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Website builder comparison: Wix vs. WordPress vs. custom
Most agency comparison pages exist to convince you to hire the agency. These don't. Each comparison below picks a winner per dimension and names the scenarios where the alternative is the right answer. We turn down clients whose use case fits the alternative better.
Which is better: a custom build or a website builder?
It depends on three things: budget, timeline, and how much of your revenue depends on the site. Under $500 and a brochure site? A DIY builder wins, and we say so. Need a specific plugin ecosystem or in-house editors who already know WordPress? WordPress can win. When the site is a lead channel for a service business, a custom Next.js build wins on speed, security, and total cost over three to five years.
Each comparison below shows the numbers behind that answer: cost tables, performance data, and the lock-in fine print. Our pricing is on the pricing page, so you can check every figure we quote.
Maxx Effect vs. Squarespace
Squarespace is the premium DIY builder. Beautiful templates, locked ecosystem. Comparison covers the design-quality-vs-performance trade-off.
Maxx Effect vs. DIY
Building it yourself with $0 spend and 30+ hours of your own time. When DIY is the right answer (and when it isn't).
The number that shows up in every comparison
Whichever builder you weigh against a custom build, the same structural gap appears: load time, PageSpeed, and the ongoing maintenance burden. Real delivered sites, not lab benchmarks.
WordPress vs Custom-Built
Illustrative: representative figures for a typical WordPress build versus a custom Next.js build, not a single measured client.
Not sure which alternative is the right comparison for you?
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