The short answer: Squarespace and Wix are the quickest way to get a simple site online if you want to build it yourself and your needs are unlikely to change. WordPress is the better fit if you want to own your site outright, expect to add features like booking, memberships, or e-commerce, or want full control over SEO. It takes more setup, which is why most small businesses have someone build it for them.
I build on WordPress, so you know where I stand. But I don’t think WordPress is right for everyone, and I’d rather you pick the platform that fits than one you’ll want to leave in two years. Here’s an honest comparison.
What’s the main difference between them?
Squarespace and Wix are all-in-one website builders. You pay a monthly subscription, and the hosting, design tools, security, and updates all come from one company. It’s convenient, but you’re renting: the site lives on their platform and works the way they decide.
WordPress is open-source software you install on hosting you choose. You own the site and its content, you can move it to any host, and you can extend it with plugins or custom code. The trade-off is that someone has to set it up and keep it updated.
| WordPress | Squarespace | Wix | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns the site | You | Lives on Squarespace | Lives on Wix |
| Ease of DIY setup | Harder | Easy | Easy |
| Design flexibility | Unlimited | Polished templates, within limits | Free-form, within limits |
| Adding features | Plugins or custom code | Built-in tools and extensions | Built-in tools and app market |
| SEO control | Full | Good basics | Good basics |
| Moving away later | Take it to any host | Partial export | Rebuild needed |
| Ongoing upkeep | Updates needed (or a care plan) | Handled for you | Handled for you |
When is Squarespace or Wix the better choice?
- You want to build and edit the site yourself, with no developer involved.
- You need a handful of pages: what you do, who you are, how to reach you.
- Your needs are unlikely to grow much beyond that.
- You’d rather pay one subscription than think about hosting and updates.
For a lot of very small businesses, that’s a perfectly good answer. A clean Squarespace site you can update yourself beats a WordPress site you’re afraid to touch.
When is WordPress the better choice?
- You want to own it. Your content and design aren’t tied to one company’s pricing or policies.
- You expect to grow. Booking, memberships, online courses, a store, client portals, integrations with your CRM or email platform: WordPress handles all of these without changing platforms.
- Search matters to your business. You get full control over page titles, URLs, redirects, structured data, and site speed.
- You want help you can switch. Because WordPress is so widely used, you’re never locked into one developer or one host.
Is WordPress better for SEO than Squarespace or Wix?
All three can rank well. Google doesn’t favour one platform over another, and a well-written Squarespace site will outrank a neglected WordPress one. The difference is control. With WordPress you can fine-tune everything that affects search: URL structure, redirects, structured data, page speed, and how your site describes itself to AI search tools. On the builders, you get good defaults and less room to go further.
Which one costs less?
For a simple site you build yourself, Squarespace or Wix usually costs less up front, because you’re only paying the subscription. WordPress usually costs more at the start, since most businesses pay someone to build it, and then a modest monthly amount for hosting and upkeep. At PowerUp, that’s $25/month for hosting or $60/month for hosting plus maintenance.
Over a few years the gap narrows, especially once you’re paying for higher builder tiers or add-ons, or a rebuild when you outgrow the platform. I break down WordPress costs in more detail in how much a WordPress website costs.
What if I’m already on Squarespace or Wix?
You don’t have to switch just because WordPress exists. Switch when the platform is holding you back: you need a feature it can’t do, you’ve outgrown its design limits, or you want ownership of what you’ve built. Moving is very doable without losing your search rankings, as long as it’s done carefully. I’ve written up the whole process in moving from Squarespace or Wix to WordPress.
Not sure which side of the line you’re on? Tell me what your site needs to do and I’ll give you a straight answer, even if that answer is “stay where you are.” If WordPress does make sense, a Conversion to WordPress starts at $900.