Should I use a website builder like Wix or Squarespace?

Sometimes, yes. A website builder is the right answer for some businesses, and we’d rather tell you that than sell you something you don’t need.

Here’s how to work out which camp you’re in.

What a website builder is

Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy and similar services let you build a site yourself using ready-made templates. You pay a monthly or yearly fee. They look after the hosting and the technical side.

When a builder is a good choice

• You have more time than money, and you don’t mind spending a few evenings on it.
• You only need a simple site: who you are, what you do, how to get in touch.
• You’re testing a business idea and may change direction soon.
• You’re happy to keep paying the monthly fee for as long as the site exists.

If that sounds like you, go ahead. A tidy builder site is far better than no site, or a Facebook page that nobody can find.

Where builders tend to let people down

The time. The software is easy. The hard part is deciding what to say, choosing photos, writing the words and getting the layout right. Many owners start a builder site and never finish it, or finish something they aren’t proud of.

The result. Templates are made to suit everyone, so the site can end up looking like everyone else’s. A visitor decides quickly whether you look like the right business, and a generic page doesn’t help.

Speed and clutter. Builders add a lot of extras behind the scenes. Pages can load slowly, especially on a phone with a weak signal. You can check your own with Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool.

Getting found on Google. You can do the basics on a builder, but you’re limited by what the platform lets you change. Check what you can edit before you commit.

Moving later. This is the one people don’t think about. Wix says its sites have to run on Wix’s own servers and can’t be exported to another host. Squarespace lets you export some of your content, such as pages and blog posts, for use in WordPress, but not everything, and not the design. Either way, if you leave, you generally start again, rebuilding the pages somewhere else. Ask this question before you start: “If I want to leave in three years, what can I take with me?”

Breaking things. Because you can edit everything, it’s easy to accidentally break the layout or delete something. Nobody is checking your work.

The real cost

Builders look cheap because the monthly fee is small. Add up:

• the fee, every year, for as long as you keep the site
• the domain name, which is often extra
• any add-ons for things like bookings or email
• your own time, which is the biggest cost for most owners

Prices change often, so look at the current figures on the provider’s own pricing page rather than relying on an article, including this one. Our guide to what a small business website costs sets the options side by side.

The alternative

The other route is to have someone build it for you at a fixed price. Our Simple site is £625 + VAT (£750 including VAT) for a straightforward business website. We build it, you don’t need to touch the technical side, and it’s built to load quickly. If you ever want to move it, we hand everything over.

If you’re in a trade, our page on websites for trades covers what customers check before they pick up the phone.

It isn’t the right choice for everyone. If you’re confident with a builder, enjoy the process and only need something basic, use one.

Questions to ask before you choose either route

1. What will it cost me each year, every year, not just in the first month?
2. Who owns the domain name, and is it registered in my name?
3. If I leave, what do I keep?
4. Who changes the site when I need something updated, and how long does that take?
5. How fast does it load on a phone?
6. Will it show up on Google when someone nearby searches for what I do?

If you’re not sure whether your current site is helping or hurting, the free website health check will give you a plain-English answer and one clear thing to fix first.