Wix has done a great job marketing itself as the easy, affordable way to build a business website. And for some businesses — a photographer wanting a portfolio, a small shop needing an online presence fast — it's genuinely fine.
For service businesses trying to rank locally and turn website visitors into paying customers, the picture is more complicated.
What Wix is actually good at
- ✓Speed to launch: If you need something live this week and don't care about polish, Wix gets you there fast.
- ✓No technical knowledge required: Drag and drop, decent templates, and everything is visual.
- ✓Low upfront cost: $0 to start (with ads on your site) or $16–$45/month for a paid plan.
Where it falls short for service businesses
- ✓It takes real time to build: Most first-timers spend 15–40 hours building a halfway decent Wix site. That's time not spent on your actual business. If you value your time at $75/hour, your 'free' site just cost you $1,125–$3,000.
- ✓Templates look like templates: Wix sites tend to look like Wix sites. Customers have seen them a thousand times. A custom site built around your specific business feels different — and different builds trust.
- ✓Local SEO limitations: Wix has improved its SEO tools, but it still generates heavier page code than purpose-built frameworks, which affects load speed — a ranking factor. Getting strong local search results on Wix requires real expertise most small business owners don't have.
- ✓You handle every update: New phone number? Changed service? New photo? You're logging in and doing it yourself — forever.
- ✓You still pay monthly: Wix isn't actually free for a business. You're paying $16–$45/month and doing all the work yourself.
The real cost comparison
Here's the math most people don't do up front:
- ✓Wix (Year 1): $240–$540 in fees + 20–40 hours of your time building it + ongoing time for updates. Total real cost: $1,500–$3,500+
- ✓Custom site via Lobus Industries (Year 1): $0 to build + $1,200 in hosting ($100/month) + zero hours of your time on maintenance. Total real cost: $1,200
When Wix makes sense
If you genuinely enjoy building things, have the time, and want full control over every pixel — Wix is a reasonable option. It's not a bad product.
But if you want a professional result without spending 30 hours learning a website builder, and you'd rather focus on running your actual business — a done-for-you model is almost always the better value.
Lobus Industries builds custom websites for service businesses for $0 upfront. You get a professional result without touching a website builder — and you keep it running for $100/month.
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