Custom website or Wix and Squarespace?
Website builders like Wix and Squarespace let you make a site yourself from a template. A custom website is designed and built for your business by someone else. Both can work. The right one depends on what the site has to do for you.
When a website builder is enough.
If you are just starting out, need a simple page with your hours and phone number, and have more time than budget, a builder is a fair choice. You pick a template, add your text and photos, and you are online.
Plenty of good businesses start this way. The question is what happens when the site needs to do more.
Where templates start to show.
- It looks like other sites. Many businesses start from the same templates, and customers notice.
- The template decides the layout. Your pages follow what the template has room for, not what your customers need to see first.
- Speed and phones are up to the template. Some are fast and clear on a phone, some are not, and you have little control over it.
- Moving is hard. A site made in a builder usually stays in that builder. Leaving often means building again from scratch.
What custom gets you.
A custom site starts from your business, not from a layout. Who are your customers, what do they search for, and what should they do next? The pages, the design and the forms are built around those answers.
It can also do things a template doesn’t do well. When we built the site for Wahala Realty Group, a Miami real estate broker, it got tools that show what a home really costs each month and what you can afford, plus every home on the Miami MLS on a live map.
How to decide.
Ask yourself three questions.
- Does your website bring you customers, or is it only there so people can check you exist?
- Do you need things a template doesn’t do well, like booking, more than one language, or tools for your customers?
- Is your business different from your competitors, and should your site show it?
If you answered yes to any of these, a custom site is usually worth it. If not, a builder may be all you need for now.
Questions.
Is Wix or Squarespace bad for SEO?
No. Google can read sites made with builders. What matters more is a clear page for each service, text that answers what people search for, and a site that is fast on phones.
Can you move my Wix site to a custom site?
We can reuse your text, your photos and whatever already works, then build a new site around them. The old builder site itself usually can’t be moved over.
Is a custom website more expensive?
Usually more up front than a builder plan. We quote each site to what the business needs, with no packages, so you see the price before we start.
Can a custom site be in Spanish?
Yes. We build sites in any language, in as many languages as you need.
Thinking about a custom site? See how we build websites, read how long a website takes, or send us a message.