WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace: Which Is Best for UK Small Businesses?
This is one of the most common questions I get from small business owners. You want a website, but there are dozens of platforms to choose from. WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, GoDaddy, Weebly. The list goes on.
I’ve used all of them at one point or another. Here’s my honest comparison of the three biggest options, with a specific focus on what works for UK small businesses.
The Quick Answer
If you’re in a rush: WordPress wins for most small businesses. It’s more flexible, you own your site, and it’s better for SEO. But Wix and Squarespace have their place too. Read on for the full breakdown.
WordPress: The Industry Standard
WordPress powers over 40% of all websites on the internet. That includes everything from local plumber sites to the BBC.
Pros:
- You own your website completely. You can move it to any host.
- Thousands of plugins for any functionality you need (booking systems, contact forms, SEO tools, payment processing)
- Best SEO capabilities of any platform. Google loves WordPress.
- Completely customisable. No design limitations.
- The software itself is free. You only pay for hosting and a domain.
- Massive community and support resources
Cons:
- Steeper learning curve for beginners compared to drag-and-drop builders
- You’re responsible for updates and security (or you can hire someone to manage it)
- Needs decent hosting to perform well
Best for: Any small business that wants full control, good SEO, and long-term flexibility. Especially service businesses, trades, consultants, and anyone who wants to rank on Google.
Wix: The Easy Option
Wix is a website builder that lets you drag and drop your way to a website without any technical knowledge.
Pros:
- Very easy to use. Genuinely beginner-friendly.
- Lots of templates to choose from
- Hosting is included in the price
- App market for adding features
Cons:
- You don’t own your website. It lives on Wix’s servers. If you want to leave, you start from scratch.
- SEO is weaker than WordPress. Wix has improved but it’s still not as flexible.
- Pages can load slowly, especially on mobile
- Monthly cost adds up over time (£13 to £30+ per month for a business plan)
- Limited customisation compared to WordPress
- Wix branding on cheaper plans
Best for: Very small businesses or hobby projects where you want something live quickly and SEO doesn’t matter much.
Squarespace: The Pretty One
Squarespace is known for beautiful templates and slick design. It’s popular with creatives, photographers, and portfolio-based businesses.
Pros:
- Gorgeous templates out of the box
- Clean, intuitive interface
- Hosting and SSL included
- Good for portfolios and image-heavy sites
- Decent e-commerce features on higher plans
Cons:
- Like Wix, you don’t own your site. You’re renting space on their platform.
- Limited plugin/app ecosystem compared to WordPress
- SEO options are more basic
- Monthly cost: £12 to £33+ per month
- Less flexibility for complex sites
- Customisation is limited to what their templates allow
Best for: Photographers, artists, designers, and businesses where visual presentation is everything and SEO is secondary.
The Cost Comparison Over 3 Years
Let’s look at real costs over 3 years for a standard small business website:
WordPress (with freelance build):
- Website build: £400 (one-off)
- Hosting: £5/month = £180 over 3 years
- Domain: £12/year = £36 over 3 years
- Total: roughly £616
Wix (Business plan, DIY):
- Monthly fee: £17/month = £612 over 3 years
- Domain: included in some plans, or £12/year extra
- Your time building it: priceless (and stressful)
- Total: roughly £612 to £650+
Squarespace (Business plan, DIY):
- Monthly fee: £18/month = £648 over 3 years
- Domain: included first year, then £16/year
- Your time building it: also priceless
- Total: roughly £680+
Interesting, isn’t it? WordPress with a professional build costs about the same as DIY platforms over 3 years. But with WordPress, you get a professionally designed site that you fully own. With Wix and Squarespace, you get a site you built yourself on a platform you’re renting.
The SEO Factor
For UK small businesses, being found on Google is usually the main reason for having a website. And this is where WordPress pulls ahead significantly.
WordPress gives you full control over:
- Page titles and meta descriptions (with Yoast SEO or similar plugins)
- URL structure
- Heading hierarchy
- Site speed optimisation
- Schema markup
- XML sitemaps
- Redirect management
Wix and Squarespace offer some of these features, but they’re more limited and less flexible. If ranking on Google matters to your business (and it should), WordPress is the clear winner.
My Recommendation
For most UK small businesses, WordPress is the right choice. You get a professional site, you own it, the SEO is stronger, and the long-term costs are competitive with the DIY builders.
Wix makes sense if you genuinely want to build it yourself and SEO isn’t a priority. Squarespace makes sense if you’re a visual creative who needs a beautiful portfolio site.
But if you want a website that brings in business, ranks on Google, and grows with you. Go WordPress.
Want a WordPress Site Without the Learning Curve?
I build professional WordPress websites for UK small businesses at £400 fixed. You get a great looking site without having to learn web design yourself. Get in touch here and let’s get your business online properly.