You run a salon in Bolton, a café in Horwich or a cleaning business covering Chorley and Wigan, and you need a website. You've seen the adverts: "Build your own website in minutes!" You've also had a web designer quote you a price. Which should you choose?
We're a web design business, so we're not neutral. To keep this fair, we've stuck to published prices and Wix's own help pages, and we'll tell you when DIY is the better choice.
What Wix costs in the UK
Wix has a free plan, but it shows Wix branding and doesn't let you use your own domain name [1]. To look professional, you'll want a paid plan. UK prices on yearly billing are [1]:
| Wix plan | Price (yearly billing) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Light | £9 a month | No online payments |
| Core | £16 a month | The cheapest plan that can sell online |
| Business | £25 a month | More selling features |
| Business Elite | £119 a month | High-volume sellers |
Paying month to month costs more [1]. The prices on Wix's plans page don't include VAT, so most UK buyers pay 20% on top [2]. Wix sometimes offers new users an introductory discount, but that only covers the first billing period [2][7]. You'll also need a domain name, and probably a business email address.
Squarespace, the other big name, has no free plan (just a 14-day trial). It starts at £12 a month billed yearly (Basic), then Core is £17, Plus £29 and Advanced £79. Monthly billing runs from £16 to £89 [3].
What a web designer costs
Published UK price guides put a freelancer-built small business site at roughly £600 to £3,000, with agencies from around £2,500 upwards [4][5]. On top of that you'll usually pay for hosting and care. Some smaller studios, us included, charge less than that range and publish fixed prices.
For the full breakdown, see How Much Does a Website Cost for a Small Business in the UK?
The real comparison
1. Money
Wix looks cheaper upfront, and over the first year it usually is. But it's a subscription that continues for as long as the site is live. Compare the cost over three years, not just the first month. Add up the plan, VAT, your domain and any paid apps, then compare that with a designer's build price plus hosting.
2. Your time
This is the cost people tend to leave out. With Wix, you are the designer, copywriter and photographer. Choosing a template is quick. Writing good pages, sorting photos and getting it looking right on a phone takes longer, often several evenings or more. If those evenings would otherwise be spent quoting or doing paid work, put a value on them.
With a designer, your job is to supply information and give feedback. With us, that's done by email: one email to start, then reply to the proof.
3. The result
Wix templates can look great with professional photos and polished copy. The finished site depends on what you put in. A designer brings experience of what works for your type of business: a clear headline, tap-to-call or email buttons, service pages, the areas you cover. Our plumber website checklist shows the kind of thing we mean.
4. Getting found on Google
It's possible to rank a DIY site. The harder part is knowing what to put in: page titles, descriptions, headings, service and area pages, and your business details set up consistently. A designer should handle these for you. If you go DIY, set aside time to learn the basics.
5. What happens if you want to leave
This one surprises people. Wix's own help centre says a Wix site has to be hosted on Wix's servers: you can't export it and host it somewhere else [6]. You can take your domain name with you, and your content belongs to you [6]. But if you leave Wix, the site itself has to be rebuilt elsewhere.
With a designer, ask the same question before you sign. Who owns the domain? Can you get a copy of the site? What happens if you stop paying? At Yesmo, you own your words, photos and domain from day one, and you get a full copy of your site once it's paid off (see our FAQ).
6. Updates
On Wix, you can change anything, any time, yourself. With a designer, small changes are usually covered by a care plan or charged per job. Some designers let you edit the site yourself too. On our Business plan, that's included. On Starter, it's £10 a month.
When Wix is the better choice
Be honest with yourself. Wix (or Squarespace) is probably right if:
- You enjoy doing it yourself and have the time
- You're testing a business idea and want to spend as little as possible
- You're confident writing about your business and taking decent photos
- You're happy to keep paying the subscription long term
When a web designer is the better choice
A designer is probably right if:
- You'd rather spend your evenings on paid work, or with your family
- You want it done properly first time, with the SEO basics set up
- You want someone to look after hosting, security and updates
- You want to know exactly what it costs upfront
Quick decision table
| Feature | Wix (DIY) | Web designer |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Low | Higher |
| Ongoing cost | Monthly plan + VAT [1][2] | Hosting/care plan |
| Your time | A lot | A little |
| Design and copy | You | Them |
| Move to another host? | No: site must stay on Wix [6] | Depends: ask before signing |
| Make changes yourself | Yes | Sometimes |
How Yesmo fits in
We sit between DIY and an agency: fixed prices, everything done by email, and no calls.
- Starter: £549. Up to 5 pages, contact form, map and basic local SEO.
- Business: £999. Up to 10 pages, copywriting included, and you can edit it yourself.
- Pay Monthly: £79 a month, no build fee upfront (your first £79 month is due at sign-up), hosting and Care included (24-month minimum).
We're not VAT-registered, so there's no VAT to add: prices are final. See the full prices, or see what we do for salons and cafés.
Email hello@yesmo.co.uk with your business name, town and what you do. You'll get a free proof within 2 working days, and you can still choose Wix afterwards if you prefer.
Sources
Rechecked 13 Oct 2026, 08:30 BST. Squarespace was checked on its own page. Wix's own page showed non-UK currency to our checker, so its UK prices come from dated UK sources (Sep–Oct 2026). Prices change, so check the providers' own pages before deciding. 1. ExpertSure, "Wix Pricing UK 2026: All Plans, Fees & Hidden Costs": https://www.expertsure.com/uk/web-design/wix-pricing-uk/ 2. Scalesites, "Wix Cost UK 2026" (quotes wix.com/plans: yearly prices exclude tax): https://www.scalesites.co.uk/insights/wix-vs-custom-website-uk 3. Squarespace, pricing page (GBP, checked directly 13 Oct 2026): https://www.squarespace.com/pricing 4. UK Web Marketing, "How much does a website cost in the UK in 2026?": https://ukwebmarketing.com/blog/how-much-does-a-website-cost-uk-2026 5. Pixelish, "How Much Does a Website Cost in 2026? UK Pricing Guide": https://www.pixelish.co.uk/cost-of-website-build/ 6. Wix Help Center, "Exporting or Embedding Your Wix Site Elsewhere": https://support.wix.com/en/article/exporting-or-embedding-your-wix-site-elsewhere 7. TopReferrals, "Wix Discount Code (October 2026, UK)" (UK plan prices: Light £9, Core £16, Business £25, Business Elite £119 a month yearly, plus tax): https://topreferrals.co.uk/referrals/wix