Website builder or custom site
WIX, SQUARESPACE OR
A CUSTOM WEBSITE? AN HONEST COMPARISON.
Website builders are a real option, and for some contractors they are the right one. Here is how building it yourself on Wix or Squarespace compares with a custom site, so you can pick what fits your business.
Builder details come from Wix's and Squarespace's own pages, checked October 2026. Their plans change, so check them before you decide.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Both routes can work. The better choice depends on your budget, your time and how much the website has to do for your business.
A builder is a good fit if
You are just starting out, cash is tight, and you have the evenings to write the pages, pick the photos, set up the forms and keep it all updated. A simple builder site that you keep current beats having no site.
A custom site is worth a look if
Your hours are worth more on jobs than on a website, you want the site to look like your company instead of a template, you need a request form that asks the right questions, and you want the finished files in your hands.
Either way
Before you choose, work out the full cost over a few years, including your own time. The worksheet further down walks through it.
SIDE BY SIDE
The same questions for each option: what you pay, what repeats, who does the work, and what you keep if you leave.
| Compare | Wix or Squarespace | Custom site from Iron Canyon Co |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay up front | A free start (Wix has a free plan; Squarespace has a 14-day trial), then a paid plan to use your own domain | $1,497 Starter, $3,497 Pro or from $5,997 Custom: a fixed price for the build, plus applicable tax |
| What repeats | The builder plan, for as long as the site is live. Some features need a higher plan. | Hosting and domain, paid to the providers you choose. No Iron Canyon subscription is required. |
| Who does the work | You: the writing, layout, photos, forms, settings and every update | Our team drafts the copy, builds the pages, tests the request form and launches. You review and approve. |
| How it looks | A template that you customize | Built around your trade, your services and your service area |
| Moving it later | Wix says a Wix site has to run on Wix's servers. Squarespace exports only part of a site, as a WordPress file. | After final payment you get the project files and can host them with any provider |
| Security | The builder keeps its own platform patched. You protect your login and any add-on apps you install. | Static pages with no plugins, database or site login to break into. You protect your domain, hosting and email logins. |
| Your domain | Can stay with another provider and be connected to the site | Stays in your name, under your control |
| If something breaks | The builder's help center and support for the platform. Your own content is on you. | A 30-day workmanship guarantee that covers defects, not a change of preference (terms). Care after that is optional. |
Builder details from Wix's and Squarespace's help and pricing pages, checked October 28, 2026. Check their current plans at wix.com/plans and squarespace.com/pricing.
DO THE THREE-YEAR MATH
A monthly plan looks cheaper than a build price on day one. Compare the two over the same stretch of time, with your own numbers.
- Builder plan: take the monthly price of the plan you would actually need and multiply it by 36.
- Add your time: the hours to build the site and keep it updated, times what an hour of your work is worth.
- Custom site: add the build price to three years of hosting and domain fees.
- Compare the two totals, then ask how many extra jobs a year would cover the difference.
We don't print builder prices here because they change and depend on the plan. Use the figures on their pricing pages the day you compare. Our own prices and what they include are in the contractor website cost guide.
WHERE BUILDERS FALL SHORT FOR CONTRACTORS
A builder gives you the tools. These are the parts that are still your job, and where contractor sites built this way most often come up short.
The time it takes
Writing a page for each service, choosing photos, setting up the form and checking it all on a phone takes many hours. For most contractors that happens at night, after a full day on site.
A form that brings in real requests
Builders have forms. Choosing the right questions (the job, the address, photos, how soon) and testing that every request reaches your inbox is up to you.
Looking like everyone else
Popular templates are popular for a reason, so a lot of sites end up looking alike. Customers compare two or three contractors at a time, and a generic site is easy to click past.
Speed on phones
Speed depends on how a site is built. Large photos, animations and add-on apps slow any site down, builder or custom. You can test yours for free at PageSpeed Insights.
Leaving later
A builder site lives on the builder's platform. If you outgrow it, the site is usually rebuilt somewhere else, and you keep your domain and your content.
