Strategy · 6 min read
Should I Use Wix or Get a Custom Site?
An honest breakdown — not a sales pitch.
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This is actually a legitimate question.
Most web agencies will tell you templates are always bad and custom is always better. That's not true, and it's not helpful. The honest answer is: it depends on where you are in your business, what your goals are, and what you can actually afford. Let's go through the real considerations.
When a template builder is fine
- →You're just starting out and need something online to verify your idea before investing
- →Your business doesn't depend on web traffic for leads — you're already full from referrals
- →You genuinely have no budget and need something better than nothing
- →You operate in a market with almost no online competition, so SEO doesn't matter much yet
- →The site is informational only — you just want somewhere to send people who google your name
When a custom site makes more sense
- →You're in a competitive local market and want to rank in Google searches
- →Website enquiries are an important part of your lead flow (or you want them to be)
- →You've been on a template for 1-2 years and feel like you've hit a ceiling
- →Competitors have better-looking, faster sites and are beating you online
- →You're tired of spending your own time maintaining and updating the site
- →Your brand needs to look credible and premium — not like a starter kit
The question to ask yourself
If a potential customer googles your service category in your city and your site is one of the results they land on — are they more or less likely to contact you after visiting it? That's the only question that actually matters.
The performance gap is real
Template builders serve pre-built JavaScript frameworks optimised for their visual editors, not for end-user performance. Custom-built sites — hand-coded, properly optimised — routinely score 90-100 on Google PageSpeed on mobile. Template sites are often in the 40-65 range for the same content. This matters because load speed is a known Google ranking factor, and because a slow site loses mobile visitors before they even see your offer.
The design ceiling is real
Template sites look like template sites. Not always obviously — but to a potential customer who visits dozens of websites a week, the patterns are recognisable. The section layout, the font choices available in the builder, the way elements snap to a grid — these create a visual signature that says 'this business used a website builder'. For some businesses that's fine. For businesses that want to stand out, communicate premium quality, or look materially different from competitors, it's a structural limitation you can't design your way out of.
The SEO ceiling is real — but context matters
If you operate in a low-competition market, have excellent Google Business Profile reviews, or already rank well, the SEO gap between a template site and a custom site might not matter much for you today. But if you're actively trying to rank for competitive local terms, template sites have structural disadvantages in page rendering, code overhead, and technical optimisation options that are hard to overcome. The gap matters more at scale.
The honest calculation
Over three years: Wix Business is roughly $1,800 AUD. Our Starter build ($1,499 + $50/month care plan) runs about $3,300 over the same period — around $1,500 more. The question is: is the performance improvement, the design quality, the time you save, and the SEO advantage worth about $42 per month extra? For a serious service business where the website is a meaningful lead source, usually yes. For someone testing an idea who can't afford it yet, start with Wix and upgrade when the business can support it.
Key takeaways
- Template builders are fine for low-stakes, early-stage, or non-competitive situations
- Custom sites have meaningful advantages in performance, design, and SEO at scale
- The honest cost difference over three years is often smaller than people think
- The right answer depends on your stage, goals, and market competitiveness
Keep reading
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