Wix, WordPress, or a site built for you: which do you need?
Updated 2026-07-24
Every owner weighs this at some point. There is a page-builder (Wix, Squarespace, a WordPress theme) that promises a website in an afternoon, a "free" site offered by a booking platform or a directory, and there is having one built for you. They are not all wrong for every job. This is how to tell which is right for yours, without the sales pitch from any side.
When a page-builder is genuinely fine
Give them their due. For the right job, a page-builder is a sensible choice:
- A simple, temporary, or side-project site that does not carry the business.
- An owner who is comfortable with the tools and has the time to keep it up.
- A single page where being first on Google is not the point.
If that is you, use one and do not feel bad about it. The rest of this is about where "fine" stops.
When it quietly costs you
For a venue whose bookings and covers depend on the site, three things tend to go wrong, and none of them show up on day one:
- Speed. Page-builders load a lot of code to be flexible. On a mid-range phone on 4G, which is what your guest holds, that can mean a slow page, and a slow page loses the booking before it is read.
- Being found. A template built to look nice is not the same as one built to rank. Many DIY sites are invisible to Google for the searches that would actually bring guests, and the owner never knows what they are missing.
- Ownership and lock-in. With some builders and most "free" offers, you are renting. If you leave, the site, and sometimes the domain and the content, do not come with you.
The "free" website offer
When a booking platform, a directory, or a delivery app offers you a free website, ask what it is free for. Usually it is free because it keeps you on their platform, on their subdomain, feeding them commission or a monthly fee, and unable to take anything with you when you go. Free is rarely the cheapest option over a few years.
What to check before you commit, whichever you choose
- Will it be fast on a phone? Ask to see it measured, not just shown on a laptop.
- Is it built to be found on Google, for your name and your searches?
- Do you own the code, the content, the domain and the hosting, so you can move it later?
- Can your team edit it without paying someone every time?
A "no" to the ownership question is the one to walk away from. The rest can often be fixed; that one usually cannot.
The honest answer
If you are a small place with a simple need and the time to do it, a page-builder can be a reasonable start, and we will tell you so. If your bookings depend on being fast and found, and on owning what you built, that is where a site built for you earns its cost. Our pricing starts where a real site should, and if you are not sure which side of the line you are on, tell us what you are working with and we will say honestly, including when the builder is the right call for now.
Common questions
Is a page-builder site always a bad idea?
No. For a very simple, temporary, or side-project site it can be fine. The trouble starts when a real business depends on one for speed, for being found, and for owning what it built.
Why is the "free" website not really free?
It is free because it keeps you on the platform, on their subdomain, paying a monthly fee or a commission, and usually unable to take your site with you if you leave.
Can I not just build it myself and save the money?
You can, and for a single simple page some owners do it well. Most find the time it takes, and the speed and search results a DIY site misses, cost more than they saved.
What do I lose by using one?
Usually some speed, some control over being found, and often true ownership. Check whether you can move the site, the domain and the content elsewhere before you commit.