The quick version
| Wix | Squarespace | Web designer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | £0 | £0 | Fixed fee, typically from around £1,000 at a small studio |
| Monthly cost | Plan fee, rising for bookings or a shop | Plan fee, rising for commerce | Hosting, often low or optional; care plans optional |
| Your time | High: you design, write and maintain it | High, but the templates are more forgiving | Low: a few calls and feedback rounds |
| Design | Flexible, easy to make messy | Polished templates, many sites look alike | Built around your brand |
| Speed and SEO | Decent if set up well | Decent if set up well | As good as the designer; ask to see real sites |
| Ownership | You rent it; moving is hard | You rent it; moving is hard | You should own it outright (check the contract) |
Builder prices change often, so check the current plan pages for exact figures. The pattern is stable: builders cost little upfront and charge forever, while a designer costs more upfront and much less to run.
When Wix or Squarespace is the right answer
- You are testing an idea and might change direction in six months.
- Your budget is genuinely under a few hundred pounds.
- You enjoy design and have the time to learn the tool properly.
- You need something live this weekend.
When a web designer is worth it
- Your website is how customers judge you before they call, as it is for trades, restaurants, salons and creatives.
- You want to show up in local Google searches, not just exist.
- You have tried a builder and the site still looks like a template, or you never finished it.
- Your time is better spent on paid work than on dragging boxes around.
- You want to own the site, not rent it.
The three-year view
Add up three years of a builder plan plus any paid apps, and compare it with a one-off designer fee plus low-cost hosting. For a simple brochure site the totals are often closer than people expect. The real difference is your time, and whether the site brings in work.
What about AI website builders?
AI builders can produce a decent first draft in minutes, and that is genuinely useful. What they cannot do is know your customers, choose what to leave out, or make you look different from the thousand other sites generated from the same prompt. We use modern tools ourselves to keep our prices good value. The thinking is the part you are paying for.
Our honest advice
If you are just starting out, use a builder, keep it simple, and spend the money on your Google Business Profile and good photos. When the business is established and the website needs to start pulling its weight, that is the time to talk to a designer. When you are there, we would love to hear from you.
Questions people ask us
Is Wix or Squarespace better for a small business?
Squarespace templates tend to look more polished out of the box, while Wix gives more layout freedom. Both work for simple sites. The bigger question is whether you have the time to build and maintain it yourself.
Can I move my Wix site to a web designer later?
You can move your content and domain, but the site itself usually has to be rebuilt, because builder sites cannot be exported in a usable form.
Are web designers worth the money?
For businesses whose customers judge them online, usually yes: a professionally built site tends to convert better, rank better locally and save you hours. For very early or very small projects, a builder may be enough.