NZ business owners choosing a website platform in 2026 have more options than ever - and more conflicting opinions about which is "best." The honest answer is that the right platform depends entirely on what your website needs to do.
This guide compares the main options without a bias toward any platform. Some businesses should be on Wix. Some should be on Squarespace. Some should be on WordPress. Some should have a custom-built website. The criteria for each choice are specific and knowable.
At a Glance
| Platform | Best for | Starting cost | Technical control | Design flexibility | |---|---|---|---|---| | Wix | Beginners, simple sites | Free (ads) / $25/month | Low | Medium | | Squarespace | Visual, content-heavy sites | $25/month | Low | Medium-High | | WordPress | Flexibility, SEO-focused | $15-50/month (hosting) | High | High | | Custom build | Performance, unique needs | $4,000+ (one-time) | Full | Full |
Wix
What it is
A cloud-based website builder. You design in a drag-and-drop editor, Wix handles hosting and maintenance. No code required.
Who it's right for
- Businesses that genuinely just need an online presence as a credibility marker
- Very early-stage businesses with minimal budget and minimal time
- Non-technical owners who want to build and manage everything themselves
- Businesses where the website is secondary to other channels (strong word-of-mouth referral business, for example)
Trade-offs
Speed: Wix sites are typically slower than custom or properly-built WordPress sites. This affects both user experience and Google rankings. Not a dealbreaker for every business, but it's real.
SEO limitations: Wix has improved significantly in recent years, but still has constraints around technical SEO compared to WordPress or custom builds. Page-level structured data, advanced schema markup, and some technical optimisations are harder or impossible.
Template constraints: what you can do is bounded by what Wix allows. That's fine until you need something it doesn't support.
Lock-in: you can't easily move a Wix site to another platform. Your content is transferable, but your design and site structure aren't.
Bottom line for NZ businesses
For a local service business that wants to generate leads from Google and stand out from the competition, Wix has too many performance and SEO limitations to be the first choice. It's appropriate as a temporary presence for businesses that will rebuild properly later, or for businesses with very modest online goals.
Squarespace
What it is
A cloud-based website builder with a stronger emphasis on design quality than Wix. Hosting, security, and maintenance are all handled by Squarespace.
Who it's right for
- Businesses where visual presentation is the primary priority (photographers, designers, galleries, restaurants, boutique retail)
- Content-focused sites (blogs, portfolios, publications)
- Non-technical owners who want a well-designed site without a designer or developer
- Businesses with straightforward service offerings that don't need complex page structures
Trade-offs
Performance: Squarespace sites are generally faster than Wix but still slower than well-built custom or WordPress sites. Improving performance beyond Squarespace's defaults is limited.
SEO ceiling: similar to Wix - better than it used to be, but still below WordPress or custom for technical SEO control. Structured data, schema markup, and advanced optimisation are constrained.
Template rigidity: more visually polished templates than Wix, but you're still working within template constraints. Significant departures from the template structure require workarounds.
Cost over time: monthly subscription fees add up. At $25-$50/month, a Squarespace site costs $300-$600/year indefinitely. A custom site has an upfront cost but lower ongoing costs.
Bottom line for NZ businesses
Squarespace produces genuinely good-looking websites with minimal technical effort. If your business is visually driven and you want to manage everything yourself, it's a strong option. For businesses where Google ranking and lead generation are the primary goals, the SEO ceiling is a real limitation.
WordPress
What it is
An open-source content management system (CMS) that powers around 40% of the internet. Unlike Wix and Squarespace, WordPress is self-hosted software - you install it on your own hosting account and take responsibility for management.
Who it's right for
- Businesses that want significant SEO control and flexibility
- Sites with large amounts of content (blog-heavy, news sites, resource libraries)
- Businesses with specific plugin or integration requirements
- Those who want full ownership and portability of their site
Trade-offs
Complexity: WordPress requires more technical knowledge to set up and maintain than Wix or Squarespace. Software updates, plugin management, and security need ongoing attention.
Performance depends entirely on the setup: a well-configured WordPress site with a good hosting provider and optimised theme is fast. A WordPress site loaded with plugins on cheap shared hosting is slow. The platform itself doesn't determine performance - how it's built and hosted does.
Quality varies enormously: because WordPress is so widely used, the range from "excellent" to "terrible" is enormous. The platform is only as good as the developer and the setup.
The theme question: a WordPress site built on a premium theme is still a template site - with the same limitations as any template. WordPress's real advantage comes when it's built with a custom theme, which requires a developer.
