Website Builder Comparison – Wix vs Squarespace vs WordPress

In this website builder comparison, I will discuss the pros and cons of the 3 most popular website builders; WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix. 

All 3 have merits, advantages, and disadvantages.

Which Website Builder is the easiest to use?

Wix is lovely. Honestly, no sarcasm here. It’s a dinky little builder where you can drag things around and make a website in an hour or so.

Wix is simple, it’s easy and anyone can set up a site with very little website knowledge.

Squarespace is the go-to for many people who want a contemporary design template. I have used Squarespace too but of these 2 hosted DIY platforms I prefer Wix but that’s just personal preference. Both are easy AF to spin up a site in a few hours.

With the ease of use comes limitations

Squarespace and Wix are hosted platforms. They are both controlled environments with limited options you can only host your site on their servers for which you pay a monthly fee.

With your monthly fee, you don’t have to worry about technology updates or finding hosting; you can basically just pick a template, add words and photos then hey presto; you can have a pretty website online in under an hour.

With Wix & Squarespace, you don’t need to know how to code or understand UX/UI you can pick a template and away you go.

These platforms are made for small businesses that simply need an online presence and whilst they are easy AF, like all easy things it’s limited and it’s on their platform so they own it and they have a level of control that I am personally not a fan of.

I am not a fan of someone else owning my website. Building a website on a hosted platform is like building a house on borrowed land.

The only way to move away from Wix is to rebuild the website. This can be a painful process that no doubt has stopped many business owners from leaving Wix even if they should.

Squarespace has a WordPress migration plugin which is very helpful but not perfect so when migrating Squarespace to self-hosted WordPress and there is still considerable work involved.

Why Do I Prefer WordPress?

Firstly because it’s not a hosted platform. I get to choose my hosting solution and if I decide to move my website, I can migrate it easily in a few minutes. No need to rebuild just migrate, point DNS, and presto, my website is on my new hosting solution.

For this blog, I am discussing WordPress.org which is the open-source platform that most people refer to when they say ‘WordPress’. WordPress is a powerful content management system that’s by far the best solution for serious business owners who want to use their website to scale with their business.

WordPress is not really a website builder like the others but it kinda is a website builder as it helps build websites 🙂

I am from the olden days when the internet was dial-up and we created websites with code. I love WordPress as I can develop sites in a fraction of the time that it used to take.

I can build a website in a day because of WordPress which was never possible back in the day.

There is a platform called WordPress.com which is hosting with limited options and it’s not great. There are far better-hosting options out there.

With WordPress, there are no limitations to what an experienced web developer can create for you.

If you dream it, I can create it

WordPress powers over 40% of the internet for good reason

WordPress has a huge learning curve which is why a lot of people struggle when trying to DIY or hear horror stories so they go for a hosted platform such as Wix.

Whilst WordPress is more challenging for a beginner; the upside is that it gives you the ultimate level of customisation and there is no real limit to what you can build into your website.

Functionality such as live chat, a private members area, paywalls, forums, courses, and anything you can think up really, can be added to your WordPress site allowing you to include additional revenue streams and marketing opportunities.

WordPress is different from Wix and Squarespace in that you have full access to your website and you own your website and content.

The downside to WordPress is if you want to DIY you need to learn and decide how to build your site + handle your own ongoing site maintenance and it could end up being an incredible time drainer. That’s why professional and experienced WordPress developers are worth their weight in gold.

WordPress has limitless options which means a lot of research and reading and possibly making a tonne of annoying mistakes should you decide to do the entire set-up yourself.

As a very experienced developer, some days I get overwhelmed, there is so much WordPress stuff and so many moving parts with a WordPress site. I shed a few tears annually which is always due to hosting. If you know, you know.

The main differences between these 3 website builder platforms

• Wix and Squarespace aim to give you a website without needing coding skills.
  WordPress gives you total freedom to think outside the box and achieve your goals.
• Wix & Squarespace own where your website is housed.
  WordPress you own your site, you can take a backup and put it anywhere you, please.
• Wix & Squarespace handle your hosting which is handy
• Wix & Squarespace are limited for SEO.
  WordPress is the best platform for SEO as you have full control of both the backend and front end.

I am all about SEO there is no way in the world I would be working with Wix or Squarespace as they just don’t cut it in a competitive niche.

Google looks at the technical stuff, and Wix and Squarespace just don’t provide what Google wants. That’s my super technical explanation right there haha

Which Website Builder is best?

Comparing Wix & Squarespace to WordPress is kinda like comparing a well-priced Toyota to a Porsche.

WordPress.org is far superior in all ways including performance & SEO.

What you decide to use is really down to what is best for you, your business, and your brand.

If you aren’t planning on being in business for long or you don’t want to grow your business then Wix or Squarespace is great but for long-term SEO & brand strategy, WordPress wins hands down.

Thanks to the developers who contribute to WordPress with themes and plugins, you achieve anything you desire with your website.

A self-hosted WordPress.org site is the way to go and the cheapest in the long term; you just need to commit a bit of time and effort to learn the basics. There are plenty of free tutorials available online.

Alternatively, I develop WordPress websites in a day and would love to help your idea come to fruition.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to which of these website builders is best for you and your skill level, and also how much you care if you lose your site & need to rebuild it.

If you are using WordPress you can back up your website on your server + take off-site backups. I suggest if you are using Wix or Squarespace you always keep a copy of your content in case your site disappears.

I hope you found this website builder comparison useful

If you want to migrate your website from Wix or Squarespace over to WordPress I can assist you with my WordPress VIP Intensive.

Until Next Time