WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace: Which Website Builder Is Best for UK Small Businesses in 2026?
The Great Website Platform Debate: Which One Should You Choose?
If you’re a UK small business owner looking to get online in 2026, one of the first decisions you’ll face is: which platform should I build my website on? WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace are three of the most popular options — and each has very different strengths, weaknesses, and cost profiles. Get this decision wrong and you could find yourself rebuilding your website from scratch 12 months down the line.
In this guide, we’ll break down each platform honestly, compare them across the metrics that matter most for UK small businesses — cost, SEO, flexibility, ease of use, and long-term scalability — and help you make the right choice for your specific situation. We’ll also show you why, for most businesses, the better question isn’t “which platform?” but “should I be building this myself at all?”
WordPress: The Most Powerful, But Most Complex Option
WordPress powers approximately 43% of all websites on the internet — making it by far the most widely used content management system in the world. There are two versions: WordPress.com (the hosted, simpler version) and WordPress.org (self-hosted, fully flexible). For serious business websites, WordPress.org is what you want.
WordPress Pros:
- Unmatched flexibility — With thousands of themes and over 59,000 plugins, you can build virtually anything
- Superior SEO capability — WordPress is generally considered the best platform for SEO, with plugins like Yoast and Rank Math giving you fine-grained control
- Full ownership — You own your website and data completely
- Scalability — WordPress can handle anything from a 5-page business site to a 50,000-product e-commerce store
- Huge community — Developers, designers, and support resources are widely available
WordPress Cons:
- Learning curve — Not beginner-friendly without technical knowledge
- Maintenance burden — You need to keep WordPress, themes, and plugins updated (or pay someone to do it)
- Security management — More popular platform means more targeted by hackers; security is your responsibility
- Additional costs — Hosting, premium themes, premium plugins, and developer time all add up
Wix: The Easiest Option for Absolute Beginners
Wix is a fully hosted website builder with a drag-and-drop interface that makes building a simple website accessible to anyone. It’s genuinely easy to use, with hundreds of templates and an intuitive editor that requires no coding knowledge whatsoever.
Wix Pros:
- Easiest to use — Genuinely anyone can build a basic site
- All-in-one — Hosting, security, and updates are handled for you
- No upfront cost — Free plan available (with Wix branding); paid plans from around £11/month
- Fast to get started — Can have a basic site live within hours
Wix Cons:
- Limited SEO capability — Despite improvements, Wix still lags behind WordPress for advanced SEO
- Template lock-in — You can’t change templates without rebuilding from scratch
- Limited scalability — Fine for small sites; struggles with complex requirements
- You don’t fully own your site — If Wix changes pricing or shuts down, your options are limited
- Generic appearance — Wix sites often look template-based and lack the bespoke feel of professionally designed sites
Squarespace: The Designer’s Choice for Visual Brands
Squarespace has built a strong reputation for beautifully designed templates and a polished user experience. It’s particularly popular with photographers, artists, restaurants, and lifestyle brands where visual presentation is paramount.
Squarespace Pros:
- Stunning design templates — Squarespace templates are genuinely beautiful and well-crafted
- All-in-one — Hosting, SSL, and updates included
- Better built-in features than Wix — Blogging, e-commerce, and portfolio features are more polished
- Good for visual brands — Ideal for photographers, artists, restaurants
Squarespace Cons:
- Less flexible than WordPress — Limited plugin ecosystem; you get what Squarespace provides
- Higher cost than Wix — Plans start around £13/month for basic; e-commerce requires higher tiers
- SEO limitations — Better than Wix but still behind WordPress
- Template constraints — Even with a beautiful template, customisation beyond the template’s design is limited
The Head-to-Head Comparison
| Factor | WordPress | Wix | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | ⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| SEO Capability | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Design Flexibility | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| E-Commerce | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Monthly Cost | £5–£30 (hosting) | £11–£30 | £13–£35 |
| Site Speed | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (with good hosting) | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Scalability | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
The Honest Truth: DIY Website Builders vs Professional Design
Here’s something the website builder companies don’t want you to think about too hard: the cost of a DIY website isn’t just the monthly subscription fee — it’s also your time, your opportunity cost, and the revenue you lose from a suboptimal result.
Building a decent website on Wix or Squarespace takes 20–40 hours for a non-designer — time you could spend actually running your business. And when it’s done, it will inevitably look less polished, convert at a lower rate, and rank less well on Google than a professionally designed and developed website.
The traditional argument against hiring a professional was the cost: £2,000–£5,000 upfront from an agency felt prohibitive for a small business. That’s no longer a valid objection, because SinceCode has changed the model entirely.
Why SinceCode Is the Smarter Choice for UK Small Businesses
SinceCode offers something that WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace simply can’t match: a completely bespoke, professionally designed website with zero upfront cost, built and maintained by a UK-based team.
We build your website on WordPress — the most powerful and SEO-capable platform available — but you never have to touch the technical side. We handle the hosting, the security, the updates, the maintenance. You get all the benefits of WordPress without any of the complexity.
And it starts from just £19.99 per month — less than a Wix or Squarespace plan — for a fully custom website that’s built by professionals, not assembled from a template.
No upfront cost. No technical headaches. Live in 7 days. Built to rank on Google.
