A website should not eat half your marketing budget. But if you pick the wrong platform, that is exactly what happens — $50, $100, even $159 a month disappearing into a website builder while your competitors are spending that money on ads that actually bring in customers. For local businesses in Florida, where tourists, new residents, and longtime locals are all searching on their phones for nearby services, you need a fast, professional, mobile-friendly website. But you also need to keep costs under control. Let's break down what each platform actually costs — including the hidden fees nobody tells you about.
WordPress (Self-Hosted): Best for Most Small Businesses
Cost: $3-$30/month for hosting, plus optional theme and plugin costs Best for: Businesses that want full control and long-term flexibility
WordPress is the most cost-effective serious website platform you can choose. The software itself is completely free. You only pay for hosting, which runs $3 to $30 a month depending on the provider. Compare that to Squarespace at $16 to $49 or Wix at $17 to $159. Over a year, WordPress hosting at $36 versus Squarespace at $192 to $588 — that is $156 to $552 in savings annually, and you get a more powerful site.
WordPress powers over 40 percent of all websites on the internet, and for good reason. The self-hosted version (WordPress.org, not WordPress.com) gives you complete control over your site. You own your content, you can customize virtually everything, and the ecosystem of themes and plugins is enormous.
For SEO, WordPress is hard to beat. Plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math walk you through optimizing every page with proper title tags, meta descriptions, and structured data. You can add a blog, create location-specific landing pages, and build out your site as your business grows — all without hitting artificial limits.
The downside is that WordPress requires more hands-on management. You need to handle updates, security, and backups yourself — or pay a small monthly fee for managed hosting that handles it for you. For WordPress hosting, we recommend Hostinger — fast servers, easy WordPress installation, and plans starting under $3/month. That is roughly $36 a year for a fully functional business website. There is a learning curve, but thousands of tutorials and a massive community make it manageable.
Our take: WordPress is the best choice for most small businesses that want a professional site with strong SEO capabilities and room to grow — all at the lowest possible ongoing cost.
Squarespace: Best for Visual Businesses
Cost: $16-$49/month Best for: Restaurants, photographers, artists, boutiques, and other visually-driven businesses
Squarespace is known for its stunning templates, but let's talk about what you are actually paying. At $16 to $49 a month, you are looking at $192 to $588 per year. Is that worth it? For certain businesses, yes — but you should know exactly where your money goes.
If your business relies on visual appeal — a restaurant showcasing its dishes, a photographer displaying a portfolio, or a boutique highlighting its products — Squarespace makes it easy to create a beautiful site without touching any code. The drag-and-drop editor is intuitive, and every template is mobile-responsive out of the box. Built-in features include online scheduling, basic ecommerce, contact forms, and email marketing. You do not need to install plugins or worry about security updates.
On the SEO front, Squarespace covers the basics. You can edit title tags, meta descriptions, and URLs. It generates sitemaps automatically and handles SSL certificates. However, you have less control over technical SEO compared to WordPress, and page speed can be slower due to heavier templates.
Here is the real question: is that $49/month actually worth it for your business? If you are a photographer or restaurant where visuals directly drive sales, the answer is probably yes. If you are a plumber or accountant, you are overpaying for design features you do not need.
Our take: Squarespace is a great choice if design quality is your top priority and you do not need advanced SEO customization. Just make sure the visual premium justifies the price tag. Squarespace is a solid option for visual businesses.
Wix: Best for Getting Started Quickly
Cost: $17-$159/month Best for: Business owners who want a site up fast with minimal technical effort
Wix is where the pricing gets tricky. Plans range from $17 to $159 per month — that is $204 to $1,908 per year. The higher tiers add up fast, and many businesses end up paying more than they expected because the features they need are locked behind the more expensive plans.
Wix has invested heavily in making website building accessible to everyone. Their AI-powered site builder can generate a basic website in minutes based on your answers to a few questions. The template library is extensive, and the editor offers more layout freedom than Squarespace. The app market adds functionality like booking systems, live chat, and CRM tools. For a small business that needs a simple, functional website without hiring a developer, Wix removes most barriers.
