The website builder market wants you to believe you don't need developers. The development world wants you to believe builders are toys. Reality, as usual, is more nuanced.
Here's an honest map of the landscape.
The Players
Wix
Best for: Small businesses wanting maximum flexibility with no code
Price: $16-159/month
Strengths: Intuitive editor, huge app marketplace, good for non-technical users
Weaknesses: Poor performance, SEO limitations, complete vendor lock-in
Typical PageSpeed: 35-55
Squarespace
Best for: Creatives and service businesses wanting polished aesthetics
Price: $16-49/month
Strengths: Beautiful templates, all-in-one simplicity, good design baseline
Weaknesses: Less flexible than Wix, still slow, limited customization
Typical PageSpeed: 40-65
Webflow
Best for: Designers who want code-level control without writing code
Price: $14-39/month (site) + $19-49/month (workspace)
Strengths: Real CSS control, clean code output, CMS capabilities, better performance
Weaknesses: Steep learning curve, expensive at scale, still limited by the platform
Typical PageSpeed: 60-80
WordPress
Best for: Content-heavy sites, blogs, WooCommerce e-commerce
Price: Free (software) + $20-300/month (hosting) + plugins
Strengths: Infinite flexibility, massive ecosystem, you own everything
Weaknesses: Security vulnerabilities, maintenance burden, performance varies wildly
Typical PageSpeed: 30-70 (highly variable)
Custom (Next.js/React)
Best for: Businesses where the website is a competitive advantage
Price: $15,000-50,000+ (build) + $0-50/month (hosting)
Strengths: Maximum performance, complete design freedom, scales infinitely, you own everything
Weaknesses: Higher upfront cost, requires developers for changes
Typical PageSpeed: 90-100
What You're Actually Trading Off
Money vs. Time
Builders cost less money but more time — your time building, learning, and working around limitations. Custom costs more money but less ongoing time — developers handle the technical work while you run your business.
The question is: what's your time worth, and where should you be spending it?
Speed-to-Launch vs. Long-Term Flexibility
Builders get you live faster. A Squarespace site can launch this weekend. A custom site takes 6-12 weeks.
But builders lock you in. Every workaround becomes technical debt. Custom starts slower but scales cleanly.
Cost Predictability vs. Performance Ceiling
Builders have predictable monthly costs. Custom has higher upfront investment but lower ongoing costs and no performance ceiling.
Over three years, the total cost of ownership often converges — but the performance difference doesn't.
Ease of Updates vs. Design Freedom
Builders make content updates trivial. Anyone can log in and change text. Custom typically requires developer involvement for structural changes.
But builders limit what you can build. Custom lets you create exactly what you envision.
The Decision Framework
Start with a Builder When:
- You're pre-revenue or early-stage
- Your total budget is under $5,000
- You need to launch in under 4 weeks
- Your website is informational, not a core product
- You want to manage everything yourself
- Your competitors aren't differentiating on web experience
Go Custom When:
- Your website directly generates revenue
- First impressions are critical to your sales process
- You're competing against well-funded competitors with premium sites
- Page speed is affecting conversions or SEO rankings
- You need functionality that builders can't provide
- You want to own your platform, not rent it
Consider WordPress When:
- You publish content frequently (daily or weekly)
- You need WooCommerce for e-commerce
- You have budget for ongoing maintenance
- Your team knows WordPress
Consider Webflow When:
- You have design skills but not development skills
- You want more control than Squarespace/Wix without code
- Your budget is $5,000-15,000 for an agency build
- Performance matters but you're not ready for full custom
The Graduation Path
Many successful businesses follow this path:
- Validation: Launch on Squarespace or Wix. Prove the business model. Keep costs low.
- Growth: As revenue grows, either move to WordPress/Webflow for more capability, or jump straight to custom if the ROI is clear.
- Scale: At some point, custom development becomes the obvious choice. Your website is too important to be constrained by a platform's limitations.
There's no shame in being at any stage. The mistake is staying too long — using a builder when you've outgrown it, or building custom before you've validated demand.
Our Position
We build custom Next.js sites. That's our specialty. But we don't think custom is right for everyone at every stage.
If you're early-stage and need to conserve cash, use a builder. Seriously. Come back when your website needs to perform, not just exist.
If you've validated your business and your website is now a growth lever — that's when custom development delivers returns that builders can't match.
The right tool depends on the job. Know what job you're hiring your website to do, and choose accordingly.