Squarespace, Wix, or hire someone: the honest version
We build websites for a living, so take the recommendation with that in mind. Here is the version we would give a friend: for a lot of local businesses a builder is the correct answer, and the moment it stops being correct is more specific than most agencies admit.
When a builder is the right answer
Use Squarespace, Wix or whatever your booking software ships with, and stop reading, if all of the following are true:
- You need a presence, not a salesperson. People find you by word of mouth and just want your address and hours.
- Your offer is standard for your category and you are not trying to charge more than the shop down the road.
- You have the weekend and you quite enjoy the fiddling.
- Nobody is going to judge your prices by how the site looks.
That is a real business and a lot of them exist. Paying thousands for a custom build in that situation is a bad trade.
When it stops being enough
The line is not size or budget. It is this: does the site have to do a job that has a number attached?
- You want the calendar to fill, and right now it does not.
- You charge more than your competitors and the site has to justify why before anyone calls.
- The reason people choose you is something a template flattens: the room, the craft, the person doing the work.
- You are opening, rebranding, or moving up a tier, and first impressions are all you have.
The comparison nobody prints
| Builder | Designer or studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost year one | $200 – $600 | $1,500 – $15,000 |
| Your time | 10 to 40 hours, yours | 2 to 4 hours, yours |
| Looks like your competitors | Often, yes | Only if you hire badly |
| Speed out of the box | Adequate, degrades with plugins | Depends entirely who you hire |
| Who is accountable if it does not work | You | Them, if you picked well |
| Do you own it | While you pay | Should be yours outright. Ask. |
The cost people get wrong
A builder looks like $23 a month. Over three years that is roughly $830, which is genuinely cheap. The cost that does not appear on the invoice is the forty hours you spend, the second rebuild when you change your mind, and the fact that when it does not convert there is nobody to ask.
On the other side, a $6,000 build that nobody briefed properly is the more expensive mistake by a distance. The failure mode is symmetrical.
What a designer should actually add
Not "a nicer look". Three concrete things:
- A decision about what the page is for. One action, made obvious. Most sites hedge between five.
- Words that came from your business. Not the template's placeholder rewritten. What you actually say when someone asks why you.
- Speed as a design constraint, not an afterthought. Google publishes the thresholds: largest contentful paint under 2.5 seconds, interaction to next paint under 200 milliseconds, layout shift under 0.1. A design that cannot hold those is not finished.
How to decide in one question
If your site vanished tomorrow, would you lose money this month?
If the answer is no, use a builder and spend the money on something that does make you money. If the answer is yes, the site is a business asset and pricing it like a subscription is the wrong frame.
Our bias, stated: we sell the second option. That is exactly why the first section of this page exists. If a builder is right for you, we would rather you knew it before you paid us.
Common questions.
Is Squarespace actually bad?
No. It is a good product and for plenty of businesses it is the correct answer. The problem is not quality, it is sameness: your competitor two blocks away is choosing from the same twenty templates.
What is the real cost of DIY?
The subscription is the small part. The real cost is the weekend you spend on it, the second weekend when you change your mind, and the fact that nobody is accountable when it does not convert.
When does a builder stop being enough?
When the reason people choose you is something a template flattens: the room, the craft, the person. And when the site has to do a job with a number attached, like filling a calendar.
Can I start on a builder and move later?
Yes, and it is often the right order. Start there, learn what people actually ask you, then rebuild once you know what the site has to say. Just keep your own domain from day one so the move costs nothing.
Do I need to know what I want before hiring someone?
No. If a designer needs you to arrive with the answer, they are doing production, not design.
Sources
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