The right website platform is the one your business can use, support and grow with. Start with the work it must handle: enquiries, bookings, publishing, products or a custom workflow. Then compare how each platform meets those requirements.
In this guide, “WordPress” means the self-hosted software from WordPress.org. WordPress.com is a separate hosted service with its own plans. If that distinction is new, read our WordPress.com vs WordPress.org guide before comparing proposals.
Wix: check the editing workflow and required tools
Wix includes hosting as part of its platform. It also provides an SEO Setup Checklist based on business information and keywords. Those features can help you get organised, but your page content and enquiry journey still need attention. See Wix hosting documentation and the official SEO checklist.
Before choosing, ask for a demonstration of a task you will do regularly, such as adding a service or changing a booking link. List essential apps and integrations and confirm the current plan needed for each. Our Wix website service can help turn those requirements into a defined build.
Squarespace: review real content, not only a template
Evaluate Squarespace with your own photographs, headings and service information. A template preview is a useful starting point; it cannot show whether your actual content and customer journey will work without adjustment.
Squarespace’s official SEO checklist covers page descriptions, titles, URLs, content and other launch checks. The existence of those controls does not remove the need to use them. With our Squarespace website service, bring the pages and functions you need rather than choosing only by a visual example.
Self-hosted WordPress: include maintenance in the decision
WordPress supports themes and plugins that extend the software. That flexibility is useful when the requirements call for it, but the finished site also needs hosting, updates, backup arrangements and someone responsible for maintenance. The official WordPress feature overview explains its publishing and extension model.
Ask the proposed developer to identify the theme, editing tools and essential extensions, and explain who will maintain them. Our WordPress website service covers the build; make the ongoing ownership and support arrangement part of the same conversation.
Use the same five questions for all three
- Can the team edit it? Test a real content update before committing.
- Does it support the required journey? Demonstrate the booking, checkout or enquiry flow.
- What is the ongoing cost? Include subscriptions, hosting, extensions and support rather than only the build.
- Who owns and maintains the accounts? Record access and recovery responsibilities.
- What happens if the business changes? Discuss extra services, products, locations or integrations you reasonably expect.
Make the decision with a small working example
Prepare one service page and one important customer task. Ask how each shortlisted platform would handle both. This makes trade-offs visible early: the editor may be comfortable, but an essential integration may need additional work; an extensive feature set may bring a support burden you do not need.
Choose after reviewing that evidence and the complete proposal. A platform name alone does not establish the quality of the writing, design, maintenance or search work on the finished website.
