Wix vs a custom-built website: which is right for you?
Website builders are fine for some. Here is the honest trade-off, and when a built-and-owned site wins.
- Builders like Wix are genuinely fine for a simple site if you want to do it yourself and do not mind paying monthly forever.
- You rent the platform, you do the work, and builder sites often load slower and give you less control than a hand-built one.
- A custom site is a one-off £199 to £999 you own outright, built to load fast and rank well. See the prices.
Short answer: if you are happy building it yourself, paying a monthly fee for as long as the site exists, and you only need something simple, a builder like Wix or Squarespace is a reasonable choice. If you want it done for you, loading fast, ranking well, and actually owned, a custom build is the better long-term call. Here is the honest comparison, without pretending builders are useless.
What each one actually is
Wix and Squarespace are drag-and-drop website builders. You rent the platform monthly and build the site yourself from templates. A custom-built site is designed and coded for you on a modern stack, then it is yours: the files, the domain, all of it. One is a subscription you operate; the other is an asset someone builds and hands over.
The real cost, over time
Builder pricing looks cheap by the month and adds up by the year. Wix's entry business plan is around £17 a month, but a genuinely functional business site with the apps most people end up needing commonly runs £30 to £80 a month. That is £360 to £960 every year, forever, and you built it yourself.
| Wix / Squarespace | Custom (Jones Digital) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | £17 to £80 a month, forever | £199 to £999, once |
| Who builds it | You do | I do |
| Do you own it? | No, you rent the platform | Yes, site and domain |
| Speed | Often slow on mobile | Built to load in under a second |
| If you stop paying | The site goes offline | You keep everything |
| Upkeep | Your job | Optional, from £29/month |
Speed and SEO: the part that costs you customers
This is where hand-built pulls ahead. Builders carry a lot of extra code to make the drag-and-drop work, and it shows on a phone, where most local searches happen. Independent testing in 2026 put Wix's median mobile speed score at around 62 out of 100; a lean hand-built site sits comfortably in the 90s. Google uses page speed as a ranking signal, so a slow site is a quiet tax on how often you get found.
To be fair, Wix's SEO tools have genuinely improved and are fine for the basics. But you are still working inside the platform's limits, and you are still the one doing the work. A hand-built site gives full control of the markup, the structured data, and the speed, which is why it tends to rank better for the same effort. If you want the wider picture, here is what a website should actually cost.
When a builder is the right call
Genuinely: if you enjoy the DIY, you want to tinker with it yourself daily, your budget is a few pounds a month rather than a one-off, or you need something live this afternoon, a builder is a sensible start. Plenty of businesses begin on Wix and move to a built site once it is paying for itself. There is no shame in that path.
When a custom build wins
If you would rather not spend your evenings building a website, if you want it to load instantly and rank well, and if you would rather own an asset than rent a subscription, a custom build is the better value the moment you keep it more than a year or two. For most local businesses that want it done properly and left to work, that is the whole point. A one-page site from £199, built for your trade, live in about five days, and yours to keep.
Common questions.
Is Wix bad for SEO?
Not bad, but limited. Wix's SEO tools cover the basics well in 2026, but you work within the platform's constraints and builder sites often load slower on mobile, which Google counts against you. A hand-built site gives full control of speed and markup, so it tends to rank better for the same effort.
Can I move from Wix to a custom site later?
Yes, and many businesses do exactly that. They start on a builder, and once the site is bringing in work they move to a faster, owned build. Your content and domain come with you; the platform subscription is what you leave behind.
Isn't a builder cheaper?
Cheaper by the month, not over time. At £30 to £80 a month a builder costs £360 to £960 a year, every year. A one-off Starter build is £199 and you own it, with upkeep optional from £29 a month. Keep the site more than a year and owning it usually wins.