WordPress, custom, or Wix: which one for your Miami business?
Honest comparison of WordPress vs custom-coded vs site-builders (Wix, Squarespace, Shopify). Real cost, speed, SEO, maintenance — the actual tradeoffs.
Short answer: depends on what you need
- Simple business (services, restaurant, brochure): Well-done WordPress or custom site
- eCommerce under 100 products: Shopify
- eCommerce with 100+ products or complex rules: WooCommerce (WordPress) or custom
- Web application (booking, dashboards, tools): Custom, always
- "I just need a tiny page": WordPress or a site builder is fine
Real comparison table
| Factor | WordPress | Custom Code | Wix / Squarespace | Shopify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial cost | $2K-$15K | $8K-$40K | $0-$500 | $0-$2K |
| Monthly cost | $50-$300 | $30-$150 | $23-$59 | $39-$399 |
| Speed | Good if optimized | Excellent | Mediocre | Good |
| SEO | Excellent (with plugins) | Excellent (full control) | Limited | Good |
| Ease of editing | Medium (learning curve) | Need developer | Very easy | Easy |
| Customization | Almost infinite | Infinite | Limited to templates | Medium |
| Native bilingual | With plugin (extra cost) | Native | Limited | Limited |
| Migrate later | Possible | Possible | Very hard (vendor lock-in) | Hard |
What most agencies don't tell you
Wix and Squarespace look cheap upfront. But when your business grows and you need something the template doesn't allow, you have to migrate — and that's a $5K-$15K project you could have avoided by choosing right from the start.
Badly-done WordPress is worse than well-done Wix. If an agency offers "$500 WordPress", run — you'll end with a slow, buggy, unmaintainable site. Well-done WordPress starts at $2,500-$5,000 for a professional site.
Custom is best for scalability and speed — but only makes sense if you plan to grow 10x or your business model is web-first (SaaS, marketplace, app).
Our recommendation for Miami small business
For 80% of small businesses in Miami-Dade: well-done professional WordPress with a custom theme (not ThemeForest), good hosting (not $5/mo shared hosting), and monthly maintenance. It's the balance of cost, flexibility, and control.
For the other 20%: depends on the case. Let's talk.
Let's talk about what fits your case.
30 minutes. We'll recommend what makes sense — even if it isn't us.