WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace

The one difference that matters most

Wix and Squarespace are rented. Your site exists on their platform, in their format, and there is no meaningful way to take it elsewhere. If you leave, you rebuild from scratch.

WordPress is owned. The files and database are yours, they can be moved to any host, and any competent developer can work on them.

For a small site with no growth ambitions that may not matter at all. For a business where the website becomes a genuine source of enquiries, it matters a great deal — and by the time it matters, moving is expensive.

What each actually costs

Realistic UK figures, including the parts people forget:

• Squarespace — £14 to £34 a month, hosting and templates included. Simple, predictable, no extras.
• Wix — £9 to £29 a month, plus paid apps which add up quickly on a busier site.
• WordPress — hosting £5 to £15 a month, plus a maintenance plan if you want one, plus occasional plugin licences. No platform fee.
• Over five years: Squarespace roughly £1,400, Wix similar, WordPress around £600 in running costs plus the build.

Where each genuinely wins

• Squarespace — best looking out of the box, easiest for a non-technical owner, strong for portfolios and simple shops.
• Wix — the most flexible builder if you want to place things exactly, and a generous free tier to start on.
• WordPress — far better for content and search, no ceiling on functionality, and full technical SEO control.
• WooCommerce on WordPress — better than either builder for a serious shop with more than a modest range.

Where each falls down

• Squarespace — limited technical SEO control, weaker blogging, and you cannot leave.
• Wix — historically weak on speed, though much improved; app costs accumulate; and again, you cannot leave.
• WordPress — needs updating and maintaining, and a badly built WordPress site is genuinely worse than a good Squarespace one.

What we would actually tell you

If you are a sole trader, your budget is a few hundred pounds, and you enjoy tinkering — build it yourself on Squarespace. That is a perfectly good outcome and we say it regularly.

If search traffic is going to matter, if you have more than a handful of services, or if you would rather someone else did it properly — WordPress, or a static site if speed is the priority. Both leave you owning what you paid for.

The situation we would avoid is building on a rented platform, spending three years earning rankings, and then discovering you have outgrown it.