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Wix vs Squarespace vs WordPress vs a custom website
A fair comparison of cost, ownership, SEO, AI search and upkeep, with a decision flowchart to pick the right one for your business.
For a simple 5 to 10 page site you'll update yourself, Squarespace or Wix is often enough and usually costs a few hundred dollars a year. WordPress fits content-heavy sites with someone to maintain them. A custom site is worth it when your website is a main source of leads and you want speed, full ownership of the code, and freedom to grow without being locked into a platform.
Prices checked on each platform's own pages in October 2026. US prices; yours may vary by location.
Which website platform is right for a small business?
| If you… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Want to build it yourself this weekend, with lots of design freedom | Wix |
| Want polished templates and less to fiddle with | Squarespace |
| Publish lots of articles, or need a specific plugin, and have someone technical | WordPress |
| Depend on the site for leads, want speed and full ownership, and would rather not maintain it | A custom site |
How much does each option really cost per year and over 3 years?
| Wix | Squarespace | WordPress | Custom (Larkspun Essential) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | $0 plus your time (free plan available) | $0 plus your time | $0 software; WordPress.com plan or your own hosting | $1,800 |
| Yearly cost | Light $17 to Business Elite $159 a month, billed yearly | About $16 to $99 a month | WordPress.com $4 to $45 a month billed yearly; self-hosted varies by host | $1,200 a year for Care ($100/mo) |
| 3-year cash cost | Core: $1,044 + domain renewals | About $576 to $3,564 + domain renewals | Premium: $288 + domain renewals | $5,400 including care |
| Who maintains it | You | You | You or a developer: updates, plugins, backups | Larkspun |
| Export and ownership | Site must stay hosted on Wix | Partial content export as a WordPress file | Full export; open-source software | You own the domain, content and files |
| Speed control | Limited to the platform | Limited to the platform | High, depends on theme and plugins | Full |
| Schema and robots.txt control | Robots.txt editor; custom JSON-LD | Mostly automatic; less hands-on control | Full, usually via plugins | Full |
| Best for | DIY owners who want design freedom | DIY owners who want polish | Content-heavy sites with technical help | Sites that need to bring in customers |
| Worst for | Owners who may want to move later | Complex or custom features | Owners with no time for upkeep | Owners who want to change the layout daily themselves |
Sources: Wix plans, Squarespace, WordPress.com pricing, Wix robots.txt editor, Wix structured data, and Larkspun pricing. 3-year math: Wix Core $29 × 36 = $1,044; Squarespace $16 to $99 × 36 = $576 to $3,564; WordPress.com Premium $8 × 36 = $288; Larkspun Essential $1,800 + $100 × 36 = $5,400. Free first-year domains apply to yearly plans; renewals after that vary.
The cash numbers favor builders. The time numbers don't: on a builder, every hour of writing, design and upkeep is yours. See our full website cost guide for a 3-year comparison that includes freelancers and agencies.
Who owns your website on Wix, Squarespace, WordPress and custom?
- Wix: you own your content, but the working site can't leave. Wix says "In order for your site to work properly, it needs to be hosted and operated on Wix's servers." You can connect a domain you bought elsewhere (Wix Help Center).
- Squarespace: you can export basic pages, one blog with its posts, and text and image blocks, as a WordPress-format .xml file. Store pages, other page types, custom CSS and style settings don't export (Squarespace Help Center).
- WordPress: the software is released under the GPLv2 or later, so you can take your whole site to any host (WordPress.org). Check the license of any premium theme or plugin you buy.
- Custom: ownership depends on your contract. Insist on the domain in your name and the site files on request. At Larkspun, you always own both.
Can you move your site later if you outgrow the platform?
From WordPress, yes: export and import to another host. From Wix or Squarespace, plan on rebuilding the design. You can bring your domain, your text and your images, and Squarespace gives you a starting file for some content. Keep a copy of your important text and photos outside the builder either way.
Which is best for SEO and showing up in AI search?
Any of the four can rank well for a small local business when the fundamentals are right. Google says there are no special files or markup needed for its AI features. What counts is crawlability, internal links, page experience, content in text form, and structured data that matches the visible text (Google Search Central; see also Google's SEO Starter Guide).