However, Wix has historically lagged behind on SEO and performance. While they have made significant improvements — including better URL structures, faster loading times, and more SEO controls — it still does not match WordPress for search optimization flexibility. Sites built on Wix also tend to be heavier, which can impact load times on mobile devices.
Is that $17 to $159 a month well spent? For getting online fast, the lower tiers offer decent value. But at the higher price points, you are paying Shopify-level money for a platform that is not built for ecommerce. Watch the upsells.
Our take: Wix is a solid starting point for businesses that need to get online quickly, but you may outgrow it as your marketing ambitions expand — and migrating away later costs time and money.
Shopify: Best for Businesses Selling Products Online
Cost: $39-$399/month Best for: Retail businesses, ecommerce stores, and service businesses selling products
Let's be direct: Shopify is expensive. At $39 to $399 a month, you are spending $468 to $4,788 per year. On top of that, transaction fees apply unless you use Shopify Payments. Those transaction fees — 2% on the basic plan — eat directly into your margins on every sale.
So why would anyone pay this? Because if selling products online is a core part of your business, Shopify is purpose-built for that and nothing else comes close. Inventory management, payment processing, shipping calculations, and tax handling are all baked into the platform. The checkout experience is optimized for conversions, and the app ecosystem covers virtually every ecommerce need.
For a Florida business that sells products locally and wants to expand online — perhaps a specialty food shop, a surf gear store, or a handmade goods business — Shopify provides the infrastructure without requiring you to piece together plugins and payment gateways.
The financially smart move: choose Shopify only if ecommerce is central to your revenue. If you primarily provide services rather than selling physical products, Shopify is overkill — and that $39 to $399 a month is money you should be spending elsewhere.
Our take: Choose Shopify if ecommerce is central to your business. Otherwise, the other options are far more cost-effective. We recommend Shopify for businesses selling products online.
Custom-Built Static Sites: Best for Performance and Speed
Cost: Developer fees for initial build, $0-$5/month for hosting Best for: Businesses that prioritize speed, security, and long-term cost savings
Here is where the money math gets really interesting. Custom-built websites using static site generators like Eleventy, Hugo, or Astro cost $0 to $5 per month to host. That is $0 to $60 per year. Compare that to $192 to $4,788 for the other platforms. Yes, you pay a developer upfront to build the site, but after that, your ongoing costs are practically zero.
These sites are pre-built as plain HTML files, which means they load almost instantly and have virtually no security vulnerabilities. Hosting is often free or nearly free through services like Netlify or Cloudflare Pages.
For Florida businesses, the speed advantage is particularly meaningful. Tourists searching for restaurants, activities, or services on spotty mobile connections will see a static site load in under a second while competitors' sites are still spinning. Google also rewards fast-loading sites with better search rankings — so your $0/month site actually outperforms the $49/month one in search results.
The obvious downside is that you need a developer to build and maintain the site. You cannot edit content through a visual drag-and-drop editor the way you can with Squarespace or Wix. However, headless CMS options like Decap CMS can be paired with static generators to give non-technical users a simple editing interface.
Our take: If you can work with a developer, a custom static site delivers unbeatable performance and the lowest long-term costs. It is the approach we use ourselves.
How to Choose
Here is a quick decision framework — and the real costs behind each option:
- Need full control and strong SEO? Go with WordPress. ($36-$360/year)
- Visual business that needs to look stunning? Squarespace. ($192-$588/year)
- Need a site up today with zero technical skills? Wix. ($204-$1,908/year)
- Selling products online? Shopify. ($468-$4,788/year)
- Want the fastest site possible? Custom-built static. ($0-$60/year)
Regardless of which platform you choose, focus on three things that matter more than the technology: make sure your site loads fast on mobile devices, ensure every page has clear calls to action, and keep your business information consistent with your Google Business Profile. If you want a deeper dive into what it takes to rank well, read our guide on how to get your small business to rank #1 on Google. A simple, fast website that tells customers exactly how to reach you will always outperform a fancy site that frustrates visitors with slow load times and confusing navigation. And it will cost you a lot less, too.