Wix vs a custom website: what's right for your business?
Wix is one of the most popular website builders in the world, and for good reason — it’s genuinely easy to get started. But “easy to start” and “right for your business” aren’t the same thing. Here’s an honest look.
Where Wix wins
Speed to launch. Drag a template, fill in your text, connect a domain. You can be online in an afternoon.
No technical knowledge needed. You don’t need to know anything about hosting, code, or databases.
Lots of templates. Hundreds of starting points, covering most industries.
Where Wix falls short
Ongoing cost adds up. The free plan puts a Wix banner on your site, which looks unprofessional. A real plan is €15–€35/month — that’s €180–€420/year, every year. For a five-page local business site that rarely changes, that’s a lot.
Generic look. Wix templates are used by millions of sites. With some effort you can customise one, but the underlying structure is the same as thousands of others in your industry.
SEO limitations. Wix has improved a lot, but it still generates heavier pages than hand-coded or AI-generated sites, and the site structure is harder to control for SEO.
You do all the work. Writing copy, arranging sections, uploading images — it’s all on you. That’s fine if you enjoy it; less fine if you’re running a business and have other things to do.
Where a custom agency site wins
Full control. Unique design. A team handling everything. But starting at €3,000–€5,000 for a basic site, it’s out of reach for most small businesses, and ongoing maintenance adds more cost.
The middle ground: AI-built sites
Tools like PagePal sit between Wix and a custom agency. You answer questions about your business, pick a theme, and get a complete professional site — without spending an afternoon moving boxes around a Wix canvas. Text edits are free forever; if you want a design change, it’s included in your plan.
The one-time build starts at €50, and hosting is €5/month — less than Wix’s paid plans, for a site that looks custom rather than templated.
Best for: small businesses who want a professional result without the DIY time investment or the agency price.