SECURITY IN THE AI ERA
AI tools have made scam emails and attacks cheaper to run and harder to spot, and the threats change month to month. The FBI warned in December 2024 that criminals use AI to write more believable scam messages and reach more people, faster. For most small businesses, the easiest way in is still a stolen login.
This month: PHP2Shell (October 2026)
On October 21, 2026, PHP, the software behind most websites including WordPress, shipped emergency fixes for two critical flaws that let attackers run code on a web server without logging in. The NSA, FBI and CISA told site owners to patch right away or take affected systems offline. Researchers at Wiz said frontier AI models helped turn a long-standing flaw into a working exploit. Earlier in the month, attackers began exploiting a WordPress add-on called Bricksforge to take over sites. The static sites we build don't run PHP or plugins, so neither one applied to them.
On Wix or Squarespace
The builder patches and hosts its own software, which is a real advantage. What's left to you is your account login, the add-on apps you install and who else you give access.
On a custom static site
The sites we build are plain static pages. There are no plugins, database or site login to break into and nothing that needs weekly security updates. The fewer moving parts a site has, the less there is to watch as attacks change.
Someone keeping watch
Security news moves every week, and most contractors don't have time to follow it. With optional Website Care, our team does: a written plan can include SSL checks, access reviews, relevant updates and backup checks, and when a new flaw is announced we check whether it touches the sites we look after.
Either way, protect the logins
Turn on two-step sign-in for your email, domain, hosting and website accounts, use a password manager, and keep a list of who has access. Treat any urgent “your domain is expiring” or “your site was hacked” email as a possible scam and sign in through the provider's own website instead.
No website is immune to every threat, and no provider or care plan can promise that. What you can control is how much there is to attack and how well your accounts are protected. Security news on this page checked October 28, 2026.
THE QUICK PICK
If you only read one section, read this.
If you are just starting and money is tight
Use a builder. Keep it to your services, your service area, your phone number and a few real photos. Revisit the choice when calls matter more than the monthly fee.
If you are on a builder and it gets calls
Stay. Fix what is broken first. A free audit lists the fixes, and many of them work right inside your builder.
If the site eats your evenings or brings no calls
Go custom. Have it built once, keep the files, and put your hours back into jobs.
ALREADY ON WIX OR SQUARESPACE?
You don't have to start over to find out whether your site is working. Start with a look at what you already have.
Get the Fixes in Writing
We send the highest-priority issues we find. Many can be fixed right in your builder.
Stay or Switch
If you decide to move, we build the new site and help you connect your existing domain.
COMMON QUESTIONS
What contractors ask when they compare a builder with a custom site.
Can I move my Wix site to another host?
Not as it is. Wix's help center says a Wix site needs to be hosted on Wix's servers to work. You can keep your domain and point it to a new site, but the site itself is rebuilt elsewhere.
Can I export my Squarespace site?
Partly. Squarespace exports some pages, one blog, and text and image blocks as a WordPress file. Your design, custom CSS, store pages and video blocks don't come with it.
Do I own a website I build on a builder?
Your words and photos are yours. The site itself runs on the builder's platform, so to keep it live on your own domain you keep paying for a plan.
Can I edit a custom site myself?
A custom site doesn't come with a drag-and-drop editor. Most clients ask us to quote individual updates or choose optional Website Care, and any web developer can work on the files.
Is a custom site more secure than Wix?
Both can be secure. Wix and Squarespace keep their platforms patched for you. A static custom site has no plugins, database or site login to attack. On either one, a stolen password is a common way in, so turn on two-step sign-in.
Will a custom site rank higher on Google?
Nobody can promise that. A custom site lets us set up page titles, service pages and service-area details for your trade from the start, but rankings, traffic and calls are not guaranteed.
HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THIS?
Ask it here and we'll answer by email. Good questions get added to this guide, without your name.
NOT SURE WHICH FITS?
Get a free audit of the site you have now, or call or text to talk it through.
- Comparing prices? Contractor website cost guide
- Launching soon? Contractor website checklist
- Want to see examples? Contractor website examples