Custom build vs Wix or Squarespace.
Wix and Squarespace are the right answer for a side hustle. For a service business that depends on lead flow, they're usually the wrong answer. Here's why, plus the few cases where they're actually the smart pick.
The honest comparison.
Wix or Squarespace is the right call for a true side hustle, a personal portfolio, a hobby business, a single-page event site, or a brand-new business with no budget that needs something live in 48 hours. They are also reasonable for first-year nonprofits and small creative practices where the website is just a business card.
Custom Next.js is the right call when your website is a primary lead source for your business, when conversion rate compounds with revenue, when you need integrations beyond what the template platform supports natively, or when you want full ownership of code and design (template platforms lock you into their ecosystem).
The honest version.
We have audited dozens of Wix and Squarespace sites for Kansas City service businesses. The pattern is consistent: the site works fine for the first six months, then the business outgrows it. The platform cannot do what the business needs. The migration becomes painful because the content is locked into proprietary structures. Two years later they pay a real agency three times what a custom build would have cost.
The honest version: if you are launching today and not sure if the business will work, Wix is fine. If you know the business will work, build it on the right foundation the first time.
Want a real recommendation for your business?
Thirty-minute call. We will tell you whether custom is right for you, or whether Wix / Squarespace would actually serve you better. No upsell pressure.