I see this a lot, honestly. A small business owner picks Wix or Squarespace because it’s easy, it’s cheap, and you can build something in an afternoon. You slap together a site, get it live, and think you’re done. It feels good at first. But after six months or a year, cracks start showing.
The problem isn’t that DIY builders are bad exactly. It’s that they’re designed to be one-size-fits-all solutions. They give you templates that thousands of other businesses are using. You’re not differentiated. You look like everyone else on the platform.
The Customisation Trap
With Wix or Squarespace, you’re locked into what the platform offers. Want to add a custom feature? Can’t do it. Want to integrate with a specific tool your business uses? Maybe, maybe not. Want to change how something works? You’re probably out of luck.
DIY builders often create sites with poor technical SEO. Understanding how design choices affect rankings shows why custom design matters.
You’re not really building a business asset. You’re renting a very limited version of a website that the platform controls.
Ownership Issues
Here’s something that really bothers me about DIY builders. You don’t actually own your website. You own your content, sure, but you don’t own the underlying site. If the platform changes their pricing, changes their features, or goes out of business, you’re in trouble. You can’t just migrate everything to another host. You’re stuck.
With a WordPress site or a properly designed site, you own it. You control it. If you want to switch hosting companies or change platforms, you can. You’ve got that freedom.
You Can’t Really Scale
When your business grows and you want to do more complex things, DIY builders can’t keep up. You outgrow them. You get frustrated. Then you have to rebuild your entire website on a proper platform anyway.
Why waste six months on a DIY solution you’ll abandon? You’re better off investing in something built on solid web design from the start.
SEO Limitations
DIY builders give you basic SEO tools. You can add meta descriptions, you can set up some keywords. But you’re working within their limitations. You can’t control everything you need to control for real SEO success. Your competitors on proper platforms have more flexibility and more power.
The Real Cost
Yes, Wix and Squarespace are cheap per month. Maybe 20 to 50 pounds. Sounds good on paper. But you’re not comparing the right things.
Compare the cost of a DIY builder to the cost of a proper website that actually converts visitors into customers. A site that ranks well in Google. A site that works properly on mobile. A site that reflects your actual brand instead of looking like a template.
The cheap DIY site might cost less monthly but costs way more in lost revenue. Every visitor who leaves because your site looks generic is a lost opportunity. Every customer who chooses a competitor because their website looks more professional is real money walking out the door.
What You Should Actually Do
You need a website that’s yours, that works, and that actually helps your business grow. That means either WordPress or a properly designed custom site. Something built on a solid foundation that you can maintain over time.
A pay monthly web design approach gives you the freedom and flexibility of a custom-built site without the upfront cost or platform limitations.
Stop trying to save money on the wrong thing. Invest in a website that actually works for your business.
