask yourself where the business will be in three years. If you might outgrow a builder, factor in the cost of a rebuild later.
6. 6 Check who will own the site, the domain and the content under each option.

We build custom-designed small business websites, including online shops, direct booking and appointment booking websites, and sites built around a booking system you already use. Our Website Care plan covers hosting, care and support, so updates are handled for you. For example, we rebuilt the Oakmor Dental Centre site on WordPress as part of a rebrand.

If a builder would suit you better, we will say so. Use the Tell us about your project form to talk it through, and see our pricing page for current packages.