Website builders like Wix and Squarespace are everywhere right now. They promise a professional website in an afternoon for a low monthly fee. But are they actually the right choice for a local business that wants to rank on Google, convert visitors and grow? Here is the honest answer.
Wix, Squarespace and similar platforms are drag and drop tools that let you build a website without writing any code. You pick a template, swap in your content and publish. They handle hosting, security updates and technical maintenance in the background.
For complete beginners who need something online fast, they have real appeal. The problem is that fast and cheap almost always comes with trade offs that hurt local businesses in the long run.
Google's own documentation states that page speed is a ranking factor. Wix and Squarespace sites consistently score lower on Google's Core Web Vitals than custom built sites. A slower site means lower rankings, which means fewer customers finding you.
Here is how the two options stack up across the things that actually matter to a local business.
| Feature | Wix or Squarespace | Sites By Jack |
|---|---|---|
| Page speed | ✕ Often slow due to bloated platform code | ✓ Built and optimised for maximum speed |
| SEO performance | ✕ Limited technical SEO control | ✓ Built from the ground up with local SEO in mind |
| Design uniqueness | ✕ Templates shared across thousands of sites | ✓ Fully bespoke, designed for your brand only |
| Ownership | ✕ You are dictated to by their website builder | ✓ Your site can be fully owned by you |
| Monthly costs | ✕ Ongoing platform fees forever | ✓ Optional maintenance plan, no builder fees |
| Long term value | ✕ Costs grow, performance stays limited | ✓ An asset that grows in value with your business |
| Local ranking ability | ✕ Generic structure, harder to rank locally | ✓ Structured specifically to rank in your area |
| Support | ✕ Generic help centre and chatbot | ✓ Direct access to Jack, who built your site |
People often assume website builders are cheaper. On day one, they might be. But let us look at the full picture over three years.
A Squarespace Business plan costs around £17 per month. Over three years that is over £600 in platform fees alone, and you still do not own the site. Add in the cost of a premium template, any apps or plugins you need and someone to design it for you if you want it to look professional, and the gap closes quickly.
A Sites By Jack website is a one off investment. You own it outright. There are no platform fees. The only ongoing cost is an optional hosting and maintenance plan if you want us to manage it for you. And because it performs better on Google, it earns you more customers over time, making the return on investment considerably stronger.
To be fair, there are situations where a builder is the right call.
But if you are running a real business and you want that business to grow, a website builder is a short term fix that creates long term limitations.
Wix and Squarespace are fine for getting something online quickly. But if you want a website that ranks on Google, reflects your brand properly, loads fast and actually converts visitors into customers, a custom built site from Sites By Jack is the better investment. You own it, it performs better and it will serve your business for years without ongoing platform costs eating into your margin.
Whether you are starting fresh or looking to move away from a builder, we can help. We build fast, bespoke websites for local businesses across Poole, Bournemouth, Wimborne and Dorset. Get in touch and we will talk through what the right approach looks like for your business.
If you are looking to use our services or want to talk through your options, please get in contact. We are always happy to have a no pressure chat.
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