Comparison Guide

Wix vs Custom Website:
The Real Comparison Nobody Tells You

Q: Is Wix really free?

Wix offers a free tier, but it comes with Wix branding, a Wix subdomain, limited storage, and no custom domain. To get a professional-looking site, you will need their premium plans which run $17-$159/month — plus you still need to design, write content, and optimize for SEO yourself. Factor in your time, and it is rarely free.

Q: Can I rank on Google with Squarespace?

You can rank for branded terms (your business name), but ranking for competitive local keywords like "dentist near me" or "HVAC repair Huntington Beach" is extremely difficult on Squarespace. Their templated code, limited schema markup options, and slower page speeds put you at a disadvantage against custom-built competitors.

Q: How much does a custom website cost?

At Orrku Media, custom websites start at just $7/day ($199/month) — which includes design, development, hosting, SSL, maintenance, and basic SEO. That is comparable to Wix and Squarespace premium plans, except you get a site built specifically for your business and optimized to generate leads.

Q: How long does it take to build a custom website?

Most of our custom websites launch within 2-3 weeks. We handle everything — design, content, development, and optimization — so you do not have to spend weekends wrestling with a drag-and-drop builder. You review, approve, and we launch.

Q: Can I edit my custom site myself?

Yes. We build sites that are easy to update, and we include ongoing maintenance in our plans. Need a quick text change or new page? Just message us and we handle it — usually within 24 hours. No learning curve, no builder interface to figure out.

Q: What if I already have a Wix site?

We migrate Wix sites to custom-built platforms regularly. We preserve your existing content and SEO value while rebuilding on a faster, more optimized foundation. Most clients see measurable improvements in page speed and search rankings within the first month after migration.

Wix and Squarespace make website building look easy. But if you are a local business that needs customers from Google, the truth is more complicated than their ads suggest.

Quick Verdict

Custom wins for businesses serious about growth. DIY builders work for hobby sites, personal blogs, and portfolios — but if your website needs to generate leads and rank on Google, a custom site pays for itself.

Side-by-Side Comparison

How Wix and Squarespace stack up against a custom-built website from Orrku Media.

Feature	Wix / Squarespace	Orrku Custom
Monthly Cost	$17-$159/mo + your time	From $7/day ($199/mo) — everything included
SEO Capability	Basic — limited schema, bloated code	Advanced — full schema, clean code, local SEO
Page Speed	Slow — heavy templates, shared hosting	Lightning fast — static builds, edge CDN
Mobile Optimization	Responsive templates (generic)	Custom responsive — designed for your users
Customization	Limited to template options	Unlimited — built exactly to your needs
Ownership	You rent — cancel and you lose everything	You own your code and content
Hosting	Included (shared, slower)	Cloudflare edge network — global CDN
Ongoing Support	Email tickets, chatbots	Direct access to our team
Scalability	Locked into platform limits	Grows with your business — no platform ceiling
Conversion Optimization	Generic templates, no strategy	Built to convert visitors into leads

3-5s avg Wix load time

<1s Orrku custom sites

40% better Google visibility after migration

The Hidden Costs of
DIY Website Builders

Wix and Squarespace advertise low starting prices. What they do not advertise is everything else you will need to spend — in both money and time.

Template Limitations

Your dentist website looks like thousands of other dentist websites. Templates limit where you can place content, how your forms work, and what your site can actually do.

Poor SEO Out of the Box

Bloated, JavaScript-heavy code that search engines struggle to crawl. No proper schema markup or optimized heading structures. Clients who migrated from Wix saw 40% better Google visibility in 60 days.

Slower Page Speeds

Wix sites average 3-5 seconds load time. A custom Astro site on Cloudflare loads in under one second. Google uses page speed as a ranking factor — every second costs you visibility.

No Local Optimization

You need location-specific content, local SEO structure, Google Business Profile integration, and area pages for surrounding cities. DIY builders have no concept of local search strategy.

Hours You Will Never Get Back

The average small business owner spends 30-50 hours building their first Wix site, then 5-10 hours per month maintaining it. At $7/day, you could have a professional handle everything while you focus on running your business.

When DIY Makes Sense

Personal blogs with no commercial intent
Photography or art portfolios
Hobby project sites
Event pages you will take down in a month
You genuinely enjoy web design as a hobby

If you do not need Google traffic and do not need leads, a DIY builder is perfectly fine.

When Custom Makes Sense

Any business that wants leads from Google
Service businesses competing locally
Businesses that need to outrank competitors
Companies that value their time over saving $50/month
Anyone serious about long-term growth

If your website is a business tool — not a hobby project — custom is the clear choice.

What You Get with Orrku Media

A custom website that works as hard as you do — starting at $7/day.

Custom Design

No templates. Your site is designed from scratch to match your brand, your market, and your customers' expectations.

Lightning Speed

Built with Astro and deployed on Cloudflare's global edge network. Sub-second load times on every device.

SEO Built In

Schema markup, optimized code, local SEO structure, and content strategy — not bolted on as an afterthought.

Hosting Included

Enterprise-grade Cloudflare hosting, SSL, and CDN included. No separate hosting bills.

Maintenance Included

Updates, fixes, and changes handled by our team. You never touch code or worry about broken plugins.

Dedicated Support

Ongoing maintenance, updates, and support included. Stay because the results speak for themselves.

Ready to see what a real website can do for your business?

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FAQs

Custom Website vs Wix — FAQ

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Is Wix really free?

Wix offers a free tier, but it comes with Wix branding, a Wix subdomain, limited storage, and no custom domain. To get a professional-looking site, you will need their premium plans which run $17-$159/month — plus you still need to design, write content, and optimize for SEO yourself. Factor in your time, and it is rarely free.

Can I rank on Google with Squarespace?

You can rank for branded terms (your business name), but ranking for competitive local keywords like "dentist near me" or "HVAC repair Huntington Beach" is extremely difficult on Squarespace. Their templated code, limited schema markup options, and slower page speeds put you at a disadvantage against custom-built competitors.

How much does a custom website cost?

At Orrku Media, custom websites start at just $7/day ($199/month) — which includes design, development, hosting, SSL, maintenance, and basic SEO. That is comparable to Wix and Squarespace premium plans, except you get a site built specifically for your business and optimized to generate leads.

How long does it take to build a custom website?

Most of our custom websites launch within 2-3 weeks. We handle everything — design, content, development, and optimization — so you do not have to spend weekends wrestling with a drag-and-drop builder. You review, approve, and we launch.

Can I edit my custom site myself?

Yes. We build sites that are easy to update, and we include ongoing maintenance in our plans. Need a quick text change or new page? Just message us and we handle it — usually within 24 hours. No learning curve, no builder interface to figure out.

What if I already have a Wix site?

We migrate Wix sites to custom-built platforms regularly. We preserve your existing content and SEO value while rebuilding on a faster, more optimized foundation. Most clients see measurable improvements in page speed and search rankings within the first month after migration.

Let's Work Together

Ready to upgrade from Wix?

Join 50+ local businesses that switched to custom websites and saw real results.

Custom websites from

$ 7 /day

Hosting + maintenance included

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Free consultation · No commitment

(714) 732-8549 · contact@orrkumedia.com