The differences are in control:
- Crawler access: can you decide which search and AI crawlers get in? Wix has a robots.txt editor. Squarespace has a checkbox that asks known AI training crawlers to stay out. WordPress and custom sites give you full control.
- Structured data: Wix lets you add custom JSON-LD. WordPress usually needs a plugin. A custom site can mark up every service, area and FAQ exactly.
- Speed: builders load their own scripts on every page. A custom static site loads only what each page needs. Test any site, including ours, with Google PageSpeed Insights.
For the AI side in detail, read how to get your business recommended by ChatGPT.
How much maintenance does each one need?
- Wix and Squarespace: the platform handles hosting, security and updates. You handle content, photos and anything that changes in your business.
- WordPress: WordPress core, themes and plugins need regular updates and backups. That's routine, not a flaw, but someone has to own it.
- Custom static site: no database or plugins to update, so upkeep is light. Content changes still need doing, by you or on a care plan.
When is a DIY builder genuinely enough?
- Most customers find you by referral, word of mouth or social media.
- You need a handful of pages and simple contact or booking.
- You enjoy doing it, and your time is cheaper than a designer's.
- You're testing an idea and may change direction soon.
When is a custom website worth the money?
By "custom" we mean a site designed and built for your business, not a template: hand-built pages with no plugin stack, hosted on a fast static host like Cloudflare Pages, with every title, page and piece of structured data written for your market. That's how Larkspun builds, including this site. It's worth it when:
- The website is a main source of calls, bookings or sales.
- You compete on search in your town, region, state or nationally.
- You want full ownership and no platform lock-in.
- You'd rather pay someone to maintain it than learn another tool.
Which should you choose?
Answer these in order. Stop at the first "yes."
Is the website a main source of your leads or sales, and would you rather not maintain it yourself?
Yes A custom site. Compare our plans.
No Keep going.
Will you publish articles every week, or need a specific plugin, and do you have someone technical?
Yes WordPress.
No Keep going.
Do you sell 50 or more products online?
Yes A commerce-focused platform, or a custom site with a store. Ask about our online stores.
No Keep going.
Do you need integrations like booking, a CRM or a client portal?
Yes Check that your builder supports the exact tool, or go custom.
No Keep going.
Will you update it yourself every week and want lots of design control?
Yes Wix.
No Squarespace.
Signs you've outgrown your builder
- You're paying for several apps or add-ons to do what one site should do.
- You need a page or feature the template can't handle.
- Pages feel slow on a phone, and you can't fix it.
- You can't add the service-area pages or structured data you need to compete.
- Updating the site takes hours you don't have.
- The site is now a main lead source, and you want it working harder.
Thinking about switching? Start with the $595 Website & AI Visibility Audit to see what's worth fixing versus rebuilding, credited toward any build. Or see custom websites and ongoing care.
FAQ
Is Wix or Squarespace better for SEO?
Both can rank well for a small business site when the basics are done: clear page titles, useful content, fast pages and accurate business details. Wix gives more hands-on control, including a robots.txt editor and custom JSON-LD structured data. Squarespace handles more automatically. Content and reviews matter more than the platform.
Can I move my Wix or Squarespace site to another platform?
Not as a working site. Wix says a site must be hosted on Wix's servers to work. Squarespace exports only some content, such as basic pages and one blog, as a WordPress-format file. Expect to rebuild the design either way, though you can keep your domain.
What's the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?
WordPress.org is the free, open-source WordPress software, licensed under the GPL, that you install on your own hosting. WordPress.com is a paid hosting service that runs WordPress for you, with plans from $4 a month billed yearly. Same software, different responsibilities.
Is a custom website faster than Wix or Squarespace?
It can be, because a hand-built static site loads only what each page needs. Speed depends on how a site is built, not just the platform, so test any site with Google PageSpeed Insights rather than trusting a blanket claim.
Do I own my website if a designer builds it?
Only if your contract and platform allow it. Get it in writing that the domain is in your name, you own the content and photos, and you receive the site files if you leave. At Larkspun, you always own your domain, content and site files.
Can a custom site still be easy for me to update?
Yes, if it is set up for it. Some owners want an editor; others prefer to send changes to a care plan. Larkspun Care includes small edits each month, and you can take the site in-house later if you prefer.