Compare
S7UDIO SEVEN or Squarespace?
A website builder is cheaper and quicker to start. A custom site costs more and does more of the work for you. Here’s how they compare for a service business, and when a builder is the right call.
Side by side
How the two compare.
The same applies to Wix, Webflow templates and other website builders.
| Topic | Squarespace or Wix | S7UDIO SEVEN |
|---|---|---|
| Up front | $0, or up to about $2,000 if you pay someone to set it up. | A fixed, one-off $7,500, $12,500 or $19,500. |
| Each month | Around $20 to $60 for the plan. | Care from $250, covering hosting, support and your changes. |
| Design | A template you adapt, shared with thousands of other businesses. | Custom, designed around your business from scratch. |
| The words | You write them all. | We write them from your brief, and you approve them. |
| Search | The basics, and the rest is up to you. | A page for every service, search set-up and redirects from your old site. |
| Your time | Often 30 to 60 hours, plus every change after launch. | Just over an hour, and we make your changes after launch. |
| Speed on a phone | Varies with the template and add-ons. | 95 or more on Google Lighthouse, checked before we hand it over. |
Being fair
When a builder is the better choice.
If you’re just starting out, most of your work comes from referrals and you enjoy writing, a builder is a sensible choice. It gets you online cheaply, and you can always move to a custom site once your website needs to win work on its own.
If you want your website to bring in new clients, look different from the firms you compete with and take none of your evenings, a custom site usually pays for itself quickly. We go through the numbers in our full guide to builders and custom sites.
Book your week, and we’ll take it from there.
Start your buildIt takes just over an hour of your time, and none of it is on a call.
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