If you've looked into building your own site, you've probably come across Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, or one of the dozen others that advertise heavily on TV and YouTube. They're a real option, and I want to be straight about when they're the right call.
What the builders actually do
Wix, Squarespace and the rest give you a set of templates and a drag-and-drop editor. You pick a layout, swap in your text and photos, and publish. The monthly fee (usually £10–£25) covers the editor, the hosting, and a basic web address.
They're genuinely impressive bits of software. For a hobbyist, a small market stall, or a one-off project, they're hard to beat on price.
Where they work well for trades
- You enjoy fiddling with this kind of thing. Some people do. If you'd find it satisfying to spend the odd evening tweaking your own site, the builders give you that control.
- You only need something very simple. A single page with your phone number, a list of services, and a contact form. Nothing more.
- You've got the time. Realistically, getting a Wix site to a point where it looks decent takes 15–30 hours of evenings.
Where they fall down for trades
- They all look like Wix sites. The templates are used by thousands of other businesses. Customers can spot one within a couple of seconds, even if they can't name why.
- They're slow. Builder sites have to load a lot of code to make the editor work. On a 4G phone in a customer's kitchen, that can mean a 4–6 second wait before anything appears. Most people give up at 3.
- Search ranking is a struggle. Wix has improved, but a built-from-scratch site still pulls ahead on Google. Builder sites are heavier and slower, and Google notices.
- You're locked in. If you ever want to move off Wix, you can't take the site with you. You start again.
- Adding things is harder than it looks. Setting up a proper contact form that emails you reliably, adding a Google Map, getting your reviews to display — each one is its own little battle.
Where I sit
I build each site by hand in code. That sounds more expensive than it is — the difference shows up in three places:
- The site loads in around a second, even on a phone.
- It looks built for your business, not adapted from a template.
- You own it outright. If you ever stop working with me, you can take the site and host it anywhere.
The monthly cost ends up similar (£9.99/mo with me vs £15–£25 with Wix), and there's no payment until you're happy with what I've built.
Honest summary
If you genuinely enjoy fiddling with software and only need something basic, Wix or Squarespace will do the job. No shame in it.
If you'd rather get on with the trade and have someone hand you a finished site that works, that's where I come in.
Last updated: May 2026 · If anything in this guide is out of date or unclear, drop me an email — I'll fix it. nick@neobookworm.uk
If you tell me your trade and town, I’ll explain what I’d build and what you’d need to send.