Your Website Builder Doesn't Work For You. Here's What You're Renting.

A website builder rents you a website. You can't take it with you if you leave, you pay for as long as you keep it, and the writing, design and Google set-up are all left to you. That's a fair deal if you enjoy building it and have the evenings. It's a poor one if you'd rather be running your business and want something you own.

Builders aren't slow or bad for SEO. Wix and Squarespace sites pass Google's Core Web Vitals more often than WordPress sites, according to the HTTP Archive. The problems are ownership, cost over time and who does the work.

Can I take my website with me if I leave a builder?

Not as a working website.

• Wix says its sites can't be hosted anywhere else, because they run on Wix's own technology.
• Squarespace can export some content as a WordPress file, but not album, portfolio, store and several other page types, and not the design.

You keep your domain, your words and your images. To leave, you copy them out and rebuild. That's the reason people stay longer than they meant to, and it's why I'd rather businesses knew before they start. The steps are in how to leave Wix without losing everything.

What does a builder cost over time?

Builder prices are the UK prices on annual billing, checked on 26 September 2026. They're higher on monthly billing and don't include apps, email or price changes. Plans renew automatically. Wix, for example, says you must turn off auto renewal before your next payment date to stop it renewing.

Who does the work on a builder?

You do. The builder gives you a template. You still need to:

• work out what to say, and write every page,
• choose and edit photos,
• set up your Google Business Profile and Search Console,
• keep it up to date as the business changes.

For a lot of owners the writing is where it stalls. The site sits half-finished, or goes live with "Welcome to our website" at the top. That's not a technical problem, but it's the one that decides whether people get in touch.

Is there a ceiling on what I can do?

For most small businesses, not a practical one at first. Builders handle pages, forms, galleries and basic bookings. The limits show when you want something the template doesn't do, or a feature that means another monthly app. Then you're designing around the platform. I wrote about that point in 5 signs your business has outgrown Wix.

When is a builder the right choice?

• You enjoy building and tweaking it yourself.
• You have the time to write it and keep it current.
• You want to spend as little as possible up front while you test an idea.

In those cases, use one. Squarespace looks more polished out of the box and Wix gives you more control. I compared them in Wix vs Squarespace vs owning.

What's the alternative?

A site that someone builds for you and you own:

• You own it. Domain, hosting and files in your name, so you can move it or leave whenever you like.
• Someone else does the work. My £300 website includes the words, written from a conversation with you, and Google set up.
• You pay once. Hosting for a simple site is free in your own account. After that it's the domain.

The catch is that you pay up front, and changes go through me unless you have an editing area (the £750 site) or the optional £20 a month help.

If you're on a builder now and not sure whether to stay, tell me about your site. I'll give you a straight answer, and sometimes it's "stay where you are". There's more on my Wix alternative and Squarespace alternative pages.