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Wix or Squarespace, or a custom site?
We build custom sites, so read this knowing that. But a builder is the right call for some contractors, and we’ll say which ones.
Updated October 1, 2026 · prices checked on each company’s own pricing page
Same trade. Two very different first screens.
This is what a homeowner sees in the first second on their phone. On the left, a typical template site, recreated by us for a made-up company. On the right, a real site we built for a concrete contractor in Palatine.
- “Welcome to…” tells a homeowner nothing: not what you pour, not where you work.
- A stock photo of somebody else’s slab.
- No phone number on the first screen. It’s behind the menu.
- “100% customer satisfaction”, the line every template ships with.
- The trade and the town up top, then every town it serves: what Google and ChatGPT match a search to.
- One tap calls Dave, and a call bar stays under your thumb the whole way down.
- Family owned since 1976: a reason to trust, not a slogan.
- English and Spanish, one tap.
Drag one into the other.
Same trade, same size phone. Slide the handle and watch the first screen change.
Lakeside Concrete is made up; we built its page the way these tools usually set one up, with licensed stock photos. Creative Concrete Co. is a real client. Read how we built it.
- 1Search
- 2Tap
- 3Call
Two taps from Google to your phone ringing.
Every site we build is set up to turn a search into a call. That’s the whole job of a contractor website, and it’s where most template and AI sites lose the customer.
- Search
- Tap the result
- Tap Call
- Search
- Tap the result
- Open the menu
- Find Contact
- Fill a form
- Wait for a reply
- Tap to call on every screenA call bar sits under their thumb from the first screen to the last.
- Tap to text a photoPeople with a cracked driveway would rather send a picture than explain it.
- A form that never loses a leadEvery request lands in your inbox and in our back office, spam filtered out.
- Calls you can countEvery tap on Call and Text is counted, so you know what the site brought in.
- Your trade and town up topSo Google, ChatGPT and the homeowner all know you work where they live.
- English and SpanishEvery site, both languages, no extra charge.
The same site, three ways.
A five-page contractor site: home, services, a job gallery, your service area and contact.
| Wix | Squarespace | Salty Web Co | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up front | $0 | $0 | $2,500, half at launch |
| Every month | $29.77–$39.77 billed yearly | $29–$49 billed yearly | $0–$149; the care plan is optional |
| Who builds it | You | You | We do, and write the words with you |
| Your time | Several evenings, then every change | Several evenings, then every change | One call, then a look at your mockup |
| Pages for each service and town | If you write them | If you write them | Included |
| Spanish version | Possible, you translate it | Possible, you translate it | Included on every site |
| If you leave | The site stays on Wix; it can’t be moved to another host | Only some content exports | You own the site and the domain |
Wix Core to Business and Squarespace Core to Plus, the plans that fit a business site, at each company’s advertised yearly rate on October 1, 2026. Both include a free domain for the first year. Cheaper plans exist but leave out things like site search tools or remove the builder’s branding only on higher tiers.
The builder is cheaper. Here’s by how much.
On a Wix Business plan at $39.77 a month, three years costs about $1,432. Squarespace Core at $29 a month is about $1,044. Our one-page site with the $49 care plan is $2,764 over the same three years, and without the care plan it is $1,000 plus the domain and whatever hosting you choose.
So in cash, the builder wins. What the difference buys is your evenings back, words written for the searches that bring jobs, a Spanish version, and a person who answers when something breaks. Whether that is worth about $1,300 over three years depends on what one job is worth to you.
When does the site pay for itself?
A website is a one-time cost that works every day. Put in your own numbers: for a lot of trades it only takes one or two jobs from the site to cover it.
“The biggest thing for me is that I’ve actually seen an increase in leads and new business since working with them, which is exactly what you want from a website.”
Midlife On Markdown, 5-star Google review
Pick the builder if… pick custom if…
A builder is the right call when
- You are in your first year and cash is tight
- You like doing this kind of thing and have the evenings for it
- Most of your work comes from referrals, not Google
- You just need a page to put on the truck and the business card
A custom site is worth it when
- Google is where your next jobs come from, and you want to show up for your trade in each town you work
- You would rather spend evenings with your family than in a site editor
- You have Spanish-speaking customers
- Your current builder site looks like everyone else’s and isn’t bringing calls
Switching without losing your place.
Wix doesn’t let you move a site to another host, so switching means rebuilding it. That sounds worse than it is: your words, photos and reviews come with you, and the domain is yours to point at the new site.
If your Wix site already gets calls from Google, every old page address has to forward to its new one. That is our Search & Rescue, $500 on any build and free inside Second Alarm. Nothing breaks, and you keep the ground you’ve earned.
Asked by contractors, answered straight.
Can I move my Wix site to another host?
Is Squarespace better than Wix for a contractor?
Will a custom website rank better on Google than Wix?
How much does a custom contractor website cost?
More straight answers.
Or see finished sites: our work and how we built Creative Concrete’s.
Put a custom homepage next to your Wix site.
We design your homepage free. Open both on your phone and decide which one you’d call. No obligation either way.
Rather talk? Call or text (224) 225-9268.