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Wix or a web designer: which one fits your business?

I build websites for a living, and I still tell some owners to do it themselves. Here's how to tell which group you're in, and what to check either way.

A lot of the owners I talk to have already tried a website builder. Some got a decent site out of it. Others have a half-finished Wix account they haven't logged into since last winter. Both are normal. The real question isn't which tool is better. It's what your time is worth and what the site has to do for you.

What a builder like Wix or Squarespace does well

Website builders are good tools. You pick a template, drag in your text and photos, and you can have something online in a weekend. Hosting and security updates are handled for you. If you like this kind of work, it can be a fine choice.

A few things to know going in:

• The free plan isn't for a business. On Wix's free plan your site shows Wix ads and lives on a Wix web address instead of your own domain. To use your own name, like yourcompany.com, you need a paid plan.
• Watch the renewal prices. Builders often include a free domain for the first year, then charge to renew it. Read the plan details before you pay.
• The template is the easy part. The hard part is deciding what goes on the page, writing it, and getting real photos. No tool does that for you.

Where DIY sites usually fall short

When I look at sites owners built themselves, the design is rarely the problem. The problems are almost always the same handful of things that cost calls:

• The phone number isn't a tap-to-call button at the top of the page on a phone.
• The site never names the towns or neighborhoods you serve, so Google has to guess where you work.
• Every service is crammed onto one page, so "furnace repair" and "AC install" have nowhere specific to rank.
• Stock photos instead of your trucks, your crew and your work.
• No link between the site and your Google Business Profile, and none of your reviews on the site.
• Huge image files that make the site slow on cell signal.

None of these are hard to fix. They just aren't obvious if you don't look at websites all day. If you already have a site, run the 60-second phone test and you'll spot most of them yourself.

The cost people leave out: your evenings

A builder plan looks cheap next to hiring someone. But a first-time builder usually spends many hours on a small business site: picking a template, writing every page, resizing photos, fixing how it looks on a phone, and figuring out forms and domains. Those hours come from somewhere. For a lot of owners, that's evenings after a full day on jobs, or Saturdays they could have billed.

Picture an electrician in Des Plaines who bills a good hourly rate. He spends four weekends building a site on Wix. It looks fine, but the phone number is in the footer, the towns he serves aren't listed, and the services page is one long paragraph. He paid for the plan and paid again in weekends, and the site still isn't bringing in calls. That's the outcome I'd want him to avoid, whichever way he goes.

When doing it yourself makes sense

• You're just starting out and money is tight right now.
• You enjoy this kind of work and have the time.
• Most of your work comes from referrals and repeat customers, and the site is mainly there so people can check you're real.
• You'll actually follow a checklist like the one below.

When hiring someone makes sense

• You want calls from Google searches, not just a site that exists.
• You serve several towns or offer several services that each deserve a page.
• You'd rather spend your hours on paid work.
• You want someone to call when something breaks or needs changing.

If you hire, ask three things before paying anyone: who owns the domain, what happens if you cancel, and whether you'll talk to the person actually building it. I cover these, plus what drives the price, on my website cost page.

Checklist for any small business site, DIY or not

1. Your own domain, registered in your name.
2. A tap-to-call phone number at the top of every page on mobile.
3. A headline that says what you do and where: "Furnace repair in Elmhurst and Lombard," not "Welcome to our website."
4. Every town or neighborhood you serve, in plain text.
5. A page or clear section for each main service.
6. Real photos of your work and your team.
7. Your Google reviews shown on the site, and the site linked from your Google Business Profile.
8. A short contact or quote form: name, phone, what they need.
9. Fast loading on a phone. Test it on cell data, not your Wi-Fi.

If your site checks all nine boxes, it doesn't matter much who built it.

How I handle it

I build sites for local businesses in Chicagoland and the Midwest, and I publish my prices. The Starter package is $399 setup and $49 a month for a one to three page site. Local Growth is $699 setup and $99 a month, with up to five pages, a work gallery, online booking and the local SEO setup. The monthly plan covers hosting and basic technical maintenance, so you're not on your own when something needs fixing. You can compare all three on the packages section.

If you've started a site yourself and you're not sure whether to finish it or hand it off, book a free call or call me at (773) 474-4780. I'll tell you honestly if what you have is good enough.

Common questions

Is Wix good enough for a small business website?

It can be, if you use a paid plan with your own domain and cover the basics: tap-to-call, the towns you serve, a page per main service, real photos and reviews. Most problems with DIY sites come from missing those, not from the builder itself.

Can I move my Wix site to a web designer later?

Usually the content, photos and domain can move, but the design itself generally can't be exported out of Wix, so the site gets rebuilt. Keeping your domain registered in your own name makes any switch much easier.

How long does it take to build a website yourself?

For most owners it's several weekends rather than one afternoon, mostly spent writing the pages and gathering photos. Having your service list, towns and photos ready before you start saves the most time.

Keep reading

• Roofing Company Website: What Chicago Roofers Need This Winter
• Do I Need a Website If I Have a Google Business Profile?

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Frank's Web Studio · Serving Chicagoland and the Midwest · (773) 474-4780 · [email protected]

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