Wix or Squarespace vs. Hiring a Web Designer: Which Is Right for You?

Picture two Portland business owners. Dana is testing a weekend candle side project. She has no customers yet, loves fiddling with fonts, and wants a page she can point people to. Marco runs a three-truck roofing company. Every week his phone doesn't ring is a week of payroll at risk. Should they both build their own sites? Probably not. And should they both hire a designer? Also probably not.

The right answer depends less on the tool and more on what the website has to do for you. Let's walk through it honestly.

What does a DIY website builder really cost?

Most builders cost roughly $10 to $40 a month on an entry-level plan billed yearly, but the sticker price is rarely the full bill. Monthly billing costs more, some intro prices jump at renewal, and add-ons pile up.

Here is a snapshot from 2026 pricing research. Prices change often, so treat these as approximate at the time of writing and check each company's pricing page before you buy.

Then add the extras most small businesses end up paying for: a domain renewal after the free first year, business email (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365), premium apps, and booking or review widgets. Those line items add up quickly, so list them out before you compare.

Don't forget your time

No neutral study measures how long a DIY site takes. The estimates floating around (often 20–60 hours to build a Wix or Squarespace site, plus a few hours a month to maintain it) come from web design companies, which obviously have a stake in the answer. So skip our numbers and run your own:

If that number is small, or the hours come from evenings you'd otherwise spend on TV, DIY looks great. If those hours come out of billable work, it looks very different. For the other side of the math, see our breakdown of how much a small business website costs in 2026.

Are Wix and Squarespace bad for SEO or speed?

No, not anymore. That reputation is outdated. Real-world speed data now shows hosted builders often doing better than the average WordPress site.

Google measures page experience with three "Core Web Vitals": how fast the main content loads, how quickly the page responds to a tap, and whether things jump around while loading. Based on HTTP Archive data from November 2025 (as compiled by DigitalApplied), here is the share of sites on each platform with good scores:

A fair caveat: WordPress's average includes millions of neglected sites, and a well-built WordPress or custom site can easily beat the builder averages. The real lesson is that how a site is built matters more than the platform it's built on. And speed is only one piece of SEO. For local businesses, useful content, clear service pages and reviews usually matter more.

So a pro's value isn't raw speed. It's strategy, copywriting, local SEO structure, accessibility and designing pages that turn visitors into calls.

Can you move a Wix or Squarespace site later?

Not really. You own your words, photos and domain name, but you rent the platform. Moving away usually means rebuilding.

• Wix: Wix's own help center says Wix sites can't be hosted anywhere else, because they run on Wix's own technology and servers. You can move your domain, but not the site itself.
• Squarespace: Squarespace can export a file in WordPress format, but it only includes basic pages, one blog, and text, image and gallery blocks. Store and product pages, portfolio pages, video and audio blocks, style settings and custom CSS don't come along.

That's not a reason to avoid builders. It's just something to know going in. If you expect to outgrow your site in a year or two, factor in a future rebuild.

When is DIY the right call?

DIY is the smart choice when the website is a business card, not a sales engine. We'd honestly tell you to build it yourself if:

• You're testing an idea and don't have revenue yet.
• You need a simple one- to five-page site that explains who you are.
• Most customers find you through referrals, not Google.
• You enjoy design and have free time to learn the tool.
• Your budget is truly tight right now, and a basic site is better than no site.

That's Dana, our candle maker. A clean Squarespace page with her story, photos and an email signup is plenty for now. She can revisit the decision when sales take off.

When is hiring a web designer worth it?

Hiring a pro pays off when the site has to win customers from strangers, and mistakes cost real money. That usually means one or more of these:

• Leads depend on local search. Contractors and service businesses compete for the same few spots on Google. Structure, service pages and service-area pages make a difference.
• You have several services or locations. Each one deserves its own page, and planning that well is a skill.
• You have rules to follow. In Oregon, contractors must show their CCB license number on website advertising (OAR 812-003-0120). A good designer builds that in.
• You sell online. UsableNet counted 5,114 digital accessibility lawsuits in 2025. About 70% targeted e-commerce, and 64% of the businesses sued had under $25 million in revenue. Accessibility "overlay" widgets didn't make suits go away. No builder makes your site accessible automatically; it depends on how it's built. (This isn't legal advice. Talk to an attorney about your own risk.)
• You need custom features, like booking, quoting or connecting to other software.

That's Marco. For a roofer, the website is part of the sales team. Our contractor website checklist shows what that site needs, and our contractor website service is built around it.

Is there a middle ground?

Yes, and it's underrated. You can hire a designer to plan and build your site, then take over simple edits yourself.

• Pro-built on a builder: A designer sets up Wix or Squarespace with the right structure, copy and SEO basics. You update hours, photos and blog posts. You keep the lock-in trade-off, but you get a strong start.
• Pro-built for portability: A designer builds on WordPress or custom code you can take anywhere. More flexible long term, with a bit more upkeep.

Either way, ask who controls the domain, hosting and logins. The answer should be you.

A 60-second scorecard to decide

Give yourself one point for each statement that's true:

1. Most of my new customers will come from Google or maps, not referrals.
2. I offer more than two distinct services, or serve more than one area.
3. I plan to sell products or take payments online.
4. My industry has rules about what my ads must show (like a license number).
5. My time is worth more than $50 an hour, and I'm already busy.
6. I've tried a builder before and the site never got finished.

0–1 points: DIY is probably fine. 2–3 points: consider the middle ground. 4–6 points: a professional build will likely pay for itself in saved time and stronger results. Our new website service is a good place to see what's included.

Frequently asked questions