Bottom line for NZ businesses
WordPress is the right choice when flexibility, SEO control, and a large content section are priorities - and when you have a competent developer building it or someone technically capable maintaining it. A poorly built WordPress site is worse than a well-built Squarespace site. Choose it for the right reasons, with the right setup.
Custom Built (Next.js, custom code)
What it is
A website built from scratch by a developer - no CMS template as the foundation, just code written specifically for your site. Modern custom builds often use frameworks like Next.js (which powers the LSG website) or similar technologies that deliver very high performance.
Who it's right for
- Businesses where website performance directly affects leads and revenue
- Businesses that want to stand out visually without template constraints
- Sites with specific technical requirements (complex integrations, custom functionality, performance-critical applications)
- Local businesses in competitive markets where performance and SEO are meaningful differentiators
Trade-offs
Upfront cost: starting at $4,000 - $8,000 for a basic custom site, with larger projects running significantly higher. This is the highest upfront cost of any option.
Development dependency: you'll need the original developer (or someone with relevant skills) to make significant changes. This is manageable with the right agency relationship, but less DIY-friendly than template-based options.
Timeline: a custom site takes longer to build than a template site - typically 6-12 weeks vs 2-4 weeks.
What you get
Performance: a properly built custom site consistently outperforms template-based alternatives on page speed, which affects both user experience and Google ranking.
Full SEO control: no platform limitations. Structured data, schema markup, meta tags, canonical tags, and technical SEO can all be implemented exactly as needed.
Design that doesn't look like a template: when every competitor in your industry uses the same Squarespace template, a custom-designed site looks noticeably different. In markets where trust and professionalism matter, this is real value.
Full ownership and portability: no lock-in to a platform's pricing or policies.
Bottom line for NZ businesses
For local businesses where the website is a primary source of enquiries and where Google ranking matters, the performance and SEO advantages of a custom build typically justify the higher upfront cost within 12-18 months. For businesses with simpler online goals, a well-set-up WordPress or Squarespace site may be sufficient.
The NZ-Specific Considerations
A few things that matter specifically in the New Zealand market:
Local search is less competitive than you think. Most NZ local businesses are poorly optimised for Google search. The performance advantage of a custom or well-built WordPress site over a Wix template matters more in NZ than in more saturated markets, because the gap between well-built and poorly-built is visible in rankings.
Mobile is primary. Over 70% of local business website visits in NZ happen on mobile. Test any platform's mobile performance on pagespeed.web.dev - the Mobile score is the one that matters most for NZ local businesses.
Support and maintenance. If something goes wrong with a Wix or Squarespace site, you contact Wix or Squarespace. If something goes wrong with a WordPress or custom site, you contact the developer. The quality of that relationship matters for the long-term health of your site.
Don't over-invest for your needs. A Christchurch florist with a simple offer and strong word-of-mouth business doesn't need a $15,000 custom website. A Christchurch web design agency competing nationally does. Right-sizing the investment to the goal is the real skill.
The Decision Framework
Work through these questions:
Do you want to build and manage it yourself? If yes: Wix or Squarespace. End of decision tree.
Is Google ranking and lead generation a primary goal? If yes: WordPress (custom theme, good hosting) or custom build. Wix and Squarespace will constrain you.
Do you have specific technical requirements (booking system, e-commerce, member portal, API integrations)? If yes: WordPress or custom, depending on complexity.
What's your budget range? Under $3,000 total: Wix, Squarespace, or budget WordPress. $4,000-$10,000: custom-built or premium WordPress. $10,000+: custom build with full flexibility.
How long-term is this investment? If this is a stopgap, keep it simple. If this is a 5+ year business asset, invest in a foundation that won't limit you.
What We Build
At Local Site Growth, we build custom websites - specifically because the businesses we work with need performance and SEO control that template platforms don't provide.
That's not a bias against WordPress or Squarespace. For some businesses, those are exactly right. But for a local NZ business trying to generate enquiries from Google in a competitive market, a custom-built, properly optimised site consistently outperforms the alternatives.
The best way to see the difference is to see the work itself. Before any commitment, we build a free first page demo of your website - designed specifically for your business - so you can evaluate the quality before deciding anything.
Request your free first page demo here.
For the full cost breakdown across all options: How Much Does a Website Cost in NZ?
Still deciding between redesign and rebuild? Website Redesign vs New Website: What's Right for Your NZ Business?