Wix makes it easy to drag and drop your way to a website in an afternoon. I am not going to pretend otherwise. But easy and effective are not always the same thing — especially when you are a small business trying to get found on Google and turn visitors into paying customers. Here is an honest comparison based on what I see working (and not working) for UK businesses. I have rebuilt enough Wix sites for clients who outgrew the platform to know where the pain points are.
Where Wix wins
- Low upfront cost — plans start around £10–£15 per month
- You can launch quickly if you are happy with a template look
- No technical knowledge required for basic edits
- Hosting and SSL are included in the subscription
- Built-in tools for bookings, forms, and simple e-commerce
For a hobby project, a temporary landing page, or someone who genuinely enjoys designing their own site, Wix is a reasonable choice. I would not call it a bad product. But for a business that depends on Google traffic and professional credibility, the trade-offs start to matter quickly.
Where Wix falls short
- SEO limitations — page speed, URL structure, and technical SEO are harder to optimise than on a custom site
- Performance — platform overhead means slower load times and weaker Core Web Vitals scores
- Template sameness — even customised Wix sites often look generic compared to bespoke design
- Vendor lock-in — migrating away from Wix is painful; a custom site can be hosted anywhere
The real cost comparison
Wix Business plans run about £20–£30 per month — that is £240–£360 per year, every year. Over three years, you have spent £720–£1,080 plus your own time. A custom site from a freelancer like me starts at £150–£200 with hosting from around £5–£10 per month. The custom site is often cheaper long-term, performs better, and you own it outright.
Factor in the hours you will spend learning Wix, fixing layout issues, and writing copy yourself. At even a modest £25 per hour, twenty hours of your time adds £500 to the true cost. That is before you account for weaker SEO and slower page speeds costing you enquiries month after month. The monthly fee is just the visible part of the bill.
My honest recommendation
If you have more time than money and enjoy tinkering, try Wix. If you want a professional result without spending weekends fighting a page builder, get a custom site built properly. I build affordable sites specifically for small UK businesses who have outgrown DIY tools but cannot justify agency prices.
Questions to ask yourself before deciding
Does your business depend on being found in Google search? Do you need the site to feel uniquely yours? Will you have time to maintain and optimise it yourself? If you answered yes, no, and no — a custom site is likely the better investment. The upfront cost is higher, but the long-term return in enquiries, performance, and ownership usually wins. I build those sites from £150–£200 for UK small businesses.
Need a website?
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