There's no single "best" platform — there's the one that fits your budget, your time, and how much you plan to change your site over the next few years. Here's a straight comparison of the four real options for a local business, with the trade-offs nobody puts in the ad.
| Wix | Squarespace | WordPress (self-hosted) | Custom-built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real monthly cost | ~$17–29/mo | ~$16–23/mo | ~$5–30/mo hosting + add-ons | Hosting only (~$5–20/mo) |
| Upfront / build | Your time | Your time | Your time or a developer | ~$500–8,000 one-off |
| Ease for a beginner | Easiest | Easy | Steeper | N/A — someone builds it |
| Design ceiling | Good | Very good (templates) | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Ongoing upkeep | None | None | You (updates, backups, security) | You or your builder |
| Portability | Locked in | Locked in | Fully portable | Fully portable |
Wix
The fastest way for a non-technical owner to get a site live. Drag-and-drop editor, thousands of templates, hosting and security handled for you, and a genuinely free tier (with Wix ads and a Wix subdomain).
Good- Lowest barrier to entry — you can have something live in a weekend
- Everything in one bill; nothing to maintain
- Built-in email marketing and booking tools
- You can't switch templates after launch without rebuilding
- You can't move a Wix site to another host — ever
- The DIY result usually looks DIY unless you spend real time on it
Squarespace
The design-forward option. Templates are polished enough that a careful beginner can produce something that looks professional. Hosting, updates, and SSL are all handled.
Good- Best-looking results out of the box of the three builders
- Transparent pricing; SEO and blogging tools included, no plugin sprawl
- Solid for portfolios, restaurants, salons, studios — anything visual
- Smaller ecosystem — fewer integrations and third-party tools
- Still locked in; you can't self-host a Squarespace site
- Editor is less flexible than Wix if you want to move things pixel-by-pixel
WordPress (self-hosted)
The open-source platform that powers a large share of the web. Maximum flexibility and no lock-in — but you (or someone you pay) are responsible for hosting, updates, backups, and security.
Good- Unlimited design and functionality via themes and plugins
- Fully portable — move hosts, hand it to any developer
- Strong for content-heavy sites and anything you'll scale
- Real ongoing maintenance — plugin updates, security patches, backups
- Plugin conflicts and bloat can slow a site down badly
- Steeper learning curve; most owners end up hiring help anyway
Custom-built (hire someone)
Pay a freelancer or agency once to design and build a site around your business — either on WordPress, on a modern framework, or as a lightweight hand-coded site. You own the result.
Good- Built for your business and your customers, not assembled from a generic template
- Someone else does the work and handles the technical foundations (speed, SEO, schema)
- Lightweight hand-built sites can be faster and cheaper to run than any builder
- Higher upfront cost — and quality varies enormously between providers
- A bad freelancer can leave you with a site you can't edit or move
- Agree upfront: who hosts it, who can edit it, and what happens if you part ways
A Quick Decision Guide
- Budget is the hard limit and you have a free weekend: Wix.
- Looks matter most and your business is visual: Squarespace.
- You'll publish a lot, want to scale, and have technical help: WordPress.
- You'd rather it were done right and off your plate: hire someone for a custom build.
Where LocalPageHQ Fits
We're the "hire someone" option, built for local businesses: professionally designed, mobile-first sites with the technical SEO groundwork done, live in about a week, on hosting you can leave whenever you want. No lock-in, no learning an editor.
We'll build a free preview of your site using your real business details, so you can compare it against whatever you'd build yourself — before spending anything.
Request your free mockup here →
