WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace: which is best for a small business?

If you’re thinking about a website, you’ve probably come across these three names. They’re all perfectly good tools, but they suit different people. Full disclosure: I build websites on WordPress, so I’ll try hard to be fair about where the others are the better choice.

The short answer

• Want to do it yourself, quickly, with no technical bits? Squarespace or Wix.
• Want a site that looks polished with very little effort? Squarespace.
• Want full ownership, flexibility and room to grow, or someone else is building it for you? WordPress.

At a glance

	Wix	Squarespace	WordPress
Monthly cost	From about £9 a month (annual plan). Taking payments needs Core, from about £16.	From about £12 a month (annual plan).	The software is free. Hosting is roughly £5–£30 a month, plus a domain.
Ease of use	Very easy drag-and-drop editor.	Easy, with a more structured editor.	More to learn, unless someone sets it up for you.
Design	Hundreds of templates, very flexible layouts.	Fewer templates, but consistently stylish.	Endless options through themes and page builders.
Ownership	Your site lives on Wix and can’t easily be moved.	Your site lives on Squarespace; only some content can be exported.	You own the files and can move to any host.
Upkeep	Handled for you.	Handled for you.	You (or someone) need to keep it updated.

Prices are UK monthly prices on annual billing, as reported by ExpertSure in August 2026 (Wix, Squarespace). Monthly billing costs more, and VAT may be added, so check the current prices before you sign up.

Wix

Wix is the most “drag it wherever you like” of the three. You can put almost anything anywhere, which is lovely when you’re starting and can get messy later.

• Good for: people who want to build it themselves, try things out and launch fast.
• Watch out for: pages that look great on a laptop but awkward on a phone, and the fact that you can’t take your Wix site to another platform. If you outgrow it, you start again.

Squarespace

Squarespace gives you less freedom, and that’s often a good thing. The templates are well designed, so it’s hard to make a site that looks bad.

• Good for: creatives, photographers, consultants and small businesses that want a tidy, stylish site without fuss.
• Watch out for: fewer add-ons and integrations than WordPress, and limited options if you need something the templates don’t do.

WordPress

When I say WordPress I mean the free, self-hosted version from WordPress.org, which runs a huge share of the world’s websites. (WordPress.com is a separate hosted service that works more like Wix and Squarespace.)

• Good for: businesses that want to own their site, need flexibility (booking, newsletters, extra pages, blogs) and care about having full control over SEO.
• Watch out for: it needs looking after. WordPress, its theme and its plugins need regular updates and backups. Skip them and things eventually break or get hacked. That’s exactly why I offer care plans.

The question most people forget: who owns it?

With Wix and Squarespace you’re renting. That’s fine while you’re happy, but if prices go up or you want to change something the platform doesn’t allow, moving away means rebuilding. With WordPress the site is yours: you can move host, change designer or bring it in-house without starting from scratch.

So which should you choose?

If you’re building it yourself and want something simple and good-looking this weekend, go with Squarespace (or Wix if you want more freedom). You’ll be fine.

If you’d rather have someone build it properly, write the words and set it up for Google, and you want to own the result, WordPress is the better long-term home. It’s what I use for every Polder website. Not sure? Ask me and I’ll tell you honestly, even if the answer is “Squarespace will do the job”.